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The Justy is still alive and well


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The 4X Justy can go anywhere the BRAT can, and park anywhere the BRAT can't. (That was the idea, anyway.) But I'll trade a tiny little hatch for a pickup any day--the weight distribution was a lot better, handling was much more nimble, you could get one with 5 speeds instead of 4, and they were better on gas (not that it matters much among Soobs). I'm not insulting BRAT owners and I can see where they have their uses, and their own little niche-but I like small, good on gas and, to a degree, cute on the outside/tough-as-nails inside. Hence the 360s and Paul's old wagon.

 

But, to each his own.

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Problem with the Justy's are the engines are crap. Friend of mine had an 85 wagon and a 91 Justy - both brand new when he bought them. The 85 wagon had 330k when he decided it was tired, and sold it. The Justy had 120k when the engine blew up. He's very regular on the maintenence, and the Justy was his wifes car - driven very carfully. She loved the car, and wanted it rebuilt. He approached Mountain Tech about that issue, and they initially quoted him like $2,000 to $3,000 to rebuild the engine, etc. He said fine - do it. They changed their mind tho, and finally refused to rebuild it. They claimed it wasn't worth it. Guess money doesn't talk up there.

 

Justys are cool - maybe for a rally car. I've always wanted to build one up. Problem is there's no lift kits, so it aint gonna go where a lifted Brat will, and engine reliability is questionable.

 

GD

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Don't be fooled by name tags, pop the hood on a Geo or a Sprint or a Swift -Wow these 3 cylinders look identical. Subaru gave it back to Suzuki and proclaimed !!!!" THERES NO SUBSTITUTION FOR A BOXER"!!!!!!!!!!!and tranverse mount motors -mear mortals

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just to set the record straight..

 

The Justy motor is NOTHING like the Sprint/Swift/Metro 3 cylinder.

 

Everyone just thinks it is because it's a 3 cylinder

 

The justy motor is a 1.2 L as the Suzuki motors are 1.0 L

 

i've had the Justy motor down to a bare block, and let me tell you. it has Subaru written all over it

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There's no way you could hook up a 4wd drivetrain to a Suzuki 3-cylinder. Besides, if Subaru used the Suzuki 3s, who not the 4-cylinder 1.3L models for more guts? Surely you'd want a 4WD car to have as much torque as possible. I also think that the Justy ended production before GM started buying FHI stock--so I rather doubt that two of the fiercest competitors in the Japanese kei-car segment at that time would be sharing parts on North American models that were basically adaptations of JDM vehicles to fill a niche and maybe bring a profit over here...am I right?

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Just some info for " Do It Sidewayz" - the japanese market had 1.0 Justy's. (998 cc I think).

 

I know nothing about any of the cars, but have you had a suzuki torn down? Or a Geo? Not that I doubt you, but displacement, and stamped logo's are no guarantee that the engine wasn't designed by someone else.

 

I sure would like to know for sure if the engines are the same - would be a nice bit of knowledge to have if I ever decide to build a justy....

 

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To GeneralDisorder.

 

Sorry but it hurts me when you say Justy engines are crap. I've sold and maintained a lot of Justy's from '84, when they came on the marked here, untill today and must say they are very reliable. One of them has over 200k miles (320,000km) and still running every day. Just had two with cracked heads.

 

Urban.

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My friends Girlfriend own a Swift with the 1.0 liter 3 cylinder. I've had enough of it apart to tell you that definately. it is not the same as the Justy motor.

 

Justy's were known to have a little bit of a Rod bearing problem, but that can be fixed with an oil pump modification, and running good quality oil.

 

In all the just engines i've torn down (each with close to 200,000kms) Apart from one having a rod bearing shot, The internals were in amazing condition. You were still able to see the honing marks on the cylinder walls. Everything was is very very good shape.

 

I will soon be testing the reliablilty of the justy motor, as i bolt on a turbo and aim for 125 hp.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Now that would be cool if subaru made a 3-cyl boxer.:banana:

 

It wouldn't be horizontally opposed by pairs of cylinders, but you could make all 3 cylinders mutually balanced (at least to some extent). Note that:

0 = sin(x+120deg)+sin(x-120deg)+sin(x)

 

Then they should increase the displacement to 1.8l or so, and it would be sube novelty that would kick rump roast :headbang: .

 

:drunk: :drunk: :drunk: :drunk: :drunk:

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Originally posted by Do It Sidewayz

I will soon be testing the reliablilty of the justy motor, as i bolt on a turbo and aim for 125 hp.

 

 

Can you put this info into a new post? A thread that has the title Justy and Turbo in it for easy searching would be nice. I've always wanted to do or see someone do this in a Justy. It's a dream of mine that my wife doesn't hesitate to swing a mental stick at and beat it down. Please....more info! :D

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VW did the same thing in the early '40s. The original Beetle prototypes had radial 5-cylinder engines that were almost perfectly balanced. They were gas guzzlers, though, and the technology to produce and balance radial engines is prohibitively expensive (there's a reason they're only in helicopters).

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  • 2 years later...

lol and the I-5 had crappy oil pumps plauged by problems trust me I rebuilt mine 2 times due to the same crap every 70 - 90 k miles stupid Eurovan had its 109-horsepower, 2.5-liter 5-cylinder engine , I was never impressed with my milage or power but yes they were smooth as heck ,the power of a weak 4 cyl and the milage of a crappy v-6 , think they had planned on the other way around . makes me wonder how GMs lil 5 cyl project is working out .... and my justy has 1,144,671 on it and I am on motor # 3 that just went to crap , I dont care what anyone says , I dont think that car has EVER had an easy day , I drive like I am racing all the time heck on easter weekend I took the doors and back hatch off and cruised it out on the sand dunes , it maybe not the most powerfull in the line of soobs and may not be the most reliable , but it is an EXTREMELY better car than the other alternatives in the 3cyl area , I hated my geo ( when the just - y died the first time ended up with a geo by way of some curse ) and the swift is nothing more than a geo any way so :headbang: soob did it right :headbang: as they have done many times before and many times since.

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