DPDISXR4Ti

Just thought I'd drop a general note that there are currently more Subarus at Harry's in Hazleton PA than I ever recall seeing previously. No Brats, but lots of EA81's and many 80's and early 90's cars. I can't give you any specifics - I wasn't there for Subaru parts myself - but just thought I'd give a heads-up if you were thinking about making a trip out.

I'm considering re-using the moustache bar on Project XRBrati, but the outer bushing are all shot to hell. Does anyone sell upgraded replacements? Are stock replacements still available? Also, I'm curious about the asymetrical design of this bar. Was it designed this way strictly for packaging considerations (i.e. exhaust routing), or was there some other reason? BTW, here's a shot from a couple weeks ago preparing the Merkur body to meet it's Brat. More progress has been made since then. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v148/DPDISXR4Ti/Brat061106-6.jpg

See above comment about trying to think this through logically. Maybe he had groceries in the back.

I can only guess that maybe he was scared to drive faster.:-\ Or maybe the engine on the roof was going to replace the sick one under the hood? All things considered, logic may be difficult to apply here....

Not sure where to post this - this seems like the best place.... Today, at about 5PM on Rt. 287 in Mahwah NJ, I saw something I'm certain I will never see again. As I was buzzing along, I saw a bunch of brake lights ahead and traffic coming to a near stop. I could see cars in the right light lane struggling to jump into the passing lane - my first thought was that there must have been an accident. As I got myself into the passing lane, I could finally see that it was a slow car causing the bottle-neck. Getting closer, dodging cars cutting in front of me all the while, I could see that the car was an older Subaru with something on the roof - probably an early 80's GL-10 Coupe. My first thought was that it was a deer on the roof, forgetting for the moment that deer season had long ago passed. It wasn't until I was finally about to pass the car that I realized what I was seeing - a complete flat-4 engine tied to the roof, sitting in a noticeable dent created by it's weight. I kid you not.:-\ Too bad I didn't have my camera - I would have surely had a winning candidate for this year's Darwin Award. You can't make this stuff up - why would you bother???

Does anyone have any thoughts/suggestions on the camber? I'm wondering why it is so positive (~+2 degrees). Most other IRS's I've dealt with go negative when you remove the pumpkin.

I've got 6 of those wheels (including the two currently in use), so I'll have plenty of spares! It should be interesting to see how quickly the tires wear, given the fact that the camber is about 2 degree positive. I thought that putting a load on the trailer would make them go more neutral, but that really didn't happen as much as I thought. Still need to get the lights installed so that I can get it registered for highway use. No idea too if I'll have any issues passing the inspection. Total weight is around 400 lbs, so it doesn't need to pass the more stringent 1000+ lb inspection where brakes are required.

Some of you may recall from a thread a couple months back (http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=41216&highlight=BRAtrailer) that I am building a utility trailer from a Gen II Brat rear-end. Some re-engineering was required that delayed things, but the BRATrailer finally saw active duty the past weekend! Take a look! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v148/DPDISXR4Ti/BRATrailer-7.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v148/DPDISXR4Ti/BRATrailer-8.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v148/DPDISXR4Ti/BRATrailer-9.jpg

Does anyone know what this is off-hand? I'm talking about the fitting where the hard line goes into the back side of the backing plate. I need to stick a bolt in there and remove the line, hence the question. Thanks...

I know some of you don't follow the other forum, so i thought I'd post a link over to the other thread with my updated pics of the BraTrailer! http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=41216

Time for an update with pics. A couple comments - looking for any thoughts, suggestions, etc... 1) Unloaded as it is, there's obvious positive camber in the wheels (I'm going to guess about 2-3 degrees. Do we think this will move closer to neutral or somewhat negative with a load on the trailer? 2) Will the way I've got the rear assembly mounted to the frame effect the change in camber at all? The geometry is somewhat different than when attached to the Brat body - the attachment point sits higher. As a result, I need to space the forward mounting points down about 1.5" compared to the rear. On the stock setup, the two vary in height by only about 1/2". 3) Can someone help me out with the operation of the center adjustment bolt? I assume this stiffens/loosens the spring mechanism, which might be helpful depending on the weight of the load. Unloaded, I think I'd want it full soft, right? Is that fully counter-clockwise? Okay, enough talk....

If he's using it to haul cars, I'd have to assume it's got a wider than stock width to it. Is he using it as a dolly or "full on" trailer? I'm also just realizing (I think) that you're talking about using a 1st gen Brat. I have no idea how similar the 1st and 2nd gen Brat suspensions may (or may not) be. The 2nd gen is a simple torsion bar setup, which makes it relatively easy to "trailer-ize". I just don't know what kind of load it will take without setting the camber too far negative. At rest, the camber goes positive - take a look at the pic in the other thread.

I didn't want to disappoint Mr. Moose, so here's a pic of the basic layout.

Hey, someone else is building a BraTrailer! My "design" seems to be very different from your idea however, as I plan to use only the rear sub-frame/spring/wheels assembly, bolting a frame to the four body mounting points. I don't claim to be an expert at this, so my question to Zefy would be, why do you need a solid axle at all? Here's what I've got together so far... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v148/DPDISXR4Ti/BraTrailer-1.jpg

Hey, there's two of us with this nutty idea!Appreciate anything that will help me to do this right (or at least "better"). Feel free to send anything along to brad.anesi AT netiq.com Thanks!

Thanks for the input - it's kept the brain cells firing. No question, I'll keep a front weight-bias with this setup, but I think I'm going to move the mount location forward 8", now that we've confirmed that the WHEELS are the pivot point, not the mounting location. That will locate the wheels at a 60/40 split (towards the rear) on the bed, still keeping a forward weight basis.

Thanks, that's more than what I had to go on other than looking at other trailers to see where they located the wheels. Typically, that seems to be about 60/40, strictly from a length of bed standpoint. I'm just struggling a bit with how the trailing arm suspension factors in. Is the pivot point considering the mounting location or the wheel location? The wheel is what I'm thinking.

Nope, not at all Mr. Moose! In fact, I've acquired a different (rust-free) Merkur for that project, just to make sure I'm starting from a worthy foundation. The trailer project getting priority was driven by: 1) Need for a utility trailer sooner rather than later (Duh...) 2) Brat rear-end sitting around with no other purpose 3) Some assorted structural angle iron getting in the way in the garage 4) Time to complete this project should be ~20 hours If you don't count the cost of the Brat, the total cost of this project will be close to ZERO. I think the only thing I'll actually need to purchase is the ball-joint hitch. No pics yet, but I was just thinking about that today, now that I've got most of the cutting completed. I'll post them once I do - it doesn't look like much right now, as nothing is bolted together. If things go well this weekend, it will at least look like a trailer by Sunday.

I was out there a couple weeks ago - just a mere humid 94 degrees that day, but at least the typical Hazleton breeze was blowing to keep some of the sweat off my brow. A typical rusty Brat was in the foreign car section - some stuff gone, but not a "carcas car" yet. Go get the rear-end and you can copy my efforts to build a utility trailer!

I'm finally making headway on this project, and have cut the angle and box iron for the perimeter of the trailer. The bed will be 46" x 72", with a 42" length tongue. (Yes, I would have preferred to go with a 48" width, but that won't fit between the tires without modifying things) Here's my dilema... Where do I locate the "axle" assembly on the 72" (6') front-to-back length? I can locate it anywhere, as I'm not using any of the Brat sheet metal. The weight will be carried just like the stock Brat setup utilizing the 4 mounting locations (two on each side), front and rear of the torsion bar. Note that I'll need spacers here of different thickness to level things out, and overall, to provide clearance over the torsion bar/swing arm junction flange. Since the wheels trail behind the mounting location by 15", I'm thinking of making the mounting location dead center on the 6' run of the bed, which would locate the wheel center at the point 7/10's of the way through the bed length. Anyone have any thoughts on the topic?

Okay, still no bargain for that size, but not as bad as I had initially feared. You should rightly expect to pay more from a local specialty shop.

Yikes, you're getting ripped pretty good at $15/ft! I used to sell silicone coolant hose in 3/8,1/2, and 5/8" for about $3.50/ft and still make a decent profit. Look around the 'net - you should be able to find it for less than $5/ft.

Uugh,that's silicone vacuum hose! It's not designed for significant pressure at all. You want coolant hose, which, as torxxx accurately described will be reinforced with multiple layers of fabric imbedded. I've used that type of silicone hose for years on several cars without a single failure.

I didn't get a chance to read through all of this thread, so maybe this has already been covered. Aside from the Escort, the Zetec-equipped Contour also uses EDIS-4, so there's another possible junkyard donor for you. The '95+ Ranger with the 2.3/5 is also an EDIS-4 setup, but for that application the EDIS module is actually imbedded as part of the PCM. The crank pulley and sensor however would be useable.

Oh, no question. That motor was just totally over-engineered from a durability standpoint, but in doing so, it lacks refinement. My preference to the Pinto would be dropping one into a Capri II. Both projects have been done by others. I might be inclined to go a different route on the motor for the XRBrati. I figure since it's a "truck", a Turbo Diesel might be a worthy choice. But that'll be for another day. For starters, I'll go with something that mostly resembles the stock 2.3T motor.