'92 Brumby resto w/ '84 wagon for parts

[timzigg]

I picked up this '92 brumby ute with a decent body but a blown head and a trashy '84 MY sportswagon with a running engine. The wagon came with a heap of parts; the sellers had another one that had caught fire and stripped pretty much everything of the shell, it had only done 90,000k's.

The ute was running on gas, I’ve removed the tank from the back but I’ve still got to pull the rest of the gas system out. Has anyone done this on a brumby before?

It seems I've got the choice of three EA81's to get the ute going; I could fix the head on the ute (350,000k's), get the wagon engine tuned up (290,000k's), or build the one that's in pieces which would be a lot of work but it's temping because of the really low k's (90,000k's).

I wouldn’t mind keeping the running engine in the wagon, it’s a good paddock bomb. If I don't end up driving it around I'll just use it to store my parts in.

Ute engine:


Wagon engine:


Spare engine block:


Heads & other spare bits:


The crate of spares I got given with the wagon:

[timzigg]

Yesterday I got the engine running in the wagon, it had been parked in a shed for a few years and the coil/distributor lead taken off. I put in a spare old battery, put in a bit of oil and radiator water and grabbed the coil and lead from the ute; the engine started on the first try Although running it conked out when ever I tried to go anywhere. I put some fresh petrol in the tank to mix with the stuff that'd been sitting there for two years. After a few false starts I was able to get moving. When I stopped all the cows came running up to have a look at the new wheels.

The engine was still running pretty rough though so today I tested the spark plug leads and found that one was stuffed, replaced it with one from the ute. It's sounding much nicer now but it's still cutting out when I don't have the choke on; so I'm checking the fuel system, I took the fuel filter off and found that it was in good condition, will have a look at the pump and carby tomorrow.

P.S.
Also; I've been looking at which vehicles I might be able to get parts from and I've found that the 4"X6" headlights on the ute are available on a heap of vehicles i.e. 60 and 80 series landcruisers, Mitsubishi sigmas, L200s and more.

I'm also after another coil so I can play with both the ute and wagon without swapping it back and forth. I searched for a brumby coil on eBay, copied the part number (cc202) and pasted it back into the search. I found them being sold for 40 series landcruisers, ford couriers, tritons, L200s, corollas, mazda 626's and more. Luckily we've got a few of the landcruisers around for parts so I'll go looking tomorrow.

[Bantum]

I'd keep the current Brumby engine together, just replace the head gaskets.

The other engine that has been taken apart - it doesn't look in good shape, was it actually in the fire ? Did you ask why it was taken apart ?

Fixing it may depend on how hot it got, as may be damaged internally - that would also be a project in its self to recondition & put back together.

Either way your going to have to pull both engines apart to fix them.

One quick way to get the brumby going would be to put the running engine from your wagon in until you have fixed one of the others.

Know any good mechanics ?

Cheers, Bantum ...

[timzigg]

Also; I've been looking at which vehicles I might be able to get parts from and I've found that the 4"X6" headlights on the ute are available on a heap of vehicles i.e. 60 and 80 series landcruisers, Mitsubishi sigmas, L200s and more.

I'm also after another coil so I can play with both the ute and wagon without swapping it back and forth. I searched for a brumby coil on eBay, copied the part number (cc202) and pasted it back into the search. I found them being sold for 40 series landcruisers, ford couriers, tritons, L200s, corollas, mazda 626's and more. Luckily we've got a few of the landcruisers around for parts so I'll go looking tomorrow.

[timzigg]

Hi Bantum.

The fire was on the inside of the car, it apparently started under the dash but I've found burn marks on the inside of the spare doors I got with it. Yeah I reckon the engine would need a really good clean up to be usable. I think the guy pulled it apart to make it easy to lift out, I think he lifted it out himself by hand. I'll shoot him a text.

I reckon using the wagon engine will be quickest as you say, then I'll have the ute running and can play with the rest when I have the spare time. It was the option I first had in mind, my hopes dimmed a bit when the wagon engine was knocking, but I've got that fixed now. The wagon has a few less k's than the ute and it hasn't been run on gas.

I've been doing work on my camry and found that I'm a quick learner with this stuff. Dad's got a fair bit of experience so I get his advice when I need it. We've got a pretty well stocked workshop and I've got the Gregory's manual for the car.

[El_Freddo]

Gas should be good for the engine - a cleaner burn without any carbon to deposit on components. Of course you can't have the engine tuned for both at the same time (timing needs to be advanced to get the best out of gas).

So long as the oil and coolant have been kept up it should be a great little engine that'll continue to provide decent performance and economy

Cheers

Bennie

[timzigg]

The engine that's been on gas is the one with the blown head, the guy who owned it lent it to someone who didn't check the water :/ . It's still got the oil and coolant, they're just mixed together now! I won't have the gas going again because I'd like the space in the tray, I can get easier access to petrol because we have a bowser & I've been told that the lpg converter's stuffed.

Another question; if I pull the engine out I'll probably take the opportunity to check the clutch, but I'm guessing I won't be able to put in one of the spares because of the 4/5 speed gearbox difference, I've looked on eBay and only seen clutches advertised for one or the other, none say they suit both. Correct?

Was thinking about doing the 5 speed conversion, I've got two 5 speeds I could use, but I think I'll just get the ute on the road quicker.

[steptoe]

oil and water mix ? which way ? water in coolant or coolant in oil ?

Welch plugs in heads go, letting water droozle down into sump giving impresion head or HG is gone. If you can pull rocker covers off, pressure up cooling system to check welch plugs before chasing other stuff, may save lotta headache, money etc

You've already done gas tank out - that'd be the tricky bits done then. You just need to remove converter, revert coolant hoses back to original layout . Carefully remove the safety electrical stuff following wires back to where power start one should be from the coil positive side ?, old gas lines, clamps etc out, and the simple mixer ring from the carby off.

[timzigg]

There was water in the oil, I looked at the dipstick and it had that horrible milky looking stuff. I haven't looked at the coolant to be honest, I've been playing with the wagon more. I'll have a better look over it in the morning and post up more info, Dad's got a compression tester which will be useful. It'd be lovely if it was just those welch plugs.

I'm really glad to hear that the rest of the LPG removal is pretty simple. The gas tank took a while but it wasn't too bad; I just turned the two taps off, loosened the line fittings until the gas started coming out slowly, let the lines empty, disconnected them, unbolted and removed the tank. I've still got the tank which is half full, I'm not sure what to do with it.

[Bantum]

Get all the bits together & sell the lot as 'Brumby gas kit' on Gumtree ...

Cheers, Bantum ...

[timzigg]

Comes with a free pack of smokes

The coolants all rusty looking and it looks like the radiators been leaking, probably why it's stuffed.

Someone put a juice bottle under the radiator overflow, here's what was in it:

[dfoyl]

Pretty sure I have a spare coil if you want it. Where in Vic are you ?

[timzigg]

I'm in the south west, between Warrnambool and Portland. I'm pretty sure I'll have one lying around, we've got a few vehicles which use the same one. Big thanks though!

[timzigg]

I had a few spare minutes today so I removed the gas ring from the carby.

There's more mixed oil/water in with the air filter:


There's some discoloration around the intake manifold, is this normal or an indicator of a bad gasket?:


After I get the rest of the gas stuff off I'll whack the compression tester on which should tell me whether it's a head gasket or a welch plug like steptoe suggested was possible.

I'm heading away for a few days to work, so I won't get back to it until at least the weekend.

[steptoe]

Maybe I meant cooling system pressure tester - as well. I had a welch plug that did not need any cooling system pressure to check ...poured water in, saw it trickle out the welch plug. Some WPs are stainless, some are mild steel - from factory by the looks of things.

A drink bottle as a coolant reservoir is a common upgrade just need to ensure correct type of recovery cap is on the job as well .

Just noticed the restrictive looking spud in gas mixer ring under the air box ! You wanna remove it for better bonnet clearance and to take an unfiltered air leak via the vapour inlet and holes inside.

Is there a safety solenoid on the LPG tank at the outlet ? The bottle would be safer in some respects if it was empty. There are laws regarding who is authorised to work on LPG systems - at least those on the road - and for good reason. Just youtube LPG or propane gas bottle explosions

LPG is usually propane or propane and butane. Either or both, or as a mix, is heavier than air, even though it is a gas - or gasses. Falls to ground and spreads, can fall down drains etc ..... You don't want sparks about - smokers, gas hot water or anything with a pilot light nearby when working on its systems. Even a close neighbours HWS with a pilot light coul be dangerous to your health !

[timzigg]

The compression tester was my idea, I figure if it's got bad compression then it's a head gasket, if it's good then its probably the Welch plugs fault.

I'm lucky that I'm on a farm while working with the LPG, heaps of open space.

I'm not sure what will happen of I try to get the ute registered, I assume vicroads know it used to have an LPG system. I can't find any regulations on removing them, just installing them.

I think I took the photo before removing the mixer ring, what do you mean by the 'spud'?

At the moment I'm leaning towards using the wagon engine; it's older but it's done fewer k's and is already running. I can then take my time rebuilding another EA81, maybe with those spare blocks that have only done 90,000k's. Will see how things unfold as I progress.

[timzigg]

How quickly a month passes... Here's an update

The engine wouldn't turn over; after pulling a spark plug out I found that a cylinder had filled with that watery oil. So I'd say it's definitely the head.

I pulled the head off and found that there was also a rusty hole in one welch plug, and a little bit of leakage in another. There were no obvious gaps in the head gasket. I've cleaned up the old gasket on the head, now I've gotta get to town and buy a decent steel ruler / straight edge to check if the heads warped.

Will be staying at the farm where the brumby is for the next month or so, progress should pick up now.

[steptoe]

spud mixer is what those on carb mixers are called by the trade.

Vic roads may best be asked if they need a certified inspector of LPG to issue some LPG removed statement, or may just do an initial and state is petrol on forms.

I have also seen that rusty intake manifold staining on outside, also inside, stain trailing off to cylinders ..but heads are off now, a good thing to know you have replaced the HG's if you dont use the other donk just yet. With these engines, individual testing to find best engine ain't always best just going by age or distance - is how they been abused.

[timzigg]

..but heads are off now, a good thing to know you have replaced the HG's if you dont use the other donk just yet..

Cheers steptoe
Just one head off atm, the left one. What do you mean by a donk? the other engine/parts?

I've checked the head over now with a 0.05mm feeler gauge (specified by the gregory's manual) and an engineers square as a straight edge; it's got a couple of little spots where the thing just fits through. The 0.10mm (the next biggest I have) won't fit.

I haven't got the head cleaned to the point where it's shiny or anything, I just gently scraped the gasket material off with a screwdriver but didn't want to dig into it too much. I'm considering using this method to finish it off then remeasuring.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGZt6jCoIOA

[El_Freddo]

Good work mate, sounds like the HG wasn't the issu to begin with - but you still need to clean out the cylinders!

Be sure to do the other head too. Have a read in my thread about Redback brumby as the issue there was a welch plug that dropped out, flooding the engine with the contents of the radiator into the sump. Engine stopped and left to sit for 6 months - all cylinders filled with oil and water :/

Clean everything up and get it going as it sounds like you've got a good engine there, depending on the condition of the rings - always a gamble when you find an engine like this.

Steptoe uses the old term "donk" for engine

Cheers

Bennie