A little treat for Brumby lovers

phantomD · Post by **phantomD** » Mon Jan 11, 2010 6:27 pm

Hi all,

I am just posting this quickly before I run out the door, but here are some photos of a 1989 Subaru Brumby utility which I am in the process of building up and restoring to as-new condition. The only modifications I have planned are to fit a factory air conditioning system and a factory power assisted steering system. As you can see, I have fitted a sound system. The only other thing I will be thinking of is window tinting.

If anybody is interested I can post up some pictures when I've had some work done to it, but this won't be for a little while.

(Spare tyre is original!)
(Yes, odometer is correct!)

Post by **TOONGA** » Mon Jan 11, 2010 6:41 pm

where did you find this little beauty

a very nice and tidy brumby

well done and I take it you won't have much work to do

TOONGA

justincase41 · Post by **justincase41** » Mon Jan 11, 2010 7:08 pm

ahh this one popped up in Ararat, Vic a year or two ago from memory

AndrewT · Post by **AndrewT** » Mon Jan 11, 2010 7:15 pm

Very nice, I like your style. minimal mods and as-new condition. Just abit of trim and a dent or two to take out now by the looks. Amazingly low kms!

Reminds me of a Brumby that came up forsale on Ebay a few years ago. Had 6kms on the odo I think. It was bought brand new and driven straight into a shed then left for 20+ years under a cover for some reason.

subybrumby · Post by **subybrumby** » Mon Jan 11, 2010 7:57 pm

Yes, I remember that. Although the one I remember had about 250klms on it and was then warehoused in a shed.

This one looks tidy but (no offence) I just don't really like the beige..Would have been nice if they (Subaru) had been a little bit more adventurous and arty and brought out some more daring colours and trims.

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Mon Jan 11, 2010 9:45 pm

20 year beige??? Dealers used to call it '90 day beige', coz that was how long a beige car would take to sell in used car lots. Funny how after today I been wondering why I have sytematically removed air con from 3 subies in a row

T'subaru · Post by **T'subaru** » Mon Jan 11, 2010 10:30 pm

Nice rig. Shopping for one myself...a bit influenced by certian peoples build threads...last rig I want to aquire

phantomD · Post by **phantomD** » Mon Jan 11, 2010 10:33 pm

TOONGA wrote:where did you find this little beauty

a very nice and tidy brumby

well done and I take it you won't have much work to do

This car came out of my extended family. There are a lot of little things that need to happen to it - of which removal of pre-existing dings is a high priority. My focus thus far has been getting the EA81 into better condition and breaking it in a little - the car had 10 892 on the odometer when I got it. The fact that it is in really good condition as it is makes me even more motivated to hold onto it for a long time to come.

justincase41 wrote:ahh this one popped up in Ararat, Vic a year or two ago from memory

Definitely not this car.

AndrewT wrote:Very nice, I like your style. minimal mods and as-new condition. Just abit of trim and a dent or two to take out now by the looks. Amazingly low kms!.

Thanks. I feel that this car needs to be kept as original as possible, and I plan to take the best care of it that I can. When I wash this car, give the tonneau TLC and park it in the sun it looks unbelievably shiny and new. I have replacement trim and a new front bumper bar sitting at home but I haven't fitted them yet. Body work will come, as a student I have limited financials to pursue everything straight up.

Unfortunately the low kms actually caused a lot of problems with seals going and the engine having to be pulled out etc. The EGR valve and carburettor both gave trouble which made the vehicle completely undriveable. Now I have a car that really has heaps of get up and go (who said these were gutless?) but currently has a slightly unstable idle and a few other little things. I plan to run some Upper Engine Cleaner through it in the hope that it will fix things a little especially after the EGR trouble.

subybrumby wrote:Yes, I remember that. Although the one I remember had about 250klms on it and was then warehoused in a shed.

This one looks tidy but (no offence) I just don't really like the beige..

Now that you mention it...I'm planning to purchase a few cans of matt black spray paint as a solution to the beige problem...

Being serious, I personally love the beige colour.

steptoe wrote:Funny how after today I been wondering why I have sytematically removed air con from 3 subies in a row

I'm also curious to know why? To get more "go" from the engine?

T'subaru wrote:Nice rig. Shopping for one myself...a bit influenced by certian peoples build threads...last rig I want to aquire

Not for sale I'm afraid!! I am also keeping an eye on the build threads although I will be keeping this original. On a side note, is the rear suspension in these things adjustable?

How much would a vehicle like this be worth?

brumbyrunner · Post by **brumbyrunner** » Tue Jan 12, 2010 7:23 am

In the centre of the torsion bar housing, screwing in from the top, is a bolt that adjusts the preload on the torsion bar, effectively lowering and raising the rear of the car.

Nice ute, is it an '89 model?
Aircon & p/s will make it very nice to drive but suck some power. Get it back by replacing the complete exhaust system with something more free flowing. Unfortunately that'll make it noisier but also rev out that much better.

AlpineRaven · Post by **AlpineRaven** » Tue Jan 12, 2010 12:35 pm

Totally mint condition!!!!!!!!
In these days now old cars which has been stored somewhere are popping up now...
Awesome find mate
Cheers
AP

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Tue Jan 12, 2010 5:06 pm

Red Brumby A/C developed a leak, I was too cheap to pay anyone to fix. Put a 16 kilo bullbar on, removed 6 or 7 kilo bumper bar and 8 kilos of A/C stuff to make up the gain.

The L Series worked sometimes good, other times not, less crap under the bonnet with all bits removed.

White Brumby had a/c in the way of a head retension and drier leaked so it all went out too

phantomD · Post by **phantomD** » Wed Jan 13, 2010 2:05 pm

Well my a/c is going in next Thursday and I'm looking forward to having it in and working. A huge thanks must go to forum member dibs for his generous assistance with the a/c project.

I'll let you guys know how it goes.

someguy · Post by **someguy** » Wed Jan 13, 2010 3:09 pm

Whats the tiny 1 2 and 3 on the speedo for?

Is it to indicate what gear you should be in at certain speeds?

Because 40 in first gear seems a little extreme hehe, my L Series 5 speed starts to make a whining noise (only in first and reverse) after 20km/h - 2000RPM let alone 40km/h (don't think I have ever gone past 25 in first)

phantomD · Post by **phantomD** » Wed Jan 13, 2010 3:38 pm

I assume it's engine RPMs in 4th gear, e.g. 3000rpm at 110km/h.

brumbyrunner · Post by **brumbyrunner** » Wed Jan 13, 2010 4:29 pm

That's right. Poor mans tacho.

cockroach · Post by **cockroach** » Wed Jan 13, 2010 5:24 pm

that is one super clean looking brumby and only 20,000km on it, thats unreal! the A/C sounds like a good idea too. have you taken it out off road yet? you would be suprised at where these things will go. my friends still cant belive some of the places i have taken my old MY wagon. good luck with this ute, she's a keeper

phantomD · Post by **phantomD** » Wed Jan 13, 2010 9:23 pm

I haven't taken if off road yet, no. It will mainly be a daily driver car and have some occasional longer drives around the place.

So unfortunately, the low kms won't last for much longer.

dibs · Post by **dibs** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 8:54 pm

you should hear it running so quiet. even belinda at beerwah wreakers comented on it having no rattles.all i can say is im jelious or envious
dibs

phantomD · Post by **phantomD** » Mon Feb 01, 2010 11:47 am

Can anybody spot the difference?

On a side note, my heater control no longer clicks and is not moving properly since install, is that something easy to fix?

T'subaru · Post by **T'subaru** » Mon Feb 01, 2010 11:51 am

Yes, somebodys been messing with your air filter!