newsoobdude

Picked up an 82 BRAT yesterday that wasn't too badly priced. The body is in good shape with some rust in the passenger side door opening and thats about it. Has a grill guard and passing lamp as well as glove box mirror. Has the rear jump seats and head rests as well as the snaps in the trim for a bed cover. Also already converted to 4 wheel disc already:headbang:. Something is keeping the fuel from exiting the fuel bowl so I'm gonna rebuild the carb and the front wheels on both sides have some play in them so I'm gonna rebuild the front end since the passenger side axle boot is torn too. Hope to get her done soon but with the holidays it might be a few weeks. Here's pics. Planning on doing a 4 inch lift and a built EA81 for her til I decide what to do with my 86 that has a ridiculous amount of back fees and junk due on it. Might EJ it eventually or just keep it EA powered.

I got 4 new struts from the bay of E for less than $500 and the springs off another site for $40. Why take the time to replace your struts with used from various models and mileage? I'd wait and gather the parts and do it once and know you wont have to do it again for a while. I wish I had stayed Outback struts and gone with King Springs so I sit level and had more tire clearance. Granted I clear everything fine and cannot stuff a larger tire in yet, but I also do not sit level and have to re engineer the rear to do so as I cannot put spacers in nor the replacement blocks I got. Oh well. Make sure the struts/ springs are from the EXACT SAME MODEL or you will be sitting uneven regardless as the XTs sit lower than the others and everything.

I'd love to see my beast in your catalog Scott. 1998 Outback with 3 inch blocks PLUS 2004 Forester struts and springs. 215/70/16 General Grabbers. next to a stocker

Replaced the drivers axle on my Outback finally and ran the BRAT for a while. Also found some more lights that will fit under the bumper so I can put in some fogs finally . My BRAT fan does work with jumpers but not connected and the connections are corroded so I have to figure out how to clean them in the limited space I have.

I removed mine years ago and have not had any problems with it since. Been in the snow and cold as well as uber hot and no problems. Just wait a couple seconds in super cold temps before taking off in the car to make sure no icing over.

I'm heading up to your dads the weekend b4 Turkey Day but would love to have some Subie company down here in LA to show my friends what it's all about. No autocrapics for me, even with crawling ability I'd rather have my 3 pedals. D/r will be done some point in the next year or 2 when I get the funds for it. BTW, your lift held up great and I did beat it a bit on that last video after it cut off.

Ordered some Empi axles for my Outback online for the price of one I was quoted at a local VW shop . Should be done by next weekend.

That sure is coming along nicely. Cannot wait to see the finished pics.

No worries man. I'd agree with you, 87 is the last available in the US and hence collectable, with 85 being the last available with jump seats. Granted 86 is the 1st registered as a pick up but nothing special otherwise.

Yeah, my interior smelled like roasted clutch for a few days. Have a few other things to worry about before I do a D/r swap though I am going to be saving up sometime soon I hope. Want to get my BRAT worked out before I do any big spending on my Outback. That and a couple things at my house too.

Battery gauge came back today while I was running her. Noticed her running a little hot after a while and that the fan wasn't working. Time to wire it to a switch like I was planning. Still waiting to get my Y pipe from up north and then redo the rest of the exhaust and then SMOG. Noticed a leak from the bottom of my radiator though so looks like I'll have to get that addressed sometime in the future as well.

My camera man was more worried about falling over a rock than filming with his phone. He also was trying to get me to pick some lines that my car couldn't do without further modifications half the time so I wasn't fully trusting him. But I do need to trust him more though. No automatics for me, probably wouldn't of had as much trouble in the slower sections if it was though.

So I checked the alternator today and it's putting out 14.43 at idle so alternator is good and battery is good too. Now I have to check the wiring and see what happened there. I was planning on putting in a cheapo under dash 3 gauge cluster anyways but would like to know what happened anyways. Still taking water in the cooling system and I think I found a leak in one of the heater hoses. Want to get the Y pipe for it before I tick my neighbors off too much driving it up and down the street or do any engine damage.

Nothing too special, just a couple short quick videos from my thrashing the other weekend. Terrain is rougher than it looks and the 1st video shows an idea of what I went through. Last video is where I needed my love tug from my friends Jeep to get that last foot. Low Range or a locker would have made a world of difference and I was done trashing it and threw in the towel.

Lookin good. Keep us posted and moar pictars!!!!

1998 Outback Limited with a HighGuys 3inch lift and 2004 Forester XT struts and springs.

Canyon carving is fun and a WRX swap would be nice but my lead foot would get me in too much trouble so I'll just go high and slow. Found some picks of it loaded up at my place up north but have not been able to check on the alternator yet. Waiting for a friend to come by with the volt meter. Will be ordering up some 4 inch strut blocks with 1 inch extensions in the next week or so so I can get started on the lift for her . Will keep ya'll posted. You can just barely make out my Gen 1 BRAT on the right hand side of the pics.

That is some crazy rust! Good thing you made it off the trail first as that would have made it REALLY interesting. Good luck with it and at least it's nothing that cannot be fixed.

Replaced the torn steering rack boot on the drivers side of my Outback. I guess the weekend thrashing did it's toll. Steering rack boot, drivers axle boot:mad:, dented the crap outta my oil pan, dented the rockers some more and bent the pinch welds on the drivers side as well and bending my bumper and scratching the heck outta the passenger side paint. Really need to get a bash pan for the front to protect that pan!!! Will have more pics later if all goes well. But was still fun wheelin'.

I'd love to do a WRX/ STi swap but wouldn't have as much fun with it at my place up north; roads are too torn up for a canyon carver. Guess I'll have to enjoy the rocks,mud, and ruts instead at a slower pace and get to more places Might need to pick up another one........

An axle FAQ would be nice. I've done some searching for various info and never come back with much or out dated posts. Is GCK axles still around as I read they were "superior" new axles compared to the other choices? Waiting to get a quote on some EMPIs as the jys don't have a lot of Subies in my neck of the woods and charge top dollar.

Thanks!!! I've wanted one for years and just my luck my ex gfs dad has a whole Subie collection with this and a couple other Gen 2s and Gen 1s. Traded parts for this one and have been collecting more parts/ cars for this over the years. Just hit 4 figures the other day when I ordered the brakes and hope to stay under 3G in total when completed. Your wagon is knarley and can't wait to see it done.

That sux!!!! What in the world were you doing to cause that? Wish I had access to a lot of older Subies (or any down here for that matter) to help you out but shipping would be difficult and I'm not sure if it's EA82 specific as I see you have discs back there and I haven't done the swap yet and haven't had the chance to check out my set up yet either.

Took it for another spin down the street and back to try and clear out the lines and what not. Brought her home and let her sit for a while. Got dark out and decided to move her into the garage for the coming rain as I don't have the back window in and the seals are iffy. Started up and ran fine. Turned the lights on and all was good. Blipped the throttle a little and watched the batt. gauge (alt/ volt) die. Lights stayed on as well as the car so I turned the lights off. Put BRAT in garage and will deal with later . Might be time for an alt upgrade and I think I'm gonna go GM as I don't have access to a lot of Subies down here. Brakes are squishy so I ordered caliper rebuild kits for the rear discs I'm picking up as I goofed on my original order and received 2 sets of front pads instead of 1 and rear shoes . Can't even find the gallon of brake fluid I bought when I lifted the Outback to bleed them so oh well :-\.

Your ride is quieter than mine!!! What exhaust you runnin?