clunkerbob

A ball hone is the best for braking the glaze in a cylinder if you are reringing an engine . A rigid hone is best for setting piston clearance after reboring a cylinder but will work if used sparingly . DONT try to get out all the marks or scores in a used bore , its not neccesary and will create too much piston to wall clearance by the time you are done hacking away . Remember , you are just breaking the glaze so the new rings will seat . A nice even crosshatch is what you are looking for . Subie cylinders are good material and rarely taper or wear very much . Another thing thats critical is to wash the honed bores out with hot soapy water , NOT just solvent or brake clean . Solvent takes out the oil but leaves the abrasive in the crosshatch to wear the new rings . You can use solvent first , but finish off with the soapy water . Douche out the block completely with soapy water , rinse , and blow it out with compressed air and coat cylinders with oil so they dont flash rust and you are good to go . Make sure the valve guides are tight and seals if used are new and you wont have any oil consumption problems . For break in I used to let the engine pull full throttle from about 15 -20 MPH up to speed in top gear back down again . Do this maybe 10 times or so in a row and the new rings are seated . Bob

I've been in the auto trade all my life and what I've found in todays world is there arent many real good alignment people left . The old guys who really understood what they were doing are a rare breed and most have all retired or died off . The late crop just put a vehicle on the computerized rack and adjust the things that the machine says are off IF they can , and hand you a printout and make excuses . Everything is adjustable even if it isnt according to the factory , but it takes time and sometimes creative methods to adjust it . They dont want to be bothered anymore , just get the 50 bucks and get another car on the rack . cb

Greetings , another newbie checking in . Anyone else on the board from northern Arizona ? I'm from around the Kingman area . Bob ( clunkerbob )

Thanks , appreciate the info CB

Howdy Arroz from another desertrat . I'm up in the Kingman area and got bitten by the old Subaru bug a few years ago . I saw a nice 82 or 83 Brat on Craigslist down in your area just the other day . Looked pretty decent too . $1600 firm he said he wanted ( but cash talks ) .... I thought about it but have 2 Subie projects as it is . Along with a bunch of old motorcycles , a Mini Cooper S and several others . I'm all full up Newbie here too .... welcome to the fold of misfits . Bob

I just latched onto a nice little '79 Brat project car and the carb is missing . Just pondering if I should I scrounge up an original rebuildable carb or convert to a 28/32 weber ? I have 3 old rebuildable 28/32's laying around the shop but I'm wondering if it may be too big for a 1600 engine ? If I go the weber route should I use the originald old EA71 manifold or get something from another engine that would offer a bit better performance ? I did a search but didnt really find the answer .... but I'm sure some of you guys have been through this before . BTW greetings from Arizona , I'm a new member and own 2 Brats ... an '82 and this '79 I just bought yesterday . Neither are finished up yet but nice rust free AZ cars in need of TLC . The usual story ... sheetmetal excellent but the plastic bits roasted by the heat . The '82 is a runner but I pulled it apart for paintwork and then fell into the gen 1 car . The '79 looks like hell but a very straight body and all the parts are there . It was partially dissasembled by the previous owner but he did a good job of tagging and bagging and didnt destroy the car pulling it apart . Spare tranny , starter and some other bits and pieces . 100'000 miles on the clock . Thanks for any welcome advice . I'll get some pics up when I get my camera charged up . Bob

I have thought of the same thing , nothing super fancy but just to make an nice offroader . It would have to be a 2 door wagon I would think , and all the later models in USA are 4 doors . Maybe later ones in NZ can be found in 2 door models ? I think it could be done without too much hassle if you planned it out and took your time cutting the bodywork . Like to see some pictures of the modifications and how its done myself CB

My '82 Brat GL has no grill door piece over the center light . I dont see any sign of it ever having one either , that , or somebody did a good job of removing it completely . Was that grill door an optional thing or just certain years had it ? Bob

the body looks really straight on it too . just a few small dings from the looks of it . nice car .

yeh , if the system still has pressure its probably OK . The Jap compressors usually hold up really well . If the internals of the old compressor exploded , you better flush the system or you'll suck the metal shavings in the replacement compressor and it wont do it any good . You are supposed to change the dryer too ... but I've reused the old ones sometimes with no problem if money is tight . Definately change it if the compressor grenaded . c-bob

yeh , 12 bucks you cant go wrong with that price . I believe I paid 32 bucks for a new one for my Brat . rxleone , I used to get Repco Deluxe brake pads from Worldpac in Southern CA when I had a shop there ... that was , lets see , about 5 years ago at least . Before I moved to Arizona , I must have used hundreds of them . So they quit making them ? Shame ... I had good luck with them over the years . I think they came out of Australia , right ? Ive used Ferodo too . And Lucas/Jurid ... were good , but they black dusted like hell on the wheels and some customers complained ok , sorry , back to water pumps cb

Up until I retired , I wrenched on British cars and we used a lot of Quinton Hazel parts . Usually suspension stuff , wheel bearings etc . Was always good quality and no problems . Used a lot of Repco brake pads and parts too and they were top notch . I think they were made in the U.K. or Australia at the time . But that was a couple years ago and who knows where its sourced now ... LOL . It should say on the box . I'd tend to trust it though . I bought a brand new W/P a couple months ago , made in Japan and it had the stamped impeller .... was a bit skeptical but it worked fine . Like GD says the originals are cast . Before you slap it on ... compare the old and new pumps . Sometimes the pulley is pressed on the shaft at a slightly different height and the crank and alternator pulleys dont align up with it right . Not by much , maybe 3/32 to 1/8" but just enough to throw things off . C-Bob

1982 Brat GL 4 speed , Carter carb . 285K on engine . I've gotten a steady 23 MPG since I got it a while back . Mixed driving , including some offroad in 4WD . I dont baby it , but I dont usually thrash it hard either so I dont know if thats good or bad really .... I'm OK with the mileage that I get . cBob

did you mean ea81 and ea 82 springs interchange ? I did a search on the forum b4 posting but nothing comes up helpful on the Brat springs situation . I've heard they arent too expensive new from the dealer .... its just we dont have one out here in my area thus the interchange try . And the dealer websites are hopeless to try and order from . Maybe next trip to Las Vegas I can call ahead and pick some up .... pretty sure they have a dealership up there . I was looking for a shortcut substitute through local parts houses . hehe . They dont show a listing for a Brat ... and if they dont have an exact year and model they are completely lost . tnx , cBob

My front springs are sagged to the max and the adjusters are all the way out . I need new coils . What do you suggest ? I want it up higher than stock but not riding right up against the bumpstops . I'd rather get new than experimenting with junkyard stuff . Somebody uses Honda Accord springs but wont that be too much tension ? I'd like to get them at NAPA if possible . Theres no Sube dealer out here or I'd go there . What should I look for ? 4WD , no A/C , winch or anything heavy up front . Aftermarket steel front bumper but it cant weigh that much Tx , Bob

bheinen is correct , you probably havnt gotten the system purged of air yet . One thing though you said .... it still doesnt throw out the heat like it should . Maybe you only got the core partially unblocked and its hard to get the airlock out of it . Try bleeding it out again like his instructions with heat control full hot .... you might have to run some chemical cleaner through it again . That rusty crap is hard to get out sometimes . Does Subaru use a heater water shut off valve ? vacuum or cable . Not sure on that . That could also be plugged or bad too . Something you might check into . Bob

LMAO , it does doesnt it ? Well ... watching your door rubbers and tires rot away on your pride and joy is pretty stressful you have to admit . plug in "303 protectant" to get through the dope adds . Does seem to be good stuff and worth the price if it does as it says . About 14 bucks for a 16 ounce squirt bottle . It says aerospace , maybe NASA sprays it on their rockets before they blast them into space .... thats good enough for me . Seriously though , seems to be a good product not just hype and snake oil . I'm game to try it . Bob

First disconnect the wiring to the alt using the 12V testlight trick and see if thats the draw on the battery . If it is , then you know you've solved that particular problem , and a different alternator will cure all your ills . The battery draw AND weird fluctuating charge rate . you may have a couple of problems .

Speaking of door seals and rubber bits ...... theres some stuff called Formula 303 that really protects rubber , vinyl , paint etc from what I have heard . WAY better than Amorall and some other products like that ( I'm not a fan of Armorall , it will actually deteriorate rubber in heat and dry climates ) They use this 303 stuff on aircraft , boats and paintwork and supposed to be the very best you can get as a protectant and UV shield . Any of you guys ever tried it ? I've looked for it in stores , but never seen it except online . Its not aLL that super expensive either . Bob

Hey 81 , You'll love your Sube then , the older cars are simple as can be , and beg to be modified . Sounds like you are setup equipmentwise and knowledgable so let the fun begin . I worked for many years on British cars of all kinds and had a shop for same . I'm retired now but still have a small repair shop I piddle around in to buy beans , beer and chase women ..... and play with my toys of course . I'm just kidding about some of that stuff hehe . I'm new to the Sube line but so far having a ball with my old '82 Brat . I've got all kinds of ideas for the thing . Great cars ... wish I had found out sooner . I always thought they were a stationwagen for mom , dad , and the kids .... I didnt know what great offroad machines they are . Bob

Hi Tom , On your model does the door window glass press directly on the rubber seal ( like a hardtop car ) or does it have a metal frame around it ? I looked at your pictures and it looks like glass to rubber but its hard to tell . On some cars if you pull the door panel you will see where you can adjust the window channels a bit to angle the glass tighter against the rubber . Is the channel felts loose and letting the window flop around ? I'm new to Subes so I dont know if this is the case on yours . If it has a metal frame around it I have some tricks you can try ( worked in dealerships Maybe you can move the door striker in a tad ..... but door has to line up to body panels too , so you cant move it much . Typically new door seals are expensive anymore . Anything made from oil has skyrocketed . I'm surprised that the seals would deteriorate up where you live as its pretty wet and rubber likes that . Here in Arizona its murder on rubber of any sort . I silicone them here too to try and keep 'em supple but its hard keeping them soft . Dry and lots of UV sunrays kill tires and rubber if you leave stuff outside in the heat . Cant think of much more you could try , but maybe someone else has an answer . Bob

The passenger side radius arm on the Brat was bent and it was pulling ... so took it off and straightened it in the press today . Pulled the other side too and lubed all the bushings while I was at it . What a piece of cake to work on Did an alignment and she steers like a new car again . I sure like this little car ! Bob

WOW !!! That thing is really coming together nicely ! I second the kudos on the front bumper . The deer dont have a chance . Ah to be young again .... and full of piss and vinegar and excess energy . You've accomplished more in a few weeks than I would have gotten done in a couple months lookin' sharp , and nice workmanship too . Bob

Welcome aboard . Neat little 2 door .... looks like you're having plenty of fun with it . Yeh , a lift would be awsome ! Bob

Does that model have coil over struts ? I believe it does , sometimes the coils get dry/rusty and develope a squeak where they rest up against the spring seats . Try spraying some of that spray lube stuff ( preferably with teflon in it , if you find some ) around the top and bottoms of the spring seats and see if that doesnt help . The cans usually come with a little plastic straw so you can really get in there and give it a good soaking . Also a shot of spray silicone on all the rubbers couldnt hurt either . Good luck ... squeaks are annoying as hell Bob