that one kid Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Hi, been using my brat as a daily driver for a little over a year now and need to get a couple things done to keep it on the road.my main problem at this point is tires, none of the tire shops around the area sell what i need and i was very curious if theres a better way than just combing through craigslist adds for old loyal wheels. The next problem i have is that the rear wheel bearings have a lot of play I've been trying to put it off until i can find parts for a 5 speed and/or disc brake conversion but I dont think thats likely to happen any time soon. brakes pads are also getting pretty worn but i dont think those should be to hard to come by.Any help locating tires and maybe wheels would be very helpful. Any advice on brake pads, wheel bearings, junkyards where i might find any 5 speed, or rear disc brake parts would also be much appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subarubrat Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 Rock auto had within the last year some of the bearings and pads. As for wheels and tires, unless you want to stay all original, I would suggest doing the 6 lug conversion that you can do yourself or buy finished hubs from any number of sellers. That lets you use a huge selection of wheels intended for the Toyota pickups which in turn gets you into 14 and 15 inch wheels allowing you a large selection of tires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfoyl Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 What type of tires can't you find ? If you can't find them locally try tirerack.com or similar. You're in the PNW so a disc brake setup shouldn't be hard to find, I see plenty of suitable donor vehicles on row52.com. Any loyale turbo should do (look for a 4 or a 5 in the VIN from memory on row52.com). 5 speed from the same donor vehicle should also be easy (be careful of MPFI donors as the diff ratio may be different than your BRAT). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe5 Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 the brats have 13in rims right? I've been able to find tires that size at common mainstream places like les schwab and firestone. They are usually pretty cheap too compared to bigger tires. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
that one kid Posted October 13, 2015 Author Share Posted October 13, 2015 managed to find a decent pair at a tire rack not far from here that'll tie me off for the winter. yeah i've been giving a lot of thought to redrilling the hubs for different wheel set ups down the road but i think i'll wait until i can source a rear disk brake set before i start drilling and welding things. that row52 site is awesome I'm probably going to end up spending way to much time on there now though...wheel bearings and pads, a bed liner and general winter readiness is next down the line. thanks for all the help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SourKraut412 Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 I just bought a set of Michellin Defenders for 13" rims at America's Tire. They had 1 maybe 2 other less expensive options, but with a $70 rebate it was basically a wash for the better Michellins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jethrro Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 Just picked up 4 13" Toyos at Les SchWab a few months back. Wasn't too froggy on the deal but had a road trip and tires didn't need to be on the top of the list. I'd be willng to part with them for a fair price if you were willing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
that one kid Posted December 9, 2015 Author Share Posted December 9, 2015 hey guys just an update. I got to go down to vancouver a couple days ago and grab some rear disks.....and ended up with a 1988 turbo harness, turbo tranny, front crossmember with power steering rack, rear subframe with control arms and such. So I'm Planning on swapping on the brakes pretty soon and was wondering if i would be able to use the rear wheel bearings from the rx in the brat. Im also curious if i can use any other parts from the rx driveline. the shocks are pretty beat to hell but would it be beneficial to use the turbo crossmember? any chance of getting the power steering to work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
that one kid Posted December 9, 2015 Author Share Posted December 9, 2015 also got a set of really sweet mag wheels and have started the search for 205/60/13s.the parts came with a single avante optitour that looks super solid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfoyl Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 part time awd gearbox from the RX ? At minimum you would go from 4 speed to 5 speed - make sure the ratio is the same (I think RX might be 3.7 instead of 3.9, so you may need to switch the diff also) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
that one kid Posted December 9, 2015 Author Share Posted December 9, 2015 yeah the car originally had a 3.7lsd diff that was sold to a different person. The tranny to my knowledge is an ea82t 5 speed dr with a center locking diff. Im not exactly planning on having a turbo with this brat so is there any use swapping in this tranny? given that its almost 40,000 miles more than my current 4 speed would it just be better to keep looking for a non turbo 5 speed with lower miles? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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