Seventy7

Thanks for the info. Yes I had the hitch installed by a 3rd party trailer place and it's definitely not Subaru genuine. THAT is my only mistake leasing this car, totally skipped my mind to have that done by them when I picked up the car. I should have worked that into the price and had it done when I left the dealer. I haven't noticed any light dimming or anything but the longest it ever goes is less than 3 hrs. I guess being it's a lease I will bring it to service and see what they can do before I get in there and fiddle around. Maybe I will even see what it costs for them to due a proper wiring harness. I gotta think that's the problem and not the trailer since I'm not getting a sign of life from the test light on the plug of the harness connected to the car.

So I have a very small, borderline makeshift motorcycle trailer I use to pull my sportbike to the track. I bought it off of a close friend and never had an issue with it all this year. This past Saturday I went to help a friend haul something and all the sudden, no lights. Everyone I asked kept saying "Check the ground"--I checked everything and it all looked ok, then just to be safe I took my test light to the plug coming from the car--I had a good ground on the frame underneath and got nothing when I checked the trailer plug--finally it started down pouring and I left it right there. Later I called the motorcycle dealer who still has my bike for a recall and asked him about it--he said he'd fix it but he's almost positive I blew a fuse. Just find the fuse, it should say "trailer fuse" and replace it. So I look around under neath and find that triangular fuse box--and find everything BUT the trailer fuse!! Any idea where it's allocation is?? This is driving me nuts--converted my streetbike to a full race bike, can't fix trailer lights. Unbelievable.

Man those pics are great! I swear I was gonna start a thread...I'm a truck driver and I'm always scoping areas out. I found this place here in NJ and at first I thought "this would be cool to make a video of my R/C car"..then as I drove around it--it's HUGE. Big hills that look like they were made by bulldozers years ago and now have weeds growing on them, tons of muddy puddles and gravel..the best part is that it's flat and open, it's not like I'm treading on anything where animals might need. I was gonna do it this Sat 9/13 and even set up my gopro but I ended up having some errands I gotta run. Soon though..I CAN'T WAIT to get mine off road and in a few months, back in the snow!

Let me tell ya 1st, I love that body style. That just reminds me of classic rally racing, pikes peak, all that goodness. It looks great now but if I had? I'd probably strip it down even more. Old school white mags for rims, maybe some extra lighting up front--and let it rip. Like I said though, I do think it looks great as is--this is just an awesome project all around and one that the average guy could probably afford. Good stuff man, good luck with it--keep posting!

My XV isn't even a year old but like I was saying in my intro thread--being my 1st new car in a long time and my 1st Subaru ever, I decided to lease it. Now? I'm already a lifer and looking at other models for fun. I "ALMOST" bought a WRX just for the fun factor--but I have my bike for that. So for now I'm more than happy with my Crosstrek--I will say though, I just saw the Forester Turbo in the site and man that is one sweet looking ride! Plus a turbo and I believe there is a tow package?? That's about all you'll ever need! Just curious if anyone is in the market for this yet and what the general feeling is?

Whoa, whoa, whoa....whoa. What's this about races in the Pine Barrens?? There is something I can do with this car? Now??

Are there any clubs or anything like that in my area?

I'm in NJ, northern NJ about 40 min from NYC if that helps.

Hey man thanks so much for the good word! Yeah that beer was AWESOME! That was a Monday, I had a day to burn and just got that R/C car. Afternoon came and it was sunny and warm, I spent a few hours playing with that car and nursing a few of those brews...that was a nice day! I love this car but being it was my 1st new car in a very long time and my 1st Subaru, I leased this one. I'm so hooked on Subaru that I'm already looking at Outbacks and Foresters. I'll be sure to take more pics soon! Jess

Hey everyone, First I am new here--couple posts recently and that's it. Second my 14 Crosstrek is my 1st ever Subaru and it's been a love affair since I showed up at the dealer. I'm 37 years old and was always well aware of the Brat and always thought it was cool. For guys in my age bracket and maybe cut from the same cloth, you also may have had the Tamiya R/C kit of the Brat...we'll save that for another time Anyway I've been saying for awhile now that I'd like to restore something but nothing so far gone that it would be a full time job with chances that I'll never get to drive it around. I eliminated some cars (and bikes) that would break the bank or were just plain old unrealistic. Once I got into my XV I started looking at vintage Subaru vehicles and when I saw a pic of a Brat--it hit me like a ton of bricks! So yeah--eventually I would like to own and "restore", and I'm using restore lightly, a Brat. Being a Subaru novice I have about 1,000 questions to ask and I'm interested in learning as much about the model as humanly possible. With that, I'm not gonna type a million pages of questions, I'm hoping that the topic title will attract a few of you veteran owners, posters and builders to start me off on basic stuff like, average prices? Common issues? Any sites I could be checking? Thanks in advance! Hoping to chat with some like minded gear heads!

Ok, I'm new here and I can see all the pics in this thread are cool vintage Subaru's..but I figured I'd share what I have just because this is my 1st Subaru, definitely not my last, I love this car to death! And eventually I'm gonna have a crap ton of questions when I finally find a Brat with a straight body, so maybe this can get me chatting with some of you vets. The Crosstrek is bone stock save for the hitch I put on. When I was shopping for this car the only one negative comments I heard was "lack of power". Yeah, I mean it's no torque monster or anything but it's not true. I pull that bike and load up the back with tool boxes, racing leathers, jugs of water, coolers, gas can...it pulls fine. I used to wonder "what am I gonna do for fun when bike season is over?"--but now that I have this, I just drive around looking for un-plowed streets! These 2 vehicles for me are symbolic--had a bad stint with health that made finances tight for awhile. I got on my feet a couple years ago and treated myself with the new bike I wanted...got a better job about 2 years after that and got myself the car I wanted and both of them have been awesome to me. I plan on years ahead with Subaru and on the track, Suzuki. The 1st track day of 2014 back in April. I still had it's stock body on it back then. The bike is a 2011 GSX-R 750. Pretty cool how this worked out--my buddy is in the middle and the guy on the right just happened to park there. Thought it was a cool shot. That was a few weeks ago up NY state. Same bike only I got rid of all the street/stock parts for race plastics. This bike is full track/race bike now. Still lots of work to do, lots more cool stuff to spend money on! The 1st week I brought it home. Before this I was playing it cheap avoiding a car payment--I had a 12 year old Jeep, the heat went this past winter and so did the 4wd...I went from dreading snow to begging for more! You can barely see the wheel make an appearance in the background--if you're gonna call out sick from work on the 1st 70 degree day of the year--park your car, hang up the keys and then go outside for some R&R Thanks!

Hey Loyal, I just signed up a few hours ago myself, site looks awesome and I LOVE my car! Hello from NJ!

Hey all, First thanks for putting this board together and allowing me to post on it. I was actually searching for vintage Subaru Brat images and seeing what was available and found this forum. I lurked a little bit and it seemed like there was a bunch of cool people and a ton of useful information on it, so I registered. I'm a 37 year old guy from NJ that drives tractor trailers for a living--I come home everyday though I'm an LTL driver. My passion is motorcycles and racing. I own a 2011 GSX-R 750 that I converted to a track only bike and the last couple of years I have been focusing on one of my childhood dreams to get out there and be fast, be competitive and just be as close to this sport as possible. So with that, I needed a reliable car that could pull a trailer to all the tracks I go to. I had a Jeep Cherokee Sport for a long time. I think it was a 2000 and I got used in 04 and had it since this past January. I was trying to avoid a car payment but it started turning into one thing after another. I don't know where everyone is located but here in NJ the winter of 2014 was BRUTAL and right after Christmas I started noticing the heat was going in the Jeep. That was it for me. I had been eyeing up the XV since it came out. When I was a kid I thought the Brat was awesome, my cousin had a WRX that was a ton of fun and now 3 of my neighbors who are all good people all have a Subaru.... Finally I go to work one morning and the heat is completely shot. That Saturday I went right to Subaru and test drove the BRZ. I FELL IN LOVE with that car the minute we rolled off the lot! I loved how it felt, I thought it was a beautiful car with a ton of personality and if you're not smiling ear to ear when going through some twisty roads--something is wrong! I wanted the car but knew if I bought that? I'd have to keep the Jeep for 4x4 and pulling my motorcycle to the track, so I did what I was planning to do for months now and test out the XV. Same effect when I left the lot--instant love affair. I heard some negative reviews about it having a lack of power but I think it's BS, sure maybe in comparison with an STI or something but it has plenty of passing power, it's peppy enough for me AND that's pulling a trailer with bike on it and having the hatch filled with tool boxes, lawn chairs and coolers, driving 3 hours to the track. Snow? Forget it! I turned what was becoming a horrible winter into some fun times. I went from no heat in a Jeep with a jacked 4wd system to LOOKING for unplowed roads to rip around on in my XV. The car is a 10 and I'm Subaru for life. It does exactly what I needed it to do and really compliments my motorcycling passion. The only thing I will do differently on the next one is get a darker interior. In my job sometimes I can get kinda dirty and having cloth, beige seats--after this interior cleaning coming up, it's getting seat covers for sure. This was my 1st new car ever and my 1st Sub so I leased it. I'm already looking at the Forester Turbo for my next. So that's the story about me and my Crosstrek. Other than that? Like I said I'm a huge motorcycle guy but I love racing of all kinds. From NHRA to Dakar, WRC, Supercross-just everything. Huge football fan and I'm also giant closet dork--I build model cars, RC Cars, HO Slots, Lionel trains and still have my Hot Wheels from when I was a kid. I've also played in metal bands for many years but now my focus is totally on the bike. One day I'm going to track down a Subaru Brat and take my time doing a restoration! Until then, be kind to animals and watch for motorcycles! Thanks for having me!