Took the Outback 4WD'ing... Body Shops in Brisbane? :)

acuriouskind · Post by **acuriouskind** » Fri Jan 02, 2009 3:57 pm

Hi All,

Following on from my intro post in the new Members thread I just wanted to say hi and tell of my recent little adventure in the Outback and a quick question.

During the great event that is Woodford Festival I took the opportunity to escape the grossly hot conditions by going exploring fireroads/tracks in the Outback... it tackled steep(ish) loose rocky climbs with finesse, pushed and slid through muddy sections nicely (generally), and handled very well on the dirt/gravel roads!

Naturally some of my exploring turned into frivolities - as I managed to Scratch, Shred and Rip the front end under body Guards and Bumper! (Bumper looks fine from normal viewing, but some mount point underneath have ripped) I was quite gentle in going over any ruts etc to avoid scraping... however it was through the short muddy sections when trying to carry enough speed not to get bogged that the unsuspecting ruts hit hard (overhang...).
All in all it was great fun and I know things to avoid in the car if superficial damage is the concern.

With that said I’m now looking to fix most of the superficial damage and was wondering if anyone could recommend a good body shop/spare parts reseller in Brisbane area to replace the Front end under body guards and possibly the bumper?

Cheers,
BM.

Post by **yarney** » Fri Jan 02, 2009 10:43 pm

Hi acuriouskind welcome to the board:)
Sounds like you had a good time:D

Take some photos and put them on the forum and see what people think it might not be as bad as you think
Have a look at our club site we do those trips all the time http://www.subaclub.com

Jan

brumbyrunner · Post by **brumbyrunner** » Sat Jan 03, 2009 7:58 am

Sounds like a perfect opportunity for an alloy bullbar and rear-bar.
Try http://www.subaxtreme.com.au/

Outback bloke · Post by **Outback bloke** » Sat Jan 03, 2009 9:45 am

There is a front barfor one of them on ebay ATM. Only $250or so. That is cheap.

AlpineRaven · Post by **AlpineRaven** » Sat Jan 03, 2009 9:57 pm

Yeah better show us some photos to give us an idea what kind of damage and what kind of work does it need... It sounds similar to mine as well.
Cheers
AP

fredsub · Post by **fredsub** » Sat Jan 03, 2009 10:13 pm

Outback bloke wrote:There is a front barfor one of them on ebay ATM. Only $250or so. That is cheap.

where?,

only found http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Subaru-forester- ... .m20.l1116

and those bars are butt stupid IMO........

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Sat Jan 03, 2009 10:46 pm

brumbyrunner wrote:Sounds like a perfect opportunity for an alloy bullbar and rear-bar.
Try http://www.subaxtreme.com.au/

My thoughts exactly, except I didn't have a website to post... Welcome to the world of subi dreaming, modifying (or dreaming of again) and enjoyment.

Cheers

Bennie

acuriouskind · Post by **acuriouskind** » Sun Jan 04, 2009 12:41 am

Hi All,

Thanks for the responses.

Yarney - Club looks great, will keep an eye out for suitable trips.

No doubt the Alloy bars would be useful in taking a beating but I just couldn't bare ruining the looks of the car (personal opinion), also being that all most all of my driving is in the City or to near by Mtb'ing spots.

Talking of subi dreaming, I had been on the hunt to give the H6 more go... however I have done my reading and forced induction on an engine that was never designed for it is obviously a bad idea! Especially after seeing the work/expense on such projects.

Below are some pics, bad quality phone pics though and the underbody shots were very difficult to get any clear shot. Also I had the car cleaned and front ends looking much better then i thought, just the mounts & plastic gaurds etc underneath need fixing.

--There is a bit of plastic hanging (easy enough to push up & it stays), it was pointed out to me when I got back to the festival that the whole bit was dragging on the ground, a decent amount of plastic has been worn off in the above.

--Similar on both sides, the pics are not clear enough but the actuall mount points on the plastic are ripped out - some goes for some of the bumper bars mounts/wholes.

--Just scratches, the cover secition above had popped out - it just popped back in.

--Rear Bumper seems to be slightly out of wack however the easy to see mount points look ok.

--And just for the heck of it-- On the trip i took very few pics trying to save my phones battery, but this was a nice spot not too far in.

Cheers!
BM

Ben · Post by **Ben** » Sun Jan 04, 2009 6:40 am

If you fix it you'll just worry about it next time you want to go offroad. I scratched up my outback rear bar bad enough that it looked real bad and I paid $350 to get it cleaned up and resprayed. The front bar is scratched and cracked and doesn't fit right after I half tore it off on a track, but now I am not worried about taking it offroad, or rubbing it on a slightly too high kerb.

For all those thinking Brett found a subaxtreme bar on ebay, it was an outback 04 bar he was referring to!

Money would be better spent on a 2" lift kit (totally legal) to keep the bars above the danger zone?

acuriouskind · Post by **acuriouskind** » Sun Jan 04, 2009 10:21 am

I think my rear bar was saved a bit by the tow-bar as it had managed to collect good chunks of mother earth. Though it didn’t save the exhaust tip which copped a dent.

I was considering a lift kit, however I still like the middle ground/current height where I can confidently take it off-road on easy terrain while still being able to go through twisties up a mountain with impressive handling (relative to crossovers & 4x4s). With that said if I can get away from the city for more adventures this year the decision maybe lift kit or if it's a good year ($$) and I’m not sensible an all out cheapish modified 4x4 as a second car that I can happily through around.

Cheers,
BM

grappla72 · Post by **grappla72** » Sun Jan 04, 2009 10:11 pm

I thought about getting a nudge bar for my outback, but will probably spend the money on a nice exhaust system instead hehe

acuriouskind · Post by **acuriouskind** » Tue Jan 06, 2009 7:31 pm

STATUS UPDATE:

Well I got its 50k Service done yesterday - mechanically excellent as expected but the same place (which was a bit ex'y considering just the oil was changed) recommended a Smash repair place. So I went down the road today, drove in and the guy looked over it basically said I should go through insurance as it could cost between 2-4k and all these bits a pieces would have to be replaced like the sump which would be damaged & possibly the exhaust etc... HOLD UP! I had just had in in the mechanics the day prior and they confirmed everything was 100%...

Suffice to say I drove away thinking how can bits of plastic be so expensive... and then realising they were most likely trying to stiff me - or simply in the insurace job frame of mind, replace everything plausible and charge an arm and a leg.

Soo I then went to another shop whom I used before for bumper work on my Sisters Car to get a quote - would have in the first place but its not as close to work. Quoted around $200 replace the wheel arch/underbody rock gaurds (Left & Right), new clips for the mounts ect including labour. DONE!

Bit of a difference, especially when the first place said the Guards cost around $170 each.

Cheers,
BM.