Seahag1978

It's doubtful if you'll find a better Subie in VA... "Land of Fords and Chevys"... I have never seen so many "8"s stuck on trucks and cars in my life, and we have a rather surprisingly heavy NASCAR following here. I show my Subies and never get looked at... unless there's a Foreign Stock or Special Interest class... then the judges look at them... but only under duress. LOL!

Happened to me... on BOTH Brats... why is that they are the cheapest, but most taken-for-granted part?

Tim's nephew, Ben, age 19, had never seen or heard of a BRAT until we sent him pictures of mine. He tells us he has recently seen a good-looking BRAT driving around town in Knoxville, PA... are you on here? Mods, could you please leave this one here for a few days? Many people don't visit Meet-Greet... which is where it really belongs.

I used Duplicolor Truck Bed Liner for the vinyl door panels on my '78. It gave a nice pebble finish. It will pucker the vinyl and look like they're ruined, but they will shrink back flat when they dry completely. CAUTION! Don't use it on your dash though... it will bubble in the sun... too many gasses in the old foam.

Topsfield '06! YES! I have a coveted trophy from the North Shore Old Car Club! Whoohoo! Then, Tim grabbed 2nd in his class! Double whoohoo! I like to win I'm now an official "sho-ho".

Arrrrghhh! That first picture made my heart jump... so much like my original BRAT... but white. I still miss it... seems I always will. Look in my gallery. For the full 9 pc. set that I got from McBrat... Ed Dahl made them. The yellow and red was also made by Ed Dahl. Now... here's the deal. Look at my original BRAT in the gallery. The word "SUBARU" was placed horizontally under the vertical BRAT on the bi-pillar. I have never seen a repro include that... is it a copyright issue? If it is, can't we override it since they have basically abandoned the BRAT? When I repaint the '78 I'm having the decals remade in the correct colors including the horizontal SUBARU.

When you have exhaust work done try to go to a custom shop, a quick weld is nothing to them. They can re-make most any pipe on the fly and are generally cheaper because they want your business again. They usually have "new" parts hanging around that they have replaced with custom components and since they can't sell them for new you can get them very cheap.

Say no to Armoral. Try Lemon Pledge furniture polish. Rub it in with your fingers until there are just beads of water left, then buff it with a soft towel. For hard plastics like window cranks, use mink oil. Rub it in until it can't absorb anymore then buff off the excess. I did mine a while ago and it's lasted without reapplication. A quick wipe-down with Lemon Pledge is all it takes to keep it looking great. Mink oil comes in a flat can for waterproofing shoes and boots and can be bought in the shoe care aisle of Wal-Mart.

Not defensive here... I'm glad to read that you were just venting. It can be a real rush to know you're right and the authority is wrong. Been there. I was merely stating that it's still legal and after reading your post, asking you to fight your fight "respectfully" without drawing unnecessary attention and having the law looked at too closely. Negative attention is a sure-fire way of getting things made illegal. I scanned that brochure for the Brat w/passengers driving on the public roadway, if you need it. I also have a "Car and Driver" article from February, 1978 with the specs 2+2 passengers. I'm on your side kiddo... just play nice with the police.

Whoa now... cool your jets, please have some decorum and don't come off like a punk that knows more than the uninformed law enforcement officer that issued the ticket. It's a fairly unknown law and should remain so... please don't make waves to draw an unnecessary attention to it. Thanks. Mary

He never stated the AGE of the passenger. If the passenger was over 14, he's clear, there is no restriction... there's no indication that the passenger need be secured in a factory installed restraint system, or enclosed, nor have 3 sides enclosed. I wouldn't recommend riding on a highway without the seats, seat belts, headrests, but it's legal in his state of Kansas and actually has no specific bearing on riding in a BRAT.

Lesson learned... when you're using a cleaner, rejuvenator, or anything else... when in doubt, try it on a hidden spot and let it lay for a week or a month under normal conditions. Then try a small spot in the sun. Mink oil and Lemon Pledge furniture polish seems to be the best for rejuvenating most plastics, and it lasts without reapplication. Never, ever use Armoral on OLDER plastics, foam based items or rubber!

I think it's because first of all, it's bloody obvious that the seats are grandfathered into law by almost all states. As are no third brake light, no seat belts in antique cars, which a '78 BRAT is, but was equipped and shall be liable for in inspection. Second, only a FEW states prohibit passengers from riding in cargo areas. It's a problem because some slap happy, no-common-sense cop decided to make it an issue. Kansas allows people 14 or older to ride in cargo areas... seat belts or not. Sorry, it makes my blood boil a bit... well more than a bit... my kid (age 32 now) grew up riding in the back of a BRAT, usually with a friend in the other seat... in my opinion, they were safer than the driver and front passenger! Rear facing... seat belts and headrests, I never feared for her life... ever. In the CJ-5 Jeep that we had, I was scared every minute... can you say... rollover=probable decapitation? Scary stuff... it got sold.

"Kansas: Persons 14 and older; parades; employment; does not apply to vehicles not being operated in the state highway system or within the corporate limits of a city." I read this as that carrying a passenger in the cargo area is restricted to passengers 14 years or older WITH or WITHOUT SEATS OR RESTRAINT. 13 and younger offroad or on private ways, any age in parades on public ways. Fight it. There's no grey area here. Surprisingly, it's legal in MOST states for adults to ride in the area intended for cargo.

Just look on the BRAT brochure with the red BRAT on the front. You can find it easy enough on-line, SUBARU3 has it on his website. The BRAT pictured is obviously being driven on the road with passengers in the jump seats. It was imported as a 4 passenger MPV, not a truck. Regarding state restrictions: http://www.iihs.org/laws/state_laws/cargo_laws.html If you can't find a picture of the brochure, I can scan mine and send it to you. Good luck!

heh heh ... ~evil grin~

Look on eBay... they have it pretty cheap sometimes. They also sell it at home depot and Lowes. Good luck!

I never met the man... it was all done by phone and I cut whatever he said in half. I would have still bought it, but not for what I paid... I did get him down $1K. He over-estimated the mechanical condition, you buy a Brat for the body...the rest can be fixed.

The red one? Yes, I chemically stripped it and Tim repainted it. My words when seeing the red were a little stronger than Holy Tomato Cow! It was soooo bright! I got the decals from McBrat and the trim was off the shelf. Made a big difference and it turned out very nice. The red one was mechanically sound, but painted primer grey. We changed out the carpet and seats. It's not old enough to compete in the major shows... it has another 5 years to go

Thanks! So as far as the steering wheel goes. It's a Pilot from Autozone and an adapter can be ordered for it. Tim took the old wheel and cut the hub out of it and welded into the new one... without the real adapter, the horn won't work, so we have a button on the column. It's a little harder to turn with the smaller wheel, but it looks sportier with the new seats.

Yes, it is the one from Orlando... Lance Walton. We gutted the interior and redid it all. Dash, seats, seat belts, windshield, steering wheel and speakers. It was a mechanical nightmare... we have changed everything from axles to tailpipe. Engine, transmission, carb, alternator, starter, voltage regulator, T-stat, ADS, all the engine wiring, hood release cable, complete new exhaust, struts, shocks, axles, hub, calipers, wheel bearings, tires and rims... and a multitude of little gizmos. It runs great now. It was well worth the effort.

There's this and some others in my gallery http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/photos/showphoto.php?photo=1349&cat=500&ppuser=5798&sortby=f&sorttime=9999&way=desc

I entered her in her first competitive show. She took third place in the "Special Interest" class behind a mint Studebaker Avanti, the sweetest looking El Camino I have ever seen, nabbed first.

Hey, we missed you guys... 91Loyale and North Ursalia were the only two from USMB that braved the flash flood warnings. Sean, The Mad Scientist, and CrazyMike from NESIC, friends and neighbors also came by. There was lots of food and conversation.

Na ah... I use it to haul all kinds of stuff, except full sheets of plywood, we use the F-350 for the huge things. The bed is nice and low so it's easy to get things in and out without climbing up into the bed. The tailgate is strong and holds 666 lbs. it can be actually used as part of the floor of the bed. The interior will hold a slew of stuff if it's raining. It's quick, fun to drive and "funky", not ugly, looks like a little kid built it from a pile of his broken cars and trucks. I get a lot of compliments on it. The MPG isn't bad, the seats are comfy so the ride is very nice. Everything is within easy reach. We have a big black lab that has his own space on road trips with the seats folded down and a big cushy comforter. The tinted rear windows help keep him cooler and the design lets him put his head between the front seats and rest it on the console for patting and closer contact to us... he loves it! I'm just glad I got an '05, from what I have seen, the '06 is only single color, I prefer the two-tone cladding, it accentuates the oddness. I love mine.