The AUSubaru.com.au Forums

Hi folks.

I've been a member for a while now, and my desire to own a Brumby has waxed and waned as I see them on here.

My family has had a few Subarus over the years, and I've owned an L series turbo wagon and now pushing an H6 outback. None have ever let us down.
The outback is by far the most comfortable and reliable machine I've ever owned. It could only be made better with a manual gearbox. I drove 20,000km last year and it purred (Andy (frog) has helped whenever needed)

I've just finished a hellish uni course and have guaranteed work next year in a large western NSW town and am considering a Brumby as a second car. I have a few questions, some of which have been answered here before but I'm after some more contemporary advice.
Mostly it will be used as a town hack and commuter etc and not open highway driving.

1. Inspection advice. Where do they rust? Where do they leak? Any signs that I should walk away, rather than haggle?

2. Safety. Has anyone crashed one? How do they hold up?

3. Maintenance and parts. I have worked EA81s before and I'm familiar with them but after 250-300,000km am I wasting my time? Are parts reasonable?

Thanks.

2. You are better off not knowing, there is a video on youtube of a MY sedan crash test. Not pretty

Thanks mate. That is sobering.

1. Rust in windscreen bottom corners is the most prevalent, but also depends if it has been a country car or beach driven
as to whether it has rust in any area underneath, sills, chassis, floor, valance panels etc. Also tray and curved back of fire
wall where spare tyre sits can be prone.

2. OMG la la la la la la la la la...(John buries head in sand) Just get big bull bar and source coupe doors (stronger ribbing) for improved side attack safety.

3. By this stage in their careers so many of them have had rebuilds or import motors fitted, its just a matter of doing a
compression test and viewing/smelling the oil for burning. Ive had a couple of gearboxes that have been a little crunchy in
the syncros and the gear levers tend to be a tad sloppy (which there are parts fixes for.
Parts seem to be readily available but its the interpretation by some service personelle that comes into question.

Consider a Targa top or an Agquip version for extra sexiness

John.

just buy the first one you see as long as you can drive it and assess it yourself, making sure ity revs out to each stop on the speedo for appropriate gear, and before negotiate price book it in for a pink slip inspection whether due for renewal or not, come back in and tell us post up pics etc. If you make any error in judgement you will be wiser for your second Brumby When i bought my third which was not startable, driveable - didn't care - as long as body looked good, dash top was yummy .....

steptoe wrote:just buy the first one you see

Love it!

It'll be a cheap second car and means I don't need to buy and store a trailer.

It has a bullbar already and thanks for the heads up on the coupe doors.

Anyone else care to give their two cents?

Get a brumby and you won't want to drive your outback any more

The further inland you go the less chassis rust they have but when they get near the ocean they turn to iron oxide:(

TOONGA

1 - Rust: Look very hard at the seam along the back of the engine bay at the top of the firewall, behind the spare tyre. The seam that runs from fender to fender. Also the bottom corners of the windscreen as mentioned before. Another bad spot is where the rear of the cabin meets the floor of the tray, looked at one once that I was considering until I poked my head underneath, saw daylight streaming through this area Another place I've seen plenty of other MY's rust is the A pillars around where the door hinges bolt up, could be because of a leaky windscreen and if it leaks here you'll see a puddle in the foot wells after a rainy night. The spot directly in front of the rear wheel arches can cop it too. If you see any signs of rust in these areas and also smell damp inside the cabin, walk away!

2 - Safety mentioned above; not good. But you can't expect a 30+ year old design hold up to todays standards.

3 - If you get good compression and no burning oil, the engine is good. The carbies are generally poorly maintained but rebuilding the stock carb or putting in a Weber is not hard. If you can you're better off sourcing other parts yourself online unless you enjoy explaining the differences between L series and Leone's to the parts guy Although if you just say "Brumby" it seems to get you further. Online parts are cheaper too, alot cheaper. If you have to replace front drive shafts try and find rebuilt genuine ones or at least avoid the 3 bearing tri-pod design ones flooding the market, they don't work too well on Brums' and the inner boots rub on the steering column and split within weeks. Well, CV boots split regularly on these things anyway.

If you're used to the comfort of an Outback, be prepared for the harsh agricultural bumpi-ness of a Brum with bad shockies. Performance wise very lacking unless you do some mods; I've just got a Weber and 2" exhaust on mine and it easily keeps up with modern traffic. And then there's the fun factor

As said rust. The bottom of my 2 front guards don't exist anymore as they rusted away. Same with the tray, 4/5 left, 1/5 gone and replaced by many large holes lol

Toonga is right on the money. Once you buy one you'll never go back.. then once the mod bug starts you'll never stop.
I thought with mine I'd just do the shocks as thwy were tied... I go that carried away I replace every bush under the car with a new one. Now its feels tight!

Hmm, great guys. Lots of stuff to think about.
I will be living in a country town and lots of rural commuting will be had.
I cannot get past the safety factor as my significant other will definitely be a regular driver and her safety is something I can't look past here.
A second car is certainly in the works, but perhaps I'd be better off with something a little later and budget for a trailer.

the Brum may be MY but from memory a few guys in the past have said they were surprised just how well the ute cabn protected them in a variety of prangs. Of all the pranged ones I have seen, the cabin capsule has been quite intact. The tray must act like a crumple zone in itself. One member in here actually reckoned the design saved him from injury !

Well with all the "ute" designs on this site, forward them to Fuji and request a "ute" with the safety features of a current model car.
If enough of these are received, something may happen.
I am sure they would sell well in .AU
( I have a Brumby and love the concept , an Outback spec Brumby would be nice vehicle)

Julian,

I was a bit like you, have had plenty of Suby's over the years, MY GLF's RX Turbo, Liberty Series 1 AWD, L Sportswagon with RX Turbo running gear, Impreza Hatch loved them all. 8 weeks ago finally bought a Brumby which I have wanted for years to see me through my retirement years which like should have started 2 years ago. Have enjoyed every minute of it as I love to tinker and there is always something I find to fix. It has 295kms on it and runs like a clock with great body and paint. Started it's life in the W.A. desert on an Aboriginal reserve and is absolutely rust free. Just keep looking until you find a good one, you will know when you drive it if it's the one. I paid $4100 and don't regret it for a moment. It will see me out. Cheers Majordad

Thanks everyone.
I'l have a look at a few and report back.
I'm really not thrilled about the safety aspects of them but will reassess what kind of role a Brumby would play.

Thanks,

julian wrote:1. Inspection advice. Where do they rust? Where do they leak? Any signs that I should walk away, rather than haggle?

Main rust comes from the Chassis Rails and Sill Panels. There other spots but they aren't structural and can be repaired without too much trouble or costs. Just make sure there isn't too much in the doors, as they are getting harder to find good ones.

julian wrote:2. Safety. Has anyone crashed one? How do they hold up?

The Gen2 Brumby started manufacturing back in the early 80's and was based on the MY Series that was designed in the late 70's, so you must remember the safety standards of those days. Personally, I'm not planning on crashing my Brumby, so I'm not going to worry about it.

julian wrote:3. Maintenance and parts. I have worked EA81s before and I'm familiar with them but after 250-300,000km am I wasting my time? Are parts reasonable?

Many (if not all) maintenance parts are still available and eBay is a great place to find them, as there is many of these in the USA.