The Beast I Drive

Make sure you do both belts at the same time. You might as well while you are in there, cheap insurance. Also, check the idlers for play or binding, and if they dont roll like they should better replace them. Make sure when you do the belts that you do the passsenger side with the marked lined up at the top notch on the cover, THEN ROTATE THE CRANK 180 DEGREES and then do the drivers side the same way. If you dont do it this way, it will not run right or at all. Also, it is my preference to leave the covers off after this, to make it easier for the next time. As for the salck, if you need more slack, loosed the mounting bolts of the idler pulley, then tighten them when you get the belt on. Be carefull not to damage the belt or it will probably fail prematurely. -Bill

I had a bad experience with a 2" lift on my 85 Brat, it ate front axles like candy... So keep that in mind... But it did make a world of difference off-road, and I probably wouldnt have a hole in my oilpan if I had left the lift on... -Bill

Well I was planning to do a new exhaust too, but thats a given, I redo that on all my cars. Im either going to run duals with an X-pipe and Turbo mufflers, or run 2 into 1 and go with a Series 40 Flowmaster... I was also going to run electric fans becasue Im going to be running no T-belt covers, so I can change out my T-belts in 10 minutes or less as long as I keep the 5 tools needed for the job in the car. As for hotter ignition, I really dont think Ill step it up more than stock, just because Ive seen what a Blaster coil did to an EA81 disty cap. It wasnt pretty, and distys arent cheap. If I can find some other vehicle that uses the same module, and then find a Hi-Po application for that car in the MSD catolog, THEN I will go to a hotter ignition, but I wont put an 80,000 volt coil on a stock disty... Im not looking for super HP gains, just something to make up for the extra weight of the tires, I already have gearing figured out to make up for the size... -Bill

For now (and the forseeable future) I plan to run a mildly modified EA82 SPFI. Only mods are gonna be *maybe* a little more compression, and definitely a pair of mild Delta cams, so the computer will still be able to read and adjust for it. Also will be running a cone filter, MSD plug wires, and maybe some kind of snorkel, but idk yet, I dont really want to cut much off the fenders, they are really nice... Should gove me like 5-10 extra hp, maybe a little more. Might see if I can fit a bigger injector in the TB, but I digress... -Bill

Its a Late 1987, thats when the SPFI came out... Its not an 88 and it definitely wasnt swapped... And I do love the color, Im thinking about getting the clearcoat redone on the roof and hood, the rest of the paint is in good shape. -Bill

Yes, the carrier bearing mounting points AND the driveshaft are in Robbie's Brat-in-progress -Bill

If you lift the rear up to 6" you wont have to cut anymore to clear... But I figure you want to keep a good approach angle, so I would massage it with the BFH before you whip out the grinder -Bill

Oh, it works, Ive done it, with stock coilovers at that. Well, mounted it and flexed it all, havent wheeled it yet, and the stock coilovers would suck for wheelin it. -Bill

Got a few crappy pics of rob abd his ride before we left for WCSS11, and many much, much better pics were taken at the show by much, much better photographers. Check out the WCSS11 Pics thread for more... -Bill

Thought I would update this, I pulled almost all the usable parts off my RX, all thats left is the radius rods and plates, and the drivers side control arm. I saved the tranny, clutch disc, flywheel, driveshaft, entire rear sub assembly, rear lift blocks, and front hubs. Here is whats left This is probably the final stage of my RX. After this, it will be scrapped (if anyone will take it) or burried... -Bill

Hey guys, In the last two weeks I acquired 2 more DR wagons for Uber cheap at that I havent taken pics of the first one yet, but a big thanks to Subaruguru for driving across the mountains to pick it up for me! The second one is the special one for me. Its an 87 with SPFI and dual range 5 speed, dark grey with grey interior, and its in great shape aside from a golf ball size ding in the rear door and some parking lot dings, but ZERO rust and very clean. Right after I brought it home: I bought it for 50 bucks, non-running due to an overheating problem. When I got it home, I put an alternator on it and it fired right up! So I drove it off the trailor and parked it. At the WCSS, I picked up a sweet set of rims w/ tires from The Subaru Junkie (thanks Brian!) and decided to fit them for now. Well, got em on, and went to drive it, and heard the worst scraping sound... yeah, front calipers rubbed so I gave up for the day. Later I went out and ground down the calipers ever so slightly, and now the rims fit perfect! Sweet Rims: It does have an overheating issue. There is a hole in the top of the radiator, and the heater blows cold air. Im not quite sure just what the problem is, but I suspect a blockage of some sort and possible Waterpump failure, but it is irrelevant because I am going to reseal a new motor and drop it in later as well as replace/repair the radiator and flush/replace the heater core. It has AC and I plan on keeping it that way this time! Ultimately this is going to be my "nice" rig. Im building a 3" lift for it, and will be running 27"x8.5" R14 Maxxis Bighorn tires on Series 61 Ultra solid aluminum 6 lug wheels, which I have. Im going to leave it this color because I LOVE it, and I will make a custom set of bumpers for it, as well as a few other goodies... Nothing real extreme, but some coool stuff will be done. Build thread and progress pics will come late fall/ early winter -Bill

Most folks make 2" and 4" lifts, BUT Im about to make a 3" kit for myself, and I can make one for you while Im at it. Ill send you a private message with details. -Bill

Gonna go full subframe and T-case I assume? Gonna be a sweet rig, I would use a 4 link with long coilovers for the rear, really no harder than making leaf springs fit... Easier in my opinion, especially with a full subframe. -Bill

Ozified is no longer around, but other cats like SJR, Jeff, High Guys, and myself still do lifts... There may be a few others still around as well. How tall are you looking to go? More for daily driving, or serious off-roading? -Bill

Hey man, if you ever feel like taking a trip up my way, I have a ton of Gen 1 stuff, I might have more stuff that you need, you never know... Ill PM you my stuff and get that consol out of the shed for ya. -Bill

Incorrect sir, I have 7 Gen 1 brats at hand as of this moment, 3 of which have the big dual headlights (DL) and 4 with the quads (GL) and none of the GLs have the DL valance.... HOWEVER, the wiring IS in the harness for the quad headlights in ALL Gen 1 Brats, regardless of trim level. If you have a DL look behind the headlight sometime and you will see the extra plug so swapping to the GL setup is as easy as changing the buckets and the grill and pluging it in. Personally I am partial to the DL look -Bill

Sounds good to me, Ill go dig it out this week -Bill

It was a great show, and the food provided by Subaru was excellent! I won second in Gen 1s pretty much by default, still want a picture? I know a couple folks got some good shots of mine... All in all it was a great time, great people, great cars, great food, and just an awesome experience. Thanks to everyone involved for getting it together, I know you we on a much tighter schedule this year but it definitely turned out for the best! -Bill

Sounds like a sweet ride, welcome to the board! There are plenty of stock steel Subaru wheels out there to widen, so if your car comes with alloys you can still find a set of steels for almost nothing. -Bill

Dude, I have like 6-7" of lift on my wagon and my 31's still rub at full lock backing up, and under any kind of suspension compression. Cutting/beating fenders is NOT and option, its required. Back on topic, nice Brat, glad it runs, hope all the proper parties are fully reimbursed and satisfied, yada yada... Proceed -Bill

If Im not swamped with work I will try to make it, so Im a possible maybe -Bill

Since you have the EJ, sounds like you are set! I know there are adapters out there to adapt Ej motors to all kinds of VW trannys, so that part shouldnt be hard either. If the car is carbed now, you can also go carbed with the EJ for the sake of wiring simplicity and coolness when you open the hood. Or if you feel adventurous, you can swap the whole MPFI from the Legacy into the car as well. You will hear lots of pros/cons and plenty of arguing over carb vs. MPFI so its ultimately a matter of preference. Sweet lookin ride, might talk to Mountain Brat here on the board, he and a few other guys have done EJ conversions into previously VW powered rigs. -Bill

Yeah you want those to be tight, really bad stuff can happen when they are loose... -Bill

Ya know, if they reverse the rotation of the axles, then they would be perfect for using a Subaru drivetrain in a rear engine Dune buggy! -Bill

There may have been more old gens than normal, but there was only 2 gen 1s... I won second in Gen 1s by default! It was a great show, glad I got to stay for both nights this year, there were some awesome rigs and it was cool hangin out with everyone. Lookin forward to next year! -Bill