ettev

Do you mean actually sending the Rancho's away to be converted into air shocks or trying to find an identical shock configuration to the Rancho that is already air? Been years since I've even thought about air shocks. They were "THE" thing in the late 70's/early 80's along with traction bars! Who makes 'em anymore?

Anybody running EA82 struts on the back of an EA81? I have a Brat lifted 4" that to me is a bit too soft of a ride with the longer Rancho shocks. What's involved with making the EA82 struts work, especially with a 4" lift? If anyone has pics or can fab a set of mounts let me know. Pics would really be helpful.

Anybody have an upgrade idea/solution for stiffening up the rear suspension on a Gen2 Brat? I'm running the longer Rancho shocks with a 4" lift. It just seems way to soft and sags a bit too much with stuff in the bed for my liking. What does the threaded adjustment on top of the torsion bar do? Is that for firming it up or just providing a bit more lift (or both)? I remember someone had installed an EA82 rear strut package on on of these some time back but I don't remember if it was lifted or not.

+1............and on northeast cars too. Getting the passenger side balljoint out may have been THE most difficult thing I had to do across all the work I did on my Brat. Finally I gave up and let the alignment shop guys get it out. They said it was one of the hardest ones they ever had! Moog for replacements though!

I'm in the market for one of those for a Brat as well. Scott? Pics?

I found these that I'm going to try: http://lugnutking.com/lugnuts.htm Part #1906. Do you think they look the same?

Fenders trimmed, camper off, stereo tweeked, military star on the hood. http://www.flickr.com/photos/26905545@N07/sets/72157605926523746/detail/?page=11 My friends I think it might be a wrap. Time for a cold pitcher of beer, a CAO America cigar and very possibly a roll in the hay with the wife. Life is good. Thanks to all who followed this project. I really enjoyed sharing with everyone. Now, about that other '85 Brat I have...........hmmmmmm.

Tomorrow should be the last day of the project. Install the hood decals, trim the front fenders where the new tires rub, pop the camper off and cleanup some over spray and install the toneau cover mounting hardware. Here are pics of the new 205/75-15 General Grabber AT2's mounted on the refurbished Pug alloys. QUESTION: Does anyone have a functional replacement lugnut suggestion for these Pug alloys? Preferably chrome. http://www.flickr.com/photos/26905545@N07/sets/72157605926523746/detail/?page=10

Man, that underside isn't bad at all. Looks like the front outrigger on the drivers side is the worst part. Get some 20-something gauge sheetmetal and someone that can weld and patch it. Coat the whole area with a heavy fiberous roofing tar or something similar after the patchwork. I'd get that whole underneath cleaned up and patched and put it on the road. Work on the mechanicals next and finish it with body work. Honestly, the thing that would bother me the most with that project is the cracked dash. Don't be discouraged, you have a vehicle that's very fixable. Just pin your ears back and go at it!

Yep.....urban camo in the snow camo colors.

Mine had some light corrosion, mostly from brake dust being on them for so long. Blasting will get them clean.

When does it end? Almost there. Let the paint on these cure a few days and mount the new 205-75-15 General Grabbers. http://www.flickr.com/photos/26905545@N07/sets/72157605926523746/detail/?page=10

I lay the RTV on everything and let it set overnight. BEfore hand I spray everything down with brake cleaner to remove as much oil residue as possible.

Every EA81 valve cover I've always done I use RTV sealant on the grommets and bolt heads. Never come loose after torquing and never leak.

Yep.....the passenger facing vent assembly is screwed in from the back. Glove box has to come and the right front speaker (and really the mounting bracket to make it easier) has to come out to get to all of them.

I've always used Moog (now a subsidiary of Federal-Mogul) with good success.http://www.federal-mogul.com/en/AftermarketSolutions/NorthAmerica/SteeringSolutions/Products/MOOG-Steering-Suspension/

Boy, a complete color change is tough using spray dye. You're better of finding a good "donor" interior at a junk yard in the color you want. I think there were only 3 interior colors: grey, blue and tan. But if you want to try it get SEM interior dye. It covers better than any other interior dye. You' ll need about six cans to do it right. Maybe eight. http://semproducts.com/Catalog.asp?prod=242

Got brave and installed the halo stripes today. The film I used is the kind that goes on dry. Needless to say they are a ROYAL P.I.T.A. to get on looking half way decent. http://www.flickr.com/photos/26905545@N07/sets/72157605926523746/detail/?page=10 Pooparu did an excellent job fabricating them and I'd recommend his work highly. NOTE: the film was not Pooparu's so don't think he uses that dry set stuff. I wanted snow camo and found a film supplier that sent Pooparu the film to be cut. One more decal that I'm having Pooparu cut for me out of the same snow camo dry set film. I'm doing a military star with a broken circle around it right in the middle of the hood. I'll post when that's on. OK, now for an opinion request. I'm going to take the Pug alloys down to bare metal and refinish them. What color? Dark graphite? Black? I do have a set of Pug accent stripes to go back on if I go with a lighter color. I really like the sounds of black. Opinions please.

Thanks.

How does the passenger side vent assembly get removed? Naturally the 2 screws hidden under the tab where it meets the dash bezel but then what? Mine is crappy and I want to swap it out with one I found in a salvage yard. I don't want to break either one though.

I think I have a pic or 2 posted on flickr that shows the door speaker mods. http://www.flickr.com/photos/26905545@N07/sets/72157605926523746/detail/?page=7 Pretty simple. Find the speakers you want to use. I went with a pair of 6" Kenwoods. Fit them up to the original metal mounting plate. You'll be able to trace their outline and then cut out the humps and bends that interfere with the speakers mounting flat. I used a 90 degree die grinder and cutoff wheel and cleaned them up with tin snips. I used one snap grommet between the mounting plate and the door to shim the assembly out just far enough to permit proper window actuation. I used grommets only because I was running really low on flat washers at the time. The trick is using washers/grommets/etc with just enough thickness to permit window operation. If you do that the stock speaker grilles work. I had to use a utility knife on the lower door panel at the speaker opening to clip about 1/2" off around the new speaker center horn so the door panel snapped onto the door and didn't block the tweeter cone. Hope this helps. If not let me know and I'll get you some detailed pics. Oh, while you're there run new/better speaker wire. I went with 16 ga. If you're using the stock radio you can probably get away with stock wiring. And no, I didn't do any smaller tweeters or cones in the dash. I just made my door speakers my front channel. I have truck box speakers behind the seats for the rear channel.

Try this one: http://www.accmats.com/ Select "New Product Request" from the left column drop boxes.

If enough people want new carpet try these folks. Here's a link to their request form. Based on stuff I've gotten from them in the past the quality is great and the fit is dead nuts on. http://www.accmats.com/Products/NewItems/ProductRequest.aspx

You want the SEM color called "Midnight Blue Gloss".

That's where I got mine! Had it in 3 days.