el_freddo

I wish we could get away with stuff like this in Australia! Too much bloody red tape and requirements for engineering to satisfy insurance, highway patrol and road worthy requirements As it is I'm lucky to have flown under the radar with Ruby Scoo so far. Hopefully it stays this way for a long time to come! Keep up the good work! Cheers Bennie

Sorry but this is incorrect and misleading! Rear disc hubs are DIFFERENT to front hubs. The ONLY difference is the shaft size, the rears are smaller than the front, thus the rear hub will not fit the front. If you need a front hub, get a front hub; if you need a rear hub, get a rear hub. Simple. Totally agree with both statements. Cheers Bennie

I'm one of those people that will put the time and effort in to a vehicle if I'm asking myself the same questions AND it's been good to me/I've got an attachment to it. Also if it's getting hard to find I tend to try and keep them on the road - and the old vortex's were hard to find even a few years after they came out from the factory over here. Personally I'd say keep the XT on the road - you might kick yourself if you let it go to scrap. I'm sure your water damage couldn't be any worse than this: Then I got a bucket load of mud out - it was the worst water I've ever been in, full of silt that fills every crack and crevice! All the best with it - I vote keep the ol' girl alive Cheers Bennie

I was wonder how long it would be until I ran into you over here Subactive. Good to see you're adding to the conversation over here too... Cheers Bennie

Numbchux, why don't you want a helical front LSD? This is the option I've gone for - two reasons: 1) no need to split gearbox to tweak like a clutch pack LSD over time and 2) it was cheap enough to add it in while the box was apart (OBX LSD) - I'd be kicking my self if I didn't do it... I'm guessing this is going into a brat or MY of some sort as there's no off the shelf drive shafts with the 25 spline count - which to me is the reason why you want to steer clear of the 25 spline count out put shafts of the diff. Personally I'd be going for low gearing over the LSD, but that's just me. Cheers Bennie

I've done the same as Toonga since doing all the body work to Ruby Scoo: This is done with an L series :-P And my lid still fits on - held with some cable ties that I can slip over the top of the brown lid to hold it on as the hinge is broken. Cheers Bennie

New pads (decent set, no cheapies); new rotors, braided flexi lines and fresh fluid is a great way to go. I've done this with my L series running 27's and it brakes better than a 300k km L series on stock brakes and tyres... Cheers Bennie

No need to do this - all the 4wd engaging parts are inside the gearbox and are oiled every time you drive your vehicle regardless of 2wd or 4wd modes. Cheers Bennie

I've never seen that period! Makes me want one (as well as an EA81S)!! Cheers Bennie

I wouldn't mind having a set of those heads sent in my direction Looking good there mate - those engines, dubbed or named an EA81S are super rare over here. Apparently they love to rev and go hard in general too. Look after it Cheers Bennie

This is what I've heard and worked with too. The rear discs on the L series is a simple swap of the hardware from drums to discs. Yeah I don't know Toonga about our brumbys and a proportioning valve. But I've seen many forum members swap to rear discs on the MYs and brumbys without a rear lock up issue. Time to go look at Sunnie the Brumby (who's still living at mine ) Cheers Bennie

A pleasure mate! I'll be finding out what the cost of postage is tomorrow after work - hopefully it's not one of those days that end with a fried brain Do you mean the same as the one's I've organised for you? I could have got another light like those ones if I knew you wanted it! I think those part numbers are the standard replacement units - no lift. I've still got the front set in mine, the rears I ditched for a set of honda front springs, much better lift and load carrying ability. I'm now looking into adding auxiliary air bags as well, take some stress off the spring seat, maybe I'm carrying too much :-\ Anyway, that's the plan! I'm looking forward to sending these off and seeing them arrive at your end Cheers Bennie

You're not thinking out side the box - as we all need to do with our subarus to get what we want! I was thinking that you could make up something that covers the rear of the canopy and the tail gate when both are open. This would give you an extra foot of length easy and it'll keep the weather out at the same time if you've made it properly. How do you go with condensation build up over night? My thoughts are that it would be dripping wet in there! I would have thought that the rear wall was there for strength as well as stopping what ever you've got out back joining you in the front in the event of a crash. May be a foldable roller door could be the trick - still keeps the wall and window in there, yet folds up so you can warm the rear section/access the rear easily. When it's down you could have it latch in place to lock it in - this would also add some strength to torsional forces but probably wouldn't hold up well in a crash unless you had some great fabrication skills and good latches as well. I got the same one installed on my L series. It doesn't matter if you're carb'd EFI or diesel. All you need is vacuum, power and sort out locations for the cruise control's throttle cable, speed sensor, control pad and where the vacuum actuator will be located. It's simple to install. Before you try using it make sure it's calibrated properly as I took off all excited and it didn't work - then I read the instructions and did the calibration etc and it's worked a treat since. Makes long distance driving piss easy now. Here's a link to my setup. I'm now getting a very small surging, it's either the magnets have moved since sand 4wd'n or the sensitivity is set too high with all the gear loaded up in the vehicle. Cheers Bennie

Personal opinion of mine: If I can put in a little more effort in an area that will allow me to buy off the shelf replacement products then I will go to that effort. When it's drive shafts we're talking about, they come into this category for me. Cheers Bennie

What you'll find is that Mr Fuji swapped the speedo drive gear in the gearbox and that the outback instrument cluster is calibrated the same. What you could look into is a pulse modulator that modifies the signal from the reed switch at the gearbox. I'm 99% sure your subi doesn't have a speedo cable, which means it's all electronic and easier to play with Unfortunately I don't know of a kit that does the job as I've not had the need to ever do this so far - I've only heard about it on the forums. Hope this helps Cheers Bennie

And I'd recommend getting tired of the FWD. 4wd is a blast in the snow Cheers Bennie

Best of luck with the future endeavours of SJR - it much be a great feeling to be going out on something that started out to help subi owners get the bits they need! You're probably also kacking your dacks too - which means you're doing things right Further to this, I've been looking at a 3 inch snorkel that runs down below the top edge of the RHS guard (fender) to just behind the side indicator light where it would then pass into the inside of the guard. From here a pipe would be needed to plumb it down behind the light assembly/wall and past/behind the window washer water bottle then up to the EFI air box, either through the bottom of it or using the factory hole - enlarged of course! A water catch box could be incorporated into the system too. This is my plan anyway! Yes, once again all the best with it! Regards Bennie

I need to get me a brumby/brat. I've always wanted a targa top to the point that I've convinced my mother in law to get one Cheers Bennie

Again good stuff mate! I can't wait to see this thing once it's done. Going to replace the original graphics too? I'm guessing you will otherwise what's the point of buying one of these specifically? Keep the pics rolling! Cheers Bennie

Another way to get the extra length is to make a "ute swag" for your BRAT and it's canopy. Here's the general idea from this mob I saw a few years back at the Deni ute muster: From here: http://www.uteswags.com.au/Ute_Swags/Home.html Brilliant idea I reckon! I agree with the dual battery setup! They work a treat if you put the time and effort into a decent setup. You could even run an electric blanket with an inverter then, but the inverter would have to be a big one I'd imagine for the electric blanket! The other thing is to look into how they heat the campers in Canada - I know my sister's camper she had over there had some sort of heater setup that was independent to the car's battery system. Probably ran on gas some how. I know some of these ideas probably won't work for you as you'll be on a budget, but for the sake of sharing ideas I've added them in here anyway Cheers Bennie

That's the theory. But then the engine could be working outside it's "power vs efficiency" zone. You might be lucky and the engine will handle the required power fine and return you some good economy. But if you're cruising with the throttle open further than what you used to do with the stock sized tyres then you're using more fuel over all, even if your revs have dropped by 500rpm (big difference!) Cheers Bennie

Numbchux I'm loving your work! And I'm jealous that you're playing with gearboxes and I'm not at the moment (I'm trying to source a few bits for my build). The clearance issue you're having with the LSD and the side gears on the low range: how badly are the fouling eachother? The gearbox I've had built we shaved the same area including bolt heads to clear these gears. The amount taken off doesn't impact on the integrity of the bolts or the LSD in general. I'll be keen to hear what revs you'll be doing at cruising speed - and can you match a speedo drive gear to show true speed on the dash/instrument cluster? And I have to ask - what's the plan for the RX FT4wd R&P gears and the centre diff? I'm chasing one (or two, or three :twisted: ) for my build - the unit I've got has been flogged within a thou of it's life, that's all. Cheers Bennie

I've got mine mounted on the steering column like the MPFI touring wagons do. No fancy brackets, just some large cable ties doubled up on eachother, pulled nice and tight so it doesn't move and you're sorted: The fuse box above the ECU is for 24/7 power, ignition, fuel pump power and the starter circuit. Time to check out your pics Cheers Bennie

Thanks mate, been on here a while now (can't edit the first post to change the title) - been doing more reading than posting - I find it hard to keep up with the number of posts that can occur in one evening! Plus I've got several other subi forums that I've been on longer than here... Hence the reason for the rebuild work - I saw this as the cheaper option than sourcing another L series and going through the rego purpose, plus I'll be able to use the rotisserie again - I couldn't let her go just yet, it's not her time... At the moment it's pretty easy, as for their condition it can be hit and miss. Best bet would be to hit up the aussie forums and see what you can get from there - at least there will be support. Planning on packing some EJ dualrange gearboxes for the trip home?? At Pick-a-part style wrecking yards these tend to go for about $200 to $250 each regardless of the model of vehicle they come from. Could be a good "investment" if you can work out how to get it back to the US easily and cheaply. I'm actually after the RXII coupe's dual range with the locking centre diff. Specifically I'm after the centre diff and housing - the one I'm building turns out to be stuffed :-\ This diff is all that's holding me back from putting the icing on the cake with Ruby Scoo. Details of the build: 4.11 cut and shut pinion shaft gearset, L series good low range 1.59:1 and front mechanical LSD. This should round off Ruby Scoo very well. These gearboxes are like hen's teeth over here Cheers Bennie

That's because, well - for me, I'm too busy driving and having fun to take pics! These were taken by a mate ages ago: ^ This little fella is no longer :-\ I hope this helps lift the "flat ground" photos! Also, these pics were taken from the Otway NP and Aire River area in Victoria, Aust. Cheers Bennie