Uberoo

The difference is that a 5 speed DR is cheap compared to a subaru.A NV4500 is the exact opposite of cheap at roughly ~$1000-1500 + 700 for the core.Auto to manual swap isn't easy or cheap either.

Its amazing what happens when you combine lots of very expensive parts and just enough skill to press the throttle to the floor.Bunch of idiots with more money than brains.

So I got a little more done yesterday.I was able to fabricate and install 2 of the patch panels for the rear wheel well.Fabricating sheet metal patch panels takes forever. and the next piece of the puzzle. Didn't really get alot done because I ran out of wire and I had a late start because of going to the bar on sunday... After I finish this wheel well I'm gonna divert my attention to the interior so I can get rid of all the interior pieces that are in the bed...

I'm sorta in the process of restoring my 78 brat,but mine is more of a "resto-mod".I'm fixing all the rust I can find but then I'm also cutting away parts of the body to make room for bigger tires,EA81 front and rear suspension,ej22 and 5 speed DR,and.....but after seeing those I'm not that saddened any more by the treatment mine is getting.My brat looked worse when I started than your parts brat.

Looks good but add in some diagonal or X braces into the roof to add a lot more strength to the cage for not alot of weight penalty.What material did you build it out of?

After going through and re-reading this entire thread I feel ashamed.Its been over a year and the brat still isnt that much closer to being done and driving.Hell right now the suspension won't support its weight so its on jackstands. If I typed up everything I have managed to get done in the limited time I have had to work on it over the past year and condensed it down, it would be a good productive week.Still though some free time should be opening up for me.I worked for a month at a walmart that was 38 miles away.Overnight shifts and spending 1/2 my paycheck on fuel just to get up there wasn't for me so I quit.During the entire time I worked there I never had the time or was too tired to work on my brat.During that time I never even went into the garage except to scoop up some cat food.The last couple of days I've spent just getting used to seeing daylight again.Today I got a late start but I managed to clean up the torch cuts in the wheel well with the grinder.Then I welded some layers of sheetmetal together in places where clearancing the wheel well removed 1 or more layers.Then I welded up some holes left in the body from trim rivets.I need to go get a flap disk to blend those welds into the sheetmetal. My optimistic plan for tomorrow is to make some patch panels to fill in the gaping holes in the wheel well as well as the one hole in the floor.So some incremental work... in other news the plastic plate I'm gonna *TRY* to use as an adapter plate is at the machine shop,and hopefully they can get to it and have it done by monday..

Even with the heads ported they still look like the worst flowing set of heads I have ever seen.Its not a jab at you,but rather the design of the ports themselves.Due to the design of the ports the intake side makes a sharp 90* bend and so does the exhaust.not to mention the HUGE amount of valve shrouding.

I'm more interested in the tire physically clearing the strut.Body panels can be "massaged" to fit.

Damn it.I went out in the garage and tried to drill the holes in the piece of plastic I was gonna use for the adapter,and promptly FUBARed it.With metal I can center punch a hole and hold the pieces and gently touch the spinning drill to it and it will center itself with minimal drama.With the HDPE not a chance in hell,so I ended up drilling blind.The 1/2" holes I drilled would fit the engine but the plate would not fit when I pressed in the 3/8"IDx1/2"OD steel spacers-not even close.So I guess I will pay the machine shop to swiss cheess the remaining chunk of adapter sized hdpe. damn.

Lengthening the linkages lets you keep the shifter in the same spot(with in reason) but it is also more work.

the box tubing will crush, severely compromising the structural integrity of the entire assembly.The contoured plate on the other hand will help spread the loads to the unibody. If box tubing was a good idea it would be used in everything requiring a rollcage.Adding weight for the sake of adding weight is not a good thing because then the cage has to be stronger to deal with that extra weight,the stronger cage weighs more...Think of it this way you could build a very strong and very heavy steel buggy that weighs 3000lbs but will only support 5000lbs(just throwing numbers out). that cage is 1.6x stronger than it needs to be.On the other hand through proper design you could build a buggy that would support the same 5000lb load while only weighing 2000 lbs, which would make it 2.5x stronger.When things start going south in a hurry the forces on each cage would ramp up quickly-which one would fail first?

why would you need an EA82 clutch cable in the first place?I havent needed one on my 5 speed swaps.

missing washer on strut,strut bolt not tight enough,shot suspension bushings,loose axle nut,25 spline axles on 23 spline stubs,failing wheel bearings...

bring spare parts-> problem solved.

Rectangular tube?no.You just need 1.75x.120 for the main vertical hoops, and 1.5x.120 for all the triangulation.The tubes get mounted to the sheet metal with a 6x6.120 steel plate that is contoured to fit the sheet metal where ever a tube ends at the sheet metal.Also look up rollcage design and construction techniques then post back if you have any questions on what you just read.Rollcages are kinda of an all or nothing item.A poorly welded or poorly designed rollcage is actually worse than no cage in any crash involving more than flopping the vehicle on its side/roof at 2 mph.

OFF-ROAD is hardly a sub forum on USMB.At USMB we are only vaguely aware that people actually lower their cars or drive really fast on pavement...As far as aligning your car you will have zero issues.You have to adjust your shift linkage because the transmission gets spaced away from the body,and the shifter mounts to the body..So either your shifter sits really low in its hole or the linkages bind up.linkages need to be extended or the shifter needs to be spaced down from the body and the hole needs to be clearanced.

so what about fitting 215/75/15's?

First brace up the strut towers and the floor between the wheel wells.Then remove hood,doors,hatch,windows,fenders,bumpers,etc.Cut off subaru above floor,at the top of the firewall,and forward of the front strut towers and rearward of the fuel tank. then build something like this.Relocate the radiator to the back of the car for better approach angle.If you keep the firewall and vin number it can still be registered as a subaru-lights,fenders,and mirrors required...

1/8" steel would be far stronger than the original steel.There is nothing you can do with a subaru that would require 1/4" plates sand witched together.This is a 2500lb car not a 8k pound super duty.

While I would drive on the road that would only consist of driving 17 miles to the wheeling area or terrorizing the neighborhood.So from that use I would say the bias tires would be just fine.However, because things break or I don't have money my wheeling rig might sit in one place for 1-2 months or so..

I would love to convert everything I own to diesel,but the subaru is gonna have to wait until the engines wind up in pull and save.

It could fit but not with subarus awd/4wd system.

Has anyone compared the 29x10.5x15 radial tsl to the 29x8.5x15 bias tsl on a subaru before? the bias tsl's have more tread and are usually $10-15 cheaper than the radials, but the bias tires like to flat spot.Other than flatspotting is there any other issue with the bias tires offroad?weaker sidewalls,weaker tread?

according to a calculator online a 29/12.5/15 tire translates to a 318/56/15,but there is no such thing as that size tire.

So after the 3rd round or 4th round of cutting I was able to get the tire to stuff as far as the axle will allow.I measured from the ground to the center of the hub at 22.5",after I took the tire off,the hub sat on the ground with a little more stretch in the axle at 4" off the ground.So theoretical CV travel is 18.5" of vertical travel,how much of that the rear suspension will allow is another story. So if everything front and rear works properly,there is something like 13" of travel in the front and 18.5" of travel in the rear possible.The rear is easy to get that-remove alot of sheetmetal.The front on the other hand requires revised pivot points and a coilover or longer strut....