What is/was your first Subaru?

brumbydan · Post by **brumbydan** » Wed Dec 02, 2009 9:41 pm

Just curious about how people got into owning Subaru s.

I started driving an old Brumby on my uncles farm and thought was sweet little machine. So after i got my L's I started lookin for a Brumby of my of own eventually I got my own. Easy to fix and look after. Now she's my daily drive. Next car definately will be a Subaru just dunno what model.

Thats my short story. Whats yours?

Brumby Dan

Subaru Brumby the best ute ever!!

AlpineRaven · Post by **AlpineRaven** » Wed Dec 02, 2009 9:51 pm

When I was a baby, it was 1976 DL wagon, 1600 engine with twin carby,
in 1980, Dad got MY1800 wagon 1980 model 4WD, had it till 1985 when he got L Series till 1991, Sold it off to get a bigger car... so went offline with Subaru..

2004 got myself Gen 2 Liberty sedan... till 2006 when i wrote it off.
2006 got myself another Gen 2 Liberty wagon which is my current car..
So have a fair bit of Subaru history.
Cheers
AP

username · Post by **username** » Wed Dec 02, 2009 11:14 pm

showthread.php?t=15479

Cheers,

Jake.

AndrewT · Post by **AndrewT** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 12:10 am

about 8 years ago one of the guys at work had a really nice lifted 1989 MPFI touring wagon. He took me out in it one weekend as a passenger in his car, and his Dad came along in his company Forester. Went to the dunes at Pippidini.

Well suffice to say I quite enjoyed that, had never even been offroading before. So the very next weekend I went again, in my own L series wagon that I went out and bought during the week.

Found it in the quokka - a totally stock 1985 carby touring wagon. My very hastily thought out plan was to use it as a cheap daily driver (I was driving my 13, bturbo RX-7 at the time which was bloody expensive) and use it for offroading on the weekends. It was pretty damn crap condition haha, rusty as hell, megga tappet noise, buggered CV's, over 350k on it. Well the bug bit me pretty bad and I started modding it almost immediately, and not actually fixing it up. Mods went roughly like this;
- 14" wheels with street tyres
- 240v Invertor
- Irvine bullbar
- 3" body lift kit

Did a pretty epic trip up north to Exmouth and everywhere in between at one point. Went very well and got us there and back without incident (except one of my crap tyres exploding).

Anyways I purchased a EJ25 and matching dual range gearbox and stashed it behind the house with the plan to do a conversion at some stage. Not long after, the old carby EA82 threw a timing belt and farked itself. The car sat for a little while and then I came to the logical conclusion that the body was really not worth spending the time on to do the conversion. Too rusty, and I noticed a couple of captive nuts had even ripped out of the floor.

So then I got my current wagon, a 1989 MPFI touring wagon - also bought it in 100% stock form except it came with 14s on it already.

Transferred the lift kit, bullbar, invertor etc.
Ran it like that for a while, then decided to push ahead with the EJ conversion.
Decided I liked the idea of an EJ20turbo instead so opted to not use the EJ25.
Did EJ20turbo conversion and still used the EJ20dual range gearbox.

Ran it in that configuration for ages and did heaps of offroad trips. Got a couple more mods too, CB radio, CLSD rear diff etc.

Then I started the whole 6" lift kit thing, which is still going heh.

Oh yeh also got the RX turbo sedan along the way and EJ20turbo'd that too, also made Wackybug out of an 83 MY wagon and EJ22'd that.

But back to the first wagon, I've kindof still got it. I cut the whole thing in half and chucked the front away. One day I'll get around to turning the rear end into a trailer

Post by **TOONGA** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 1:30 am

my first subaru was a 1982 MY wagon which was close to death when I bought it, it got a new motor and gearbox and 14 inch steel rims , then it was rear ended on the mitchell car park on the way to university one morning. with the insurance pay out I bought another MY wagon which had been sprayed buttercup yellow, so started buttercups life i kept the red wagon for a while while BC was being re engined and gearboxed a jap import dual carby motor and a 3.9 ratio dual range box was installed I found 4 ally rims from a peugeot with 185 R light truck tyres to top off the mods, no lift kit as it didn't need one it was unstoppable in between I bought at least 4 more wagons to wreck for parts for buttercup and friends cars. eventually I sold the red wagon to some kids who did unspeakable things to it in Lancelin

sadly a move to Singapore meant I had to sell buttercup. I still miss buttercup

when we eventually came home I bought a brumby which is slowly being rebuilt my latest purchase was a brown bomber which Im driving while I wait for some time to repair the brumby
and last week one of my students told me of a My wagon rusting away on his farm he asked if I wanted a set of 14 inch sunraysias and a 2" lift kit I said yes imediately and for 250 dollars I got the lot so when I do the clutch in goes the lift kit and on go the wheels

TOONGA

chubby37 · Post by **chubby37** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 2:18 am

my first subaru was a 1980 MY sedan i bought from a guy who had it trucked down to brissy from the NT.think i paid $200 for it.never owned a subby before and once i got the sedan i was amazed at how good it was.i soon as possible got some 14 pug wheels/A,Ts and a 4" lift kit and fell more in love with her.the only down side was the headlights and seems to be a problem with most subaru but anyway i thought i,ll get some spotties,well that got out of hand...one bull light and 3 sets of spot lights and a bank of relays and truck bettery later all was good....lol..i loved the subar brand so much i converted a few others along the way.i then got my L series which ended up with a warmed up and detailed engine with single rail AWD box,14 sunnys and a few spot lights too..that car was even more awsome.i sold her to guy who had it written off on him 2 weeks after he bought it,bugger.i then bought the first liberty sedan and thought to myself this is it,i now own 3 libs one of which is a GT EJ20T quad cam GT legacy wagon.......LOVE EM

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 11:17 am

My first impression of Subarus...tick...tick....tick...a work mate reckoned they had soft cams causing this. I believe he was talking out his rrrrrrrr's.

My first impression of a later Brumby was why they fit that crappy old motor when they have OHC in the wagons and sedans? Buyer bought a wagon which impressed me no end in design front when I did the belts.

My first drive of a Brumby when the above L wagon was traded in on one, in low 4WD was I gotta get one. I did, and still got it.

My first impression of an L RX (exhaust note first) I want one. My first look under its bonnet, I don't want one anymore. I now have one in the luxo GLTA form converted to manual and straight LPG.

When I need something newer and possibly more reliable for long distance and parts availability I am sure it will be Subaru again, and likely Foz mit turbo

Reading others has reminded me of an Ugly two door rocketing past me on the Hume. I was doin' 90 MPH. I may have been impressed. Still don't want one.

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 11:29 am

Hehehe... A good read!

My subi experience started with a neighbour's paddock bomb, specifically one fugly subi ute. I started driving at 11 yrs of age and shortly after we were thrashing that little beast around the paddocks and bush when we could. It just kept going!

(Much) Later on I was in tassie with a mate for a few weeks, he had an L series that we used to get out to places for a walk or a general poke around. I was pretty impressed with what it could do - and compared to what I've done now that was nothing serious! The L series also made for a practical car being a uni student studying an outdoor ed course. So when I got home from that trip I kept an eye out for one at the right price.

I finally found one in the trading post a few months later. We went for a look, he wanted $550, I told him he was dreaming and gave him $500

It came with roof racks and front seat covers. The roof racks have been most usefull! What we didn't know was that although it ran well the motor was seriously baked. One of the cylinders had a crack in it due to overheating, so I threw that block away and started installing an MPFI EA82. I got that going after a serious learning curve with EFI systems and components, got it on the road then set out rebuilding an MPFI EA to replace the pick a part one that was in there. 9 months after the rebuilt motor went in my brother cooked it on the way home from perth in some extreme heat. That motor was a throw away too

A carbie job was shoved back in and I started on my EJ conversion parts gathering. Now its got the EJ and I'm looking at lift plus building a 4.11 ratio box for it

I've got a parts bomb that's been most helpful, although its a leone. My sister had "baz", another 84 leone that was an ebay $250 special! He's been retired now. I've also got another L wagon that I'm looking at doing up and selling as it's wasting away at the moment - I have no use for it

One of the paddock bombs is a sherpa and our little bobcat usually has a sherpa motor in it but that's out at the moment due to frost splitting the block...

That's about it for me - I'm always playing with something, more so a subaru now

I'd also just like to say buttercup! Toonga said it so many times I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon

Cheers

Bennie

Willie · Post by **Willie** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 1:46 pm

Before I got my licence, my next door neighbor and I used to go with his Dad out to see his girlfriend at her property between Canberra and Yass. To keep us out of the house so the adults could do what ever adults did without teenagers in the house, they would give us the keys to the farm brumby and we'd go paddock bashing - great fun!

In 1988 I bought an MY wagon with 2" lift, full replacement bullbar, 14" sunnies with yoko desert duellers. Great car! Sold it to finance a 3 month backpacking holiday in Europe at the end of 1989.

The in 1990 I bout an '85 L Touring Wagon. It wasn't real great - constant trouble with the carb and it just wouldn't rev. The camshaft broke in 2 driving along the Hume f'way just outside of Mitagong. Towed it back to Sydney to repair, when I found out (after supplying my VIN #) that this car should have been re-called due to weak camshafts in the early EA82's. I got all the parts to repair it for nothing from Subaru and fixed it up (they would have charged labour, as the recall was years earlier and my car had dome 120,000km by this stage). I sold this one shortly after I bought my '86 RX Turbo.

The RX was bought in '92 shortly after I moved to Canberra. I loved this car and had wanted one since I saw them on the showroom floor in '86. I kept it for nearly 6 years and sold it when we moved to Darwin in '97, when we decided we needed a big, heavy-duty 4WD. The guy I sold the RX to ended up selling it to Subi Wan Kenobi, who still has it.

I had the RX converted wagon for a while in '06. Bought it with a dead motor, and purchased a Jap import one through Steve at Rising Sun. Never got it to run properly or get the brakes sorted out well, either. I sent it down to Steve (I was in Darwin at the time) and he played around with it and got it going a bit better, but still not great. Decided to sell it through Steve in Adelaide rather than ship it back to Darwin. It had a Jap spec AWD box with centre diff lock, low range gearing in the t'case, 2" lift, custom alloy bullbar, rear bar with spare wheel and jerry can holders, 14" performance alloys etc etc. I lost a bit of money on that one, but didn't have the time to spend on it to realise it's full potential. On paper, one of the best L's around....

But the best is definately the MY06 XT Forester we purchased new. Still going great with no plans to sell. It suits us perfectly...

sublime · Post by **sublime** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 4:04 pm

My very first experience with a Subaru was at the age of thirteen. The neighbour’s sister across the road was visiting with her early (‘73 to ’76) Leone coupe which was silver with a black vinyl roof. I was instantly curious about this rather ‘ugly’ looking contraption and my interest was further peaked when I read the badge on the side ‘Front Wheel Drive’. This only added to the strangeness!

Around 3 years later there was a red coupe for sale at a local used car dealership. I wanted it bad! Unfortunately convincing my parents was one thing, the salesman another. He refused to sell it to me! The salesman would not let me buy it as it was registered in VIC and I lived in NSW. (Funny as every single car I have owned since (and there were many!) was brought in VIC and had the rego converted to NSW)

To this day I still have the picture of the advertisement for the coupe from our local paper. I also now realise it was a GSR and not a GL. Perhaps the head gaskets had gone? Damn! I would do anything for a GSR now!

It would be around 10 years later when I noticed a 1978 4WD wagon in another dealership. This was in 1997 and with a rush of nostalgia I remembered my earlier fascination for Subaru (After a Mini, Mazda RX-3, Honda Civic, Alfa Romeo Alfasud Ti, Toyota Corolla, Mazda Capella… ) so brought it after haggling on the price.

I still have the wagon and it was my daily driver for over 10 years! I doubt I will ever sell it, however I now own a 1974 DL Sedan (Brought with an original 85 000km), a 1974 and 1976 GL coupe (Which at some point in the future will be restored into one) and a 1987 RX Turbo (Lusted after these when I was in high school).

Basically you could say Subaru has become a way of life. I doubt I will own anything else!

AlpineRaven · Post by **AlpineRaven** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 6:41 am

Interesting thread - keep it going..
I thought I'd show you one of my Dads Subaru, more to come later.
1976 1600 while Dad was going off road, he reckons it was taken around 1979 or 1980 somewhere in Lake Bolac area.

1980 1800 MY series when he just bought it -

That kid in the caravan is me with blue tee shirt, dad used to tow that caravan upto Flinders Ranges from Geelong, Blight & Omeo a few times, so many places to tell, then he used to tow it with L series as well, I recently had to move that caravan with my Liberty and goes well.

The funny story here - When I was about 5 in early 1986, the L Series was in a bad smash and should have been written off (it would've been in today's standards) and since it was so new, I was so upset to see the damage it occurred, (pics to come soon) and was told that we wont be having the car for at lease 6 months so dad bought an HG Kingswood, I refused to get in that car, I really did and I remembered I got smacked and told to get in that bloody car, still wouldnt so I was left home as parents drove off and I was so upset, because I wanted to be in Subaru! lol

A typical Subaru heart -> me!!!

Cheers
AP

spike · Post by **spike** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 9:19 am

well my first subaru that i owned is my current L.
befor that my parents had 2 Ls a forester, sherpa.

on a tangent. 6 minis that all sort of live on in scrap. my boxer porche of which was a off roaad almost street stock thing.

now our place is home to 3 l seires in scrap, 2 running, random engines and a forrestor.

pics up soon

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 9:27 am

Classic fashions in that first pic! I also love that washed out colour photography from the 70's and early 80's - I just dunno if its an age thing or the way it was created from the begining, it makes the australian sun and landscape look really harsh!

Anyway, back to the subarus - seeing one that looks brand spanking new is a little different! Would've been exciting to get a new one!

And AP, your a classic too! What's wrong with a HG holden anyway?

You don't see too many of them around anymore

Cheers

Bennie

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 12:35 pm

there is a reason for that!

AlpineRaven · Post by **AlpineRaven** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 12:43 pm

El_Freddo wrote:Classic fashions in that first pic! I also love that washed out colour photography from the 70's and early 80's - I just dunno if its an age thing or the way it was created from the begining, it makes the australian sun and landscape look really harsh!

Anyway, back to the subarus - seeing one that looks brand spanking new is a little different! Would've been exciting to get a new one!

And AP, your a classic too! What's wrong with a HG holden anyway? You don't see too many of them around anymore

Cheers

Bennie

Thats how the photo is yeah its faded a bit over the years..

No of course...
HG Holden - I didn't like the colour, it was spongy 6 seater with automatic, rear wheel drive and you couldnt take it off road, it was light blue with white roof top.. It was like.. um a downgrade from a new Subaru down to HG Holden!

Cheers
AP

GOD · Post by **GOD** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 12:58 pm

My parents had a red MY too, an 82 model dual range 4wd 1800.

They got rid of that soon after I came along and had a few Falcadores before getting the Gen 3 Outback 6. Then I started to feel the need for an offroader/project car. Couldn't afford an Outback so ended up on the EJ L series path, which ended up like this:

Can't really see myself getting another. When I finish uni and have money I reckon I'd rather have a dedicated serious 4wd for offroad and a dedicated armchair for on road. *runs and hides*

Dane.

AlpineRaven · Post by **AlpineRaven** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 1:07 pm

*chackles*... love the 1980s photos...
Cheers
AP

clarkey · Post by **clarkey** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 2:46 pm

my first subie was a 1998 rx liberty sedan, i paid $6990.00 for it about a year and abit ago, then sold that and went to a bitchabishi and wanted offroad, so sold that to my old folks and got a 05 forester. before that my parents had a few l series and a 02 liberty wagon. My old bloke told me that he had snapped his clutch comming back from wedge point one time and just used fishing line to fix to get home, ended up snapping and drove home with no clutch. haha

Cheers Mike

T'subaru · Post by **T'subaru** » Sun Dec 06, 2009 12:00 am

My first Subaru was a '90 loyale turbo wagon with a 4 speed auto. The trans went to lunch about the time I melted it down without a clue ( no warning from the temp gauge). I was looking for a parts car to swap out engine and drive train when a business associate mentioned he had a parts car. Turned out to be the '89 rx I have today. I traded a '93 celica gt for the rx, which really only needed an alternator:).

Moylan · Post by **Moylan** » Wed Mar 03, 2010 3:21 pm

Ive Just bought an 88 Brumby, and its been interesting reading through the threads relating to them. From what ive read, I couldnt have chosen anything better haha. Im actually using it for a temporary work ute mainly, but after reading about it more, i may even keep it when i have enough money to get a more practical workhorse for my job.

Well i dont actually have the ute, but i get it either tomorrow or monday

Im very happy to read that it keeps up with the majority of 4wd's off road and everything, cos I dont know how i could live without 4wd on my utes.

My last car was an 89 Hilux 2.8 diesel, but i managed to stuff that

. You arent allowed to laugh at this, but I actually found out the hard way that you arent meant to cross water at high speed, and also that diesels to not like water in their engine -at all-.

ahhh anyway, ive been using a motorbike for about 8 months now, and winter coming up, plus really need a ute for work.. thought it was time to get a ute, and the brumby seemed like a good option. Pity its not a nice colour at all, might end up doing it up a little tho.