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J's 1983 Subaru Brat T-Top - Basic pics


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Here is the poor Subaru I got just a couple weeks ago...

Just the basic pics here - doesn't look too bad for a neglected relic, somewhat fossilized from decades of red dust sediment on the interior, which I had to use a heavy grout brush and even a screwdriver at times to remove.

This is after having cleaned it up like three times. There was no point in showing it at its worst when I first got it, it would be nothing you guys have not seen before I'm sure.

Funny thing that occured to me... every slightest nook, cranny, crack and screwhole in the interior had this dense red dust crust on and in it, but the dash, aside from being horribly sun-baked, has normal destruction and dust/dirt, but hardly a trace of that red stuff on it. How the hell does that happen ???


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Doesn't look bad at all. We would love to see the before pics. Members hard work is always appreciated! As for the dash, maybe it had a cover/dashmat or something on it that kept the red off while sitting at that location?

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This is the lovely nightmare I will soon have to deal with...

Zip ties everywhere, holding everything; in some places self-tapping sheet metal screws.

Several things/plugs were just plain cut off the main wiring harness, and as you can see, some nice building code wire and wire screw nuts.

The interior is all but candidate for completely gutting it, but I can't go that far, so I have to do my best to make it look decent with what I can, like seat covers (already replaced the seats, thx Adam) a dash cover, a couple nice floor mats that match the seat covers and cover(hide) almost every inch of floor/carpet, and a matching steering wheel cover.

- But all that will have to wait until I am finished with some mechanickery and yet more cleaning.

I have not yet started to SHOVEL the dust/dirt/leaves/etc topsoil on the cab floor or in the bed in back.

 

 

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Doesn't look bad at all. We would love to see the before pics. Members hard work is always appreciated! As for the dash, maybe it had a cover/dashmat or something on it that kept the red off while sitting at that location?

 

Dash mat makes sense, that would explain it. Intyeresting time factor though... enough time for that red dust crust to get into everywhere and accumulate,  and also enough time for the dash, before and/or after to also bake into destruction... Of course being a 1983, that means at least 20-25 years possible, assuming just a few years that the dash would stay good from day 1 off the lot... Yep.

Looks good on the outside, but the interior is just all but unsaveable, much of the plastic is literally disintegrating in place, hard things to replace, like the vents in the dash. I have some half-way decent vents from another Subaru, but it means either a long aggravating job without taking the dash out, - or taking the whole dash out just to replace the vents, and finding any other little good thing I can do while its out. Not looking forward to that at all...

 

Most things inside work otherwise, have a couple small but serious inconveniences like a non-working gas guage so far...

I lucked out on the body. Needs just a little body work on the passenger door, the tailgate, and one rear corner has a small but deep dent that probably will not come out, will have to use bondo to fill it.

Edited by Subaruist
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Why "Holy Hell" about the first pic??? -oops, oh I get it - the wiring... Yep.. Not a pretty sight.

I have full electrical Diagrams coming in the mail from Ebay source. I really hate doing electrical work, it has given me nightmares before.

 

The air filter/cleaner/housing/whatever was a better choice, both because the original was ugly and had no rubber ring/gasket, and because this Brat is now past Smog regulations for pretty much anywhere, so I no longer care in the slightest about smog or emissions or what carb or air cleaner to have.

One of my last Brats was cursed by the DMV because of a technicality... When I bought a nearly new engine from Japan, I could have gotten a beautiful dual carb engine for only $50 more, total $350, bt NOooooo... I had to be concerned about the smog check, which became a two year nightmare ending in me smuggling it out of the State.

So now one of my mantras is that people can choke on my freedom. No more concern for special interest dictatorship or people who align with such things.

 

Slap the weak up-side the head;

Hurdle the wounded;

Trample the dead;

Give the enemy something to dread...

Edited by Subaruist
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Bro nice rig.....Would you sell me your canopy?? Im in Yakima Wa and would be willing to drive 

Thanks

Buck

 

Oh oh.... Temptation....

First, the canopy is not perfect, the rear hatch hinge leaks - simple fix; the window screens are gone, as well as the trim normally around the edges - but you can probably see that in the pics and know these things anyway. Otherwise, it seems in good condition. It was rife with dirst and soot, and it took quite a lot of pressure washer to clean it up, lol...

 

Here's where I stand on this - I have a roller coaster of mixed emotions about the canopy....

One one hand, I have plans where a canopy would be a good thing to have - but I could get by without it if I had to.

On the other hand, I think my Brat would look better without it.

On th left foot, It keeps stuff I want to keep in the back fairly secure - but again, but I could get by without it if I had to.

On the right foot, I could use the money, expecially if you had any really tempting parts/accessories to throw in on the deal.

If You can either make me an offer in cash that I cannot resist, I'll probably go for it.

If you can offer cash and parts I really want, I'll definitely let it go!

 

- Send me a PM with an offer or two...

 

What might be really cool is if more than a couple people could meet up at some mutually convenient location and have a Bar-B-Que, get-together, and parts swap! - Now that I could really get into!

Edited by Subaruist
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Update on the care of the Brat...

I know people like 'before' and 'after' pics, and I do too, but let's face it, unless its a story of a wreck turned into a show car, who really wants to see pics of dirt and dirty/greasy stuff anyway? - I don't. The other day I went to the car wash to use the vaccums and do the carpet, and I was going to take before-and-after pics of that, but did not have the camera I thought I did, so it didn't happen,  The kind of before-and-after pics I am interested in is first the basic vehicle, then what it done with it over time.

 

I spent over 2 hours at the car wash, just on the carpet - no washing the car or anything else.

I pre-spotted the carpet with half a bottle of simple green, then used the "Hot foam carpet scrubber" on it, followed by the vaccum....

Lather, vacuume, repeat... Lather, scrub, vaccum, repeat..... Lather, scrub, scrub, scrub, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat.....

Much of the carpet was basically mud with a slight carpet backing. It just did not want to come out!

I finally got the vast majority of it out, but it's still got some in it - but there was actual carpet underneath it!

I've let it dry out for the last couple days before putting the floor mats down.

I want to also put the seat and steering wheel covers on, but am worried that doing a lot of mechanickery will unltimately end up with grease stains, no matter how I do things, short of being ridiculous. Also, I have a plan for the seat covers which makes it all but impossible to simply take them off when I work on it and putting them back on afterward...

 

I have some of that grippy foam stuff they sell for almost anything, the kind that is little pillows of grippy foam and holes - I have the larger,courser kind of this stuff.

I will cut and place this grippy foam on the seat before installing the seat covers, so that the covers stay put a lot more, and will twist or mis-align as little as possible when I get in or out of the car, etc. Then, after putting the seat covers on, I will use a couple of well chosen matching bungie cords around the seat where the seat and back meet.

I am also looking for matching blue flat/strap bungies to place around the mid-back of the seat, and some extra something to go under and around the seat base, as the usual little, nearly useless elastic bands seat covers tend to use are just not adequate. I'd appreciate any further ideas on how to force seat covers to stay put, short of spray glue, which I am getting tempted to use as well, lol...

 

Yesterday was a day of hell. Subaru down, where it could not be left - had to push it uphill. Good thing it was a little subaru, but my legs were toast afterward.

Had nobody to call, so I had to walk almost 2 miles to find a bus stop going in the right direction, get a transfer, blah blah, get my van and come back to help the Brat.

Long story short - oit took all day, but I got it back on the road. Rather than detail all that happened, I wil make a list of what has been replaced over the last few day so far...

 

REPLACED:

Battery, both battery cables, starter, alternator, exhaust 'Y', - I just hit a perturbed brain cell, much like a bad sector on a Hard Drive, and cannot remember any more, and don't think I want to, lol... ( Oh... the pain....)

 

Next to replace in near future: Carb, rest of exhaust with dual exhausts and glasspacks, custome tailpipe ends, etc.

As much of the interior as I can come across - it really is bad - at leats to me it is, lol....

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Future developments rapidly approaching....

 

I have ordered a bunch of stuff, I went too damned far in the candy stores, and spent a little more money than I should have - but that never happens to you guys, right? lol...

 

Insect Antennas!

Two 8 1/2 foot stainless steel mobile whip antennas, which can pick up just about anything, but will be used for vairous things, including long-range control FPV private drones.

I WAS going to bolt these onto the front slope of the canopy, (Like a couple of Bug antennas - yeah, I'm definitely not the first to do this, lol) but was also considering somehow securely bolting them onto the cab somehow, (difficult with a T-Top) so They are there whether I have a canopy or not - and since someone just asked to buy the canopy, this issue has just taken a step up. I would appreciate any ideas on how to mount these on the cab or windshield struts, like insect antennas. - Yes I will likely have to cut them down, as they will likely stretch back past the rear of the subaru (when strun down) and look even more ridiculous if I don't cut them to ideal length.

I have checked with the DX'ers about doiing this, no harm to antennas or reception to speak of.

Added to these will be heavy flex springs, and a particular kind of antenna "fold-over" adapters, rigged in a way so that if I have these strung down over the top toward the back, and I back up into trees, etc, the 'foldover' will at worst be the only thing compromised or broken, will likely not be broken, and will enable me to fold them forward to make space for a private drone to land. (I am getting real heavy into private drones.)

 

I mistakenly ordered what were supposed to be LED alternative tail light bulbs, but got ones that are not much bigger around in the socket than a AA battery! - what the hell uses these little tiny model/miniature little light bulbs anyway ?!? (Rhetoric question). Otherwise useless to me, I am ordering a couple of particular sockets to mount them on the ends of the antennas, and have some fine silver speaker wire to run up to them (also checked with the DX'ers on antenna performance).

 

LED lights!

I also ordered a bunch of LED alternative bulbs for just about everything on the brat, both white, blue, and appropriately colored for dash, tail, turn signal, etc. lights, all around. I also ordered 4 or 8 of these things that are basically a chrome hump with two LEDS facing out one way to highlight whatever, and are also windshield wiper sprayers also facing the other direction. Two will be used for actual windshild sprayers. The other two? - that can spray.... people or other cars? - like tailgaters? Mwa ha ha ha... I'm sure I will find a use for them, lol....

 

Plans for the lights and future paint detail...

Every other subaru I have owned was an off-roader. Never meant to be pretty, often beat the hell out of, but this one says "Street".

Paint: Lower section, below trim: Navy Blue. Upper section, top, interior: Royal Blue. Highlights/striping: Flourescent, metallic, or metalflake med to light Blue.

Some white may be left, undecided. I can;t do anything with the hood, because in the relatively near future, I hope to have single or double hood scoops, but ouot of necessity for clearance inside, and if I cna manage to get a dual carb setup with  blower or super-chargers, anything but Turbo, as I have been recently convinced by someone here in the forums who definitely knows what they are talking about.

T-Tops: The semi-sunken area around the weather stripping, under the T-Top glass when 'popped' - this area I want to be either metallic or flourescent, with a couple of small LEDs highlighting the immediate area.

 

Later:

Headlights: Most likely will first go with Halogen conversion, as it cost a lot less than going to straight Xenon, and supplies me with some of what I will need when I eventually do go to Xenon headlights. "Third Eye" headlight - Halogen with blue cold cathode ring, maybe give it a pupil with paint or marker, lol...

Wheels: 14" converted Toy' rims with cheap tires ( I sometimes go through tires faster than normal for some strange reason, lol)

Transmission: I don;t now what transmission I have, but evenb though it is working,. I have to get rid of it and get better. 1st gear has NO range at all! I will be looking for a 5 speed dual range 4WD if I can swing it.

Carb: Dual carbs, etc (Mentioned above) Webbers, unless blowers/Super-chargers requite something different.

 

 

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