Loveday 4×4 Riverland Challenge 2012
In August we decided it was time to race the “new” (old) racewagon. With limited time and a very busy October we only just managed to get the racewagon ready for racing at the Loveday 2012 Riverland Challenge which was on the last weekend in October.
Our support team on the sidelines. TOSSERS (Team Offroading Subarus Super Enthusiast Racing Specialists)
Lining up for our first race of the weekend.
The weekend of racing didn’t start extremely well! First lap we did some jumps and then a third of the way around the lap we ran into troubles, what seemed like a wet distributor. After closer inspection the engine was dry but looking down the throat of the carburetor the secondary was half full of petrol. This was causing it to flood the engine with fuel. What must have happend is when this engine was sitting in the old racewagon it must have had some water in the carb as the secondary throat was rusted closed. Turns out we didn’t manage to just get it ready for the race weekend!
Trying to work out what was wrong, which turned out to be the carb.
After pulling the carburetor into three pieces and completely off the manifold we got the secondary going again with a few minutes to spare before our next lap. During the second lap of the weekend we were still figuring out the much changed track from the previous years we went racing. We had some pretty hard bumps and ended up ripping the bullbar off the front of the car and driving over it!
Some competition for us
Toby (Loveday 4×4 Park owners sun) smashed his LS1 converted Patrol’s front diff on a landing.
The third and final lap of Saturday also brought us grief when we went too hard through the mud section and nose dived very heavily. We snapped the top of a strut and drove over a large mound on a banked corner. Trying to get back onto the track we hit a ditch and that left the strut drop down far enough the fall forward. The top of the strut was pointing forward at this point and the ball joint had ripped in half. We tried to continue to ended up losing steering and driving into another bank where we ended up getting bogged. This was a DNF, we thought that was our chances of a podium position gone for the weekend.
Standard class entry (they can’t be turbo, v8, more than 2″ lift or over 33″ tyres)
We were in Bushman’s class, which is no more than $2000 worth and doesn’t have to be registered.
Some more of our competition.
Something looks wrong with that wheel alignment!
The strut got stuck compressed, we weren’t game to release it or be near it. So we threw it out into the scrap metal heap up there.
Sunday brought much better luck for us. We had three more heats, first one we played it soft to learn the track, still jumping the car 3 or 4 times though. The next lap we went at it and placed 8th overall in that heat (against about 36 other cars, in three different classes). That one was a 116.8 second lap. We shaved another few second off in the 6th heat for the weekend with a 113.1 (4th overall in the heat, with the fastest time of the weekend being 111.1 seconds). This, to our surprise, managed to bring out points up to 4th place and get us a place in the semi final timed knockouts!
Our competition in the 6th heat.
Our support crew again, the TOSSERS
One of the top four in the semi’s jumping.
Our semi final lap didn’t go well, and we placed behind “black betty” which was an older model hilux with tractor tyres and quite a few other mods from the looks of it. But because it was a timed knockout and Luke in Black Betty and I in the Subaru were faster than the other two we raced against each other again in the final.
In the final we gave it everything. Half way around we saw Black Betty was behind us in time and thought they must of been having problems. As it turns out at that point they weren’t but just after that they started having issues which they claimed to be running out of fuel. We didn’t want to take the last lap easy because that is no way to win so we kept at it and decided at the last minute to do a victory jump which was the highest we had done that weekend. It really bent the struts but not bad enough for a victory doughnut to finish the weekend off with!
Black Betty in the final
An extra jump for the victory of finally getting 1st place at this event!
And a victory doughy in a very bent and batted Subaru running 4WD low and a welded rear diff. Hooked up quite well!
So that was our weekend at the Loveday 4×4 Park Riverland Challenge for 2012. Very enjoyable for everyone who went. Extremely happy with the out come of 1st place (that makes out of the 4 times we’ve raced there in a Subaru one 1st, 1 2nd and 2 3rd placings).
Huge thank you to my support crew, my “chief mechanic” Roger, my co-driver Ellis, my sponsors “Olley and Polly”, “Mel’s Dazzling Nails & Beauty”, “Viperjet Drain Cleaning” and “Always Learning Books”. And a very special thank you to my fiancee who put up with me doing all this!
Hope you enjoyed the read and pictures!
I bought my first Subaru back in 2005, it was a 89 Brumby, flair red. I lifted it, fitted Kumho 27″ MT’s. After a while I swapped the dual carb EA81 it had with an EJ22 bolted on a custom gearbox which used EJ D/R casing, EA82 5sp low range and an RX centre locking diff. Once I sold the Brumby I got a 83 Leone. Converted it to 4WD, put the Kumho’s on it, added a 5sp and drove it like I stole it. I then upgraded to a 99 Outback. It was hail damaged so I repaired it myself. I fitted it out with some storage and a mattress. I now have a 87 Brumby that I’ve resprayed with two pack urethane in Waratah Red. I am planning to fit an EJ with PT gearbox and a little bit of lift. It’s another project in progress.
Phizinza – who has written 50 posts on Offroading Subarus.