el_freddo

Nice work mate! The coupe is looking awesome and those brakes - there's really no words to describe them! I bet it stops on a dime now! How good are braided brake lines too? Best thing I did to Ruby Scoo's brakes after the rear discs and new front rotors! Over here the Cibie Super Oscars are the lights to chase. I'm after a set but can't justify the price while my little Hella 100s hold out (about 10-15 years now!). I smashed one on the trans continental trip last summer, so down to two now - it doesn't look right! Keep up the good work. Cheers Bennie

A mate of mine in WA (Aust) does them when he can. That'll set you back about $400 for a basic engine loom cut down, more if you want the relays etc for thermo fan operation, plus the cost of postage there and back. Get a Gen1 s2 EJ22 and wiring loom - to cut it down all I did initially was label each plug from the engine/engine bay, then from the plugs worked my way back taping up all the relevant wires from those plugs. Once back into the main loom you can cut out the wiring that is not taped up (I put tape at about 10 -15 cm intervals depending on where it was in the loom). By the end of it you'll end up with about 10 wires: - permanent power - back up power - ignition power - starter wire - fuel pump wire - oil light wire (if not using the factory one) - temp wire (again, if not using the factory one) - vehicle speed sensor wire (dunno what you do there with the MYs as I don't know if they have a reed switch in the instrument cluster like the L series do) - AC fan relay cut wire - I think there was a thermo fan wire in there as well - or something of the like anyway. I used to have a good page with the wiring diagrams to reference, but it's since been taken down by the owner for whatever reason I found the wiring to be good fun and the most challenging bit of the build after I messed around with the gearbox cases - that bit turned out to be relatively easy. The wiring gets messy and you start to think "what have I just got myself into?" But moving on will see the job done. Also a floor test of your wiring is a good idea - if it won't start etc and it's not due to fuel pressure or the engine itself, the wiring is very easy to access as it's not in the vehicle yet (and don't tape it up before this point if you're going to do it!). Cheers Bennie

I'm not sure I'm following you 100% on what you've said. The higher compression reading will generally be the better engine. The SPFI to me would be the better way to go for factory power, reliability and economy. But it's not just an intake manifold swap. You'll need the ECU, the wiring loom, intake manifold, other odds and ends for emission gear and probably the exhaust Y pipe, or at least a bung added to your exhaust for the O2 sensor. Cheers Bennie

The uneven tyres on all four corners will be an issue for the 4wd system and will quickly cause binding - this then makes it very difficult to get it out of 4wd. Low range whinge is usually due to lack of oil or excessive use. Change your gearbox oil for some fresh stuff and throw in some oil additive that makes the oil travel further up gearsets that are not partially submerged in the oil. Cheers Bennie

Hey mate, All the best with finding a storage solution for your BRAT, and a positive solution to your situation. I hope it happens quick for you too! Bennie

Hmmm interesting approach... The ignition system is electronic, unless your dizzy is an acient unit with the old points system. If you mean EFI that's a different kettle of fish - and work well when the harness is cut down properly. THE best bang for your buck with the EA81 is the EA82 SPFI imo. This will metre the fuel to be the best ratio at all times. The weber gives good performance but you can forget about economy from what I've heard about this conversion. If you're looking at an EJ engine these are tops. Best bang for buck IMO. I did it to my L series many years ago and it's the best thing I did to it at the time. Don't be put off by electronics or cam belts! Do the electronics right the first time (with careful research and attention to detail) and you'll be right. As for the cambelt, replace at the given intervals with quality equipment and again you'll be set. The EJ22 is a bit of an allrounder. Low torque and high rpm power. They'll happily rev high all day everyday. They're the ea81 of the EJ series engines An EJ with the L series 5 speed and adaptor plate is a good setup for the MY or L's. You will easily spin front wheels, even with the extra weight of the EJ. It doesn't effect the front suspension that much that you need to do anything to it. Just make sure the suspension bushes are in good condition as you usually would. The other best thing to do with an EA81 is a rebuild with a mild cam, especially if running the weber carb. There are loads of conversions to read up on. I reckon you've got a lot more reading to do before you settle on your final setup. Also the dual carbs will bolt on with their inlet manifold to the ea81, just that you won't get the full benefit of the EA81S block, heads and cam package. They're a very different setup to a "regular" EA81. Cheers Bennie

As for rims, once you know what you need to do brake wise, these are great factory stud pattern aftermarket rims at a good price IMO: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/NEW-STEEL-RIMS-SUNRAYSIA-STYLE-BRISBANE-SUBARU-BRUMBY-14X6-4X140-BLACK-/182089884123?hash=item2a656721db:g:580AAOSwgQ9VzS7i ^ Black. White: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/NEW-STEEL-RIMS-SUNRAYSIA-STYLE-BRISBANE-SUBARU-BRUMBY-14X6-4X140-WHITE-/281974059729?hash=item41a6f6b2d1:g:GxAAAOSw~gRVzS4a Cheers Bennie

As per my other post, The EJs in Australia did not come out in carb setup from the factory, only EFI. But they can be adapted with some work. Look up Phinzinza's work with his current brumby (offroadingsubarus.com) Or Toonga's work on his old brumby PJ (ausubaru.com). As for relevant laws etc, best to read the current VSI from your state. It should be relatively easy to find on the QLD road transport authority page (whatever they're called up there, we have Vicroads in Victoria). Or find a certified engineer and talk to them about your plans as they will talk with you about braking requirements etc if any. All the best with it, the EJ22 is an awesome upgrade over the EAs - although I don't mind the EA81 with its bulletproof toughness compared to the "flimsy" EA82... Cheers Bennie

You can mess with the three bolts on the trailing arm to change the camber of the rear hubs. They're the ones on the outer arm that bolts to the swing arm. I can't remember which way it goes (up or down, I think it's up from memory), but it will take a couple of goes to get it where you want it. I hope this helps. Cheers Bennie

G'day mate, I highly doubt you'll find a carb'd EJ22 from the factory over here. If you do find a carb'd unit it'll be a DIY setup. All Australian delivered EJs are EFI. If you can read a wiring diagram they're not that hard to fit to an MY or L series - just do your research. I did my own on Ruby Scoo. Gearbox: You could fit the AWD box from the EJ series, but your gearing will be out due to the change in tyre diametre between the models. One way around this is to fit an L series gearbox with adaptor plate, or you gut an EJ AWD box, keep the front half cases and fit the internals of the L series gearbox to the EJ front cases. This gets around the need for an adaptor plate and modified flywheel so you can run all factory EJ equipment. Works a treat. Don't forget to check out ausubaru for more "local" rides and conversions Cheers Bennie

Mate! Been a while and your still going on those rear sill/guard panels!! Your patience is a force to be reckoned with!! Since last posting about the weather I've drive across Oz, broke the gearbox (poorly modified custom pinion shaft), rebuilt it with some really good mates and drove it home again! Also, a mate shared a pic with me of a vehicle that looks a lot like your Loyale: ^ yours? I'll need to show you how to mod the snorkel so it sits flush on the A pillar The reason why this pic caught my attention was a) it looks a lot like your Loyale and if it is your Loyale I didn't know you had the bonnet scoop and rear facing wrx style vents - when did these happen? Or is there a copy cat out there? Cheers Bennie

The pass side inner cv boot issue will have something to do with the position if the Y pipe exhaust and the location of the cat converter to the cv boot. Heat will kill them! Make a shield and it should be good. Cheers Bennie

Gearbox is finally back together and I've been driving her for a good 3 weeks now without issues in that department! All those other little issues are now showing up again - those ones you forget about, you know, the shot rear drive shafts, worn suspension bushes etc etc. Now to work through those one by one and still find some time to get her in the shed to dry off and continue painting the underside of her to treat and seal any rust under there. This will allow me to hit up a beach again, something I've been missing! Lastly, i think my choice of 5th ratio was the wrong one, at cruise I'm revving just a bit too high for my liking. For what I want I don't think there is a suitable off the shelf ratio. Ideally I'd like to be sitting on about 2850rpm at 60 (100kmph) miles an hour and a little over 3000rpm at about 68mph (110kmph). Cheers Bennie

Yeah mate I'm a little passionate with weather and reading it. When I used to work in a vineyard I could read it very well and had good to high accuracy with getting it right. This came about due to our studies at uni with reading weather (Environmental Outdoor Ed degree basically). I've made some good progress on my gearbox with the pot belly in the shed, I hope you're getting the same on your L with good weather Cheers Bennie

Also interesting that your state has those by laws and that you only own the house and not the land. That's the same setup as our national capital - the Australian Capital Territory or ACT for short. The land is all government lease with only the buildings in private ownership. As for not being able to do what you want that's bullshit. So glad we don't have that over here, and I find it ironic that over here we're very limited with what we can do with our vehicles for road use but have no restrictions other than noise and if you get really out of hand with wrecks etc inside town town boundaries. Yet you're allowed to do basically any radical thing you want but have these ridiculous restrictions with what you can legally do on your own block. Go figure! I hope you get the better of your neighbour, just be sickly sweet with him ALL the time He probably wants you to sell up/move on... Cheers Bennie

Well over summer our nightly lows can be between 12ish on a really really cold one to usually around 20-23*C and can peak up in the mid to high 40's, but our usual summer daytime temp is 30-38 with a beating sun. Winter has cold snaps for up to a week at a time - that's when you know it's snowing in the alps. These nights will be 0 or below and can be windy, daytime temp would be lucky to reach 12*C. Usually our overnight temps are around 8-12*C with daytime temps up to 20*C on a warm day. Then in terms of moisture content it can be anywhere from really dry (frosty) to really moist/wet. Rain can be light and go for a few days but it's more often than not going to be patchy on/off heavyish rain that could go for 5 minutes up to an hour or two - or it could just be a passing front. In summer we can still get storms with awesome intensity. Love them! And I love the snow too! Can snow down to 500m in the right conditions, has snowed lower almost 100 years ago now! I hope that gives you a good overview It's now about 6pm, sun went down a good hour ago, 12*C and 75% humidity. Pretty chilly! I've managed to paint the underside of Ruby Scoo last night in the shed with the heater on. I haven't really left the house today but did smuggle some parts in to put some of the gearbox back together on the coffee table... Even had the ok from my better (totally awesome) half! Cheers Bennie

Awesome build mate! Got any more details on the turbo SPFI setup? I'm keen to know if it runs well with the second injector setup to keep the engine from running lean. Now I'm wondering if I can do this with my brumby and an SPFI setup... evil, evil thoughts! Cheers Bennie

I know the feeling mate. 7 months I've been working on this bloody gearbox! And now we're in winter it's ridiculous! Cheers Bennie

Got that gearbox in yet? It's good weather over there now isn't it? Your attention to detail with the floor pan mods are amazing mate! Cheers Bennie

Plenty of them here Johnson. Would just need to work out how to get them over there in the most cost effective way... I'm still working on my gearbox I've had to swap everything back into the SG cases as they moved the reverse slider gear's shaft 1.2mm outwards and made the drive and slider gears larger to compensate. I'm now up to the bit of sorting the diff settings and organising my low range oil feeders. Can't wait to have this back on the road! Cheers Bennie

Sex on wheels mate! Love it. I want one Cheers Bennie

Awww... I so want one of these! I totally wouldn't treat it like that either. I'll give you another L series to mess around at the Rally Cross with But I'm not in the US, hence the reason why I'd totally love one of these (but totally can't afford one!). Please look after it! Coming from where I am you don't know what you have! Cheers Bennie

I love this quote!! And top effort on finding that hard to find stuff. But I really don't understand that bumper - looks like a stock one to me, so what's the diff? Cheers Bennie

Awesome pic! So you're now running a stock single core L series radiator with an EJ and no overheating?? That sounds crazy! Glad it's sorted your overheating problem though, and I hope it stays away! Last year I found out I had the blades on my thermo fans the wrong way around, I was pretty pissed at this! They pulled air so much better once the fans were the right way around... Your subi really reminds me of mine back in the day when the paint was still really good on her. Keep it that way on yours Cheers Bennie

Redback and Sunnie the Brumby: Some sweet old school subi's being posted in here! Love it! Cheers Bennie