Hello Everyone,

I purchased a 1970 Subaru 360 Sedan a few years ago from a friend. Both of us had full intentions of cutting the car up and powering it with a sport bike motor or small FWD 4 cylinder car setup. After watching a few youtube videos and really doing some research I've kind of fallen in love with the quirkiness of this little car and it's little two stroke engine. Unfortunately, my little car doesn't run at this point and is now torn down into a pile of parts. I believe the last time it ran the gentleman who owned it used it as a go kart for his children. There was a lot of mud packed in strange places.

Also I have a small side business making composite parts. Right now I'm focusing on race car parts with carbon fiber, but I plan on making a few 360 parts to help lighten the car up a bit more. I'm thinking fenders, hood, trunk lid, and roof molds would be nice to have. My car is really rusty so it might actually be easier for me to bondo, fill, sand, and pull a mold from the car as is. Probably replacing anything that isn't structural with fiberglass. I would eventually like to run a couple of TSD rallies with it so getting the weight down and the hp up a little bit will be fun. That should be hilarious and crazy all at the same time.

I look forward to reading through the forums and learning more and more about these quirky little cars.

Thanks,
Andy

Waterford, MI

Andy, Welcome to the club. There's a lot of information on this site if you have the patience and interest to uncover it. Good luck with your car! Roger

Welcome, Glad you didn't cut it up. I've been thinking of an engine cover and front hood and fenders would be great to have fiberglass replacements and of coarse the roof panel would be nice too. I know of a guy who is trying to sell an engine says it runs? Never know what that means. There are also Wiesco pistons available for the these little cars.

Hi Andy, glad to see you made it on the forums. We've already chatted on FB. I'm glad to hear you're going to save the little car as is. Smart move. The advent of Wiseco pistons really changed my perception of what these little engine can endure.

Welcome to the club. Save the 360 movement started with many of the owners here so you'll get all the expert advice you need here.

Welcome Happy to see you take the right route in saving one. Hope you make a fun driver out of it.

Here are some pictures of my little project car.

And a couple more. Towing it home, tear down, and how it now sits.







I wasn't terribly organized when I started the tear down process. At that time I was certain I was going to go with sport bike power, so I may have broke a few things during tear down. Luckily you guys have collected enough information I should be able to put humpty dumpty here back together again.

WE HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY, WE CAN REBUILD HIM!

Andy,

Very nice. Racing stripes look fast !

Hello from a former Michigander. I know first hand how hard the salt on the roads is on cars there. Yours looks really good considering where it's probably lived its whole life. On top of that, it's a Young!!! You really should do a proper restoration on it for that reason alone. What ever you do, don't chop it up or do any mods that can't be reversed at some point in the future. Believe me, there are many people here who would love to have the opportunity to restore a Young. I being one of them.

Thank you for the warm welcome guys. I greatly appreciate it.

I'm really excited to work on my car, but honestly it is going to take a few years to get it right. I'm hoping I will have the patience to pay attention to some of the little details that make a big difference.

I was inspired to kind of "resto-mod" this car by Magnus Walker. I watched a video about him and what he has done with old Porsches and I couldn't help think about the possibilities for this little car. Here's the video that kindled the fire again. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZlRFsRG6K0

Hopefully with some of my machining contacts and some of my friends superior automotive knowledge I can also help keep these little cars going.

Thanks,
Andy,

I've admired his stuff, keeping the car almost original, but adding fine touches. Perfect plan for your 360 ! I'd actually like to drill holes in my Subaru 360 door handles like he did. That' so cool. I think all of here on the club forums would support you, probably end up competing with you in the long run.


Now, get to work !

2stroketurbo wrote:I've admired his stuff, keeping the car almost original, but adding fine touches. Perfect plan for your 360 ! I'd actually like to drill holes in my Subaru 360 door handles like he did. That' so cool. I think all of here on the club forums would support you, probably end up competing with you in the long run.


Now, get to work !

I just told my friend that my first mod I was going to do was drill the handles and peddles!

Welcome to the Club from downunder, Andy - that's a really cute-looking car, with the white "go-faster" stripes!

Cheers,

Ian

Welcome.
I actually did the sportbike engine on mine, and it's like trading one set of problems for another. Never mind the complete re-engineering of the entire chassis. I also wish I would have left it stock sometimes (I work on a golf course, so I would drive it on the cart paths every day.)

Your car actually looks pretty sound compared to a lot on here, and looks like a show car compared to mine. You even have a floor.

Any chance you can make some air scoops to go over the side vents? I cut mine out and need extra airflow.

Andy,
Welcome! Hey, a red Young - my favorite!
I trust you have already downloaded all the manuals, the parts catalog, and the BOR?

Steve

Hello Gang,

Just got back from a two week trip to Germany for business. Quite interesting to see all of the little cars there. I thought about smuggling a Fiat Panda turbo engine back in my checked bag. Heck it's small enough I probably could have carried it on! That might make an interesting little powertrain for our cars. Either way I wasn't able to pull it off, oh well.

I have downloaded the Manuals and Parts catalog. I haven't made it to the BOR yet.

It was fun, but it feels good to be back in the US of A.

Andy,

MrAndrewLittle wrote:...but I plan on making a few 360 parts to help lighten the car up a bit more.

They could have used you at Fuji Heavy Industries in the '50s, when they were designing the 360. There was considerable effort given towards making the car as light as possible, so that the 356cc engine could move it along. Fiberglass roof, compound body curves (allowing thinner sheet metal) were some of the answers.

Hello Strangers,

Well I started working on the my 360 again and it's a little depressing the more I tear into it. The front wheel cylinders are completely filled solid with white corrosion and I'm discovering more rust. I think it's fixable, but I'm starting to wonder if I bit off more than I can chew at this point.

I'm wondering if anyone is interested in everything I have? There are many good parts. Engine/tranny look good. Gas tanks, speed cluster, back window, side windows, roof, and many more.

Just testing the waters and see if anyone is interested.

Thanks,
Andy,

You will always find takers for parts here. Check back in a day or two and you will have several requests.

Just keep plugging along? The rust can be neutralized and the brake cylinders can be sleeved and re-built. Keep your chin up and really on the group for support. Keep Calm and Restore On!

Well I got over my small hump of depression and I think I'm going to keep it and resto mod it.

Does anyone have a set of door handles for sale? I drilled mine last night and they turned out okay, but I'm thinking I can do a little better than the "eye balling" I did last night. One of the holes wandered and it kind of ticked me off. I new I should have taken my time and actually center punched the holes!

Thanks,
Andy,

Outside or inside door handles????

E-mail me.

Ed Parsil, Tucson AZ, see Roster for e-mail address.

What did you drill?? Pics would be cool

Outside door handles is what I drilled and possibly what I need. I'll take a picture tonight.

Thanks,
Andy,