Three Generations of the Subaru Brumby: 1978 - 1994 

Thanks for the post. I used to live near Detroit for a good few years ... really harsh winters. Saw some cars being driven with nothing much more than duct tape holding things together. Thank God your Brat's in AZ! All the best with it!

Your Brumby Sport isn't a Taga Top model, is it? The TT is a great looking lifestyle car. No room for more, but I'd be tempted if I found a good one. Cheers again for your comments.

​@@DPOSFS It is a targa top, yes. I think that's why they gave it the 'sport' designation. They were rare in Australia, most common in the US, where they also had a pair of seats in the back up against the rear window so it could be registered in some states as a passenger vehicle. Bureaucratic inanity, in my opinion; give one to an eighteen-year-old for his birthday and the first thing he's going to do is take it down to the beach to play and roll it over. But, hey, that's freedom! Interestingly, though mine's an '86 model, it has the dual headlights like all US models and later Australian releases. Personally, I think the duals are a more appealing design, but of course, that's a matter of personal preference.

Thanks for the info. I've updated the video description. Cheers

Cheers for watching.

Let the tyres down in the sand, makes all the difference.

Cheers Bill. Yep, only for the US market. They looked good, though, even if they were uncomfortable unsafe hahaha. There were quite a few subtle differences in the different markets. we didn't have the "Third Eye," or the rear facing seats, and the dashes were quite different. I didn't see too many when I was living in Michigan, but I reckon the salt must have got them early.

Yep, have to agree ... more capable than I first thought.

Thanks for watching!

Cheers for that. Is that a US group? When I lived in Michigan I saw only one Brat over 10 years, and it was held together with duct tape! The winters are savage - salt and rust aren't a good combination. Thanks for watching!

@@DPOSFS I live in new england so they're VERY rare here, compared to the west coast. I shipped mine from vegas where its rust free. It is mostly an american group, super helpful people. Been in the group since I bought my car 2 and a half years ago.

Thanks for your comment. The description was updated about a year ago to reflect the comment of another person about the availability of the quad lights. There’s nothing in the paperwork or designation by Subaru that I have seen to distinguish these as separate models, so you’re right there. The round headlight body shape vs the other two is easy to distinguish as different enough to say it’s a different series of the same platform/model. You could get the quad lights earlier than the general move to that shape, but you would have had to have optioned the Sports model / Taga Top, so here I’m generally talking about the standard model. I know I’m saying stuff of which you are already aware, but I’ll say it because it’s part of my reasoning, and I’d like to answer your question. In late 1989 the standard model moved to the quad light configuration and after this time you could no longer get the twin headlight arrangement. In different markets there were different offerings. I lived in Detroit in the USA for 10 years and occasionally I saw a BRAT - these were always the quad light look. I think you’re right to say the differences between the twin and quad light Brumbys might be too small to warrant the designation of a new model, especially as there were other running changes along the way. But as this is an easily identifiable change to the look of the “face” of the car, and as it signifies the point in time when you could no longer get the twin headlight model, I’m using this as the marker for a new series (quad light) of the same model. In other words, I’m using “series” and “model” interchangeably and loosely to identify the standard look available in Australia. Taking a Holden example, the VR and VS Holden Commodores, despite modest differences, were known as different models, but they could have easily been seen as being *basically* the same car, just Series I and Series II iterations. Thanks for the question. It was good for me to think about it.

@@DPOSFS Thanks for the reply. Very well considered. I think the Americans tend to be the ones who use the generations more than Aussies because of the way they didn't call them "MY" or "L series". I know in the groups/forums I've been in, lots of people are advised to say they've got an 83 or 84 model so source parts otherwise the parts interpreters tended to get confused with the squarer L series. And I agreed completely with the VR vs VS thing :p

Hi. Are you in Australia? I reckon you have the upper spec sports model. Is it a Taga Top? Nice car if you do! I like that look. I’ve written a bit about earlier quad light Brumbys in an earlier post and my reply to someone in case it’s of interest. Thanks for your post.

@@DPOSFS Am in NZ, no Targa Top, no power steering or A/C either.

Cheers for the reply. I’ve heard that the first gen lights/grille were different on the Australian and NZ cars; I wonder how many differences there were in the other generations? To me, as we’re so close, it’s strange to have them being different.

The sports wagons had them from around 1983, and I think the utes with the twin sunroof also had them from around that time.

@@stephenw2992 that makes sense, that's about when they dropped the "third eye" flip up high beam headlights. Switching from that to a more conventional 4 headlight design seems to line up pretty well.

Yeah my grandfather’s BRAT which got passed down to me was an 87 with the 4 headlight design and had the T-tops. Here in the States.

Hi. I haven't paid much attention to it. I'll take a look when I next see them. They are kept in 3 different locations 75km apart.

Kemptons. They're very good. Not all my bungy cords line up 100% with the tie down hooks, but that's the only thing negative I can say. Professional people to deal with and quick turn around time. I think it was $246 or $248 delivered.

I've been looking out for them. Haven't seen a first gen one for many years. Cheers for watching.

I dont think they ever sold many including the sedans which were a really ugly looking thing. The first gens died off quickly between the rust and failures of the 1.6L motors. A friend had a wagon with seized motor. I saved the lights and bull bar off it before it went in the crusher. Nothing was of any use on the later ones.

@@stephenw2992 I was told there are only 4 Gen 1 utes registered in NSW. Don't know how they got that figure or how reliable it is. I reckon he must have meant full rego, but in any case, 4 is a ridiculously low figure, even if it's only 10% right. I agree with you about the rust. Ours is close to rust free ... don't know why. No bog either. The problem with the rarity is spare parts. It took a miracle to find a rear tail light after a few months of searching everywhere.

@@DPOSFS I think there were a couple getting around Hobart back in the day. Until maybe 5 years ago there was one that sat next to a shed in Huonville for many many years. Hopefully someone is going to restore it if its possible.