6 Star

'85 was the last year for the jumpseats, mine has them factory. '86 and up didn't have the jumpseat option. Also Brats only had the centerlamp in '82, the first year of the second generation Brat. I need to tackle the rust in the rear wheelwells like you are doing, I can see some rust eating through the paint on mine.

Whoops I was thinking of the 1st generation leone coupe. Since its a 3rd generation then; Need to swap in a 4wd gas tank to make room for the rear diff. Is the wheelbase shorter on the 3 door coupes vs the wagons? If so you will have to shorten the rear driveshaft.

You will need to do a lot of custom work to get the suspension to fit. The front and rear strut/shock assemblies have different mounts. The rear driveline will need to be shortened because the coupe is shorter in length. The cv axles will have to be shortened because the coupe is shorter in width. The tranny tunnel might have to be enlarged to fit the ea82 tranny. The ea82t itself will be a very tight squeeze in the coupe's engine bay. I've heard of people having to cut the unibody for it to fit. The crossmember will have to be modified as well. Etc... Just to name a few, not 100% sure as I have never done this work but these are issues that come to mind.

May 1981 - Leone Swing Back - Japan

Brings back childhood memories of my family '82 Wagon. Yours looks real nice, I'll be watching!

November 1979 - Big Line-Up; Subaru - Japan

September 1979 - The New Leone 4 Door Sedan / Hardtop - Japan

Yup, 14's with 195 75 r14 tires. Stock 4WD suspension, didn't need to adjust it any however they would rub a little under hard turns on the front and while reversing and turning.

Just one of many little critters that frolic around my yard lol. I've scored FWD front strut/shock assemblies as well as the FWD rear struts. Should have this thing sitting a little lower sooner than later.

September 1979 - The New Leone 4WD - Japan

I've tried searching for his thread several times but can't seem to find it. Its a '83 automatic. Redrilled 4-100 hubs with Rota wheels. Cut springs in front and re-clocked torsion bars in the back. From the pictures it looks like he still has the stock core support, but he has fixed the STD headlamps, bezels, and grill to it. Also the rack on top is off of an older Ford Escort, the bars are just trimmed down a bit to fit.

Ah the power of the ea81. :cool: lol It feels quick and snappy, driving around in these cars makes you feel like a badass. I did a test though; my friend has a completely stock '91 Honda EF hatchback. We lined up on the freeway in third gear and "raced" to see who could get to 70 first. Both cars were dead even. Lol I never felt so slow... Keep in mind this is a freshly rebuilt ea81 that I have, very healthy.

The "New" Leone Swing Back - September 1979 - Japan

All the stores around here still haven't gotten them from what I can tell. Keeping my eyes peeled.

Sorry for your loss. If all else fails, you could make it look like this:

Holy crap... Lol those guys probably aren't walking away. Its like the seatbelt did nothing at all.

Present day (10/25/12) repainted grill and headlight bezels.

When you put load on it that is when it is taking the most stress and shakes. Your DOJ on the cv axle is split and as far as anyone knows it has been for a long time. It is most likely shot. Just give the cv axle swap a shot. If it turns out to be something else (unlikely) at least you wont have a torn boot anymore.

Hes most likely in fwd when travelling on the freeway, so I doubt that is the cause. If it has been torn a long time then it most likely has grit inside and is starting to fail. This was the problem in my Brat. Replaced both front c/v's and the horrible shaking went away.

The "New" Leone 4 Door Sedan - May 1979 - Japan

Attended last year and had lots of fun. I'll be putting in for the time off. :-p

:slobber: DO WANT You are a very lucky guy kiwi. I'll be watching this.

I always love a build with attention to detail, keep up the good work.

The 4wd HI light is on the rear end of the bottom of the 4wd handle. Its under the plastic center console stuff, there is a little bracket behind the lever that holds the switch in place. With my Brat, the lever would keep popping the switch out of its bracket whenever it was moved. I just put a ziptie around the switch loosely so it would shut off the light on the dash. Currently it dangles out of the side of the console behind my seat, this way I can turn the switch on and off if I so choose. BTW nice Brat! Dont ever let your woman tell you what to do with your cars.

Spent the majority of the day getting this thing running, driving, and stopping well. Got new coolant in it, next will be an oil change and tune-up. This is the first time it has been tabbed since 2009. Twins