The Beast I Drive

Thats actually a pretty cool concept model, if you clean up the firewall on the Dodge or bled the cowl into the '32 hood nicely it will look sharp! I have to suggest V-8 power though, just cuz I have a hate issue with Bronco II engines... Needs a keg for a fuel tank though I like it -Bill

special steel But seriously, its 1/4" thick 3"x6" tubing. Around these parts no one uses it, so I have to order it from the factory :-\ and its not cheap, but my customers are worth it :brow: -Bill

I must admit, I havent been in there in a while either, but in my defense, I had no computer for the last month... -Bill

Hey there, to everyone I owe a 6" lift kit to, I ordered the steel I needed today and it will be here tomorrow, so I will have those ready in about a month or less, so I just thought I would let yall know. The deal was I needed some special steel that can only be ordered in full 20' lengths, and it cost a lot of money that I didnt have, but my refund came so its back to work again -Bill

If you can squeeze bigger tires in with no lift then I see no real reason to lift it for your terrain. Me, I lift mine for a couple reasons, I have the resources/time to make the lifts, it looks killer, and the terrain I ride on is mostly hills with lots of sage brush and rocks, and in the summer the grass is so dry, I like to have my exhaust as high as possible while still resembling something somewhat legal, and Ive gone through obstacles that my unlifted Brat would never be able to get even halfway through. I guess it really all depends on what you built the rig for, and for your area, looks like you dont need a lift Plus your sedan looks killer like it is -Bill

this ^ and some more zzz -Bill

Oops, my bad, I screwed up my wording. I know how the 4wd works, Ive seen it with the tranny apart. Thanks for correcting me though -Bill

Hey man, your blocks are in the mail and on the way! Oh, and your engine is fine, EA82 motors are non interference so if you lose a belt its no big deal. -Bill

When my tax return comes I will be making 6" lifts again, they have been on hold for the moment because I dont have the steel I need. Should be within 6 weeks. Also, my computer crashed due to a virus, I will be hard to reach for the next few weeks until I get it fixed, Im on a friends computer right now. -Bill

It would be easier to build a subframe to bolt/weld to the VW chassis that you could bolt the engine/trans/suspension to rather than to try to meld the Brat floor pan to the bug chassis, and it would end up looking a lot cleaner and being much stronger and more stable in the end. The VW and the Brat share almost no dimensions Im sure, and you would have to do soooo much modifying to both pieces to put them together, Im fairly confident you would be much more satisfied building a subframe/rollcage affair to attach the Brat parts to the Beetle and I believe that is what Brian is trying to say as well -Bill

There really isnt much for support for these old Subarus, I dont believe anyone could have predicted they would last as long as they do, and they arent quite as popular or as plentiful as old muscle cars and classics, so companys like Year One or Goodmark dont make parts for them. Right now the only way to get parts is to get lucky and score some NOS stuff or scrounge for the parts you need at junkyards and such. A few members here have NOS parts stashed away... Someday I hope there will be more support for replacement parts and body panels for these old rigs -Bill

lol yeah, I do live on a farm, on an indian reservation no less When I get the stacks hooked up to the exhaust they will smoke plenty with the rich mixture Ill be running when I put on the Weber -Bill

We used the hammered Black from Rustoleum on my mom's snow wheels, and it has held up great for about 6 years now. No problems at all with the bead sealing, and we used no bead sealant at that. We are now on the second set of snow tires and still going strong -Bill

The stacks stay high, my plans are to build a high roll bar and put lights on it, at which point the stacks should be just barely higher than the lights :cool: Dude, I like that trade idea, Ill check that grill I have to make sure its in good shape, if it is, then I will trade you straight up -Bill

The 5 speed dual range (d/r) tranny is about 9 1/2" shorter than the 4 speed, roughly, I dont remember the number exactly, but its close to that. -Bill

I just might let that white grill go if'n the price is right Got some more pics of the Brat today. On Saturday I installed a set of jumpseats I had layin around. No seatbelts yet, but they will be sourced soon Then, yesterday I got a wild hair and decided to make 3" stainless steel stacks for the bed. These will be functional after I route a new exhuast, for now they just look cool. I still need to polish them though, havent had time to do that yet Next I need to make the new bumpers and roll bar and skid plate, fab a new exhaust and swap on a Weber, then lift it Oh, and replace that damn windshield :-\ -Bill

Sounds like it has everything it needs to be a real trail blazer, all you need now is das lift its already been broke in for ya! -Bill

Hey Mick, I had a crazy idea the other day, since the 4wd gears on that trans are directly linked to the main input shaft on the tranny, a good way to keep them from stripping out would be to weld them up solid in the 4wd position. -Bill

The rear diff and the rear subframe are both equally lifted 4", I built blocks to lift everything the same amount. -Bill

There's usually a way to get a title, just depends how determined you are. With that, what would you want for it with no motor? Not stripped, just minus the motor/any parts needed for the Australia car? -Bill

Lookin good man, I will have your new strut blocks for the front shipped out this week, still waitin for them to be blasted. I am considering buying back those rear blocks if you dont want to keep them, let me know -Bill

Damn! that thing is slammed! Me likes :cool: -Bill

How much would you be looking for? Shipping must be killer on something like that -Bill

Not too hard to fix though... -Bill

Finally got some pics. The first ones are with my new tires (185/80 R-13 de-studded snows) on one of my sets of calmasters, with 2wd front struts (cuz thats all I had layin around) Heres a pic after I put 2" lift blocks on the front struts After i took that last pic I trimmed off the lower sheetmetal from under the bumper up to the radiator support as well. Will get pics of that eventually -Bill