I’m a pretty fortunate person, overall. I realize that. And part of what makes me fortunate are these Cold Starts, which, as much as I may privately kvetch about having to come up with what to talk about every morning, I also have the incredible freedom to talk about, well, almost anything, as long as I can even sort of tenuously tie it to cars. That means no detail is too small, no thought too inane or insignificant, no subject too trivial. This is a gift.
It’s also why I want to talk about not just the Subaru 360 Custom, but mostly about the rear quarter of the Subaru 360 Custom, and just how wonderfully busy it is.
Are you familiar with the Subaru 360 Custom? That was the name given to the station wagon version of the Subaru 360:
These were very clever little cars, and were a huge improvement over Subaru’s first attempt to make a 360 better suited to cargo-carrying, which was basically a normal 360 but with the rear windows hinged to flap downwards, making the rear of the car accessible to throw stuff into:
This wasn’t a bad quick solution that didn’t require a lot of new body stampings, but it wasn’t really good enough. The better solution was essentially the same one that Fiat used for their also-rear-engined 500, when they laid their inline-twin engine on its side and laid it under the floor to make the Fiat 500 Giardiniera:
It’s also a similar approach that used by Volkswagen with their Type 3 Squareback: engine under the floor at the rear, leaving luggage room in both back and front. It’s closer to the Fiat, though, as both cars used an inline-twin.
From the front to the B-pillar, it’s essentially the same as the normal 360; but the whole rear is different, squared-off and taller, allowing for a lot more room. Look at these diagrams of luggage accommodation in the standard 360, for example:
Sure, you can cram stuff in there if you fold down the rear seat, but with the back seat up you only have a tiny luggage well under the rear window and a big parcel shelf up front, under the dash. Compare that to the 360 Custom:
Cavernous! It’s downright cavernous! I’m not kidding, compared to the normal 360, this is a canyon of cargo capacity. Sure, the rear seat is folded here, but even up there’s a decent amount of cargo area here. And note how the interior is designed to handle a lot of stuff, with that cargo retaining bar at the front, folding out from the seatback, and those bars protecting the rear side windows. This is just a clever design, and a marvel of packaging.
That sticker on the lower left part of the engine lid gives the load capacity, too: a respectable 250 kg/550 pounds. All this, and I think it still retains most of the charm and looks of the Subaru 360. There’s been some lovely customized versions of these, too.
Okay, but I made a promise in that headline: to talk about how pleasingly busy the rear quarter of this thing is, and I intend to deliver on that. I mean, look at it:
There’s so much going on back there! Normally, I think busy-ness is a detriment in car design, but for whatever reason, I like it here. There’s rows and rows of louvers, there’s license plate housings, there’s informational stickers, chrome model badging, separate reverse lamps, reflectors, and taillights, all different shapes or sizes, theres a bumper and hinges, fender protectors, there’s handles and windows with bars in them and huge air intakes shaped like penguin wings and rain gutters and so many body seams and cutlines – it’s an absolute riot of everything, all at once.
I can’t tell you exactly why I love it, but I do.
Hiding behind the rear license plate is the inspiration for early video game characters shapes???
The rear quarter view with the rectangular upper punch out with the bolt hole ‘eyes’, and the lower punch out with its various angles and shapes just instantly reminded me of the original digital arcade games and Atari game console shapes used.
Am I crazy???
Oh no. Another Carolina Squat?
Great write-up! Mighty fascinating.
When my kid was in high school and fixing up and then DDing a 1982 Subaru 4WD station wagon (with the Cyclops headlight!!) more than a decade ago USMB (Ultimate Subaru Message Board) was an excellent resource with a great community. The 360 forums were always fun to read and it was striking how many people wanted a 360 Custom but nobody could find one anywhere in the US and no members even had one, period, at the time.
There’s a great film from 2006 titled Tekkonkinkreet where the protagonists, two orphan street kids, are living in an old 360 Custom where you can tell the animators obviously liked the Custom very much:
http://imcdb.org/vehicle_561796-Subaru-360-Custom.html
If it first you don’t like the 360, give it a whirl; you’ll come around.
Did Malcolm Bricklin ever get this version approved for US import? It’s already insane enough that he got the regular version approved.
Yes there were a few, they are very rare.
It’s weird that they show the rear seat back in a down position in that illustration. They don’t really do that as there isn’t much of a point except maybe to provide a better platform to put stuff on than the seat bottom. The seat backs are hooked onto what I guess you’d call the firewall since the engine is in the rear. Really what that illustration is saying is that you have more cargo room when no one is in the back seat. Which is better at holding a couple grocery bags than humans anyway.
Its the front which is so derpy. It looks like a cartoon drawing of what a car should be
This is what I come here for. For strange design, I can also recommend the Suzuki Hatch 55 (SH10).
As far as excessive grill venting goes, the Suzuki Fronte LC20 is the all time winner – the rear is mostly metal spaghetti, nearly as lacey as that wrought iron VW Beetle.
That’s some seriously optimistic camber.
Give that Subaru 250kg of payload and it might become negative instead.
Swing axles. Everything normalizes under load.
There’s now a part of me that wants to see a Beetle squarebackified back there.
When everything serves a purpose, it can become its own kind of accidental art. I moved to Delaware a few years back, and the very flat landscape lets every single structure pop, for better or worse. I often find myself admiring extremely utilitarian agricultural structures and such.
Function has a form all of it’s own.
Why is the right (driver)-side rear wheel so far from level in that last photo?
It has to be something with the suspension design. It’s the same positive camber in all the pictures.
Reminds me of the front ends of later Ford Tempo/Topaz twins…they always seemed like they were trying to make the front wheels clap together, kind of like front swing-axles.
How cute is that little thing of a car.
Fortunately something is going on with the front wheels to front fenders ratio, so you don’t pay attention to all the business in the rear…
–It’s like they are trying to beat the big Austin Healey in the questionable competition of who can make a car look most like it’s going up hill while horisontal. While at the same time trying to out camber the Fiat 500.
Agreed.
From the front 3/4 angle showing the overall pitch to back haunches, hooded head light eyes, gaping front bumper with smiling mouth frunk-line, and off-white coat, it looks like a lab puppy about to jump up on the couch and lick your face.
Define lab puppy. Is this a Stephen King thing, or…?
Abbreviation for Labrador Retriever is what I meant
I know, just messin’ with ya 🙂
I see where the contemporary Outback got it’s everything styling. The lineage is strong.
You also get a hint of swingaxly goodness, with that visible rear wheel leaning at a jaunty angle.
But let’s not forget the front end! It has already been raised to give it that classic “gasser” look and to provide better weight transfer to the rear wheels on launch.
If you live your life a quarter-kilometer at a time, this is your car!
Question – are those exposed drum brakes?
Looks like they are, but going by the brochure photos they’d usually have hubcaps. The Sotheby’s one also looks like it has an extra row of louvers in the back, so maybe a prior owner was really concerned with cooling.
They are, I believe!
Yes, the 360 wheels have no centers. The outer 2 piece rims just bolt to the drums.
They must be saving like half a kilo of unsprung weight, per corner! That’s massive for such a small car!
very cool, thanks
Where is that 2nd license plate housing hiding in all that business?? Er… busyness, er, businesses, er you get what I mean???
Are you being serious? It’s almost every interesting little design detail you’ve ever been fascinated by, all on the same tiny, well-packaged cargo hauler at once! It’s like Jason Torchinsky-nip.
The regular plain-jane 360 looks like a Ty beige frog, in a good way of course. This is at least as cute. Subi’s have always had unique genetics!
If it had the Hella/Bosch/pre67-VW headlights, it would be the perfect car! (for JT 😎 )