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Ok guys, the 10 sets (20 hubs) are now in-hand and I think I have just about EOI's in this thread to save creating a FS thread that might mean people who have already put up their hand miss out. Here is the summary as I see it : ANIM_Hoonaru (AUS, NSW) - 1 set with new studs Bennie (AUS, VIC) - 1 set Callum (AUS, SA) - 1 set with new studs carfreak85 (USA, PNW) - 1 set with new studs Crazyeights (USA, PNW) - 1 set with new studs ausmattw (USA, SA) - 1 set with new studs Peter K (AUS, NSW) - 1 set Bantum (AUS, NT) - possibly 1 or more sets ? Still available : 2 sets... If anyone wants to drop out please let me know in case anyone else steps up. I'll follow up the 4 unknown status stud options, and then order the required number of studs from Rockauto and confirm the final cost.

You also need the brake lines (about 4" long). Rotor is easy enough, caliper and backing plates are a bit tougher. I believe some have used Civic calipers...

Only early MY's had rebuildable shocks (1981?), so I'd say new ones are the way to go. Sorry, can't help on recommendations for replacements as I'm running EJ struts...

See my email, they will work but offset will mean you're driving about 3 inches inboard of stock which means worse handling. Spacers will fix it (for use off-road only, etc etc).

For street use I would go the 6-lug option. The handling with 13" wheels is just dreadful compared to 14" imho. That said, $120 for a set of used steel wheels is pretty steep - I guess location is a part of it, but even so that's expensive. I would have thought $40-50 would be a more realistic price.

Could go 2 1/4" rather than 2" - some have gone to 2 1/2" but I think for a Weber set up 2 1 1/4" is more than sufficient. Add a hotdog for the mid-pipe.

Stuff thin rope down inside one of the spark plug holes into the top of the cylinder and the piston will get "stuck" as it travels up. Then you can use an impact wrench or breaker bar to remove the crank pulley. Make sure to disconnect battery first so car doesn't try to start!

Old-school would have been a ballast resistor, but I'm guessing these were phased out on Subaru's at least 10 years earlier...hopefully someone can chime in...

16 of the 20 units (8 of the 10 sets) have been inspected by supplier and will be winging their way over in the next week. The last 2 sets are slightly undersize in one dimension (-0.05 instead of +/- 0.02mm tolerance) and will take a little longer. I will offer these up once I have them in hand in three versions : 1. Raw hubs (pair) - estimate $200 US/pair 2. Hubs with used studs fitted (pair) - estimate $220 US/pair (for people without access to a press) 3. Hubs with new studs fitted (pair) - estimate $240 US/pair (as above) All prices don't include shipping, which for AUS I can ship in a 5kg pre-paid bag (each hub is 1.6kg so just too much for a 3kg bag). I will not know exact amount under (a) I have them in hand, and ( I know the number of people who opt for #3 (the more people who want new studs means I can buy more studs from Rockauto and amortise the shipping rather than taking them from donor EJ vehicles at a JY).

Yes, that would all be suitable. You would still need the XT6 hubs for the rear and possibly extend the handbrake cables but that's it. The front would also be fine. Gearbox looks like a good deal too if you want to go down that path. The only reason I went with EA was I had a known good L-series box, but a newer EJ box is going to last longer. Negates the need for an adaptor plate. However, if you want the adaptor plate option I *think* I have seen a drawing on here somewhere. Otherwise you can do it the old fashioned way - see Phiz's website for details.

Got my BRAT bumper back from the chrome platers today - whoo!

Has anyone looked into reproducing BRAT tailgate trim ? I have seen a handful of originals being sold at prices around $300 and that's only going to go up. I have yet to find a half-decent one at a JY, and it doesn't look like a particularly difficult profile to create. It would make sense to have them made in the US given the volume of BRAT's are going to be there, but I am sure there are Asian companies that are doing reproduction parts like door jam plates for Mustang's, Camaro's, etc, that are not going to be any simpler than a BRAT trim. I know I was able to get a pair of door jam plates for my 1967-76 Dodge Dart (local equivalent) for something like $100 US several years ago, and that has a LOT more detail than the BRAT trim - but admittedly was stamped aluminium. Maybe there is a company in the US that could take this on, if we could demonstrate numbers of interest ?

Not yet Bennie, just want to have them in hand before listing. if they come in as expected and demand is reasonable I'll run a second batch against firm orders. The first batch will be first-in once I have them.

I am hoping for next week to have them shipped. Unfortunately I am heading to the US next Sunday so they probably won't make it in time for me to hand-carry any over there - which means I won't see them until I get back in 3 weeks from that date (mid October).

Why not a BRAT ? You are looking for a small ute, the BRAT is the ideal choice. Plenty of upgrade options, will continue to increase in value, the only downside is you are going to an older vehicle (and a 1992 Ranger is probably no more modern inside than a BRAT). The only modern replacement for the BRAT is the Proton Jumbuck - not sure if they are sold in the US though - and although this is only 2WD it also has plenty of upside in the mechanicals are Mitsubishi Lancer based and gives (almost) drop-in upgrades up to Evo spec... If you do decide to go the Forester route and make it a ute, pick the more powerful engine as you'll be adding weight...

Tweety had a SC12 from memory on a stock EA81. I think these were found on "Z" badged Corolla's and similar. Fairly cheap and easy to fit from memory. Fuel economy was pretty terrible though. Link : http://www.ausubaru.com/forum/showthread.php?t=23606

I still use the factory shift boot, but I cut the metal frame down into a U-shape with the section facing the back of the vehicle being cut out.

By the time you buy an engine, rear backing plate/caliper/rotors, front struts, front knuckles/caliper/rotors, it might be cheaper to buy a donor vehicle to get these all off. This is what I did...

Try your local pick-a-part for the struts or maybe Gumtree for someone local who is wrecking a suitable donor EJ vehicle. Measure the distance you need for height you are looking for - you may want to use Forester / Outback or Impreza / Liberty (I believe the perch heights are different on these). I wouldn't see them as being worth more than $100 for a pair for the struts, and another $100+ for the knuckle/rotors/calipers. Depends on how far you want to go with brakes, as these could cost you at least $300 for WRX 4-pots on the front. Note STi struts knuckles are wider than non-STi so you can't mix and match (you can use STI struts on non-STI knuckles but need to add a packing plate and elongate the holes, but it would be far easier to stick to one or the other). And most STi are 5x114.3 so aren't suitable... You will need to use your existing strut top hats as the Brumby uses a 2-bolt oval design and EJ uses a 3-bolt round design. You may need to juggle with springs as the Brumby strut tower is quite narrow (I used rear springs from a Liberty as these start wide at the bottom and get smaller at the top). To modify the LCA you need to ream it out with a suitable angle reamer (sorry, can't recall the angle).

That's a pair, approx. in USD. You don't need them for the front, only the rear. The front uses standard EJ struts, and you modify the LCA to suit. Some people have used L-series LCA's which helps with geometry but also pushes your front axles out (so your front track is wider than your rear). Anything between +28 and +35 offset would be my suggestion. Any higher and the wheels start to sink into the wheel-wells (like a stock Brumby), which isn't really a problem. You could run a stock EJ +48mm offset and it would drive with no issues. If you use L-series LCA's you may want a higher offset (+35 to +42 ideally).

Width of the wheel - pretty much as wide as you want. From memory I have 7" wheels. I think anything over 8" might start to have clearance issues, but obviously that depends on offset. With a high positive offset it's more critical as the back of the wheel is closer to the suspension.

No lift on 16's with 45 profile - within 1% of stock rolling diameter so speedo is correct. You need to modify the (EJ 4-bolt) backing plate to suit the 3-bolt Brumby design - info is in the other thread. "Can" be done with a hand drill and file if you're careful and can measure. I prefer to weld up the old holes as well but that's more aesthetic than necessary. Brumby's use a front hand brake design, EJ's use a rear, so you need to run the handbrakes from the rear backing plates to the handbrake handle in the cab and fab up a suitable solutions (options are use an EJ handbrake, which is designed to suit, run the handbrake cables to the front of the car and then loop around to the front of the handle and use the stock Brumby hand-brake (you will need longer cables to do this, I believe some Magna's (Diamante's to our US readers) are suitable), or modify your Brumby handbrake to pull from the back instead of the front (this is what I did, by bolting part of the EJ mechanism to the Brumby handle). The 5x114.3 concept I ended up killing off, simply because I no longer had a need and most people don't have access to suitable donor Subaru's with that PCD (STI's, Tribeca's, and SVX). 16" wheels will take any factory brake option except I think 04+ STi...this is rear-specific obviously, for fronts it's a different story (eg. you can't fit 04+ Liberty GT front rotors & calipers under 16's).

See my other thread further down the page of this section of the forum for info to date (titled EOI on 5x100 / 5x114.3). You can fit any EJ brakes except 04+ STI which run the larger PCD. I started with stock Forester rear backing plates and discs (266mm) and then went to WRX (290mm). If your wheels are large enough to clear the calipers you can go to any version you want, even aftermarket will bolt up as long as it's not STi specific (I think some STi has thicker discs ?). Lifting is dependant on tyre size. If you want to keep the same overall rolling diameter then the wheel size goes up but the tyre profile comes down. A 15" wheel will be around a 55 profile, a 16" will be a 45 profile, a 17 would be a 35 profile. The blue one in your picture is probably running the WRX 16's with spacers (and/or adaptors), with a 45 profile. Note 15's will not clear most larger brake setups. If you stick with stock 70 or 75 profile tyres you're going to have problems regardless of wheel size - even 14's with 70 profile would be a tight fit on an un-lifted Brumby.

I am making up a batch of XT6 hubs, but until I have them in hand I won't be offering them up FS as I don't know timing. Adaptors are not uncommon but are definitely illegal down under. The one major advantage of adaptors is you can use standard Subaru wheels as the adaptor acts as a spacer which means the higher positive offset of modern Subaru wheels (typically +48mm, up to +53mm on WRX's) counterbalances the change from OEM 4x140 PCD wheels (+42mm on a Brumby from memory). And don't forget Brumby wheels are heavily offset inwards from stock - I was running +25mm offset Peugeot wheels and they were still somewhat inboard to modern cars. The ideal offset for a Brumby would be between +25 and +30, which makes it very difficult to find cheap OEM wheels (Audi / VW are about the only option). The disadvantage is you are still running stock brakes, which are fine for an EA81 but less than adequate for your EJ plans...it would definitely get knocked back by an engineer. The other option is to go 6 stud, which gives you access to most 4wd wheels (except Hilux, which are 5x100). Of course, many 4wd wheels are a lot heavier than needed for a Brumby as they designed for 2+ ton vehicles and a Brumby is half that...

Raise the front by changing the springs but your handling will get worse. Make sure to get a wheel alignment when you make any changes. You will also increase the already positive camber which will chew out your outer tyre edges. Lower the rear - three options. 1. Minor adjustment by turning the ride height bolt in the tray (under one of the rubber boots). Make sure there is no load on the vehicle while doing this, ie. put it on a service rack or put up on stands (only the rear). 2. Major adjustment by clocking the axles (take to an older VW mechanic, it's the same concept as Beetle's used, or do it yourself but be careful not to pull the half-shaft out too far when rotating). 3. Put something heavy in the back