Don_Quixpunch

My 81 is a GL and has a 1.8.

It's possible to swap in a more recent 5 speed. There are even dual range 5 speeds that'll go. It's not exactly a drop in. It'll bolt right onto the engine, but you'll have to modify either the trans mounts or the trans cross member. And your drive shaft won't fit anymore. I can't remember if the donor car will give you the right size shaft or if you have to have yours modified. As for the engine, you could step up to a SPFI EA81 or an EJ series engine. Both swaps are rather complex as those newer engines are computer controlled so you need the entire harness from the donor car and integrate it into your cars wiring harness. If you're going that far, you might as well go with an EJ as it's a lot more power than the fuel injected EA81 which isn't that much stronger than your carbed EA81. There are people on the board who really know how to do these swaps. There are also many threads with in depth information on all aspects of what you're asking for. Another option that you don't seem to be considering is modifying your current engine. The primo setup seems to be EA71 pistons, something like .030" shaved off the heads, a Delta high torque custom grind on your cam, and a Webber 2 barrel carb. From what I've read, the whole package is worth 30 to 40 HP. I've only done the carb myself, felt like I gained 5 to 10 HP, but my old carb was jetted way too high, if you're starting with a healthy carb, the change could be larger or smaller. I'm still rather new myself. But I've been reading tons and trying to figure out just how far I want to go with my own Brat. I'm happy to answer any questions you might have, but I'm far from the best source of info you'll find here.

There's also discussion in the off road forum about an ATV wheel that's very close to fitting the EA bolt pattern. Might come in handy if you're determined to use proper sand tires.

Maybe this is dumb, but what about port matching the stock manifold to the head and maybe cleaning up the top by cutting off the factory flange and welding the adapter plate directly to the manifold? No doubt that a custom manifold can be done, the airplane guys have fancy carbon fiber ones. You don't wanna know how much they cost. But it seems like a lot of work with a small potential for gain.

If you still have the original engine, it's got solid lifters. Were I in your shoes, I would adjust the valve lash and try the compression test again. If that doesn't seal it up, you've got worn out piston rings and the entire engine needs rebuilt. Or, you could just cut your losses and find a newer engine that runs well. When I blew a head gasket in my 81 Brat, I was able to find a hydro EA81 for 20 bucks. Several months later, and I've had to replace the water pump and am about to do the oil pump because the old one leaks. Prolly I should have just replaced both when I did the swap. Since you don't have much in the way of tools and experience, you might want to network with some guys local to you. Good luck with your hatch. You'll have a blast in it once it's mobile again.

I didn't want to admit that I had a problem, I'm only on my third Subie. But after buying a first gen Brat in need of a lot of work, it's time to be honest with myself.

One more thing, somebody mentioned going as far back as 79 in a GL model. I could be wrong, but I believe 81 was the first year of the dual range trans. And the earlier years of dual range were 4 speed. The 5 speed is stronger, lighter, and shifts smoother. If you do look at the older cars, keep in mind that you probably won't like the 4 speed dual range, but a 5 speed can be swapped in and you could even find an old car with the swap already done.

What an interesting location for mounting driving lights. Must be nice not having shadows from them. Do they glare off of the hood?

My compressor is the same shape and size, but the hoses connect to the back. But I measured around the pulleys, and I'll just buy the 45 inch belt. That should tell me which compressor I have too.

Dhoh. Why didn't I think of that? It is fairly large and squarish. I'll measure anyway. Thanks for the input.

So I'm wanting to rip the A/C outta my 81 Brat. And I have it on good authority that it's worth saving and passing on. My guess is that somebody who wants it would really want to know if it works. I have no idea if it still works or not. It's got refrigerant still, but no belt. I went shopping for a belt, but it seems there are two possible condensers and they use different belts. I checked for a name, but it wasn't Nippondenso or Hitachi. Does anybody know where I can find something like pictures, identifying marks, or even pulley sizes so I can nail down which belt I need? Also, if anybody is interested in having it, as soon as I know if it works or not, I'm going to tear the whole thing out and list it here.

So I take it the factory A/C in my 81 GL is something special that should be preserved?

So the DL model in those years was simply front wheel drive?

So I know that in 81, the GL package got you dual range four wheel drive. What did it provide in the other first gen Brats?

Sexy! I really hate all you West Coast guys and the rust free Subies you find. I have an 81 GL Brat and it's got almost as much rust as steel.

Also get involved in the Off Road forum if you're not already. Lifts are a very common topic there.

Looking very good! As sad as it is to let a Brat go, at least now you've got a slick daily driver that can carry passengers. Love the instrument panel lights!

So I finally drove with the new clutch cable this evening and it works great. So if anybody else has an 81 Brat and needs to retrofit a newer cable in, hit me up and I'll give you the pictures I did take and tell you how I did the rest. Now to fix the sloppy shift linkage. At least there's already a procedure for that...

The 81 is different from that. The peddle has a 10mm or so post welded perpendicular and then the cable has an eye swaged onto the end that slips over the post. The newer style peddle has a 6mm or so hole through it and the cable has a barrel fitting that is swaged on behind a stamped steel yoke, there's a pin that slides through both the peddle and yoke. The peddle and bracket geometry is different too. Had I used the newer peddle, it would have crashed into my brake peddle. So I cut off the post and ground off the weld on the other side. Then I poked a 5/16" hole through the peddle, a little wiggling of the drill and it's a nice snug fit. I ended up using the metal sleeve from the end of the original cable housing to fit the new cable into the original clamp. I used a cutoff wheel to cut a slot into it so I could slide it over the cable. I started taking pictures, but once I got into the car, I couldn't get any pictures that were meaningful. So I'm not putting up photos, but if anybody else needs to update the clutch cable in their 81 Brat, feel free to hit me up and I can answer any questions about how I did it. I haven't driven it cause I also painted my front wheels and want the paint to dry completely before I put them back on. It felt just a tad squishy, so I'll come back with feedback on how it actually works once I do drive it.

For anybody in the Salt Lake area who might need tires, I was just at the Tear a Part on Redwood and saw a 92 Loyale in row 65 with all four stock blah wheels and matching Hankook Radialmax tires that looked to have about 80% tread. It also had a new looking full size spare under the hood. All I ask is if somebody gets them, please say so on the thread so people don't drive there for nothing.

That's what I'm thinking too. Just got home from the JY with a cable and peddle. It's looking like I can just cut off the post that the old cable connected to, grind flat the weld that attached the post, and drill a hole for the pin that works with the newer style cable. I'll take pictures for anybody else who thinks they might also encounter this problem.

I've no idea what the newer cable ends are going to look like, but if I can never again get the '81, it makes sense to adapt the car to fit the more modern cables. Thanks for the input.

You might also want to check your peddle bracket. The attachment point for my cable housing bent. When I finally find a new cable, I'm going to weld a stiffener onto the bracket in hope of it not happening again.