Twitch de la Brat

Small Block Chevy swap won't be easy, nor cheap, nor in your budget range if you aren't able to get a custom driveshaft. And a stock EA82 running a purely RWD setup with a LSD in the rear should be able to light off the tires decently enough. Toss some delta torque cams in it and I'm sure you'll be able to hold nice smoky tire burn for as long as you please, given you have the e-brake set. And if you think setting the e-brake would prevent you from doing a RWD burnout, please learn more about your car before you start modifying it. Twitch

Have you pulled spark plugs to see which cylinder isn't getting spark? And if so, have you inspected the wire/plug to make sure it wasn't broken? Twitch

As has been said before, a redline a day keeps the mechanic away Plus, its not like you had seafoam in the crankcase, or did you? o_O Twitch

Soon to be a torque grind EA81 for me. Just have to wait for pricing and some more data to crunch on my rebuild. Quick question, what's the lift/duration for the EA81 torque cam vs stock? Twitch PS: DeltaCam has e-mail

Saw this And after confirming the dreaded with a pull of the dipstick I did this Now starts the rebuild... Stay tuned for updates. Twitch PS: May get its own build thread if all goes well

The only problem with the Rav-4 is that the engine and transmission point the wrong way And the AWD/4WD system isn't as cool as a Subaru's Twitch PS: Congrats on being able to stash the GL in the garage. Keep it away from the nasty road grime for a while.

I feel your pain man. Literally somewhat. Don't let them lowball you. You've got a 5 lug swap, that in itself is worth more than an $800 lowball. Fight them tooth and nail for medical and vehicle reimbursement. I'm going through that on my BRAT and you have to make them pay. Talk to a lawyer; figure out all your options after you get a once over from a doc. Don't back down. You'll regret it later if you do. Twitch

Ok. I did some math (really fun, if you want me to share, I'll gladly post it up) and flow wise, 2.25" is a tad less flow (20%) than dual 1.75"s. It probably helps with the lower end having that extra resistance. Get up here! Twitch

Barry got a new heart! Yay Barry! I bet Ms FroggerRu is ecstatic. Twitch

Thank you for your writeups JesZek, and thank you @benjamachine for getting us some more attention. And thanks to @nipper of course for pointing the awesomeness out. Twitch

83 Wagon, got it for a song and a dance, no title. Got the title, started driving it and the smell was enough to knock you out. Pull the heater and pulled a garbage bag of nest out of the heater tube and fan housing. And the fan was chewed down to 1/4" in some spots. Friggin' mice. And to top it off after I park it for a few days I find one of the buggers in a tote I had in the cargo area. Augh, mice. Twitch PS: This is why I let my cats sleep in the cars at night

If they had nothing, it may be time to start junkyard hunting and scouring CL and Ebay sales. Its possible that places like Les Schwab may have some old stock, or a local shop may have some hiding in their warehouse. Otherwise, I don't know what to say. Twitch

Tirerack Discount Tire They both have 13" tires available Just look through their inventory until you find what you're looking for. Twitch

Ah, well, looks like I remembered wrong. Thank you. And I know my BRAT had a 14.5, because that's almost exactly how much it took to fill it up after I ran out on my way to the gas station Twitch

Very clean, very clean. I'm curious, I didn't read anything, but did you shave the heads at all or just install the 9:1 pistons? Also, how is it handling the 2.25" exhaust? When I upped to 1.75" true duals my BRAT came alive. I'm thinking about just running a single on my Blue 83 after I build it, curious about your experience with the larger single. You better bring that thing up to CDA sometime, I want to see it in person and hear that muffler. My EA81 craving is getting so bad that I might just dig my BRAT out of the snow and fire it up to scare the hell out of the neighbors... Anyway, get it up here man! I wanna see! Twitch

My BRAT has a 14.5 gal tank and the Loyales I know of have 14.5 gal tanks too, or were you referring to the older EJ's? Also, I like it, but I still dislike the lack of diesel or a dual range here for the US. I'm wondering if this will make it easier to lift the newer Imps. If they keep the same basic suspension design and just up the ride height and maybe tweak the body points, such as with the first Gen OBW and Lego, this may make the new Subarus a viable offroad alternative again. Twitch

@Loyale 2.7 Turbo, unfortunately I've never run across that particular additive in the store I work for, or at least not visibly. I'll do some looking around to see who uses it in the US. Ehhh, depends on what oil you're already putting in it. If you're running a diesel oil in it, its probably overkill. If you're running the cheapest oil you can get your hands on, it'll probably help. From what I understand about zinc, is it slowly galvanizes the surface of the metal to reduce the overall friction, or so the theory goes. It may help disperse any static as well, but that's something I'll have to dig into deeper. I would think a solid ground strap would fix the static problem Twitch

Mumble grumble, *jealousy* grumble, grrrrr I looked at some more potential candidates for my new car when I get my settlement. Found a few lookers and some rebuilt cars for dirt cheap. (12k for a 2012 Fozzy) But still waiting for the "right" one to catch my eye. Come on turbo baja with a 5 speed, come on down for $10K... Twitch

Well, since I get paid to peddle this stuff, I have a pretty good idea what is crap and what is good. If it has PTFE in it, run like hell. Teflon has no business being in your engine. I've heard of people using ProLong, but honestly, unless they have legitimate test reports, I would call BS. There are only 3 "add and drive" oil products I've ever heard of doing diddly in your engine: 1. Seafoam, if you've never heard of it, do some digging on this site. And if you hate it and it "ruined" your engine, you probably used it wrong. 2. Marvel Mystery Oil, was actually originally designed as a lightweight oil, but the original application evaporated out from under it, so it became an additive for engine oils to increase lubricity at lower temps (aka: get rid of that initial startup tick). 3. Lucas Oil Stabilizer, and the only thing it does is make the oil thicker and increase its elasticity. Good for slight leaks, sometimes. Twitch

My only argument is that you need to be aware of the oil spec for your region. Running 20w50 is fine for Honduras, but may not be the best choice for North Dakota in December. You have to buy your oil based on your operating temps. 10w30 is pretty much fine for anywhere in the continental US that varies in temps from 0-100*F But if you consistently experience temperatures above 70, then switching to a thicker (higher number, aka: more viscous) oil wouldn't probably be a bad idea. It you live in a place that rarely sees temps over 70, then using a thinner oil may help you on cold mornings from hearing that dreaded lifter tap. Buying a synthetic oil that covers a wider temp range (5w40 vs 10w30) will help if you experience large temp swings on top of being more refined and thinner in general. Twitch PS: There are certain temp ranges suggested for every oil weight, but you need to take into consideration the original spec and wear range of the engine. Putting 0w20 in a 300k engine will probably have a bad ending.

Brain, I love your fab skills. And I'm still waiting for that buggy to be finished Anyway, Love your new toy project and will definitely be following this. Can't wait for the first startup/driving video. Twitch

Oh how I have missed that EA81 noise. Which reminds me, I need to start the BRAT fairly soon. Dig the snow off of it and fire it up just for the sake of scaring the hell out of the neighbors. Anyway, Idasho, you reminded me I need to keep my EA81's. There is no replacement for the visceral feel of an EA81. Twitch PS: Haven't been able to do a whole lot to the cars as of late, but that will change soon enough...

Sounds like a fun sleeping dragon project Twitch

Sounds like ignition. I would pull the cap and check for burnt contacts as well as pull plugs after it starts to buck to see which cylinder is misfiring. Twitch

If you ever come to need a new exhaust and want to up the "oomph" factor, I did some major calculations (I think I even still have my notes) but going with 1 3/4" dual piping with a crossover gives you some extra torque and opens up the midrange. Mine was ridiculously loud with just glasspacks, (no cat), but it sounded SWEET. Just ask the WCSS 13 mudpit crowd I recommend putting some decent mufflers on to tone it down and keep the police off you, but keep it free flowing. You'd be amazed at how much extra power you can extract from that EA81. Twitch