Happy Friday, Autopians! To end this short week, we’re taking a look at two title-less, non-street-legal vehicles. Why? Because I desperately want to drive one of them a few blocks to a specific place, and I wanted to give you something else equivalent to choose, if you aren’t of the same mind as me.
Not many of you went along with my choice yesterday; the rare and sketchy Sterling lost by a two-to-one margin to its Nissan rival. I get it; a British car from a dying brand, even with some Japanese engineering thrown in, is a hard sell.
But I couldn’t resist it, personally. I attended the Portland All-British Field Meet for many years, and never once saw a Sterling there. I kept hoping. I would happily have driven this one through the gates myself, and would have enjoyed the reactions of the crowd.
Speaking of arriving to car shows: the big Galpin Auto Show is this Sunday, for those of you in the Los Angeles area. I won’t be there, because I’m three thousand miles away, and hosting a party at my house this weekend. But if I were able to go, and had some disposable funds, I would want to stop in Eagle Rock and pick up one of today’s contestants to drive to the show. I’d have to trailer it most of the way there, then drive it the last couple of blocks, because it’s very much not street legal. But it would be one hell of a fun way to arrive. Now, I know my tastes don’t often align with most of yours, so I found another option for you to do the same thing, if you so choose. Let’s check them out.
1975 Fiat 128 race car – $5,000
Engine/drivetrain: 1.5-liter overhead cam inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD
Location: Eagle Rock, CA
Odometer reading: unknown
Operational status: Runs and drives great, but not street-legal
What did my dad and Enzo Ferrari have in common? Both of them chose the humble Fiat 128 as their daily driver for a time. This boxy little Italian economy car won my dad over for its clever engineering, good handling, and good value. I don’t know Enzo’s motivation, but I like to imagine it was similar.
The 128 set the blueprint for nearly all modern FWD cars, with a transverse engine driving the front wheels through a transaxle sitting next to it. The 128 used a Lampredi-designed four-cylinder, displacing either 1.1 or 1.3 liters, but this one has a 1.5 liter from a later Fiat X1/9 sports car, along with its five-speed gearbox. It’s only a little more power, but in a lightweight car like the 128, a little goes a long way.
This 128 is completely race-prepared; the interior is gone, a roll cage and fuel cell have been installed, and I’m sure it no longer has any muffler of any sort. I bet that little Lampredi four sounds great at seven thousand RPM or so. The seller says it runs great and is ready to race, so I’m sure it could cover a few blocks of the San Fernando Valley without any trouble at all.
I mean, come on! How much fun would it be to show up to Galpin in a race-prepared, Alitalia-liveried Fiat? Sure, it would be illegal as hell, but I’m only talking about a few blocks. Hell, for the first Autopian gathering a couple years ago, we pushed David’s Nash Metropolitan that far on the street. Galpin show or not, I really want this thing, but I would want to find another wrecked or rusty 128 for the parts needed to put it back on the street.
1997 Subaru Sambar – $4,900
Engine/drivetrain: 658 cc overhead-cam inline four, five-speed manual, 4WD
Location: Gardena, CA
Odometer reading: 44,000 kilometers
Operational status: Runs and drives, not yet titled or registered in US
But maybe race-prepared Italian economy cars don’t do it for you, for whatever reason. All right, how about a kei truck? Everybody likes kei trucks. They’ve united car enthusiasts all over in a fight against the man, and they’re just so darn cute that they’re almost impossible to hate. And this Subaru Sambar ups the cool factor by sporting those awesome stripes.
Kei vehicle rules in Japan place a limit not only on overall dimensions, but also engine displacement and power. The Sambar’s four-cylinder engine clocks in just below the 660 cubic centimeter limit, but well below the typical 64 horsepower limit. I mean, it’s a truck; it doesn’t need a screaming high-output engine. It has a five-speed manual, and push-button 4WD. These little things can go all sorts of places, which is what makes them so popular with farmers and ranchers.
This one doesn’t have a dump bed like some kei trucks do, but you can fold down the bed sides as well as the tailgate, for a completely flat loading surface, so you can slide stuff off in any direction you need to. It’s fresh off the boat from Japan, with no title yet, but it does come with all the necessary import paperwork and a bill of sale. Kei truck legality in California is a little murky; I found some sources that said they’re allowed on roads with speed limits under 55 MPH, and others that say they’re not allowed at all. You pays your money, you takes your chances, I guess.
These little things are such a neat idea that it’s really disappointing there’s so much legal dispute around them. I can think of a bunch of scenarios where a tiny, lightweight 4WD truck with just enough speed and power for a country road could be useful. Drive to the garden center, pick up trees, drive it right into the backyard where you’re going to plant the trees. Oh wait – I just did that with my full-size pickup. Huh. Guess I don’t need one after all.
Seriously, though, if you’re at all able to swing by Galpin Ford on Sunday, do so. It promises to be a great time. Beau is a legit car guy, and has a spectacular collection of cars to browse through. And of course, all the usual Autopian suspects will be there as well. Except me, of course, but maybe next year. See you back here on Monday!
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
there are several kei trucks in town. one has a Hayabusa crammed in somehow. that one flies down I-5! i see others on the highway, in the elephant lane. they do keep up with the semis. i need a light truck, i think it would carry a slide in camper well enough, if i found a light one.
put my vote for the sambar.
Who in the flying fuck monkey voted for the Sambar? Live a little folks.
back at you, I bet I’d have way more fun in the Sambar!
If they were easy to register in my state I’d already be doing ridiculous things with a kei truck.
The fiat is cool, but nothing special.
I like both but have to go with the cute Sambar…I like those Kei trucks and more chance to make legal
Affixing headlights, wipers, and switchgear and having to wear a helmet sounds more appealing than dealing with Paperwork Hell. I’ll take Sophie the Fiat.
FIAT 128 race car? Do you even have to ask? I owned a 128 Rallye. It was the USA version in yellow with scorpion emblems on the sides and hood. Worst torque steer under acceleration you can imagine. No recollection what red line was, but I probably hit it every day on my drive to work. Worst seats imaginable but I’ve already done a Craigslist search to find it. Yes please.
I had to abstain today. I don’t carry a fondness for foreign cars but occasionally I find one I would like to drive. I don’t have a use for a race car and I used to drive a Subaru outback that was a money pìt. So I chose not too choose. Which is still a decision I guess.
I’m not really a trackday person, so I guess it’s the kei truck for me… But I really like the Fiat… Nope, going with the tiny truck.
Sambar, ‘cause I’m an outlaw.
This is a both day. However since I can only get one I had to do the Fiat. Just tracking that car would be awesome
The Suzuki.
Because it’s clearly faster than the Fiat – I mean, just look at those racing stripes!
This one was tricky.. I’m all about the Kei trucks, as I want to rub it in the faces of the giant sooper doody pickups at the Home Depot, as I load more material into it than they are. However I already do this with the Baja.. On the other hand, I live near a couple of tracks and there’s even some rally cross around here, so Fiat it is. I just hope I can tow it with my
giant sooper doody pickupthe Baja..The Subaru wins by default.
The real reason the Fiat was converted to a racecar is because the road-going one wouldn’t pass inspection anymore since everything was always breaking LOL
See I went the other way by default. The Subaru isn’t titled, and likely cannot be. Not interested in messing with that.
Why can’t it be titled? Only some states do that shit, and it was brought here legally after being 25 years old.
The paperwork is pending, and after that, it should be no problem at all. California can be tough and unreasonable, but most other states don’t have those issues.
Import papers have to be in the name of the owner. If you buy it and try to register in your name but the import papers aren’t in your name then to the DMV it looks like either you stole it or the previous owner is evading taxes. It’s the same as trying to sell a car that the title isn’t in your name, you might get away with it but it’s still illegal.
Edited after reading your titling explanation! Great information, Brandon!
I would take the Fiat and make it street legal.
Love a kei truck, voted accordingly.
Also, I’m logged in as myself.
Me too, but not one that hasn’t been titled. Good luck ever getting it on the road. If the import papers are not in the name of the person trying to title it you will get screwed.
Do not, and I cannot emphasize this enough, DO NOT, under any circumstances buy a JDM import that has not been titled unless it is from a dealer. Federal law says that the import paperwork has to be in the name of the owner, or an authorized importer IE, a legit, registered import shop. If it is not, and you try to register it, they can deny it and I have seen many cases where people could not ever get their imports legally on the road because they bought the car with just the papers and then were unable to get it registered or even titled in their name because the paperwork was in the name of the previous owner. It is illegal for them to sell it like this, and you will get screwed.
Sorry, I know this is all in fun and the chances of any of us actually buying a car from the showdown are basically nil, but it pisses me off so bad to see cars being sold like this because it’s illegal, and the new owner will be the one paying the price.
In case you want a reliable source:
https://www.jdmbuysell.com/jdm-importing-tips/buying-a-jdm-import-that-doesnt-have-a-title/
Can still be useful as an offroad vehicle or farm truck though…
This is true, I just have no use for something that can’t be driven on the streets. Also, this severely limits your options when it comes time to sell.
I opened the article expecting to vote for the Fiat, because it’s awesome, but I kept thinking of the time I rented a truck from The Home Depot to bring sod to my house, and how nice it was to flop the bed sides down to unload it. Before I knew it, I’d voted for the Sambar.
Edited to note that according to the site, I’m actually logged in as MaximillianMeen, an Autopian I recognize and like.
Gosh! I’m flattered!
I appear to be logged in as myself now, so maybe Matt got under the hood of the Autopian Web-o-motive Deluxe and uninstalled the Temu-sourced turboelectro-shark upgrade.
Living in Texas, land of Kei car freedom (but quickly disappearing other freedoms), I’d also take the Sambar since getting it legal is just some paperwork hassles. Would definitely be a fun little home improvement store gopher.
Kei trucks are dime a dozen in the US now. That Fiat would get my attention.
I just bought a fine (though boring) white ’21 Subaru Outback and now I know what kind of stripes we’re getting applied!
For $5K this truck needs to already be titled. That the seller/importer didn’t already do so means they probably messed something up and now it can’t be titled.
Regardless of price it needs to be titled to be legally sold. You’re opening a hell of a can of worms gambling on this. Local DMVs may not care, but the import was only half done and only the current owner can finish it legally. I would rather have the kei than the Fiat, but not without a title.
It can be sold without a title as an offroad-only/farm-use truck. But not for $5K.
Yes, but the legality is still questionable. The current owner is not titling it because they don’t want to pay the taxes and fees to do so. Not sure if there’s a legal way around that or if you would just be avoiding that by never titling it.
If the reason they haven’t titled it is because they’re trying to save a couple hundred dollars in sales tax, they’ll get it titled when they figure out their lack of a title is costing them a couple thousand in selling price.
I think it’s more likely they haven’t titled it because they screwed up the import and can’t get a road-use title.
Could be, but again that just tells me I don’t want it.
I see tons and tons of private party importers trying to sell cars like this, it makes it so they don’t have to have a dealer license or be a registered importer or anything like that, if they were to then title each car they are getting, they would likely get flagged and have to actually form a legal buisiness and all that. There are a lot of hoops they are actively trying to avoid jumping through. With that, CA is basically impossible to get a JDM car titled, so I do get why they would not want to do so. I still wouldn’t touch it at any price though.
I LOVE the Fiat, but the closest track is an hour away. The Kei truck has zero issues getting registered up here in the great white north, so I’ll take it!
Definitely the Fiat for me. Hopefully it has a logbook, it looks like a great way to get into vintage racing.
This says I’m logged in as “Shooting Brake”, but that’s not me.
Oh, I guess it is me?
Mine says I’m logged in as IanGTCS
Aw I’m jealous!
“This boxy little Italian economy car won my dad over for its clever engineering, good handling, and good value.”
Let’s all not forget that the Yugo was basically a 128 built under license, so let’s all agree that these accolades apply equally to the Yugo as well, okay? 😀
Signed, proud Yugo owner.
I have nothing but respect for Yugos; I just like the 128’s styling a whole lot more. Especially these two-door sedans. Also, when my dad bought his 128 and I fell in love with them, the Yugo was still not even a daydream in Malcolm Bricklin’s fevered imagination, so it will always feel like a bit of an impostor or copy to me.
I’m kinda looking at some kei trucks, and they seem pretty easy to register here in Oklahoma. That Fiat is cool and all, but I can’t justify a track only car. A kei truck could actually be useful.
They are easy to register IF already titled. If the import docs are in someone else’s name, you will possibly never be able to get it registered so beware. If the DMV clerk knows what they are doing and is paying attention, the seller is trying to sell without paying the taxes, which you know, is illegal and all should run the other way.