48 replies to this topic

[Uberoo]

This is gonna be my Build Thread for my 78 brat project(and a half),Could I get a mod to change the thread title to "Uberoo's Build Thread" or something?Thanks.

 

I have a 78 brat that I am going to put EA81 suspension under it as well as stuff a EJ22 in the engine bay.When all said and done I want it to sit level or with a 1/4"-1/2" rake in the rear.I also want 1" suspension lift in the front.

I was thinking 3" in the back ,and 4" strut blocks,with 3" crossmember blocks, But the EJ22 will drop the front an inch.So should I go with 5" strut blocks,4.5" strut blocks,etc.How much lift should I build into the strut blocks to give 1" suspension lift with a a EJ22 and DR 5 speed up front,while still being pretty close to level with the rear?

Edited by Uberoo, 27 February 2014 - 03:06 PM.

[monstaru]

You think to much.
Do more. It helps to answer questions you naturally have in process.
Start taller so you can cut down and not waste steel.
cheers

[el_freddo]

If this is the earlier style brat I reckon you'll need more lift than that to clear the EJ in the engine bay from what I've seen with these.

Cheers

Bennie

[Uberoo]

I have torch and welder, I can make anything fit.the framerails need to be notched thats all.

[el_freddo]

Sorry I forget that you don't have the same sort of constraints that we do over here with chassis rail modifications!

For example, to drop an EJ20G into a Brat you need an engineer's report for the chassis modifications (some are hesitant to sign off) - but you also need one for the engine anyway.  Same goes for any EJ in and MY or L series...

 

Cheers

Bennie

[Uberoo]

you would be shocked and awed in wonder at some of the creations that roam the roads around here.Some of the regulations don't make much sense- for instance windshield wipers are required but a windshield is not.Interesting stuff like that.


Think of some of the vehicles from Mad Max.In the states or at least the ones ive been in you could legally drive those vehicles on the street assuming you kept the VIN off the vehicle it was based on.

Edited by Uberoo, 06 January 2014 - 02:31 PM.

[Uberoo]

So I have the rear suspension mocked up under the brat.Theres a couple areas that need clearanced but other than that not to bad.On the gen 1 brat there is a box/platform where the inner suspension pivot points mounted,does that have bolts holding it on or is the blue wrench needed to remove it?same with the studs for the front diff mount?Sorry about no pics im using an old laptop and its having problems just typing.

[Uberoo]

Does anyone have any pics of EA81 rear suspension under a EA71 vehicle?It looks like I need more lift in the rear with the suspension cranked up to avoid cutting the crossmember for clearance for the EA81 adjuster bolt.

[ezapar]

Think of some of the vehicles from Mad Max.In the states or at least the ones ive been in you could legally drive those vehicles on the street assuming you kept the VIN off the vehicle it was based on.

I watched that movie again the other day. Mass of those vehicles don't even have suspension.

[Uberoo]

doesn't change the fact that they are awesome.Uncomfortable sure, but still awesome.

[Uberoo]

So I made the rear lift blocks that adapt the EA81 rear suspension under the brat.I ended up going with a 6" lift in the rear.I have everything almost done except I have to weld in some plates to seal up at least one side of the lift blocks to box them in for rididty as well as add some angled plates at the front of the lift blocks to act as sliders for the suspension.I have those sliders mocked up at a 68* angle from horizontal and I am wondering if I should give it a bit more angle.My goal with the sliders is that if anything hits the lift block it will slide under the suspension without getting hung up.

[Uberoo]

here is a pic of one of the rear suspension lift/adapter blocks.This one is the passenger side,and its veiwed from the side/front.

[Uberoo]

settled on a 45* angle.Now to cut a piece to go in the center of the slider and act as a brace-I beam style.

[Gloyale]

I would add a diagonal brace inward from the top part of the block, and tie that to the torsion tube near the middle.

 

Runa piece of steel diagonally down to the torsion, and weld it to an exhaust clamp and use the u-bolt of the clamp to go around the torsion tube and creates a diagonal bracing side to side.

 

The EA81 rear, with it's mounting points directly in line, like to do a parallelogram action and sway under the body.

[Uberoo]

way ahead of ya.The EA71 suspension mounts the two piece torsion bars near the center of the car by the rear diff.Once I get the suspension,fuel tank,and rear diff in place I will run some diagonal braces to that center mounting point.I just don't have all that stuff yet to check for various interferances.

Edited by Uberoo, 21 February 2014 - 03:09 PM.

[Gloyale]

way ahead of ya.The EA71 suspension mounts the two piece torsion bars near the center of the car by the rear diff.Once I get the suspension,fuel tank,and rear diff in place I will run some diagonal braces to that center mounting point.I just don't have all that stuff yet to check for various interferances.

 

Great idea.  I forgot those mounts were in there on the first gens.

[Uberoo]

So I got the rear blocks mostly done and the EA81 suspension mounted.

Here Is my brat sitting on the EA81 suspension.The mounting flange for the wheels is pretty much as wide as the fenders above them..

The lift block

And the slider for the block.

 

Sorry about the blocks not really showing up I'm a fan of black non-discript suspension pieces.

[RustyBrat]

Looks good!

[Uberoo]

For some reason I can't edit posts with pics,The forum says I am not allowed to post pictures with that image extension...

 

Anyway total lift in the rear cam out to be 6-6.5".

 

 

On to the front now.The more I look at the front I am wondering if it would be better to just drop the strut towers down rather than build blocks for the struts.The strut towers on the gen 1 seem to be mostly a single layer of 14 gauge steel.That or make 7" lift blocks for the struts out of 1/4" steel which would be pretty heavy.Has anyone dropped the strut towers vs building a lift block?I have to do some rust repair in that area so its not like I wont have the welder and torch in that area anyway...

[Uberoo]

So has anyone lowered the strut towers vs building strut blocks?

[RustyBrat]

i dont think thats been done before, but blaze a trail!

[bratman18]

Yeah it's been done. I believe that's what 88hatchmonster did on his hatch.

[81EA81]

Cool, the car looks better then I had expected. Good job on the retrofit, Ill look forward to seeing progress.

 

 

Here is a link to the respected 88hatchmonster's build thread. Post#16 Shows a good pic of the dropped strut tower.

 

http://www.ultimates...-hatch-monster/

[Uberoo]

Updates are gonna be a bit slow from now on so don't hold your breath.My computer is down and right now I am borrowing a laptop,although I do have an old computer I could dust off the cobwebs use it to browse the internet…just it would be slow…

 

Anyway I didn't get much done this weekend.I got my front crossmember blocks measured,mocked up and tack welded-then I ran out of CO2 on sunday .So I removed some of the un-needed brackets from the engine bay with a hammer and a pry bar because I was running out of Oxygen for my torch.However, ain't life grand but I couldn't get the battery tray out without using the torch and I ran out of oxygen as I got most of it out…So I started to take the dash out to gain access to some cancer in structural spots.

This is the rust hole in the passenger side wheelwell

This is the cancer in the driver side wheelwell

 

So I pulled the old beat to hell dash and sound deadening out.The old dash was heavily cracked and I was just gonna throw it away, so I thought I would see how much it weighs and how much all of the padding weighs.

The dash with no switches,wiring,HVAC or anything weighs 15 lbs,I removed all the padding and it lost 7 lbs.I'm not sure if I would run a dash without all the padding but for the subaruer looking to remove as much weight as possible 7lbs from one source is alot of weight lost…

Anyway here is a pic of the stripped dash next to the new-ish dash.

Just in case you were wondering what it would look like in the brat.

 

Finally monday arrived and I got some new O2 and CO2, and a smaller torch tip for $50 all said and done.I was busy running errands but I still got the front crossmember blocks welded and painted.If anyone is interested in putting EA81 suspension and its crossmember, some adapter blocks have to be made.The front bolt holes are offset by 1 3/8" each side and the rear bolt holes are offset by 3/16".

Here are the blocks hanging off my engine hoist for paint.

I also took apart my heater core and I am glad I did.The hoses for the heater were shot and probally would have failed the second they were pressurized,the heater valve had failed,and the heater core itself leaked,and all of the cables/pivot points were froze up from lack of use or sitting in the elements…

 

Thats all I got for now.

[Uberoo]

Oh BTW I almost forgot-The old dash I tore apart had some faux wood plastic trim pieces that I managed to salvage.The trim pieces are the gauge cluster surround,the heater control surround,the glove box door,and the passenger side vent housing.They are all in great shape and if anyone wants them PM me.

 

 

 

EDIT: after seeing all the other build threads I guess I should get in the habbit of naming them.So I guess this is Uberoo MK.V.

 

PS: After seeing the pics of the blocks I realized that I didn't weld plates on the inside of them to box the various sections.I really gotta stop and think every once in a while.

Edited by Uberoo, 05 March 2014 - 01:17 AM.