4x4mudrat

Smack bang in the Snowy Mountains, Subaru capital of the world. Near Canberra and Jindabyne etc etc. What your engineer will need to see during construction, what the report will cover and what they will approve differs vastly from engineer to engineer. I sincerely doubt a BYB style kit will get approval without some serious bracing. Not to say that the kits aren't indestructable, but due to the deflection forces the mounts put the captured nuts under there will be some structural issues there to sort out. The other reason is the steering extension is welded. Big no no, the ADRs (Australian Design Rules) are black and white there. Steering componants can not be welded or heat treated. No allowances for x-rays, stress tests, anything. Black and white. If you want to get it complied you will need to use a second uni and a splined shaft, not the BYB supplied extension. As for tires . . . basic rules are the tires may not protrude from the guards (ie you'll need flares), mud-flaps must extend below the axle line across the full width of the tire. In addition, tires must not make contact with the vehicle body throught their full travel and turning arc. Your speedometer may not be any more than 10% in error. Engine capacity or horsepower may not be exceeded any greater than 15% that of any engine supplied as OE for that model. Vehicle/Engine combinations that do not satisfy this criterium may be eligable to be complied as an Individually Constructed Vehicle (ICV) according to the ADRs for the year of compliance (ie 2005). Hope these get you on the right track. The best thing you can do is sit down for an hour or two with an Automotive Engineer that is certified to comply motor vehicles in Australia and nut everything out with him. It'll probably cost you $150 but you'll really benefit from it. Nath PS: BFGoodrich are still better! :-p

Also a new rule as of the 1st of July this year that you may not increase tire size by more than 5% . . . again, Engineer's Report necessary. To power up or not to power up? Yes, the car is still drivable with 27s. This suits some people. I agree with the stink man: I don't know about you, but just having my car "drivable" is not really that appealing. We live in the country of cheap jap import motors, the EJ20 conversion is easy and gives a great upgrade in torque, power and economy. Wrangler MT/Rs are not the best tires on the market - they only look good. I've had 5 mates put them on their rigs (Disco, 2x HiLux, GU Patrol, 80 Series). After they wore out (at 30,000KMS!), only one bought a second set. BFGoodrich Mud Terrain are the best.

You know what Ag-quip is right? The Agriculture Conference/Field days held in Orange NSW. Over the last few years of production Brumbys came out in Ag-quip trim. As far as I'm aware they were just an unleaded DL Brumby with included Air Conditioning, tauneau and some fancy stickers.

Talking at work the other night, someone put the figure of $9,990 for a 94 Ag-quip edition. Could be wrong though. I remember my father got a brand new 1982 MY as a company car - in 1982 - and it was only something like $3,000. I'd pay $10K for a brand new Brumby for sure!

Production stopped in 1994, he might be confused with the Datsun/Nissan 1200 ute, which is still in production in . . . Thailand (?) . . . I think.

Where can I get a front bumper like that?!?

This may shed some light on the matter. Good thinking though!

Very tricky as many of the parts are really designed specifically for the Subaru such as the strut and steering extensions and so forth. Bolt sizes are M10 and M12 with a metric 1.25 or 1.50 thread (I can't remember exactly but it's smaller than the standard metric 1.75). Length will vary according to the size of the lift, but budget for 20-30mm of thread. Lift kits for Subarus are very cheap anyway, eg 4" lift for Suby $500 vs 4" lift for Nissan Patrol $2,000.

Taller springs = not always stiffer. A good way to tell (although not fool-proof) the stiffness of a spring is to count the number of coils. More coils = softer ride.

Link worked for me, but you can find it by following: Forum Index > Conversions > ? 4.444 into dual range Brumbyrunner, the guy doing the project, is a pretty handy/ingenious fella.

Zapar I have deliberately stayed out of this topic. Do me a favour and let's keep it that way. I don't believe either of us would benefit from a rift developing between our communities over this issue. I have shown you the respect you deserve, it's your turn to reciprocate.

An interesting proposition . . . we have discussed this on Ausubaru too, and come to the conclusion that using lower low-range gears on the 3.9:1 box is not possible. An alternative is converting the 3.9:1 box to a 4.44:1 diff. Here's some topics for you: Lower Low Range thread 4.44:1 L-series Box

Now if only we could track some down in Australia . . . has anybody heard if they plan on making a 14" version of the new STT? The one that's an unashamed rip-off of the Wrangler MT/R?

Fair enough, however I've used Repco leads on all my Subarus and never had any problems. Twin Webers are good, but really, how much air do you need in there? You'll be more than happy with just one. keep the standard headers and go with a 2.25" exhaust with a Lukey turbo muffler.

You are 100% correct, EA71 pistons increase compression and you will notice it. If I were putting in new pistons though I'd also put in a Tighe camshaft (www.tighecams.com.au) at the same time. I have used an Accel Supercoil on an EA81 with success, however opinions vary. Also upgrade to Repco 8mm silicone leads. Run the car on Optimax and advance the timing to suit. Last of all if you're spending money on this kinda suff you should also invest in a Weber carb. All up you should be looking at close to 100hp for the finished thing.

I'll get in first. You want a kit that won't change ANY of your suspension geometry, you want a lift kit that's going to take whatever you can dish out at it and you want a lift kit to suit your budget. I'd also advise on a lift kit that's proven itself to thousands of customers worldwide. There are several kits on the market that do this. There are some that do not. The next question is: How high do you want it?

I do not endorse running the rear diff at any angle other than horizontal. If you choose to run the diff at an angle, be sure to fill it before you tilt it.

EA81-D, FHI put it in forklifts. I think it had about 30hp.

Rambling on? No, I agree with you. It's hard for me. Cos I live away, I've got this picture in my head of how the valley should look, or how the lake should look, but it's just gone forever. Now I'm not a "greeny" or a "tree hugger" by any stretch, even a conservationist, but they're raping the land. I go "home", but it's not my home anymore. Chilliwack has become a suburb of Vancouver. Skooks: Do it man. But remember, the water's freeeezing!!! Make sure you get in on a big tide, I think you've only got a window of 3-4 days per cycle. As for the mills, it started off as just a job. I'm a fairly competant engineer and the money was good, I guess I just got sucked in, now I just love the job, love the process and love the company I work for. BTW: We need sparkys in Australia. If you ever want a job down under please ask and I can make some calls (ie I will give you a job, complete with residencey, visas etc). Pay's good too. A sparky working construction can take make well over 100K, but regular salaries are between 40-80K. Yes, I'm 4x4mudrat on Ausubaru too, but you can call me "Forum Nazi".

Construction's just booming everywhere on the Lower Mainland. My family are farmers in the Fraser Valley, the land's just being gobbled up and spat out at an alarming rate. I remember it from when I was a kid, and I've shed tears to see the landscape change so much. I remember even when I was in Whistler earlier this year everyone was just so hyped about the Olympics. Fair enough I say. Speaking of Albertan industry, we've a few ring-ins from the Peace River mill. Of course they all say it's excellent over there, but if it were so great why are they living here?!? From what I have seen though Alberta does have a very strong industry-driven economy. Skooks rocked. I was there on a 12.5 foot tide, it was 4 hours of heaven in a kayak. It's great cos the Australian Kayaking community's so small I could meet up with all these awesome boaters, even a few locals. I do know where Quadra Island is, but I've never been there. Isn't there another mill up there, Powel River (sorry, everywhere I go I'm looking for the Mills!)? I was hoping to get another junket over there next year but I've just gone on a flying visit to Chile and I'm heading over to Sweden in a few weeks so maybe not. The Travel Budget can only be streched so far. We'd love to see you come down under - New Zealand is an awesome place too, bit cold for surfing though! Oh that's right, Tofino . . . You should like it then!

I'd really like to continue our Comox Valley/Port Alberni conversation, however without destroying the original thread in the process. I noticed you're an Industrial Electrician, Is there much industry up there outside pulping and sawmills? What sort of work did you do at the Port Alberni mill? All up I spent nearly a week on "The Island", thoroughly enjoyed my time. Nanaimo and Victoria were great (although I did find Nanaimo a little . . . how should I say . . . heterosexually challenged?). I also went to the Sunshine coast, home of the Howell Sound mill and Scookumchuck - I'm a mad keen kayaker. Howell Sound was very impressive, however like the Norske mill at Port Alberni our environmental constrains are much tighter downunder, ie my mill doesn't stink. Anyway I'm interested to hear from you and anyone else from the area.

Wow, small world after all. Tofino was nice, although the weather wasn't very friendly. Please allow me to continue this in the "Meet and Greet" forum.

Oh, and I just saw Vanislru you're from Comox Valley? Isn't that near Port Alberni (with the Norske mill)? I was just there in June. I work in the Pulping Industry myself. Sorry for the whaaay off topic guys. Just getting homesick...

The thought of filling the rear diff up further has also occured to me too, although (a) I haven't tried it, and ( does overfilling your diff lead to overheating problems? Maybe you could do an experiment for us SJR? PS, Off Topic: Bellingham as in Bellingham Washington Sate? With the big-assed mall? Of all the places in the world, I've been there. In fact I attended a family reunion there (no, didn't pick up unfortunately). My family's originally from Chilliwack BC, though more lately of New South Wales Australia.

The answer to that question is ZERO, to spite what some companies will have you believe.