Looking at getting a Brumby - have some questions!?

Chrus · Post by **Chrus** » Sat Feb 12, 2011 11:20 am

Im also a recent convert to a brumby (though having owned 4 subies previous). 6 months on and im impressed with it. I do everything in it - go bush, camping, hooning around dunes, bit of articulation in the hills, cart my DH bike around. Sometimes i do wish it had more omph (wifes forry leaves it for dead) but then im convinced the brumby goes better offroad...either that or I have little mechanical sympathy for it....

Longevity question: well one my '90 liberty (which i regret selling) went through to 360kms and that seems to be the general concenus (within reason).

Towing wise: i havent towed much, but have had the tray loaded to the eyeballs with rocks (in green placky bags)...... Slowed it down for sure, but wasnt a big deal apart from respecting the increased braking distance....which isnt great in the car to start with (must service those brakes Paul...!)

heres a shot of it carrying my DH bike at the local MTB park:

some articulation:

go for it - you wont regret it. Cheap fun imho

RSR 555 · Post by **RSR 555** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 2:27 am

theconcierge wrote:Hi all

I have been looking at getting a second car for a while - orginally I was thinking about a gen 2 outback, but more recently I have been thinking about getting a brumby. I have found a good example ( 91 model 280,00kms ) but have a few general questions.

1. Wife wants to know if the engine goes bang and dies, how much would we be looking at for a replacement if someone else did it?

3 options for you..

a) buy secondhand for around $250 but remember most of them will have probably as many kms as yours (unless someone else has had it rebuilt)

b) rebuild which costs around $300 in parts, around $400 in machining (block and heads) and then there is the labour to put every thing together, which will depend on who does it.

c) conversion which can be done on a budget starting from around $500.

theconcierge wrote:2. How many people actually use the tray? I always doing stuff around the house and have trailer loads full of soil, hoping the brumby can do some of this work for me.

Very capable little car and you'll be extremely impressed with how much you'll pack in her

This was my trip last year to Exmouth and as you can see the old girl was packed up to the brim
showthread.php?t=17294&highlight=exmouth

theconcierge wrote:3. I want to keep the brumby stock apart from two things. A) seats and B) steering wheel. Just wondering what subaru items will best suit and how hard is it? I know that WRX seats don't fit easily, what about a momo steering wheel?

I used a set of 84 Touring Wagon seats that bolt straight in without any modification. I have also fitted a seat of Liberty seats in one but there isn't a lot of room in there and no good if you're taller than the average.

The steering wheel is the hard one for the Brumby (and the MY Series) as the steering column spline is different to any others in the Subaru range. The best way is to buy a boss kit and then you have a huge range of wheels.. either the Subaru Momo or Nardi ones and also the aftermarket ranges.

littlewhiteute wrote:The EA Series OHV pushrod gear driven single cam is as simple as they get for four stroke.

Amen.. these EA81s would have to be the best and most reliable engine that Subaru built. They did mess around with the polution on the later models which seemed to make them a little choked but all in all a very good motor.

Chrus wrote:Towing wise: i havent towed much, but have had the tray loaded to the eyeballs with rocks (in green placky bags)...... Slowed it down for sure, but wasnt a big deal apart from respecting the increased braking distance....which isnt great in the car to start with (must service those brakes Paul...!)

go for it - you wont regret it. Cheap fun imho

Yep.. heavy loads will not help braking so you really need to make sure your brakes are good before loading it up.

Chrus.. I'm home again and would love to catch up.. need to go find some more tracks

theconcierge · Post by **theconcierge** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 9:17 am

thanks for all of the assistance everyone.

Had a drive of the car in question - motor seemed to have a "rattle" under acceleration.

here is the link of the car - price has now been reduced
http://www.allclassifieds.com.au/ac/dis ... =123023866

what would a good price be?

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 1:08 pm

is it still for sale? These little utes are snapped up pretty quick at that price range. Looks very tidy and sounds to have been well maintained and has extras to save you chaing them yourself. Pull up with three G's in yer hand and see if they grab it

sven '2' · Post by **sven '2'** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 1:35 pm

steptoe wrote:is it still for sale? These little utes are snapped up pretty quick at that price range. Looks very tidy and sounds to have been well maintained and has extras to save you chaing them yourself. Pull up with three G's in yer hand and see if they grab it

+1 - looks very very tidy

RSR 555 · Post by **RSR 555** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 2:03 pm

$3,500 for a 91 model seems a fair price and if it's body is in good nick then I'd buy it. The "rattle" could be as simple as a tune/service but if you're not confident, then drop into your local mechanic for a quick bit of advise

theconcierge · Post by **theconcierge** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 3:28 pm

RSR 555 wrote:$3,500 for a 91 model seems a fair price and if it's body is in good nick then I'd buy it. The "rattle" could be as simple as a tune/service but if you're not confident, then drop into your local mechanic for a quick bit of advise

Yeah I am going to take it in.

Car is tidy for a 91. There is a ding on one of the doors ( not the side you can see ) and I think that door may have been replaced ( stickers are missing as well )

There is no proof of any service history ( apart from 91-95 )

Anyone on here from Canberra that may be willing to come and check it out with me (again? )

theconcierge · Post by **theconcierge** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 3:41 pm

Here are a couple of photos I snapped of the tray - a little rust, doesn't look too bad to me

Pootcrum · Post by **Pootcrum** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 3:48 pm

It would be interesting to know what it is like underneath the tool box. I haven't got a tool box but in that location in the tray (just behind the window) is where my worst rust spot is, and I believe is a bit of a weakspot due to the higher chance of weather getting through the Tonneau cover there.

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Sat Feb 26, 2011 12:21 am

pfft, that ain't rust it is surface rust, should show you my rust that has been there for over 12 years and 350, 000km !

guyph_01 · Post by **guyph_01** » Sat Feb 26, 2011 1:07 am

Yeah those pics aren't really bad rust. Rust is when you can see the road from inside the tray:P

But yeah, if its a average cond car, you won't regret it. Just make sure it doesn't have a blown head gasket. All other issues aren't that hard to fix. They are 15+ years old cars but you will be surprised what they can do. Take my brothers Brumby, she never let us down except for some minor issues:D

showthread.php?t=15121

RSR 555 · Post by **RSR 555** » Sat Feb 26, 2011 2:10 am

Yep.. that's just surface rust. Make sure under that carpet/mat all is ok? rubberized mats in the back usually sweat and cause rusting so have a quick look. The main rusting spots on the Brumbys are the rear wheel arches, bottom of the front guards near the doors, inside the door frames near hinges and bottom of the doors themselves, the chassis rails (under the car) where your feet sit, the tailgate, around the front windscreen and in the spare wheel well.

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 12:14 am

sent you a PM concierge