ORS.com #1

my04tone said:
I have driven this road heaps of times, and at night going very fast :surprised: but my most memorable was my 11yo niece saying to me on a very wet day "Lets Rally Uncle Tony", when we got to the end of the Acheron Way her door was open and out went her lunch :rotfl:no more Rally for her after that.
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Classic:rotfl:
 
Thanks everyone for your feedback and replies :cool::cool:

Next installment soon, its just too hot in my back room at the moment to be sitting on the computer for too long, my big fan just dont cut it at 43.1C :lildevil:
 
Sometimes just sometimes you have to admire the guts of some drivers, they know
their car, have done it all before and will saddle up to do it again time after time after time.

I had been talking to Peter (Beigewagon) via another forum, Peter knew about the plans
to launch OFFOADSUBARUS.com and had offered to go on a run with me into Baw
Baw NP so i could do some more write ups, so a date was set and even though the
weather had been foul, we were going to take a fast run on some medium tracks.

Some very fast punting along the back of some pine plantations, Peter was surpised
that the stock near new Foz was on his clacker all the way, the mud was flying the pot
holes and puddles were deep, we kept this pace up for ages it seemed, then stopped
for a chat.

How hard do you want to go Peter asked me? reply? whatever you want to throw at me,
lets test this car out was my reply, Peter said he had full recovery gear so Dry Gully
track (a very serious 4x4 track) through to Aberfeldy was the choice.

The track initailly was very winding and then we reached the top of a very steep decline,
Peter asked me did i want to go down as this was going to get pretty tough, my reply
was lets do it.

I watched the Beigewagon descend with not alot of drama, lots of braking could be
seen but i thought this is easy street. Onto the 2 way and Peter said hed cleared the
bottom and there was a river crossing at the end, so down i went.
This is the 1st time i realised the limitations of a stock Forester, the low range didnt
matter on such a steep decent, it just wasnt pulling me up, the car was running away
and it was along way down. Handrake on off, then brakes then throw the car sideways
to wash off momentum then turn into the downward slide, eventually pull the car up half
way down, then go again.

Arriving at the bottom of the hill i encountered a river crossing, it was the Aberfeldy,
straight in we went and the water was up over the bonnet, i gunned the car to create a
bow wave and through it we went, i hope the way out is easier because we arnt going to
make it back up that hill.

Camera failures because of some water seeping in, and they had worked their way
onto the floor so i tried to snap what i could, Peter crossed the billabong, i watched his
car disapear, the crackle on the 2 way saying we have to go out the way we came in,
every things flooded, little did i realise i had one of the best offroad shots you could get
of a Subaru deep in it.

By now my eyes were bugging out my head , the adrenalin had taken over and yes we
were going back out the way we came in, this might get loud.
I gunned the forester through the river and kept the throttle up for what i knew was a
huge climb, we had moments of running out of legs, but i would rest the car then give it
a crap load, and off we went again.
Peter had hit the top and was talking on the 2 way, just as i was doing a reverse stall
recovery, to save the car from decending backward into oblivion, i parked its butt
against a spoon drain and we were going nowhere, the Geo Squalers had met their
match.

I was stuffed, and the thought was being late in the day, that it was going to be a long
night camped on a strange angle on the side of a cliff.
Out came the Tirfor from the Beigewagon, we set up snatch blocks and we tried
everything to move the car, this was getting dangerous, we would lose the car into the
valley and the winch ropes would snap. We eventually got the car to move sideways, i
said to Peter release the winch, i am going to have a crack at it.
I gunned the car and got some traction and took off, leaping out of the spoon drains,
the going was very hard, at the top of the hill sat the Beigewagon, and i had got out of
there with the Subee, i had a new found love for this car, it was one tough unit and that it
was stock.

I walked back down the hill and helped Peter with the winch and blocks, this hill was
literally that steep i near had a heart attack on the way out, but a friendship with Peter
had been forged, and the adventures were to become more frequent over a period of
5 years.

Beigewagon was the 1st member and moderator on the site, and we hadnt even
bought it online yet.

Damage: Exhaust smashed against the undercarriage, needs replacing, front bar
damaged and parts missing and need replacing, rear bar scratched, chassis damaged but not bent.
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Looking worse for wear and the cab had taken some water
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Tough approach angles
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OFFROADSUBARUS.com was born
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We went online 2 weeks later
 
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The Monday after the trip i received a call my tyres had arrived, this was my 1st chance to start some reviews of gear. These Yoko 215-65-16 ATII's are now well documented and superseded, so no need to say much more than these were much noisier on the road than the current AT-S, allowed the car to stand a bit taller, offered good grip and were illegal, today they would be legal.

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Yes I did a sidewall or two when I had mine.
I think Kevin holds the record though. If my memory serves me right, he had about 6 or 7 I think.

Regards
Mr Turbo
 
Tony,

Still remember that day well. Let me know it you want to revisit out there. I am sure we would do it a lot easier now. May be some others would like to see the track that kicked it off. I haven't been there for a few years, so would be a good excuse to go back.

Beigewagon.
 
Beigewagon said:
Tony,

Still remember that day well. Let me know it you want to revisit out there. I am sure we would do it a lot easier now. May be some others would like to see the track that kicked it off. I haven't been there for a few years, so would be a good excuse to go back.

Beigewagon.
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My offroading these days is pretty much confined to finding ghost towns to metal detect etc, they are no longer on maps but are buried deep in the bush, sure makes for some exciting trips in and out. I am sure someone would love to take you up on a run through Dry Gully :lildevil: pity i am not allowed to detect in National Parks :cry: there are some old miners shacks deep in there.

Soon to post about our Sunset trip
 
Beigewagon said:
Still remember that day well. Let me know it you want to revisit out there. I am sure we would do it a lot easier now. May be some others would like to see the track that kicked it off. I haven't been there for a few years, so would be a good excuse to go back.
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my04tone said:
I am sure someone would love to take you up on a run through Dry Gully :lildevil:
Click to expand...

*Sticks my hand up* :lildevil:
 
After reviewing the damage to the car i decided to give Jodie at SubaXtreme a bell and discuss my requirements (spewing i didnt order the rear bar at the same time) and within a short period of time my front bar plate and lights arrived, i had them delivered to Combined Servicing for installation.

While at Combined i marveled at some of the cars that were there, most of all Marks Gravel X.

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Little did i realise that this very neat L Series would do the Sunset track with me and Beigewagon in a weeks time, "The Snoozeroo"
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Leaving Combined all kitted up, now i felt like i could do some damage. A complete report on the installation was put on the old site, long gone now.
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I was heading to Bunyip with Beigewagon and Snoozer to give this kit some stick. An idea of Marks at combined was to filter sock the intake to give the car more air. When i got home i took the snorkus off and added the filter, plenty of induction noise was the first thing i noticed.
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It seemed to work ok but the car didnt feel much different so eventually after a couple of runs i put the snorkus back on. The filter after our trip to Bunyip.
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Gave it a clean and it was good to go again.

Next: Sunset Track Bunyip SP.
 
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