After cracking into some log splitting on my dad’s repowered log splitter using an EA81, I thought I’d post a pic and ask other forum members what they have as a piece of home made machinery with a Subaru engine, or what have you adapted a Subaru engine to? Pics are a must! 

^ this is Dad’s home made log splitter. We built it when I was in primary school about 30 years ago from a crashed Mazda 808 and a high volume low pressure ram from a Drott bull dozer. It’s got a matching hydraulic switch lever from the drott. The rest was fabricated by Dad, using the Mazda’s 1.4L inline four as the power plant. Several years ago after sitting for more years again, we went to fire it up and found the engine was seized. 

We’ve got a few Subaru parts cars at his place now, including one Kellogg’s cornflakes spec Brumby with complete drivetrain. He used the EA81 with the bell housing from an EA82 auto to adapt the hydraulic pump to the engine. Wiring transferred over easily. It’s quite a neat swap and it still works a treat. Best bit is if this engine has an issue we have spares to swap around etc. 

 

This thing will split the toughest wood we have in our area - the River Redgum. That stuff can pop when it splits and shoot the wood off the splitter! Most of our wood is White Gum, Manna Gum, Grey Box or Stringy Bark. The Manna Gum and Grey Box can be hard to split too. The log splitter sure as hell beats swinging the axe!

We also have a small bobcat that runs a two cylinder Sherpa engine, that’s an ongoing project and parts are very hard to come by for that one...

So, what have you got adapted to or built around a Subaru engine? 

I hope you enjoyed the read. 

Cheers 

Bennie

This is another one I was meaning to post about ages ago. This swap is into a Williams Wildcat skid steer tractor. Pretty cool piece of kit. From factory it ran the Wisconsin V4 - a popular stationary workhorse engine of that era. Not easy to get parts for over here these days… so what’s an alternative? 

Throw an EA81 above the location of the old engine with a solid shaft connecting the two hydraulic pumps that are mounted on either side of the engine, directly to its crankshaft. 

This one utilises a belt to deliver power from the flywheel to the hydraulic pumps: 

  

Pics borrowed from here: https://austrak-wildcat.com/wildcat-mods/ 

And this is the Williams Wildcat: The V4 in place:

 

front view, seat is an addition: 

  

Above two pics from here: https://austrak-wildcat.com/2013/05/25/alans-incredible-wildcat/amp/ 

Very low centre of gravity gave it an edge on inclines, you can drive one of these across the sides of hills that would be considered dicey at best in a regular tractor. Great for slashing hillsides with. 

If anyone happens to be visiting Melbourne in Oz, head over to Spotswood Science works - they have what I think is the last one off the production line in one of their display sheds. Many of them were construction yellow, which is what this last example is painted in. 

That’s it for me and creating/swapping Subaru engines into bits of machinery. Now curious if anyone else has any to share, given the lack of responses so far I’m guessing it’s a pretty rare thing to do! 

Cheers 

Bennie