subarubrat Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 I bought the rust free BRAT out of CA a few months ago and while it ran good it would (as most EA81s do) run out of steam on the upper end thanks to the terrible carb. My plan was to do a weber swap until I had some more time to spare and do a nice build. I installed the weber and decided to clean up the brackets and in doing to an intake bolt snapped off, since that might leak I knew I had to extract it and having to extract it meant risking more bolts breaking off so I decided to just go ahead and pull the engine and do the build. The engine had 223k on the clock and it was greasy on the outside but clean and within specs/clearances on the inside. Cleanup after hot tanking was really helped by a soda blaster I picked up at harbor freight of all places. It is like having a magic eraser to get you back to factory fresh aluminum. After hunting around a bit for a hydro cam to regrind into a solid lifter cam and an EA82 intake manifold I am now into the re-assembly. Build is: 30 off the heads and port/polish EA82 SPFI pistons Delta torque grind cam EA82 intake manifold Weber carb New valves / rod + main bearings Emissions delete / EGR / aux air etc. Felpro permatorque head gaskets / OEM gaskets elsewhere New distributor / wires / plugs New alternator New fasteners (all other than head studs) New water pump / thermostat Repaint the tin I will get some more pics posted soon, the heads and covers are on now, oil pan too. I hope to finish by next week time permitting. Then I think I will drive the truck until the road salt starts then it goes off to the paint shop. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subarubrat Posted October 4, 2014 Author Share Posted October 4, 2014 (edited) This is how it sits now, just need to do the PCV plumbing and filter, distributor, and a few minor odds and ends before installing. The truck is headed off to the paint shop next week to get showroom fresh, I decided to have them do the engine bay as well so I am gutting that totally and will lay in a new hidden harness, there is so little left anyway once you de-emissions the truck that it makes no real difference to go all the way. The one thing I am torn on, is should I use the stock air cleaner and re-install the spare so that at first glance it looks all stock, or go with the bare look and the aircleaner that comes with the weber. I change my mind about twice a day. Edited October 4, 2014 by subarubrat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bratman18 Posted October 4, 2014 Share Posted October 4, 2014 Pics of the brat too! Start a members journal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subarubrat Posted October 4, 2014 Author Share Posted October 4, 2014 (edited) I need to do that, it has a very interesting history. The original owner bought it in 82 and his brother bought one as well. In 89 they both had a shop do a lift, roll bar, bumpers, skid plate, and some very interesting wheels that are copies of the OEM wheels but done in 14in. His brother's Brat was destroyed in the early 90's. I had my original 86 Brat in 89 and back then it was conventional wisdom that it was not possible to lift a Brat, I had no idea that anyone had done a lift that early on. The first lift I recall seeing was in the late 90's when this stuff hit the web. The work was nicely done and the lift is a somewhat different approach with the strut tops remaining in their stock positions and the bottom of the strut being extended, it also has travel limiting straps and type III VW CV joints. Edited October 4, 2014 by subarubrat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coxy Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 Considering the problems many have had with CV Joints on vehicles lifted too much more detail on the VW CV conversion should be interesting reading Pics please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bratman2 Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 Sounds like a really nice build. Love to see the pictures when completed! I would run the Weber open house filter myself. Save the stock and mount if you intend to ever show it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subarubrat Posted October 5, 2014 Author Share Posted October 5, 2014 Considering the problems many have had with CV Joints on vehicles lifted too much more detail on the VW CV conversion should be interesting reading Pics please. I will try to snap some pics of the CV's tonight when I get home, maybe somebody more VW savvy than I can identify the exact components combined with the Subaru components. There are allot of nice custom bits on the truck, the front and rear bumpers are modded so that the tube bumpers mount through them and connect to the frame, super nice work. It also has integrated front and rear skid plates, and a factory high roll bar. Once it comes home from the paint shop and I get the engine back in I will put it up on the lift and post a ton of pics of the work that was done back in the day. I am sending the bumpers, roll bar, and wheels off for powder coating while the truck is in the body shop. Now, if I can just find an OEM winch, NOS front fender badges, and NOS tail gate badges..... And if anyone has a line on headers that would be helpful, I loosely recall somebody making them a few years ago for EA81s but I didn't need a set at the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweety Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 good thread. Am having my ea81 rebuilt now. You mentioned the weber conversion. I'm opting for the 38/38 synchronic carb. I'm using the SPFI manifold with 9.5:1 CR and torquey cam. Now a lot of people believe the 38 is too large a carbie for the ea series. Not so. It all depends on jetting. It will certainly improve low rev torque at the cost of a bit more fuel. If it doesnt work well the 32/36 can be bolted on in its place with little alterations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bratman18 Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 Sounds awesome. And really rare to have a nice old subaru on this coast. Keep it oiled and clean! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jono Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 too late for pics of the EA82 spfi pistons ? tops, measures from pin to top when they were out? new? You must be able to dscribe the piston tops ? Not flat top? One set of depression that look to clear valves, and at an angle, and no other deprtesion, or two separate depression 'sets' or shapes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subarubrat Posted October 5, 2014 Author Share Posted October 5, 2014 I have some pics that I can post soon, they show the piston tops which do have valve reliefs in them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subarubrat Posted October 6, 2014 Author Share Posted October 6, 2014 Here is a view of the pistons; Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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