Seahag1978

She's still alive and well After 10 years. In for some garage time. :-)

Thank you! :-)

I haven't posted in a while. I did a search, but can't find the answer. We just installed a new radio into the '86 BRAT, but when we trun the car off, it loses the pre-set stations. Why?

Thanks!

On an '80 BRAT which position on the shifter, is 4WD engaged? Toward you, away from you?

These people had them right on the shelf for my '78 BRAT: http://www.kaliper.com/ They're local to me and have pretty much any caliper you could want. Recently, Tim needed them for an unknown dropped axle for his '50 Ford truck. He brought the axle over and the guy came out and looked at it, fitted him right up. They know their stuff!

The test with the volt meter proved there was power running to the pump so we changed it out with the pump from the parts BRAT. It started right up and immediately shot up to red-line! We had a brutal winter and severe rain the past month, it was just sitting, so it seems there was something stuck at the carb, WD40 to the rescue! She starts and runs normal again. I was very lucky the morning of the fire, adrenalin kicked in and I acted quickly, the fire extinguisher was behind my seat, but the real saving grace was that the HOOD RELEASE ACTUALLY WORKED ON THE FIRST PULL! LOL! We checked all the wiring and hoses, there was no damage from the fire except to the starter itself. I do need to do some serious cleaning under there. Thanks for all your help! You're the best!!!

Thanks for all the responses and the link to the FSM and mikeshoup for putting it there! I have a complete '84 parts BRAT, so I'm sure I have the part to fix it. Looks like I have enough information to make it work. I'll let you know what happens!

Hmmm... I know my battery terminal connectors are iffy. We're hoping that maybe it isn't getting enough juice? It rolls over nice and runs with starting fluid or pouring gas directly into the carb. The fuses in the box are all fine, where would the fusible links be located? I don't have a manual for this BRAT only the '78. Not to worry, I won't get offended, like I said, talk to me like I'm 5 years old

If the fuel line broke, wouldn't it be pumping fuel into the engine bay that I would smell?

I had a push button start and it was so cold one day that the button housing broke off. I didn't realized it was stuck in the "on" position. I drove it a few blocks to the gas station and when I tried to turn it off, it wouldn't shut down. I then realized that the starter was cranking continuously. I left the station to drive home. About a block away, the car lost all power and shut down. I pulled over and had smoke, I popped the hood, grabbed the fire extinguisher and it was so cold, it gave me just enough of a blast to put out the fire. The car restarted normally and I drove home. I checked things, replaced the button and drove it for quite a while without incident.

I had a small fire back before Christmas, once I put it out, seemed everything checked out and it was driving and starting with no issue. It sat for a few weeks and the temp dropped way down and when I tried to start it, nothing. I figured a frozen line and it sat. The weather is warm now, I get no gas into the carb. I searched and have no idea what I'm looking at. Those of you who remember me, know to talk to like I'm a 5 year old... don't assume I know where the fuel pump is, or if there are fusible inks that may have fried... Skip! Where are you??? He even sent me pictures and drawings of what to do!!! Is there another Skip here?

Finally, my friend. Glad to see that!

Dad's Paint Stripper takes it right off. Let set for 10-15 minutes and hit i with a putty knife. I did the whole bed of my BRAT in a few hours.

You can use silver leaf. You can buy a "book" at any major craft store, like AC Moore or Michael's. It's a super thin sheet of silver and a liquid that you paint on and let dry to tack. Then gently lay the leafing over it and tamp it down. Try it on a junk piece of plastic to get the feel of the leafing... it's extremely delicate and wrinkles easily. I put clear coat over it and it's held up for over 2 years now. It's way cheaper than having them rechromed and looks pretty good. Good luck!