Twitch de la Brat

I know it may seem odd, but a lot of the girls on here like to talk about cars and wrench on their own I read the description of your site and did a little browsing and it seems like a well thought out, decent little forum Unfortunately, from my interaction with most of the girls on this site, they're not the kind to sit back and talk about "girl stuff". Most of the chicks on here seem to be more apt to slide under a car and bloody a few knuckles vs slide into a salon chair and get a manicure. Not bashing your site, just saying its in a little different market than USMB. Twitch

If you're looking for a fancy model, there is a Bluetooth, USB and aux input JVC on clearance at some Best Buy's right now for a little over 90. Its a pretty nifty little model. Just another option Twitch

Well, grab a rear brake swap and some EA front calipers and have at it. See if you can make some brackets to fit or use front rotors along with the front caliper or something. Let your imagination run wild and then pick the good ideas out and work with them Twitch

Unfortunately, the only way you can get rear e-brake with a rear disc swap (aside from making front brakes fit the rear) is an EJ 5 lug swap or Nissan 240sx rear brakes. I think the idea of putting EA front brakes on the rear is pretty cool, albeit a little more difficult than using another vehicle's rear brakes. Just some input (plus if you look around the mod forum it'll give you some more ideas). Twitch

Check your grounds and make sure all of your connections are clean. Attaching a ground strap to your alt would be a good idea as well. I have one connected to the mounting bolt. A ground strap on your engine would be a good idea too, as your starter amperage has to go back to the battery and the longer the trip, the harder the start. As for the Voltage regulator giving you fits, I wouldn't worry about it. Unless you start seeing your voltage go too high or your voltage start to stutter and jump, I wouldn't worry about it. A nice upgrade to do if you're tired of your blinkers dimming your headlights is the Maxima Alt swap. Bolts right in and it all connects up with some spade adapters if you want to keep your factory plug on your car. Hardest part is grinding down the spacer for the pulley and keeping it flat. GD has a full writeup on it in the USRM I believe. Well worth the money and time. Twitch

I can adjust for EA82 knuckles. What's the benefit of the EA82 knuckles over EA81? I'm looking to upgrade to a different strut. Probably EJ if anything. Is it easy to swap in EJ spindles? I'll drop 93 FWD Imp axles in if its easy to do EJ knuckles. I like the thought of dropping EJ (see:STi) struts under the front end. Maybe long travel struts... Twitch

So I'm considering building new swing arms/A arms for my BRAT. I'm going to widen the stance a bit (less than an inch so as to not mess with axles too much) add some extra adjustment points for camber and caster and maybe adjust the lower spindle mount to allow for a better/sturdier ball joint mount. I'll get a picture up once I draw it. I'll probably use the factory mounts so that bushings don't change or I may go with an upgraded bushing design. Depends on what I can easily acquire. Any suggestions before I start drawing? Twitch

I know, second thread about camber and castor I've posted in. Just looking for a little clarification. Positive camber is stock, makes them better on dirt and offroad. Has anyone noticed any differences with flattened out camber while driving on stock wheels? Also, if my mental picture is correct, positive castor (strut top ahead of the axle) makes the suspension apply more positive camber as you turn and negative castor (strut top behind axle) gives you flat to negative camber in corners, right? So with a lengthened radius rod and camber adjustment/1" lift plate on an 85 BRAT, it should flatten the suspension out in the corners and stop eating my tires from the outside in, correct? And this shouldn't have too negative an impact on my ability to drive like a madman on dirt, right? Twitch

Hmmmmmm... How about a BRAT-astic cruise through the national forest sometime? We'll have to bring a BBQ since there's a burn ban. But its a quaint area out by where I live and its all fairly nice trail (all Subaru friendly) with some fun spots to play in We'll just have to stay on trail (not hard, lots of trails) and maybe go for a walk/hike to some of the awesome streams and paths out there. Any takers? Camping would be possible too, albeit kinda cold and possibly windy at night. Twitch

4 speed or 5? 5 speed has a keeper, but that's only engaged with 5th gear. Have you checked the adjustment on your clutch cable? Reverse is the pickiest of the gears as its not synchronized. It'll sounds awful trying to get it in gear with even a slightly loose clutch cable. Also, check your gear oil level. That lack of a synchro also makes reverse the first to act up when you get low on gear oil because of the lack of lubrication. Twitch

Thanks for the quick response. Mind if I ask how many washers and what size you used? I really need to kill this tire burn. I prematurely killed a set of toyos with that crap. Also, how close are your tires to rubbing on the front? Anything major? And have your torture tested this mod? Like, rally/streetcross or light offroading? It just don't want to rip out a radius rod midway through a corner and eat a tree. This and my 1" lift should fix my camber issues. Thanks again. Twitch

I like the design. I'm curious. With the caster adjustment, did you notice less tire burn on the outside? I'm really getting sick of eating off the outside edge of my tires before the rest of them. And with the push forward, have you seen any extra bushing wear or stress on anything else? Twitch

You make the rest of us look wimpy, driving a couple days vs our few hours. It was awesome hanging with you guys during and afterward. Maybe my BRAT will close to as cool as your Wagon next year I didn't mind the arrangements. The venue was nice, and I understand the car placement issue. A little frustrating at first, being shoehorned into the back, but it made mudpit access a breeze The lack of a quiet place was kinda frustrating for sleeping arrangements and whoever cody is, he needs to be found and duct taped to a billboard that says, "Cody is Here". And the new gen guys, while typically annoying, are fun to mock when a little dust gets on their precious paint. The lack of handbuilt rides in the new gen is saddening but typical of the new crowd. Lets just outdo them next year. Invite all the EA and early EJ's you know. Lets make them realize what Subarus are really about Lets hear it for next year! Twitch

So, me GWAL and Txakura are stuck at the Bainbridge Ferry. We're waiting for the 9:00 ferry to come in. Anyone else stuck here? We'll be at the grounds as soon as we can. Twitch

The BRAT's Rad is weepy, there's an exhaust leak again and I still have to swap on the Jackmans in addition to an early morning P&S run, but by golly I'm going to be there. Twitch

You might want to put the plastic clip back in just as a spacer, because as your wipers are now, they could bend over under heavy use. Having the spacer in there will spread out the load on the arm and make it less likely to fall over. As for my car, I got a ton of stuff put on, put in and modified in the BRAT and my phone isn't playing nicely with IMG code right now, so I'll get them posted up as soon as I get the pictures on Photobucket. Twitch

Registeered as well! Numero cincuenta! (#15) Twitch PS: Thanks Rob!

Ironically enough, I'm actually making my BRAT road legal again, today. Licensed, insured and drivable, just gotta drag it over to the muffler shop to have them put on my new dual glasspacks Lets do it, I just have to clear a spot from work, I usually get stuck working saturdays and rarely get 2 days off in a row. Twitch

Just fixed my pedal box. Welded some angle iron in there to fix it good. Well, I didn't, my dad wouldn't let me use his welder, but he tacked in some angle iron :-p I rattled it some weird shiny crap paint we had laying around. I'll post pix in the AM. Goodnight all! Twitch

Well, it has been Memorial Day weekend the last 2 years, so I thought we might be skipping it this year. If not, let me know, cuz I'm kinda out of the loop on this one. Twitch

So, no plans for a BRAT meet this year? Hmmmmmmmmmmmm? Twitch

Or, you know, you could find somebody with a Subaru key that looks similar to yours and have them unlock your car. Did that for a customer the other day. Freaked him out good, but got him into his car without having to call a locksmith Twitch PS: Don't use this trick to unlock cars you don't have permission to unlock. That's called burglary.

I'm in. And maybe Xandra will be up to snuff to go this year, otherwise, its that BRAT again, but with a new exhaust (that hopefully sounds good) and a new set of shoes for the pit... Twitch

Its not the first RWD Subaru JesZek Its the first front engine RWD Subaru, not the first RWD ever :-p Twitch

Duct taped my pass. side rear window on Xandra, as some idiot shot it out while I was driving down the road. Didn't find the guy (lucky for him) but now I have a duct taped window and have to replace it before the police get on my tail about it. Replaced a wheel bearing and its growling already, less than 3k later. Put a 12v 4 way splitter with switches in and it makes charging everybody's phones so much easier. That's about it for now. The BRAT will be getting a new exhaust and a new axle soon. Can't wait to be a roarin' down the road again. That reminds me. I need to fix the shift linkage before it gets too much worse. Twitch