jimbob_goatboy

I have had my ej22 swapped 81 brat running for two years now. I have put 15,000 miles on the brat since the swap. I really enjoy it. Here are some pictures.

Year: 1981 Engine: EJ22 Tranny: Dual Range 4 speed Mileage: 167,000 (12,000 on since EJ swap) Price: $300

My EJ22 is a SOHC motor. Not sure if or how much wider the DOHC motor is. The drivetrain is the stock drivetrain for now. I just used an adapter plate to mate them. The 1981 GL brats had the dual range 4-speed transmission so I was able to do that. Your brat should have the single range transmission which is set up different than mine. When my transmission stops working I am going to put in an EJ AWD or an RX awd transmission. I did a little write up on my brat on the old forum, so the pictures are not there. Here is the link: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=88632&highlight=1981+brat

It is hard to tell from the pictures. The head is above the bottom of the frame and would clear it had to go lower. I left the bottom piece of the frame so I could keep the front bolt of the engine cross member. For the motor mounts I mounted a plate on the cross member to match the angle of the motor mounts and slotted the original motor mount holes wider.

Hi, I have an 1981 brat with an ej22 in it. Attached are two photos of the drivers side subframe. I took these pictures earlier this year. I could not get a good picture of the passenger side with the engine in. These are not the best but I hope they help some. Also attached are photos of the engine in place.

Zefy, do you like the rx transmission in your brat? I have been debating between the rx transmission or a newer ej awd transmission? Do you have to do much to get the transmission to fit?

I looked at a RX Transmission today to put into my brat. It is out of an 87' RX so it is a dual range Full time AWD. My question is about all the electrical wires coming off the transmission. Does the transmission require a computer to run or are all those wires just sensor for indicator lights? Does anyone have a diagram for the wiring on the transmission? Thanks, Michael

Thanks for the picture. It gives me an idea of what they look like on a car. Anyone else have pictures?

Does any one have a picture with 13" Cal/Master Chrome rims on a subaru? Here is a pic of a rim.

Thanks for the advice. I will look into the aftermarket options.

I have an 81 brat that I would like to put Air Conditioning into. I put an ej22 motor in it. So I will have to use the EJ compressor. I got a/c parts out of a late 70's wagon to use in my brat. I will have to use the gen 1 evaporator. My question is will the ej compressor work with gen 1 parts or should I stay with EJ parts as much as possible? Does any one have a Gen 1 A/C Diagram? I know there are 2 or 3 different setups that were use. Do I have to have the electrical wires connected to the receiver/drier for the system to work? Thanks

I have an 81 brat that I would like to put Air Conditioning into. I put an ej22 motor in it. So I will have to use the EJ compressor. I got a/c parts out of a late 70's wagon to use in my brat. I will have to use the gen 1 evaporator. My question is will the ej compressor work with gen 1 parts or should I stay with EJ parts as much as possible? Does any one have a Gen 1 A/C Diagram? I know there are 2 or 3 different setups that were use. Do I have to have the electrical wires connected to the receiver/drier for the system to work? Thanks

I had a hard time getting a good pic of the passenger side because things are in the way. I can try again but it will not be until next week.

The motor rocks some but not a lot. I did it more in the front than I needed too. I just wanted to have a straight line to follow the frame. The part of the frame that will need to be taken out the most will be on the back passenger side.

Here are some pics. They are not the best because it is hard to see with the motor in. These pics are of the drivers side.

The canopy has worked out great. How do you like the paint job? My friend that came with me to pick up the canopy painted the brat.

I am going to swap out the drums on the back for disk brakes. Up front I would like to adapt some coilovers to replace the stock struts. I see you have gone with the 5-lug swap with coilovers. I have thought about this possibility, but would like to keep what I have and just replace the struts with coilovers. What is the status on your brat? Is it almost complete?

Yes, it is a A/C condenser. I am working on adding Air Conditioning.

I updated the write up with information about the radiator. I do not remember the exact application, but I believe it is for a Ford.

I was asked by a forum member to do a little write on my EJ22 81 brat. Engine- I purchased a donor vehicle for $300. It was a 1990 legacy station wagon automatic with 155,000 miles. I sold the automatic transmission for $300. I am glad I got a donor vehicle instead of purchasing just a harness and motor. To mount the 2.2 on the brat cross member I welded a flat piece of metal over the existing holes so the motor mounts would sit on an even surface. Then I slotted the motor mount bolt holes about an inch wider to accept the 2.2 mount bolts. When the 2.2 was mounted in the brat in touched the frame rails. So I notched the frame rails and box them in. After that it fit like a glove. Fuel System- I mounted a late 80's Subaru turbo fuel pump in the place of the brats fuel pump. I used an inline fuel filter before the pump and the stock legacy fuel filter after the pump. Since I was going to fuel injection I added a fuel return line. I run a steel line through the transmission tunnel back to the gas tank. At the gas tank I drilled a hole at the top and JB welded a fitting to accept a rubber fuel line. Off of the steel line I used rubber fuel line to connect to the gas tank and engine. I was debating whether to add a surge tank since my gas tank was not made for fuel injection. I did not add a surge tank and have only had a few problems with the fuel supply. I cannot hot rod the brat around when I am low on fuel or air will get in the fuel system. By hot rod I mean fast corners and accelerating as fast as I can. The few times this has happened I just pulled a fuel line under the hood to let the air out, then the brat runs fine again. Clutch I used an XT6 clutch and pressure plate. For a throw out bearing I used one from a mid 80's Nissan pickup. It was the right size accept for the inside diameter. The throw out bearing holder on the brat was smaller than the inside of the bearing so I had it built up to accept the bearing. I used a fly wheel from an 87 Subaru and had the holes weld in and redrilled for the EJ22. I bought the adapter plate. Luckily the 81 brats came with a dual range transmission that could use normal ej22 adapter plates. Radiator- I first tried the original brat radiator with two slim aftermarket electric fans. It had a hard time keeping the motor cool. So I went down to a local radiator shop and found the aluminum radiator you see in the pictures. I gave the radiator guy some dimensions that would fit in the brat and where I wanted the inlet and outlet, then we searched his catalogs and came up with this radiator. I do not remember what the exact application is for this radiator, but I believe it is for a ford. For radiator mount I went to the junk yard and found mounts that fit this radiator, then I attached the mounts fit the radiator in place. The top radiator hose is a flex hose. For the bottom I had a tight 90 degree bend welded on the radiator because the engine was too close to attached the hose. I shorten the legacy hose and used it on the bottom. I also used the slim aftermarket fans I had on the other radiator and it keeps the brat cool. Air filter- I used a cone filter I got from a local parts store. To attach it to the MAF sensor I welded the right size tube to a plate and bolted the plate to the MAF sensor housing. In between the plate and housing I used some gasket material. Conclusion- The swap was totally with it. I like driving my brat as much as my 02 WRX. The wiring part was the hardest, but was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. I have almost 10,000 miles since I swapped the motor. Future plans include the added air conditioning and when the 4 speed transmission dies replacing it with a dual range RX full time 4wd or a newer 5 speed all wheel drive transmission. Also when the new transmission goes in I am going to put in a 2.5 block with some 2.2 heads with delta cams to make a higher compression motor. I have the 2.5 block now, but I do not want to put it in front of the front wheel drive because I already have trouble getting traction with the 2.2. If you have any more questions you can reply to this post and I will try to answer. Now here are some pics.

Yes, I will start a new thread.

Yes, it is not connected to anything yet. Installing A/C is my next project for the brat.

In my ej22 1981 brat I get 26-29 mpg. I think I could do much better if my 4th gear was not so low.

Here are some more pics. Not sure the fastest I have gone, speedo only goes to 85, but I know I have gone faster than that.

The ej22 touched on the frame rails when I test fitted the motor, so I notched the frame rails and boxed them in. The rest of the swap is like a normal ej22 swap with a few exceptions. It has worked great. I have about 10,000 miles on the brat since I did the swap.