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"I'm El_Freddo, and this is my Brumby Story:" Ok, time I "came clean" about the Redback Brumby. This is how I picked her up about two years ago. AFAIK I'm the third owner: The previous owner was a bit of a talker/player. I went out to check her out as a bit of a tease for me, it was local enough for the drive - I've always wanted a targa top since Sunnie the Brumby that we got for my mother inlaw. I would've loved a blue one but beggers can't be choosers. The owner said a fella was coming up from Melbourne that weekend so I bid him good luck, he was asking too much for my liking. 6 weeks later it was still there so I made an offer - he still played a hard card so I told him to offer it to the other guy at the price he mentioned and I let it be. Less than 5 mins later he called me back and said deal. As you can see from the pic above there's some front guard damage, pity, it's pretty straight otherwise! The engine wasn't working - reckoned it just stopped one day on the way to work and has been sitting like this for 6 months. I thought blown HGs straight up - empty radiator and creamy oil told the story. In the tub it had a rubber mat that concealed some foundation sand/packing sand (the orange stuff) that had held the moisture and rusted the middle of the tray. The main areas where rust shows up were pretty decent which I was happy about. After getting her home she moved around the yard a few times before making it into the shed for some work. Family photo: First up was pulling the engine - pretty easy in these things! I had to entertain dad as a decoy for his surprise 65th - he sat and watched for most of it :/ Once on the stand we drained the "oil": Second bucket: ~15 litres of water and oil in total. Now thinking major head gasket and a possible engine replacement. Continued stripping the engine before jumping to conclusions though. Heads removed, such a pretty sight (not!). Never seen this before: This was the culprit - and the previous owner's story checked out at this point: That's a Welch plug that dropped out, dumping the entire contents of the radiator into the engine, stopping things pretty quickly I'd imagine! After getting busy with work and other things (4wd trips etc) Dad came up and put the long block back together for me while I was at work - this saved me loads of time! Once the engine was all back together I got it running - it blew a lot of blue smoke and I shat bricks. It was also running as rough as guts. Turned out that I needed to adjust the valve clearances better than I did - it was running on two cylinders, just. Once all 4 were back online it blew more blue smoke. Not happy Jan! This finally cleared up and ran without any smoke. Very stoked. One of the things we had to do was remove rust from the bore. This was a cheap build for a daily cruiser - so instead of a rebuild or even a hone and new rings we hedged our bets and went this way. No1 cylinder had a couple of small pits at the very top of the cylinder so we left it this way and ran with it. Now it was time to look at other parts of the vehicle. Redback got her name when I was working on the rear end pulling drive shafts off that had probably never been removed before. While hammering away a redback dropped out from behind one of the rear wheels. Sorted that one quickly! It wasn't the last - I think there were five all up from memory, so a name was born for this beast. The rear bearings were an unknown and seemed rumbly and one of the rear brakes was leaking. So after a small investment in parts: This was done: Rear end being worked on: Rear diff was out as well, swapped in for one that leaked less instead of swapping seals! Home made tool for bearing retainer nut removal: All coming back together well: "New" rear drums were sourced from one of the parts bombs, the originals had a decent 2-3mm groove dug into them! The new ones barely looked like they'd been used! Then it was off to a mate's place for some detailing - 4 hours of degreaser and pressure washing! Only got a phone pic of that, it's not been uploaded At some point, either in the transit there or back I managed to get a stone chip in the windscreen, just a small one but right in the driver's view. Again, stole a windscreen from a parts bomb. This one cleaned up very well - I was stoked. This also gave me the opportunity to replace the old hard windscreen rubber and tackle the rust that I knew was under the front right corner: Putting the windscreen back in - always fun. Had to look it up on ausubi as to how I did it last time on Sunnie the Brumby. Once that was read the windscreen was in within 20 minutes: A new heater hose above the water pump was sourced - I use another unit from a Toyota Camry, just trim to size: A few other things along the way and it was time for a roadworthy inspection: ^ I didn't like the original rims, different offset and to me they didn't look that great on this brumby. I also had a set of black sunnies in the shed with my snow tyres on them which easily swayed my decision. I reckon they look way better even if they're only 13 inch and don't fill the guards. So she didn't pass first go. A few excited rookie mistakes: 1/ Didn't fill the wash bottle 2/ Didn't bolt down the passenger's windscreen wiper arm, so that didn't move! 3/ Apparently I had a front indicator that was blown - I didn't find it on my check so dunno where they got that from. and 4/ worn front uni joint on the tail shaft. I fixed the other easy little issues straight up, had to order in the uni joint so got two and did them both at the same time. I also smashed my thumb pretty good doing this - only now is the damaged nail almost grown out about 6 months after the event! Once those things were sorted the RWC was issued and I was off to rego. Vicroads now make it nearly impossible to get an appointment! I was pissed that I didn't get one before the weekend, but got one Monday and had to take some time off work to do it - just frustrating! The blessing was that my birthday/christmas/birthday pressie rocked up in the mail at M&D's (home base for important mail!) - so I was able to use them during the rego process, saving me some extra coin on not needing new plates: At Vicroads just after rego was granted: Back at home: Used her for driving to work, loved it! Didn't have to worry about rain (I'd been on the scooter prior to this!) And of course, hanging with the family members: Since this pic Dad borrowed Redback for a few months. I missed the old girl, the scooter's fun but there's just something about a brumby, plus it can do over 55kmp/h without trying hard. It's easier to speed in that Ruby Scoo IMO. While Dad had her M&D headed overseas and I had a conference close to their place, so my wife and I crashed there and I drove to the conference in Redback. The issue that came up after frying a few alternators (dad went through this issue) was a severe lack of performance - the exhaust would become blocked at certain levels of acceleration. This got worse until I was stuck on the way to the conference travelling at 60km/h, and that was before hills! Not fun! Pulled another Y pipe from the parts bomb and that sorted it. This wasn't an ideal fit due to some spacers on my EA81 for the ERG system that wasn't on the earlier year parts bomb, but it works and Redback goes very well for an EA81! I've also got to fix the choke - dunno what's wrong with it but it doesn't work properly. The carb could probably do a with a rebuild too, she runs too rich overall for my liking. I've solved the slop in the gear stick with the classic slot and bolt arrangement: The Welch plugs were sorted by Dad's idea - massive grub screws/threaded plugs: They've worked a treat! I've been hunting for a bullbar - found one in Talem Bend, South Australia, got a mate to pick it up for me. So I need to roadtrip to the city of churches to pick that up soon. I've since found an ideal bar that fits the bill for what I want. If all goes well the first one purchased might end up on Sunnie the Brumby if it's better than the one already on her. I've also been tossing up the idea of a lift kit, but it really comes down the right price at the right time - I don't want to go all out like Ruby Scoo lift/tyres. One thing I would love to do is make the engine run with the stock L series MPFI system. I'm a true believer in EFI over carb setups. I don't know if I can do this due to space constraints without converting the auxiliaries to the EA82 setup - not an easy task unless you've got the EA81 turbo brackets and crank pulley. Also an AWD gearbox would be great. Will have to build one up and fit it in at some point. EA casing an EJ gearbox can be done without issue over here with a dual range gearbox. Cruise and remote central locking would be sweet and I'd like to add a neat little tacho, oil pressure and coolant temp on the steering column in a manner that doesn't cover the other gauges. It's just a case of time and money for those things - after all this is meant to be a cheap build! Cheers Bennie

After about a year of searching for a good Brat for a project I stumbled upon a 1979 Brat on craigslist in Wyoming for $100, a deal too good to pass on. I convinced my uncle in law to make the three hour journey to go pick it up for me and drop it off at my grandpas property in Montana, which is where it currently sits until early May when I have a trip planned to go pick it up. The previous owner had intentions of rebuilding the EA71 and had the heads disassembled and a few other things torn down as well. A few weeks later I saw an ad for a 1983 Brat that was so rusty that the rear end was about to separate from the unibody. The car looks very deceiving but it has almost no drivers side floor, rocker panels and the back half of the bed had already been replaced with a patch panel. The Brat came with the rear jump seats, headrests, seat belts, and even the bags that cover the seat belts. The car came with a lot of other miscellaneous parts as the guy I bought it from has supposedly owned like 10 different Brats and this was the last one he had. My plan is to swap the EA81 with a Dual Carb set up I picked up into the '79 along with the 4 speed D/R for now until I can find a 5 speed D/R to swap into it.

I finally got my car running, and took it for a drive. Here's what my problem is: * My car idles really low, and it will die unless I give it gas. * Sometimes, when I press the gas pedal, it will stick. * It backfires at higher rpms when I'm cruising. * The ECS light is on. I've replaced the spark plug wires and both the main and secondary fuel filters. What should I check next?

Hey Guys. I am having fun with my fully restored Brat that I got from a fellow board member, but I have been presented a new problem. Intermittenly, the stupid transmission does not want to come out of 4th gear!! I can sometimes "slam" it, and it will come out, other times, I have to let clutch out slightly to let it grab, then, push it out of fourth. Other times, no freaking issues at all. Any idea what this can be? Good thing I have a spare 5 speed I will be prepping to stick in there when I get some time (depending on issue, maybe sooner than later). let me know.. Thanks!!!

I have an EA81 hardtop coupe that is fwd, and my front wheels are shot, as well as having bald tires. I have a pair of 5 lug wheels just sitting around, so i was wondering if it was possible to convert the rear to a 5 lug. It has drum brakes in the rear. Plus, I think that it would be pretty sweet.

So I can't get the pin off that goes through the end of the clutch cable and the clutch pedal. I can't figure out how to pull the pedal either. Please help me.

Is it true that you can use Mazda Miata rear shocks to lower the rear of an ea81? I have a fwd hardtop, so I can't just adjust the trailing arm to lower it.

I bought this car for $350 a few weeks ago.The body is in really great shape. The interior was terrible and by my standards that's saying something lol, there were no brakes, some electrical stuff is a bit off (No turn signals and fuel pump is hardwired to a fuse), and a lot of oil leaks. It needs a clutch cable too. So far, I've put a new oil pump in, an oil pan gasket, Subaru xt seats, Honda accord rear seats, new brake pads and rotors, spark plugs, and an air filter. I gutted a lot of the soiled interior. It runs great and sounds even better since the muffler had been previously sawed off in the middle of the car.... It won't let me post pictures for some reason.

First post to this board. Just bought a 84 GL. Only one of the four wheel drives works. When the normal 4x4 light is on it won't engage gears. It's like I'm in neutral. When I pop it to 4 lo it works but the guy that sold it to me said he thought that was the only 4 wheel option and he took it up to speeds much higher than 4 low can get to. It is a Manuel, and has a ea81 brat motor in it. I would like to get both working. Just wondering how big a fix this might be. Thank you.

When my dad first acquired what is now my soobie, he had a tune up done on it, and a block heater put in. its REALLY nice to be able to start it so easily in sub zero idaho temps. But when I went to start it this afternoon (outside temp was about 8 degrees fahrenheit) I had the ROUGHEST cold start I have EVER experienced with this car! the temp gauge confirmed that although I had it plugged in, the car did not heat up the way it normally does when I have it plugged in all night. Something went haywire, and im lost as to what it could be. I plugged it in again today when the engine was cold, and normally you can hear a very audible "hiiisssssssss" when the block heater is working but I heard nothing. Any ideas??

Spotted a white 1st gen legacy going through Sandy Oregon today with a factory 1st or 2nd gen factory winch bumper on it. I was to slow to catch up to it since the light turned red, plus i needed to go to dmv to get plates for my brat. If any body knows whose it is let me know or if you see it get their number for me i want to buy the winch bumper.

So the other day my brat started idling super slow on me, like it was going to sleep on me. Sometimes it would idle slowly enough that it would quit. Before this started happening I had adjusted the idle speed so that it idled at a little below 1000 RPMs, but now it was idling around 200-300.. It's not overheating, but when it happened the engine was at normal operating temperature. I checked the oil and that is fine. I checked all the wires on the spark plugs and they were snug. I simply adjusted the idle speed screw so that it was back up to around 1000 RPMs, and it runs normally now, but at first (right after I adjusted it) the engine was hiccuping, or lapsing rather. What could be wrong with it? I fear that by simply adjusting the idle speed screw I'm only treating the symptom and not the cause of the problem.

How long does the fuel pump on an EA81, 1984 GL Wagon usually last? My ride has 164,000mi on it. How long do you gurus think I have left? thanks all!

Anyone used a jeep (cj7) tcase to do the tcase mod? After monster brat fell through due to the rust, I'm hoping to salvage some of it. Everything that isn't frame or engine is bueno and I have 8" c channel from its bumpers (no rust) to use for the lift. Any disadvantage to doing it with the jeep tcase?

Anybody have any information on this ea81 intake? I've never seen an ea81 intake that looks like it before. Any info is appreciated.

Ok so I am considering putting a five speed in my wagon but I have no knowledge whatsoever about transmissions so I have quite a few concerns. 1. Is it even possible to put a 5 speed in an EA81 with Dual Range? 2. Will I have to alter my clutch since it is a different trans? 3. THE BIG QUESTION! How much would it cost (assuming I put it in myself) If everything else pans out this could be the defining factor as i am on a strict budget. 4. Anything else that I should know assuming one can even install a 5 speed in an 84 Wagon Thanks all!

Hey folks, I'm trying to get some ideas to help diagnose my shifting woes. About ten years ago I swapped in an EA82 D/R 5 speed into my EA81T wagon using EA82 clutch parts and EA81 pedal parts. It shifted decently, but shifting into reverse was usually a little grindey if you were too quick. The clutch cable clevis and clevis pin were SEVERLY worn, and I thought that replacing these parts could help alleviate my shifting troubles. Fast forward to August 2014. I've refurbished the wagon to use in my wedding and have installed the following parts: Lightened EA82 flywheel (with shims for the bolts), XT6 clutch kit, a NOS EA81 MT pedal bracket, NOS clutch pedal & clevis pin, NOS EA81 clutch cable. Unfortunately, the shifting/clutching has become even worse. I have almost ALL the free play adjusted out of the clutch system (I left maybe 1-2mm for thermal expansion) and yet, I can barely get the shifter into gear. If the car is at a dead stop, I have to shut off the engine before shifting into first gear or reverse, or heel-toe into first coming up to a stop sign (Accompanied by a bang and judder as the shifter is forced into gear). I'm worried that my lightened flywheel may now be too thin, or my clutch release fork might be bent/damaged. Does anyone have any ideas to help fix this?

Greetings everyone: My first post, here goes: Background on the Car: 1984 Subaru 155K miles. I bought this car not running. I don't know much of the history other than it hasn't been on the road since 2002. The previous owner parked it because it stopped running. After inspecting the motor and pulling the plugs, I found coolant in all four cylinder heads; intially, I thought that the motor had blown head gaskets- but then after reading several posts on USMB, it got me thinking the intake manifold gaskets were bad. This would explain why I had coolant in all four cylinders. So, I went ahead and pulled the intake manifold last weekend- and, to my surprise, found the passenger side coolant passage completely blocked with this white waxy/pasty gunk. I have no idea what this substance was, it reminded me of Elmer's Glue white paste. The blockage was about 1" thick. The only thing I can think of is that the previous owner added "Head Gasket Sealent" attempting to seal the coolant leak that was getting into the heads and the stuff sealed up the intake coolant port. So, I cleaned this blockage out the best I could using the head of a flat head screw driver and flushed the coolant ports out with water. I just finished cleaning the intake manifold mating surfaces in preperation for the new gaskets. I have also replaced the thermostat and thermostat gasket while the intake is off. My question is: Since the intake is already off, should I replace the head gaskets as well? I'm worried that after putting the new intake gaskets on, I'll find out that the head gaskets are bad and have to replace the intake gaskets twice (cleaning those mating surfaces was not fun and I would hate to do it twice!). If I don't pull the heads and just replace the intake gaskets, how should I go about getting the coolant out of the cylinder heads? When I turn the motor over with a wrench I can see coolant in the intake port as well as see pooling coolant looking through the spark plug hole. Should I consider flushing out the clyinder heads, then sucking out the water and coolant with a pump? Check out this pictures I took of the gaskets and unkown blockage substance: http://www.dropbox.com/sh/nnwoarop3cy5g3v/AAB1IrYALGDwwEL3_-LZv3gVa?dl=0 I would really appreciate any advice people have.

The Hatch received a new clutch, machined flywheel, new front DS CV shaft and hub (THANKYOUSOMUUUCH Gloyale Rear drive train is a w.i.p. so currently running it without the rear shafts. Everything else back in after the drive shaft was straightened + refurbished with new u-joints, diff worked over. The engine was not removed to replace the clutch, the trans was pulled. It was rocked back and forth a bit, so the following symptoms.. bad engine mounts? It starts a bit more rough, and immediately with vibrations felt through the car, never before present. They reappear when engaging the clutch and moving the car forward from a stop and at very low speeds. Engine not is now a subtly lower tone, and while it's not drastically slower, I can tell it runs with a bit less power. Anyone have any thoughts on this? Bonus engine bay pic, glad to see my rear end paint job from New Year's holding up extremely well, but sorry no pics of that yet. http://postimg.org/image/9f8csxn17/

Hey USMB The Car: 1983 MPFI Turbo Brat - 170,000 miles 2" body lift 5-sp D/R Transmission Swap (originally 3-sp auto) Water Cooled EA82 Turbo Swap (originally oil cooled) EA81T The Problem: I am having issues with the brat running rich, with a lot of fuel in the mixture. I have replaced temperature sensors, air flow sensors, the O2 sensor and i am still running into the same issues. as a result, my fuel mileage is around 19 MPG, and i have a strong hydrogen sulfide smell (almost an ammonia smell) coming from the exhaust, especially when i spool up the turbo and bring the RPM's up into the ~3000 rpm range. My concern: The engine was designed specifically for the Oil-Cooled turbo in 1983 (in '84, they were recalled and replaced with water cooled versions), I have a suspicion, because i am running out of options, that the computer for the MPFI was not designed for this specific turbo. As a result, it has mismanaging its fuel-to-air ratio; causing it to dump more fuel in than is necessary because of the extra amount of air volume it is sensing, then calculating. Does this prognosis seem in any way logical to more knowledgable USMB members?

howdy all, am going to try and resurrect my 83 wagon which has been sitting since 2008. (i have spent time poring over previous pertinent threads seeing if this has already been adequately addressed, but did not find what i am looking for) when last running, "olive" had developed a problem in which she would fire up and idle just fine, but had no power and would not accelerate beyond a crawl. i am no mechanic, back in earlier days i learnt how to replace the clutch, axles, steering knuckles, but not much beyond that, my pal joe, who gave me olive, and i spent three hot days trying three different c-w carbs to see if we could affect a cure, but gave up, i left her parked and jumped on my bicycle and the bus for a few years until i found an 84 2wd sw ("silver car") locally for $800, which served me beyond the call of duty until she blew a head gasket on the james river parkway south of springfield, coming back from the eastern ozarks sunday evening. i managed to limp silver car adding water every 15 miles to get to the oklahoma border and within range of a free AAA tow back to tulsa (the gasket blew a hole between the water jacket and the exhaust, so no water in oil yet, but there is something knocking, perhaps a lifter, when started). anyhow, the next door neighbor came over having heard the tow truck come in and offered his services as a shade tree wrencher, since olive was sitting back in back with the mysterious ailment above mentioned, he thought it would be cheaper and easier to get her running again rather than trying to fix silver car which will need the engine pulled regardless. he spent the last two afternoons working on olive, he established that the fuel pump was working and fuel getting through the filters to the carb, and has dissasembled both c-w carbs and found the accelerator pump diaphragms on both to be rotted/perforated and thinks that may be the source of the no power/stall issue. am now waiting for surfside aauto parts to call about a new accelerator pump i ordered yesterday. meanwhile, the reading i have done on this board leaves me with the impression that the carter weber is a problematic unit, and i never did get very good gas mileage out of it, whereas the hitachi on silver car, even in the neglected state i allowed her to be in had delivered 28 mpg on the tank i used getting over to the ozarks. ok, so enough background ramble, the thesis question is, can i switch carbs from the 84 to the 83, and what all is involved? there is extensive documentation about fitting ea81 with SPFI, but i do not have interest or locally obtainable resources for that, but i do have both cars. i am thinking the dizzys may be paired to each carb, but are the manifolds and wiring different? as the carter seems to be a problem, and the hitachi seems to deliver better mpg and is much more widely available, i think the detailed discussion may be of use to others in the future. finally there is the chance that another part/function/system other that the fuel/carburetor may be the problem causing the idle fine but no get up and go that i last experienced when i parked olive six years ago. please help, this is not a leisurely project, being broke down right now is extremely destablising, i have had a challenging year of transition, and have only began to get on my feet, as recently as three weeks ago experienced being flat broke for the first time in years and really need to be able to get around to take care of some pressing tasks. i had planned to be spending this week running loads and assembling a multi ton uhaul load of vintage records to haul up to kansas. the title says it all in a nutshell, but i am also looking for insight about the c-w, i am so hoping just replacing the accelerator pump will fix the issue. thanks for any reply, and for being here to ask!

I want to drop a fresh rebiuld into my Wagon befor winter kicks in. One way or another it will happen. But i was wondering if any of you guys have knowledge or experienced service from Enginehaus ?? Or Mark the guru?? A long block from enginehaus is 1695, and that is with shaved heads, bored cylynders, ect.. While Markthegurus long block is OEM spec and is 2000.. I want the motor to last as long as possible, of course a lot if that is up to me and maintainng it.. But my question is.. What would you do??

http://imgur.com/7Slevtg what is this? And how do I fix the broken wire?

Currently in the process of pulling my diff to weld it, and I removed the driveshaft and oil came pouring out. Didn't know if this is supposed to happen? Didn't happen on my impreza when I did the clutch

What do I need to do for a 4 inch lift to the steering shaft, shifter, and 4wd selector? Can I just take off my current steering linkage cut it in half and weld in some pipe? I'm doing 4 lift blocks all the way around, and then 4 inch strut spacers as well, with the offset. (I figure that will correct the front struts because if you don't you wouldn't get the lift and your cv axles would be pointing to the sky? Currently have a rather sketchy 2 inch lift in and would like to fix that. For the shifter do I just need to make it longer? and the 4wd selector is the one that's confusing me the most. Thanks