carfreak85 Posted November 13, 2003 Share Posted November 13, 2003 ok so Ive been thinking of how to get more power out of the 1600 in wagonpowaa's BRAT, and Ive come to the conclusion that swapping in a 1800 would be the easiest way to go. so my question is how hard would it be to swap in an 1800 and a 4spd DR tranny? i know that the 1800 should go in realitivly easily but what about the tranny? I know that in '81 the BRATs got the 1800 and that they had a special bellhousing (Looking for one of these BTW) but did they still have th SR 4spd, or did it get switched to the DR 4spd? Also, what would need to be done to get EA82T rear discs on the same car? cant be that much different from an EA81, so why havent i heard of more people doing this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcbrat Posted November 13, 2003 Share Posted November 13, 2003 easiest thing would be to get a ea81/DR tranny combo, then the hard part to make it easy. get the engine/tranny crossmembers from a 81 GL Brat. they should fit the later engine/tranny, and bolt up to the Brat.... may still be some steering issues... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted November 13, 2003 Share Posted November 13, 2003 if you couldnt find a tranny, you can swap bellhousings between the motors supposedly ea81 suspension and crossmsmbers will fit on a gen 1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carfreak85 Posted November 14, 2003 Author Share Posted November 14, 2003 so if i get the engine and tranny cross members from an 81 GEN 1 brat I can install the 1800 and 4spd DR with out hurting the tranny tunnel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
78TurboBrat Posted November 14, 2003 Share Posted November 14, 2003 Well ihave a EA82T motor and 5 speed tranny 4wd in my 78 brat, i used the factory cross member, but made my own mounts and tranny mounts. i didnt have to do anything to the tranny tunel, other than close up the hole in the tunel for the 4wd selector shifter for the brats old tranny. also didnt let the motor sit down on the frame, it is a little higher maye 1/4 of an inch off the frame rails. the swap was well worth it, the car handles very well, and is very fast. good luck in your search for the best thing for you... :banana: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carfreak85 Posted November 14, 2003 Author Share Posted November 14, 2003 I plan on using a factory cross member, only it will be the one off of an 81 brat. i dont think ill need costum engine or tranny mounts if what McBrat is correct. speaking of McBrat, what did you mean by "steering issues"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
78TurboBrat Posted November 14, 2003 Share Posted November 14, 2003 the ea82 tranny is wider and taller, and depending on how you mount it, it can get into the way of the steering linkage from the colum to the rack. i however have only about an inch of space, so i think i will be ok, if not, i can lower the motor down more to make enough room for the axels to come through on the driver side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carfreak85 Posted November 14, 2003 Author Share Posted November 14, 2003 actually i will be replacing the EA71 tranny with an EA81 tranny. i dont know how the EA81 tranny compaires to the EA82, but i still dont know why the steering would be tight, the tranny is nowhere the steering shaft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcbrat Posted November 14, 2003 Share Posted November 14, 2003 there's a few people on the board who have done the swap. I'm just trying to remember what was done. the crossmember has to be from a 81 GL Brat because it had the ea81 engine. I think therewas problems with the steering column connection to the rack hitting something.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
78TurboBrat Posted November 14, 2003 Share Posted November 14, 2003 yeah where the axels come out of the tranny to the front wheels it can be very tight if you dont do it right. and maybe even lifting the suspension an inch would clear just about anything. which was a thought for me when i put the EA82T in my brat. but i was able to do it with out having to do that. as for the EA81 tranny im not sure what that would do for you. but i know that the bell housing can be changed on the back of the motor. and i am not sure, but think you can change the flywheels and so on to mate with the tranny you want to use. i do know there are alot of people on the board who have probably swaped all kinds of motors and so on. but i havent done many subarus, just two. and mostly others like the fords and chevy. "sorry for the foul language on the board." but to me it seems like anyone wanting to take something and make something out of it means it is all good to me. i enjoy cars and alot of motors but very few trannys. so i can only tell you from my experience of doing my 78 brat, and hopefully going to do another soon but this time using the entire harness out f the doner car so that i can make it have power windows and locks, and features that werent available in the older ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carfreak85 Posted November 14, 2003 Author Share Posted November 14, 2003 hmmm sounds like im gonna have to get a DR tranny and measure the front diff area and compare to the SR... anyone got one they want to offer up for use in an expariment? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hass Posted November 14, 2003 Share Posted November 14, 2003 hi austin (ratty) and i put an ea81 engine and 4spd trany in his 1980 gl with noproblems then we decided to go and put a 5spd in it and we had to change the cross member that we got from jerry (specialy made 5spd kit) but we didnt have to change any thing when we put in the 4spd. hope this helps Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted November 14, 2003 Share Posted November 14, 2003 hass - the 80 wagon, is a Gen 2 car - they are talking about Gen 1's here - specifically a Gen 1 Brat - completely different car. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted November 14, 2003 Share Posted November 14, 2003 well, if it fits let me know, because we got a 78 brat with NO front suspension/crossmember/subframe, and an 81 glf for parts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carfreak85 Posted November 15, 2003 Author Share Posted November 15, 2003 ill let you guys know, but first i have to source the parts... anyone have a junk 81 brat they wanna part??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
78TurboBrat Posted November 18, 2003 Share Posted November 18, 2003 hey Miles Fox, i have a whole suspension, crossmember, and so on out of a 78 brat that i parted out froma wreck in a wrecking yard, didnt need them, but if you need them to make that brat work, let me know. email me at shoquest2002@yahoo.com also have a freind who travels to Indiana quite a bit, if you could wait on maybe that to get it there. not sure where he goes up there, but at least it is alot closer then texas. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted November 18, 2003 Share Posted November 18, 2003 i'll pass the info to robert, the guy who owns it. he has dealt over the internet before. i'll try to get him to come back to the board Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
78TurboBrat Posted November 18, 2003 Share Posted November 18, 2003 just email me, thanks... so who is up for donating a EJ22TT motor to me, for my other 78 brat ? of course i need the computer, motor, tranny, , ok hell, how about a car that is wrecked that would have everything i need ????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudrat79 Posted November 18, 2003 Share Posted November 18, 2003 Hello, carfreak... Here is what has to happen for your swap.... I've done this to several Gen one cars..... First Find a Donor car with Ea-81 Motor and Dual range tranny...... Pull your 1600 and its tranny out and put them side by side to the 1800 and its tranny..... you will need to swap motor mounts and tranny Mounts........Notice where tranny mounts are on 1600 tranny as apposed to 1800 tranny....? You will need to relocate these on the 1800 tranny so it fits the Gen one car mounts.... Now, Before installing the 1800 tranny into your car you have to do one of 2 things....... IF your fortunate enough to find a Gen one Brat that had a 1800 motor in it, you can use its Crossmember.......? Their rare, so good Luck...... I normally just modify steering linkage on the old one myself....? to Modify, you will need to pull the tin plate that is a protector piece from down at the Rack where steering gear goes in......It will be held down by 2 or 3 phillips screws....? The rest is a Fab process, so if you intend to go this route you will need to have or know a welder....? if you go this route, e-mail me or call , and I can give you the run down....? later for now, John in Oregon.... 541-729-8490 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carfreak85 Posted November 18, 2003 Author Share Posted November 18, 2003 Mudrat, you have email! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted November 18, 2003 Share Posted November 18, 2003 so if the crossmember swaps, then i am in luck. because the parts car is an 81 glf. but we will be using the 78's ea71 with late model fat case ea71 heads, and the ea81 bellhousing. if tht motor idea doesnt work, we're out of lick, the glf having an ea82 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garner Posted November 20, 2003 Share Posted November 20, 2003 On a simalar note, I'm thinking of doing 78turbobrat's swap and drop an EA82T in my first gen brat. I know I'll have crossmember issues. Does anyone know if the EA82T crossmember will bolt up to the 1st gen Brat? I'm going to get the crossmember off the donor car and modify/fabricate the stuff to work. What other issues in terms of getting it to fit can you all think of. I know this is going to be a tough one, but I know it's possible thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted November 20, 2003 Share Posted November 20, 2003 well it' sounding like the ea81 crossmember fots in a gen 1 body, so if that's true, then the turbo crossmember will fit as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted November 20, 2003 Share Posted November 20, 2003 however it goes, keep me posted. maybe you can swap in a different master cylinder to fit around things. (or go newer) i think a good portion of gen 2 parts will fit, like struts and bumpers and such Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garner Posted November 20, 2003 Share Posted November 20, 2003 Miles, I also read your post to 78Turbobrat about the control arm swap, sounds interesting. You've done this? I may be asking for more advice on that one. It may be even easier if I swap the crossmember at the same time. This is going to take a while (I hope to do it quicker than 78Turbobrat:-\ ) What ever I do, I'll keep good notes and take lots of pictures. I am pretty sure I will be in over my head but that's never stopped me before:headbang: thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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