Offroading Subarus - BRATs, Brumbys, Outbacks, Libertys, Legacys, Wagons, Leones, EA81, EA82, EJ22, EJ25

Welcome to OffroadingSubarus.com. This is a site mainly dedicated to offroading the good old trust worthy Subaru. If it be a Brat, GL wagon, Coupe, RX or hatch. This site is small, but I plan to grow it big. And maybe even have a OffroadingSubarus.com Forum. I have way too many plans to talk about (and do!) So I will leave it at this.

Currently looking for articles and writers to expand OffroadingSubarus. Contact me if you're interested.

Please email me if you have any ideas, corrections, info for this site. Or need anymore info about something on this site. You can see my email address at the top of every page here.

This is a small "article" just to let new readers know what they'll find on this site.
This site is devoted to giving you all the information you need to set up your Subaru for the harsh offroad treatment you want to give it. You will find info on lift kits. What wheels fit Subaru's. How to get more power from your Subaru including EJ (late model Subaru) engine conversion details. How to trim your fenders to fit larger tires under that Subaru. Weld up that rear diff to give you better offroad ability with more traction. Links to other sites including stuff on home made 6" lift kits, front mount 12000lb winch and modified bullbars for protection. You'll also find we have a support forum which you can join and ask your own questions. There is information on where to offroad in your 4WD. Where to look for info on 4x4 locations.

Ok, now you know what this site is about, let me tell you about my background in Subaru.
I started in 2005 when I bought my first Subaru, 89 Brumby (also known as Brat's in other parts of the world). It came with the usual Australian modified setup. 2" lift kit, 14" wheels, loud exhaust. But it also came with a unique dual carb EA81 engine. In the first month of owning it I had the wheels off cleaning them up and spraying them white. I had the torsion bar out of the car to clean it up because there was more dirt then metal and it wouldn't adjust the suspension up. I had the engine out to change the clutch. 6 Months down the track I fitted 27" Mud terrains on the 14" Speedy Desert Rat wheels. I also bought a 3" rollbar and a alloy bullbar for it. About another 6 months and I went through a lot of trouble with stripped exhaust studs. I had to take the heads off 3 times to get it right. I welded the rear diff, but later put it back to standard due to the AWD conversion I will talk about in a moment. After much tweaking of the EA81 I decided it wasn't enough so I fitted an EJ22 from a 89 Liberty. This is a 2.2L Fuel injected SOHC 16v motor. It gives 130hp instead of the EA81dc's 101hp. But the real beauty is the torque off of idle. When I decided to fit the EJ engine I also wanted to fit a 5sp. But I didn't want the AWD form the Liberty as it is weak offroad. And I didn't want FWD onroad. So after much research I planned a gearbox build using three Subaru gearboxes. As far as I know I was the first to do this build and to this date still the only. It involved using the EJ Liberty gearboxes casing. The FT4WD jap/US spec EA82 5sp's gears and front diff along with the rear "transfer case" with locking center differential to give proper 4x4 drive. And the standard FWD/4WD EA82 5sp's low range gearset to give me that 1.59 to 1 low range. I planned this out before I had any of the parts due to low finance. But when I got around to getting all of the parts together it all just fell into place. Everything fit how I planned it and it required only minimal modification to some parts. Always have a mig welder and angle grinder on hand with Subaru's I say.
After the EJ and gearbox conversion I had a battery fire which due to my father I caught early before too much was ruined. I modified the front suspension for better geometry. Converted the hubs to the jap 6 stud pattern for a better selection of offroad wheels. Custom interior parts, PDA MP3 audio setup with GPS. UHF, VHF. Pretty much all you could ever want.
Of cause, all good things come to an end and I sold it almost exactly 3 years after buying it. It was time to move onto other projects. I still don't have a Subaru that I will modify, but I plan on getting another.

I am currently accepting articles from other writers. If you've done something to you car and would like to write something up about it I'd be happy to add it to the collection of articles here.

Enjoy your stay and I hope you enjoy reading these forums. Check out the articles archive and all the other links in the left menu.
Thank you.

Phizinza - Thomas

UPDATE: 22nd December 2010.
It has been a long while since I updated this front page, but as you can see there are a couple more pages added to the site. The latest being about my new car, which is a 99 Gen3 Outback. I've built a storage system along with a bed for it. Check out the new article about it! Storage and Sleeping System for Outback.

UPDATE: 16th February 09.
Mike from Subaru Off Road got in contact with me today to exchange links. He has a Subaru blog with plenty of info on offroad, rally, and new gen Subaru's. Check it out at http://subaru-offroad.blogspot.com/.
I've still got plenty to write up about my new Leone. Next to come will be a EA82 disty conversion for EA81 engines. A few of us Subaru guys here in SA will be heading down to Goolwa to camp and fish at the Murray mouth next month. Check out the forum for details on that!

UPDATE: 1th February 09.
I've got the Leone on the road and took it for its first bashin... I mean test drive, on the 24th of January at Loveday 4x4 Park. It had a few issues, rubbing tyres mostly. But there's nothing I can't sort out. I've uploaded some videos of it onto youtube. Have a look here. I've also worked on some articles about the little blue subie and you can see them in the left menu bar under "Project83". Also listed in the articles archive. Its been hot here is South Australia. We've had 5 days of over 40 degree celsius weather, most of which were in the high 40's so nothing much has happened. I'll update more when it happens.

UPDATE: 27th November 08.
The BBQ down at the Murray Mouth turned out good. 11 cars showed and we had little drama. It was cold, raining, sunny, windy, and hot all at the same time (typical Goolwa weather). I'm planning a trip upto Loveday 4x4 Park for January, check out the forum for info. The Subie Leone is coming along slowly. I've gotten most of the panels on it. Turns out the Sedans had a smaller trans tunnel so there was no way I was going to bash it to fit. Instead I cut a slice down the middle and parted it with a bottle jack. I will put a plate back over and rivet it once I've got the transmission in place, requires a custom crossmember to be welded. Trying to get the motor and gearbox together wasn't going to well so I pull it apart again and turns out the pilot bearing was rusted up and spinning at all. Also the guard at the bottom which is suppose to stop dirt and mud getting in the fly wheel was bent up and wouldn't let the gearbox go on. Dramas all round but she is getting there slowly like I said.

UPDATE: 10th November 08.
I have just updated the Forum. Have a look and tell me what you think if you want. I have also bought another Subaru after selling my Mercedes. It is a 83 Leone sedan. I will be doing it up over the next couple of weeks with my dual carb EA81 engine and be converting it to a 5sp D/R 4WD setup. You can have a read and follow the progress at http://offroadingsubarus.com/forum/index.php?topic=436.0. I will be writing a 4WD conversion page after I have done the work on it. So you have that to look forward too. Here's a picture anyhow.

UPDATE: 27th July 08.
4 New articles and a whole heap of reworking which you probably won't see but its helping. I'm trying to get others to help me expand this website, so if you can help please email me.
The forum is going well. The Gallery is going to get a full going over with proper thumbnails and less pages. Also it will have all the pictures on this site, as I've not added the latest ones. So for now the old Gallery is gone. Enjoy your stay.

UPDATE: 18th 10th 07.
Been a long time since I updated here.. I still need to do massive work on this site to get it up to speed but we'll see how that goes. But for now I'm just letting you know that there is a South Australian trip planned for the 17th of November. Check out the Local Outings page. Cheers, Phiz

UPDATE: 14th 7th 07.
I have uploaded to new videos.. Check them out on the Downloads page please! And if you want let me know what you think.
I've also had a little trouble with the Brumby. Check out the forum here. But all isn't lost. It's just going to take some time getting it back up and running. It really only destroyed my really sweet battery, my ammeter shunt and a load of aftermarket wiring I had done.. But nothing original. Oh and I'll need a new hood.

UPDATE: 15th 5th 07.
Great news everyone! I have been setting up a forum for OffroadingSubarus.com. Check it out and become a member by clicking on the Forum link on the left menu. And if you are a South Australian, when you join make that clear and I will add you onto the SA members which get another forum for SA only! So you can get in contact with locals, buy and sell anything, and tell other South Australians where the good offroad spots are.

UPDATE: 29th 3rd 07.
It's been a while. I have got the Brumby up and running with the new EJ22. I'm just ironing out a few bugs, I have code 24 which is an IAC problem. I've been writing up a few guides for the conversion on the site. So have a look at Exhaust system, Fitting EJ engine into a Brumby or Brat and Fuel supply. There is still much more to cover, but this is what is done for now. I should really get back to fixing the car now.

UPDATE: 10th 2nd 07.
There's been a lot going on in the shed with my Brumby. I have built a new gearbox which uses the casing of a EJ dual range box along with the L-series 1.59 to 1 low range and gear set and differential, it also has the pinion shaft and center locking diff from a FT4WD EA82. So now I can have EJ22 power, EJ clutch (no custom EJ to EA adapter plate) L series low range, and a center diff lock for AWD and 4WD. I am stuck with having 3.7 ratio diffs. But it will be worth it. I will be doing a very comprehensive write up about this build up on this site but for now you can view the thread on ultimatesubaru.org
I've also gotten a lot ready to put the EJ22 in my car. The wiring loom is pretty much done, just needs to be installed and tested. The engine crossmember has been drilled out to fit the EJ22 mounts. I am modding the EA82 L-series gearbox crossmember to fit the MY Brumby so I can use the EA82 mounts. It goes on forever...
You may want to look at my custom control arm setup now. It gives much better handling to EA81 cars!
Until next time, enjoy your reading at OffroadingSubarus.com!

UPDATE: 15th 12th 06.
I've added an article for welding a rear R160 Subaru differential. I've done this myself and if you are a keen offroading I highly recommend it! Check the step by step article out here and let me know if anything needs to be fixed changed in it. Thank you!

UPDATE: 13th 12th 06.
It's been a long time. I've changed my hosting to a new company so now I have 100gigs! If you want anything hosted for you, email me and I will get back to you with the FTP details. I was looking though my folders of pictures of Subaru's looking for the pictures to suit the video's on my video page and found a couple of pictures that brought back good memories. So I thought I would share them with you. Check out these 2 pictures. Peake, Mud Splash.

UPDATE: 10th 9th 06.
Just for some laughs I thought I'd make this video, Eco Friendly Subaru. hehe.

UPDATE: 6th 9th 06.
I just had to put a link on my site to this car. I don't think it looks all the crash hot, but it's a great effort. BTW, it was done in Israel so you can't read it, but who needs words, here's a pic:
Custom Subaru Brat. Full body kit. Amazing!

UPDATE: 5th 9th 06.
Well I finally got CarDomain working for me and put a page up with my Brumby on it. Check out my Brat on CarDomain.com. I'm also working on another site which has some of my other projects on it. Maybe it will be on the net this month. Keep an eye out.

UPDATE: 1st 9th 06.
My dad is selling is 85 L series Wagon. It's very clean and tidy. Here are some pictures. If you want to know more or organise a time to see it email me, phizinza@offroadingsubarus.com. And of cause it's in South Australia, south of Adelaide.

UPDATE: 18th 8th 06.
I have a new article on Replacing/Removing/Re-booting Front EA81/EA82 driveshafts (also known as axles.) And a quick write up with pictures of the Murray mouth at night with the 89 Brumby and 83 Wagon. Enjoy.

UPDATE: 3rd 8th 06.
Just recently I added a couple of videos to the site. See them here. I needed to use Google Video to host them as I do not have enough hosting space. But there are advantages to hosting on Google Video. First of them is people can find my video through Google, and then get linked back to my site. This gives more hits to my site, which in turn is more people learning all this great stuff about Subaru's. The First one I added is Subaru Dune Run. This is just a bit of fun playing around at the beach, And getting a 88 wagon air born. The second has nothing to do with Subaru's, but has got to do with offroading. Check them out.
I've also worked on a few pages on my site that were under construction, but now have content. These are FAQ about Offroading Subaru's and A Ultimate Offroader Idea. I hope you enjoy the rest of my site. Cheers

UPDATE: 26th 6th 06.
I have photochopped my Brumby again with a new paint job. I don't plan on paint my ute anytime soon, I just thought it looks cool in that colour. While I was changing the colour I noticed a olive green looks quite nice too. Maybe a future paint job for my photochopped page... Enjoy.

UPDATE: 18th 6th 06.
It's been a while since I posted here. So I might just cram a whole load of stuff into this small area. I recently got some new wheels for my car. They are 15x6" Performance Superlites. They have a six stud pattern (the famous 139.7mm one.) So I had to also do a six stud conversion. You can read about all that in the Article pages. I also got some new 14x6" Nissan wheels for my M/T's. You can see all the pictures of the new stuff in the Gallery, look at pages 5 to 6. I have been getting heaps of response to the New Brat "guest book". But I need more. More is better. I am hoping to get heaps so I can mail Subaru a picture of the Brat I photoshopped and all the responses. Maybe by 08 we might have what we all want? I hope so anyhow.
I have a few more links to other great Subaru website's, look at the bottom left of any page on this site. I really recommend you have a good look at them all after browsing through my site. Anyhow, I'll leave it at that. Soon I should have a new video of my Subie, I have only been offroad 2 or 3 times this year, so getting good footage is hard. Especially seems I don't always have a camera man while I drive. But, my brother has got his licence back now and he is lifting his 83 wagon. Should be lots of fun. Cheers!

UPDATE: 28th 1st 06.
I just completed the EA82 hatchback. Have a look at it via the link in the left menu. Subaru never made a EA82 hatch, but I think it would of been a rather nice car. I am sure there would be plenty of people on USMB that would want one!

UPDATE: 16th 1st 06.
New download page is now up. Check out my latest video of the Brat in my yard. It should be at the top of the page.

UPDATE: 23rd 12th 05.
New page up about my new center console, check the links on the left. I haven't been doing much driving lately. I really want to go out for some more offroad stuff but I can't seem to find some time when others can come. Plus I live 80km from one of the laziest cities in Australia... Merry Christmas everyone, I don't celebrate it, due to not believing in god and all that other stuff. But I know others do, so good on ya for staying home and being quiet for me :) Enjoy the updates.

UPDATE: 25th 11th 05.
New address. I have bought www.OffroadingSubarus.com so now all you have to do is type that in the address bar to visit my site!
I have also added a links section, at the bottom left of every page. Visit the sites, you never know what you might find huh? I added the Ideas Archive the other day and plan to grow it to a bigger part of this site. I hope you enjoy the new parts of the site, have a good look around, ok?

UPDATE: 26th 10th 05.
I have just added the Kumho tyres page in and updated my Subaru GL fender trimming page.

UPDATE: 4th 9th 05.
Still working on the site.