Sunnie the Brumby.

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Wed Dec 17, 2008 8:01 pm

Tex: I know where they're from and will be looking on saturday or monday (I'm hoping for saturday). They are found in the VP/VS commodore, not sure which model but know that a mate has them in his ute that he doesn't want me to touch... It also looks pretty simple too

Cheers

Bennie

tex · Post by **tex** » Tue Dec 23, 2008 12:51 am

Yeah tiny bit of work with a stanley knife then drill the mounting screws and Bob is someones uncle But I was amazed how well they work, But make sure you grab the speaker pods behind them aswell to finnish it all off. And I'm fairly certain that they came out on the VP,VQ,VR models and possibly the VG and VS but not any standard VN I saw but Pick A part should have stacks, Plus they take A 6 inch speaker but mine have been made to fit RF 6.5's

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Fri Dec 26, 2008 1:45 pm

tex wrote:Yeah tiny bit of work with a stanley knife then drill the mounting screws and Bob is someones uncle But I was amazed how well they work, But make sure you grab the speaker pods behind them aswell to finnish it all off. And I'm fairly certain that they came out on the VP,VQ,VR models and possibly the VG and VS but not any standard VN I saw but Pick A part should have stacks, Plus they take A 6 inch speaker but mine have been made to fit RF 6.5's

Thanks heaps for that pic Tex, without it I'd probabily have a real dodgy looking install. A mate got it sorted while I was working on other things on christmas eve, he didn't bother with the stanley knife and it looks pretty good.

The update without pics: Just quickly, I replaced the clutch, while the engine was out I added the AC hardware and got the power steering in too. Tuesday saw me up in benders scouting for parts in epsom, I was lucky that they had a few MY's to pick from and that one of them had power steering - I needed the hoses. Also, my front end alignment seemed to work pretty well for now, just made a measurement while it was on the stands with the old rack and made sure it was the same with the power steering rack. New boots went on before install too.

Sunnie also sports a bullbar now and a fancy new interior light... you'll have to wait for pics - probabily in the new year.

Cheers

Bennie

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Thu Jan 01, 2009 8:10 pm

G'day all, here are the pics with a small commentary of another chapter in Sunnies' build:

The EA coming out to replace the clutch and add power steering while the engine's out:

The clutch plate, old and new - the old one was starting to scrub the rivets on one side of the plate as pictured:

There were a few of these going on right up til the wee hours of christmas day...

The EA81 with the power steering pump and Air conditioning compressor framwork in place, loads of pulleys now for the 3 fan belts that ironically don't run a fan anymore:

To get around the power brake vacuum line I tried to space the PS pump higher:

^ The pulley didn't quite line up and I worked out a way around it - the intake manifold has a plug in the same place the the vacuum line on the passenger side, so I swapped them and ran a longer vacuum hose to the pipe on the manifold and the brake booster - still with the one way valve in the line.

The non power steer rack's steering shaft:

The power steering rack's steering shaft and hydrolic hoses:

^ To fit this I had to literally pull the steering column shaft off the rack to slide it in - there's a plate under the engine cross member that usually bolts on (thats how I got it off the donor MY), on this little brumby the plate was spot welded on. Fun Fun, but it worked in the end.

Putting the engine back in, its a one man show for this. My mate in the background was making up the speaker pods as pictured in a previous post by Tex:

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Thu Jan 01, 2009 8:17 pm

The relays for the airconditioning - the pipe work went in as well but I didn't take any pics of this:

^ Still gotta get a heat exchange radiator for out front, then gas it and make sure all the wiring is hooked up under the dash before it works.

And the new bullbar having a scrub before fitment of indicators and then final mounting:

The cut up bumperettes to cover the gap that the bullbar doesn't:

And the finished product at about 10am christmas day - we got it out for a test drive at about 1am christmas day:

I'll have to get a pic of the interior light and the speaker pods next time I'm near Sunnie and he's standing still enough for me

Cheers

Bennie

PS Gail loves it, especially the power steering!

Storm · Post by **Storm** » Fri Jan 02, 2009 6:25 am

Great job on Sunnie.

Thanks for the build up progress, alot of what you are doing is similar to what I want to do when I can find a suitable vehicle.

dfoyl · Post by **dfoyl** » Fri Jan 02, 2009 4:37 pm

FYI, there are at least 2 different types of MY aircon radiators...and they aren't interchangable as the fittings run in different directions (from memory, the right side either goes south-north or west-east, and the left side moves about an inch east or west). The 83 MY coupe I got my a/c system from had a damaged front clip and the radiator was crushed - and I found out there were different types when I tried to bolt up the radiator I pulled from another 83 (touring wagon I think).

Dean.

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Sat Jan 03, 2009 10:50 pm

dfoyl wrote:FYI, there are at least 2 different types of MY aircon radiators...and they aren't interchangable as the fittings run in different directions (from memory, the right side either goes south-north or west-east, and the left side moves about an inch east or west). The 83 MY coupe I got my a/c system from had a damaged front clip and the radiator was crushed - and I found out there were different types when I tried to bolt up the radiator I pulled from another 83 (touring wagon I think).

Thanks Dean,

I've noticed many differences between wiring on different MY's - it seems there were about 3 different systems employed on the these subi's. Some look like they've been a professional aftermarket install that follows very closely to the original units... I'll "shop" around and take pics to get the right unit. We may end up on buying a new radiator when its taken in to be gassed, that way there's no fuss on our part.

Cheers

Bennie

Portzy · Post by **Portzy** » Sun Jan 04, 2009 8:20 am

Bennie,

This thread inspired me to get a brumby.... I pick it up this Wednesday!! (though I have to drive 12 hrs to Tamworth) and it is not a very clean example of a Brumby. But I know my way round a car so I should be right.

Keep the updates coming.

Ps - The air con radiator is called a "condensor"

Brian

AlpineRaven · Post by **AlpineRaven** » Sun Jan 04, 2009 10:01 am

Awesome... looks good and its a special car!! I might've miss it - is the bull bar off from L series or something? It does give it a tough feel... What else does it need to go/to be done to it?
Good Luck!
Cheers
AP

T'subaru · Post by **T'subaru** » Sun Jan 04, 2009 11:59 am

Awesome build thread Bennie. Not sure where I've been since your first posting but happy to see the progress. May have to watch out for a Brat, think I'm getting the I-Wants.
Cheers, Mark

Thalass · Post by **Thalass** » Sun Jan 04, 2009 8:08 pm

Me, too. A serious case of the I-wants!

Maybe you can borrow Sunnie for a trip to Perth this year? haha

Storm · Post by **Storm** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 5:53 pm

Portzy wrote:This thread inspired me to get a brumby.... I pick it up this Wednesday!! (though I have to drive 12 hrs to Tamworth) and it is not a very clean example of a Brumby. But I know my way round a car so I should be right.

That's just crazy, I know of at least 5 Brumbies for sale around Newcastle which is 3 hours closer. I live near Tamworth and wouldn't have touched any of the cars that have been advertised for sale around here.

Portzy · Post by **Portzy** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 8:26 pm

LOL Storm!!!

This brumby is as rough as guts, but cheap!! Will cost me more in fuel to get it than what I am paying for the car itself.

Storm · Post by **Storm** » Tue Jan 06, 2009 5:10 am

Your a gamer man than I.

A couple I have looked at around here are death traps. Brakes to the floor, g/stick coming out in your hand, g/box locking up going in reverse, body's with more rust than Uluru, cv's seized. steering only working in one direction etc.

I'm a rego examiner and have seen some incredibly bad example this year. Makes me wonder where thse guys have gone before for their regos cause the damage I am seeing isn't new.

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

Good thing I have been a mechanic for 12 years!!

Any more updates Bennie?

Storm · Post by **Storm** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 5:03 am

Portzy wrote:Good thing I have been a mechanic for 12 years!

Go for it then.

I'm not dissing you. It all comes down to perceptions I suppose, having been one for 20 I just figure even with trade discounts on parts its cheaper to buy a "better" car than what I have seen up here.

Reg Brumbys · Post by **Reg Brumbys** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 7:05 am

End hi-jack - back to Sunny

Portzy · Post by **Portzy** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 11:08 am

Reg Brumbys wrote:End hi-jack - back to Sunny

agreed!!

Like I said in my last post.... Any more updates Bennie?

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Fri Jan 09, 2009 9:01 am

Portzy wrote:The air con radiator is called a "condensor"

I thought this may have been the case but I doubted myself, thanks for setting me straight. Also glad you found a brumby

AlpineRaven wrote:Awesome... looks good and its a special car!! I might've miss it - is the bull bar off from L series or something? It does give it a tough feel... What else does it need to go/to be done to it?

Bullbar is not from an L series - and to clarify, an MY bullbar WILL NOT fit an L series as the L is wider than the MY and uses different mounting points.

What else needs to be done? Well there's some surface rust in the tray that I need to attack. To finish everything we need some flooring as the old vinyl floor is cactus. I need to sort out the interior light door switches as Sunnie's ones work only when they want to. Some window tint wouldn't go astray and we need to do the AC. An immobiliser will be added as will a 5 speed - all in good time.

subuaroodude wrote:Awesome build thread Bennie. think I'm getting the I-Wants.

Thanks mark, I've got the I wants too

Portzy wrote:Any more updates Bennie?

None really as the subi has gone back to Gail - she loves it, thats about the only update I can give really. Actually the other update would be that the power steering doesn't leak any fluid - this makes me happy

Cheers

Bennie

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