BOOK REVIEW - Subaru 1000/1100/1300

Reviewed by: Mike Ryan

Simply titled Subaru 1000/1100/1300, this is an in-depth look at a model family that followed the 360 and Sambar kei cars, but predated the Leone, Brumby and other all-wheel drive models that have come to define Subaru today. Authored by Gavin Farmer, the highly-regarded writer behind histories of Chrysler in Australia, the Valiant Charger, Falcon GT and GT-HO, Holden Monaro and Leyland P76, to name a few, Subaru 1000/1100/1300 also has input from Peter Kallenbach, with Japanese text by Tom Ukai.

The strapline ‘Worldwide Book of the Subaru ff-1’ reflects both the international effort that brought this title to fruition, as well as its global reach that includes owner examples from the USA, New Zealand, Thailand, Portugal, Israel, the UK, Malta and even the Dominican Republic, as well as Australia and Japan.

Of the ‘ff-1’ in the strapline, that’s an alternative name by which the Subaru 1000 family is known. Officially, ff-1 only applies to the 1100 and 1300, but has been used for all three cars as they share the same front engine, front-wheel drive layout. The 1000 was the first Subaru of any type to use this configuration, debuting in 1965, with the 1100 following in 1969 and the 1300 (aka 1300G) in 1970 before the line was discontinued two years later.

An interesting sidenote to this is that a 1300G pioneered Subaru’s all-wheel drive system. Back in 1970, a Japanese electricity company reached out to a local Subaru dealer seeking a more comfortable alternative to open-top jeeps for power line maintenance during winter, but with the same traction for snow and rough terrain. The 1300G’s fully independent suspension and front wheel drive made a conversion to four-wheel drive relatively simple and proved popular. What was originally intended as a one-off went into mass-production from 1971, before being replaced by the Leone in 1972. The 1000 and its derivatives also pioneered the Boxer engine that’s another defining feature on modern Subarus.

For newcomers to the 1000 model family, as well as Subaru’s early history in carmaking, there’s so much to discover in this book, like the fact that the 1000 was born from several different prototypes. These were abandoned not for mechanical reasons, but because Subaru simply didn’t have the production capacity at the time to build certain types of cars in the volume required to be profitable.    

In period, the 1000 was compared to the BMC 1100 range for its similar front-engine/front-wheel drive layout, but Farmer points out that the Subaru was a far more sophisticated vehicle, due to its dual radiator cooling system, inboard front brakes and other innovations. The Subaru 1000 was also the first Japanese car to be fitted with curved side glass, while ‘Sports’ versions were the first to be fitted with radial tyres.

The book is split into three sections. The first looks at the history of Fuji Heavy Industries (Subaru’s parent company) and how the early efforts in carmaking led to the 1000, then details production and engineering developments across the three main series. The second section is a gallery of owner examples, including those that are raced or have been customised. The third section is a goldmine of data, with specs for all variants, comparisons to rivals (domestic and foreign), production numbers, key Subaru personnel of the time and more. There are also reproductions of promotional brochures and catalogues, service posters and period road tests in the third section.

Farmer, Kallenbach and Ukai are all 1000/1100 owners, so their passion for this forward-thinking, but underappreciated car shows in the text, as well as ensuring the information is well-informed and accurate.

If you’re a Subaru aficionado, or just a fan of innovative automotive engineering in general, you’ll really appreciate this book.

Subaru 1000/1100/1300 is published by Ilinga Books and available direct from the publisher (ilingabooks.com.au), as well as specialty automotive booksellers.

Hardcover, 171 pages, English and Japanese text, fully illustrated.

$90.00 RRP (+ P&P).

ISBN: 978-0-6488444-2-6