cubastreet

Simple and bulletproof. The camshaft is gear driven so there's no belt or chain to snap. Come to think of it, get as late model EA81 as you can find, the earlier ones had smaller valves. Weber 32/36 DGAV is a popular swap for the standard carb if you don't want to so the efi conversion.

I imagine they're dirt cheap, there's lots of them. I bought two a couple of years ago for $50 I thought they were a direct swap but perhaps they don't match the single range tranny. You can get one out of an early 80s leone with the dual range tranny which is the setup in the 81 brat. Torque is up about 15% over the ea71 making for nicer everyday driving.

That's a Mitsubishi Mirage. I used to have an old lancer that was badged dodge colt in the US but I didn't know the mirage was as well.

Yeah, weber carb. If you want to go further, an EA81 is a straight swap - 1.8 instead of 1.6 EJ engines won't drop in without some pretty serious work.

Tempted, you still got it?

Awesome, it's now in English! I have a couple of old copies in Japanese, worth it for the pictures alone.

I'm not so sure - 2.2 litre v8, a hell of a lot heavier, 60hp, range just 100 miles. The soob bike would be quicker. It looks a whole lot better though.

Been living in PDX for 6 months, here for 6 more. The nissan pathfinder I bought here just doesn't cut it. Still I know my 81 brat's waiting for me when I get home

is the ignition timing set ok?

Same bore, but I don't think they're the same thickness. You could change to EA81 pistons, but you'd lose a little compression. If you download a copy of how to keep your subaru alive, there's a simple plan for an engine stand made of wood which might be of use.

if they are 5.75" (or 7") they are at repco for just over $30 each. Bulbs are extra but they make a huge difference.

You won't get many miles out of a tank of cng, propane is much better in that respect.

Nah I didnt need a chassis number, but their parts book said there was a difference for nz new. when i got the cv they got the same part # from 2 different suppliers and the 2nd one was right.

While I'm stuck in Nelson waiting for my American visa I've been making good use of the 81 brumby. Took it up a steep dirt mountain road, along some long fast dirt roads and it seems to grip the roads almost better than the sealed ones. Yesterday I found a 4WD track I didn't know about and went along it a way. Some parts were really steep - much steeper than I've driven before, but I just threw it into low range and the subie just took it in it's stride. It certainly sweated less than I did. Passed some guys in big 4WDs and they looked pretty shocked to see this little truck on the trail. The more I drive this thing, the better it gets, this is just so much fun!

The tie rod ends and ball joints are the ones used on the 1600. I had a bit of trouble getting CVs but managed to get them in the end. If you have a collins place near you I suggest you try them. One of my headlamps just went out so I replaced the outer ones with semi-sealed units that take the H4 bulbs - huge improvement.

sweet

Lots of work and money, but go for it!

Yeah just do it bit by bit.

You've got it all right except that advancing the ignition makes the spark sooner, so the flame doesn't go out the exhaust port. e.g. 10 degrees before top dead centre (BTDC) The problem is that starting the flame too much before top dead centre means that the gases start expanding while the piston is still going up, reducing power output. Ideally you want all of the gas to start burning right on top dead centre, but not detonating. You want all the gases burned up at the moment you hit bottom dead centre. What you get in reality is a flame starting from the spark plug and then spreading through the combustion chamber, and generally still burning when the piston starts rising. So what you really want is a relatively fast burning fuel that resists preignition (compression ignition) and detonation (where it explodes and blows holes in pistons).

Yeah, high octane fuel burns slower, so more advance is needed for maximum power. Less advance is theoretically better but any fuel that burns fast enough to set the timing to 0 at high revs will detonate like mad

automobile assn.

If it'll fit an ea81 without mods I'd put one in, then blueprint the 1400. Perhaps o-ring the heads and block, find another set of twin-carbs or maybe even find a little set of weber or dellorto downdraughts (are the heads twinport?) and throw that back in when it's all done. That way you'd get an awesome project but not have to have the car sitting around.

You can get octane boosters to add in, or you might find that it runs perfectly well if you just retard the timing a bit.

The circuit that's missing is the one from the run position on the key to the big white resistor to the distributor. Trace that one with a voltmeter and you should find your problem.

I remember in HTKYSA the guy stresses retorquing the heads to avoid gasket issues, especially with the 1400. Might be a good idea to do that and tappets before you run it.