Remember when 4x4s used to be fun? They were playful and carefree, advertised with photos of smiling folks unloading surfboards or having a picnic on a mountaintop. Nowadays, it’s all Very Serious blacked-out faux-tactical bullshit, and nobody looks like they’re having any fun at all. So today, I thought we’d take a look at a couple of 4WD toys from the good old days.
Yesterday’s crossovers weren’t much fun, but you all really hated one of them in particular – the Jeep Compass. The nicest comments I saw about it were along the lines of “it’s kinda okay, I guess.” Most other comments were far less charitable. I probably could have put a Power Wheels Barbie Jeep up against it and it still would have lost. (Actually, that gives me an idea for the future…)
The Fiat 500X wasn’t really anybody’s idea of a good time either, but at least it carries out its humdrum suburban workhorse duties with a modicum of European flair. Some of you were concerned about the reliability, but from what I’ve heard, the modern Fiats aren’t too bad in that regard. I guess, if you have to drive a compact crossover, that Fiat wouldn’t be completely terrible.
My wife and I love going to antique malls, thrift stores, and flea markets. Last weekend, I came home with a cool old toy truck, which I’m sure my fellow 70s/80s kids will recognize immediately:
Yep, that is a genuine original Schaper Stomper 4×4. If you’re not familiar with these little wonders, they were all the rage in the early 80s. They’re about three inches long, powered by a single AA battery, with 4WD and working headlights. They sold for about three dollars, if I remember right. I paid … more than that for this one. Sadly, it doesn’t work; someone left a battery in it for who knows how many decades, and the terminals are corroded away. But it’s a cool conversation piece anyway.
You could get Stompers in a dizzying variety of bodystyles, all kinds of makes and models, all brightly-colored and decked out with stripe kits and roll bars, just like any good 4×4 back then. I’m pretty sure both of today’s featured vehicles were available in Stomper form, actually. Let’s check them out.
1980 Plymouth Arrow Sport 4×4 – $4,900
Engine/drivetrain: 2.6-liter OHC inline 4, five-speed manual, 4WD
Location: Vancouver, WA
Odometer reading: 84,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
This truck, apparently, never existed. Plymouth sold its version of the Mitsubishi-built Dodge D50 as the Arrow from 1979 to 1982, but it was never available with four-wheel drive. And to my knowledge, no 4WD Mitsubishi was ever available in this country with a solid front axle. This is a custom job. It’s well-done, though; it looks like it could have been a factory product.
Power comes from the stock Mitsubishi 4G54 four-cylinder and a five-speed manual. if I had to guess, I would say that the transfer case came from a later 4WD Mitsubishi Mighty Max or Dodge Ram 50, and if I’m not mistaken, the front axle is a Dana 30, probably from a Jeep. The rear axle is probably stock. Both axles are hung on leaf springs. The only information we get about its mechanical condition is that it “runs and drives good.”
The Arrow Sport came with bucket seats, a center console, a tach, and some other goodies. It looks stock inside, with an additional shift lever for the transfer case. It’s in great condition, except for maybe a missing trim piece or two, but that’s not a big deal.
Outside, it has some rust, but it also has those glorious factory stripes. I’m not as fond of the wheel choice, though; they look too modern. Some nice white or chrome 8-spoke wagon wheels would be a better choice. And it’s absolutely crying out for a roll bar in the bed with lights on top.
1985 Subaru GL 4WD Hatchback – $3,650
Engine/drivetrain: 1.8 liter OHV flat 4, four-speed manual, 4WD
Location: Colorado Springs, CO
Odometer reading: 205,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
Now this one absolutely came from the factory with four-wheel drive. Subaru started offering 4WD in its cars way back in the 70s. This car was known as the Leone in other parts of the world, but here in the US, it had no model name, just trim designations: DL, GL, or GL-10, available in a variety of different bodystyles. This little two-door hatchback is a GL model.
Subaru’s use of flat-four engines dates back even further than its 4WD system, all the way back to 1966. It’s mounted ahead of the front axle, just ahead of a four-speed transaxle that powers the front wheels all the time, and the rear wheels when you pull a little lever in the center console. This one has a bunch of new parts, and the seller says it runs and drives well.
It looks decent inside, except for some weirdness on the left side of the dash, and there’s no telling what’s under those seat covers. It has some modern add-on touchscreen stereo or something in it, which I’m not fond of, but I guess some people like them. Looking at this interior makes me remember two things about these old Subarus: the “ding-dong” key chime, and the clutch pedal with about an inch of travel that engages right off the floor.
It looks like it used to be white outside, but it has been repainted in this dull gray. It kind of suits it, but I feel like it needs some stripes or something. I’m less thrilled about the blue wheels; they’re supposed to be white as well. I don’t see any rust on it, though, which is good. It comes with some aftermarket roof racks, if you’re into that sort of thing.
The seller of the Subaru claims that it would make a good daily driver, but really, these are both toys. Pretty cool toys, though. One of them has been built into what it is, and the other was already a legend from the factory. And they both look like they belong in a plastic bubble package, hung on a peg at K-Mart for $2.99. Which one looks like a more fun toy to you?
Yeah man. Every car looks like it wants to murder you nowadays.
The worst is the angry Jeeps. The Wrangler’s default face is almost 100 years old and has always said, in an eager voice, “wanna go off roadin’?”. Now people pay extra money to give them scowls. SMH.
I’m tempted to buy a bunch of business cards with “why is your jeep so angry?” printed on them. Then do the duck thing with em and leave em on the offending hoods.
I have found it much more effective to describe them as looking “constipated” rather than angry.
Both, in this case. But I voted Subaru, because when I lived in the mountains of CA, there were two kinds of people who could get in and out in all kinds of weather: the contractors with ancient Toyota or Nissan compact trucks with bald tires and some sort of black magic. And the people with ancient GLs with little paint left and interiors that were superfund sites. I was the next tier down with a FWD sedan that I knew how to chain up and thus did pretty well in unplowed snow.
The lowest tier, of course, was the lowlanders with their band new SUVs, who locked the brakes on a hundred foot patch of ice and ended up on their roofs…
I was really about to wish for a neither option, but looking that Arrow over, For the price, that’s just a clean sweet little truck.
I still have my red Chevy Luv Stomper. It still works. The shape reminds me of this Plymouth thing, that’s good enough for my vote.
Hatch is my least favorite of the 5 body styles and I don’t care for 4WD, but it’s still an easy choice for me having had a wagon and sedan and I have no use for a small ancient pickup made by Mitsubishi, though that is really nice if that’s your kind of thing.
The chime when the door is open was fixed with a piece of electrical tape: remove switch in door jam (it pulls out quite easily), depress the switch, tape over the contacts, reinstall.
I went with the Plymouth Arrow Sport. The voting tells me I don’t need to explain my choice.
For the battery contacts, get a fiberglass brush for electronics
And some DeoxITD5
Indeed
I have much more use for a small pickup. Easy pick.
Damn! That Plymouth is straight as an…Arrow! Ha ha…I love it and love all the classic mini-trucks like this that are actually usable. I know these are more rare than other ones. Loving the low miles and stick. I’ll have a ton of fun off-roading. I still like that GL, just not as much. I’ve learned how good the old skool Subie’s were…would still rather have an AMC Eagle though. When I scrolled past the engine bay pic, I was like “where’s the engine?” Ha ha…then remembered they put the spare in there
I’m loving how there are seemingly more comments on the toys than on the choices!
I had no idea Plymouth even *made* trucks.
That fun lil guy gets my vote.
If I slap some different car emblems on a car does that make me an Automobile Manufacturer?
Well, technically, Plymouth didn’t make this truck.
Tho Chrysler did build the 1980’s Plymouth Scamp.
(and the 30’s/40’s Plymouth Trucks)
There was also a Plymouth version of the Ramcharger called the Trail
Duster, sold from 1974-81.
I’d rather have the subaru for less money… so it got my vote.
The Arrow, because you’re absolutely right about the *I TAKE MYSELF SUPER SERIOUSLY AND HERE’S MY VERY SUPER SERIOUS TRUCK WITH ALL KINDS OF USELESS DOOMSDAY CRAP STUCK ON IT* crowd. It would be fun to wheel this happy thing in somewhere and park next to one of them.
The Arrow makes for the goofier-looking toy and I like it. The blue wheels on the Subie don’t bug me. It’s just that it doesn’t seem very exotic up here in the PNW. I’d be okay with either if I needed a cheap 4×4. I went for the Arrow.