1984 Subaru Sherpa Deluxe from Australia and New Zealand - Comments

The previous owner was the only one since new, and he put a new engine in 60,000 kms ago as it was cheaper than fixing the problem... so no engine woes.

Master brake cylinder developed a slow leak, took a while to diagnose ("hey the brakes are all mushy") and then cost $50 for a recondition.

Other than that the only costs have been petrol, oil and CDs to play on the stereo.

This car was my first, and I only bought it to get me to the train station and back each day. To this end it is remarkable. The 650cc engine means that although a kid on a BMX may be faster from the traffic lights, I get about 350k from 20 litres of petrol.

The 4 speed manual is a gem, better than my friend's Volvo 850R wagon.

Parts are dirt cheap, although with the service manual you could almost take this car apart like a Lego model.

Subaru have a deserved reputation for building well designed, quality if somewhat quirky cars and the Sherpa is no exception. It is tiny (two seats), has cute round headlights and mine is canary yellow so it really stands out. However it is surprisingly roomy inside, the seats are comfortable and as a 6'2" driver I fit very comfortably.

A car that is faultless mechanically, versatile if somewhat slow (never made it past 105km/hr) and costs $20 every 3 weeks to run??? Bargain!

105 kph? You're not trying. I have had mine over 110kph, but then it had done less than 80,000 km.

Glad to hear yours is going well at such a high number of km. I loved mine, but had to sell at 80,000km as I needed something larger. Never missed a beat and was running as good as new when I sold it.

DJB

My Sherpa is a square headlight model, about 1987 I think, it has factory rear seat, bullbar, and airconditioning. I used it as a second car to run about in. I replaced it with a Brumby to use as a second car, but because the sherpa runs absolutely beautifully (despite hardly ever being serviced!) and because it is such a delight to drive, much lighter steering than the brumby, I can't bare to sell it! It has now become my third car! Also, whenever there is one of those infuriating petrol price rises, I like to use it and honk its little horn every time I pass a petrol station!

I love it. Ric in Far North Queensland.

I posted the original review on my little baby Sherpa... sadly I had to sell it and upgrade to a Pulsar, as it was simply too unsafe on the roads. There are a lot of ditzy blonde middle-aged women driving four-wheel drives where I live, and one close call too many really drove home what little crash protection I had. I did sell it to a friend however, and he loves it almost as much as I do. I still get to drive her every now and then! The little fella was still running like a dream... and yes, still only 105km/hr... you must weigh less than I do!

Good review champ, but you can't be a true sherpa maniac. mine has 235 on the clock and loves to go hard at 130 clicks on a very regular basis. aswell as tackling all sorts of 4x4 trax, performing assorted stunts and conquering my local skate park it has roof rax, chunky light truck tyres, spot lights, ram pod air filter, skull gear knob, fluffy dice, sick exaust tip and has a cult following where I live. you are a true legend for owning a sherpa everyone! SHERP ON AMIGOS!!!

Send us a pic of your sherpa, (dude with the sick tip) I wanna buy one and can't wait to hot the baby up!

ROCK ON SHERPA FOLLOWERS.. 135 pfffft I got mine up to 155 off the dial.. (the dial finishes at 140) and remarkable smooth, this little ripper is my first car, and yes I am a bit of a hoon and it has givin me a bit of a reputation my mates can't belive that I can keep-up down the high-way in a little 2 cylinder.. I've decked her out with the usall... cd player, subs, spottie's, checkerplated, neons.. you name it I've heard that the honda civic have the same stud pattern as the sherpa's so I'm out on the look for some small wheels I'm from the Gold Coast, QLD if you want to see a pic have a look at my page.. www.geocities.com/hot_sherpa LIVE ON SHERPA'S!!!

I have a 1987 Sherpa with what looks like a backseat, but has been bolted down. Does anyone know if it is possible/legal to make that into a proper backseat?

Tracy, Qld

I have now owned 4 sherpa's. All of them have been able to do over 120km/h with the top speed I have reached being about 135km/h on the freeway. They are incredibly economical to run, but my only problem is they are extremely rare. I have been trying to look for one with a motor in good condition because the three I have owned have all been bad breathers. I was going to recondition an engine, but I am having trouble finding engine parts. Really I am having trouble finding any parts. If anyone knows where I can get new parts, especially drive line parts, I would be very interested. Feel free to e-mail me at matthewgunn_au@hotmail.com

PS. My brother has just bought himself another Sherpa and it goes like a rocket. I wonder what top speed it might have?!?!?!?

Cruise on all you fellow Sherpa nuts!! I didn't know what a little car could do until I met the man who became my husband in 1991 and he drove a yellow 1985 Sherpa at the time. It had roof bars & spotties with brown pinstriping on the sides.

Now I know for a fact that Sherpas can get off the clock as I have been in two different cars when my hubby took it up as fast as it's little rubber band could stretch.. the first time down the Eagle Farm side of the Gateway Bridge (yellow one), and the second one was out the Warrego Highway towards Toowoomba when we were running late for a rally (a red 1982 model with yellow doors from the yellow one after a Victorian Commodore squashed it : (). Our guess was that we hit 150km/hr, but we were passing everything anyway.

The engine from the yellow one has been in three different cars and still ran the last time it was used although it does have a blown head gasket, but it deserves a break since it has done in excess of 400K with only rings and bearings done just after hubby bought it from a caryard in Brissie with just over 100K on the clock.

We still have three Sherpa engines, but are unsure of the condition of 2 of them, and having learnt how rare they are now, are planning to keep them for the time being. Our "project" Sherpa is still in the making and has been for about six years now... gee time flies. Hubby rolled the red one and walked away with a few scratches in 1998, so we bought a green shell from Sunspares and resprayed it blue. Since then we have also owned two white Sherpas of the square headlight model, and would have another one any day as they are such brilliant little cars. The people who will always underestimate Sherpas on the road do not understand Sherpability :).

Does anyone know where we can get some seats for our project Sherpa? It's a square headlight 1986 model and unfortunately the spare seats we had got left out in the rain. We are prepared to buy a whole car if necessary & reside in Qld. Please email fixitright_04@hotmail.com if you have a lead on a car/interior. Thanks guys and keep on Sherping on!!!

I have just bought a 1988 'Perky Red' Sherpa mainly for affordability and fuel efficiency, and it is cool. I had one from 1882 about 2 years ago and it was hit by a truck and then slammed into a tree and I walked away with a bit of whip lash, so I figure they are a little stronger than they look! Though I don't know how fast I was going, probably 60 or 70km per hour. Not that I am going to do that again. Anyway I found this forum because I was worried about finding a supply of ongoing spare parts... but it looks like Sunspares might be good for that, though I havn't contacted them yet. And Subaru Service division can do work on them as well. I have looked at gas conversion and that is ok. I am interested in roofracks, and if anyone has a service manual I would be interested on pinkyzzzzzzzzzz@hotmail.com. I plan to make it into a light camper car.

Hey unless you're an elf I can't understand how you could possible sleep inside a sherpa, but I admire your sense of adventure, yeah a pop-top sherpa on gas with a mini-bar would be pretty kick ass, maybe remove passenger seat to install fridge/sink or a stove?

There's one for sale in my area on eBay, but now I'm not sure whether it's worth collecting, as a 1999 survey rated the Sherpa as the least safe car of all (but other cars of its size also performed poorly).

I saw a couple of (imported) Hummers on a trip I recently made to the Eyre Peninsula, those things alarmed me even in my comparatively large (to a Sherpa) Toyota Corona, and they are soon to be officially on sale here.

http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/ArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=470&vf=1.

Can anyone told me how to get Subaru Sherpa spare parts?

We just bought one Subaru Sherpa and are looking forward to fix the car. Any help would be good.

Contact me on email if you can find any spare part for sale.

Kronicleznet@hotmail.com