Gen 3 Outback seats in the Brumby
I’ve got a 87 Brumby/BRAT which has gone 430,000km. With this distance obviously the seats took a beating. The drivers seat was half colapsed and you could feel it was broken on the edge as well as the rails having severe wear. I had an 01 Outback wreck so I pulled it’s seats, few cuts and welds and in they go.
Comparison of the seat rails. Due to the design the Outback seat rails could not be removed (part of the structure of the seat).
I measured out all the mountings on the original seat, plus a measurement from side of the seat that sits against the console (inner mount) to the mounting holes.
I ended up deciding to use the old seats mounts instead of fabricating new ones just so it had a more authentic look, less modified. Welding seat mounts in Australia is frowned upon.
I drilled out the spot welds on the new seats rear outer mount and did the same to the old seats front inner mount. I placed the old seats inner front mount on the rear of the outer mount spot on the new seat. This gave me the correct angle and height required for that mount to be the same as the old seat was. I then cut the other old seats front mount tab off and welded it to the new seats front outer mount giving the seat the correct distance between front mounts and also keeping the seat at an adequate distance from the console for clearance.
I cut the rear inner mount down and rotated it 90 degrees. This mount was a little odd because all my measurements (done twice, and even again on the other seat I did) put the mount too low, I ended up having to cut it down and reweld it again until I got to this point shown in the picture (12mm lower than my measurements from the old seat indicated. This mount wasn’t the easiest to get a bolt done up on, had to use an open ended spanner, but it works and is stronger than the old seat mount. I also needed to bend the front mounts down a few degrees to match the old mounts angle.
The small pocket in the door trim no longer could stay due to the wider seats
The passenger seat sits around 15mm higher than the old seat did, mostly on the front, the rear is a bit lower but still very comfortable.
The drivers seat being the adjustable height type sits around 10mm higher in the lowest position but I like the front lifted a few mm so it is similar to the passager for my comfort. I do notice being able to see more hood, and my head is a tiny bit closer too the roof but I still have over 60mm clearance and I am 182cm/6ft tall.
They are much nicer than even good condition Brumby seats, and I don’t feel they are too out of place colour and style wise.
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.