Becky

So I have been fighting this issue for years. The clutch cable from everywhere I have tried for the 82 Brat is about 36" long. Since the most recent one broke I came across this post and notice you were saying the 32" cable worked but had the wrong ends. In the past we put 2" of washers and nuts just so the 36" would work somewhat. I did some searching at Checker and Autozone and they have something similar to the one you described for the '81 Brat. Just ordered it. I will let you all know how it works.

Thanks guys. Now I just have to find all the parts.

Hey guys it has been a while. I have been working on a few things but was thinking about putting a/c in. I am finding that there two different types of condensers. I need to know which one before I can even research cost and availability. Does anybody know if it matters whether I put the Hitachi or Lone star in?

I was wondering if you ever figured out the temperature sensor problem. I have an '82 with the Carter/Weber 1bbl carb and it too has the two prong temperature sensor/sender/valve (whichever name you want to call it). Unfortunately for those of us with this setup, it's hard to find parts. So far, the only place I have found that has one is the dealership and they want $80. Anybody know where I can get it cheaper?

It's been a really long time and I can't remember if I responded to this before. Paid $600 for my '82 a year and a half ago but I have been chased down, had notes left all over it, etc. with offers to buy it. I don't usually ask how much because I'm not interested in selling but the one that did make an offer said $2500. Can't really remember how many miles it had at the time but has 88000 now.

Thanks! I have really enjoyed this car. The fact that it had less than 85,000 miles was a plus. If I could have talked the neighbor's kids into selling it sooner it would have saved me alot of headache though. Sitting in the weather and salt for 7 years took it's toll. Had to replace both side mirrors because the weight of a really bad winter a couple years back broke them off. The exhaust was completely rusted. The fuel system was full of bad gas and who knows what else. We haven't done any modifications because we feel the same way about keeping it stock(husband won't even put a decent stereo in it unless I can find a replacement part for the console so he doesn't have to cut anything). Future plans include reupholstering the vinyl part of the seats. I really like the red and brown plaid and hoping I can save that part. Fixing the dents and repairing the spots in the bed where the rust went through. I'll try really hard not to change the color when we have to repaint but can't make any promises. I really like it in red! . I saw the work you did on the '85. Is the '82 new? Looks like it's in really good shape too.

I have to agree with Twitch...not seeing much girl talk here(thankfully!). It's actually nice to see other girls who enjoy mechanics as much as I do. Living in this closed-minded state where women are supposed to be getting married having babies and getting pedicures because they have been bare-foot and pregnant for so long, there's not many girls here that have interest in cars. Well, unless it has a boy in it.:-p

Sorry, I haven't been real good at updating. Besides working on the brat, my daughter wrecked her car 2 days after my insurance expired and I wasn't told. So we have been rebuilding her car, as well. We also got the insurance renewed! Not to mention Calculus, Engineering Computing, and a very disorganized English professor. Anyway, here is where we are...So far we have replaced the exhaust and cat. We replaced the fuel pump twice. We drained all the gas out, dropped the tank and cleaned it, and blew out the lines but there must have still been a lot of junk left because it stopped working and had to be replaced again. We did some maintenance such as plugs, wires, cap and rotor. We also took the carb apart and cleaned it. It ran okay for a while but the gasket on the accelerator pump was toast and it has the good ol' Carter-Weber 1-bbl so we couldn't get parts for it. I took it to a couple of carb shops here in Salt Lake area but they couldn't help us. I waited for my husband to go to New York for a job and tore it all apart again . I found some parts from other carb kits, a hack saw, and some marine epoxy putty and put it back together. Changed the spark plugs again due to it running too rich. It runs better than ever. We took it on the freeway and it does 65 without issue. We did push it to 70 but it started getting scary. Even passed emissions and safety! The 4-wheel-drive works great as far as I can tell. We haven't had a chance to really try it out yet. Sorry, I didn't take any pics but I will get some more posted asap. I think we are going to leave it as is for now. I would like to do some body work eventually though. There are a couple of dents on the driver's side and hood as well as some cancer in the bed on the passenger's side and I am not really attached to the "aztec gold" paint.

That is awesome that you found a cyclops with the grill intact. I can't wait to see pics when you get it painted. I will probably get a service manual at some point but, so far, I haven't really needed one yet. I have gotten a lot of good advice from all of you and it is really in good shape so I haven't had to replace or fix a lot.

So I jjust started school again and haven't had time to do much. Got it back from the exhaust shop. They put in a new exhaust front to back. I fixed the cyclops. You were right. The back had broken out of the switch. I replaced the door jamb switches so the dome light is working again. The radio wasn't working so I found the fuse and replaced it and replaced the speaker. It runs great once it gets warm. I think I want to put a different carb in it next but that might have to wait a couple of months.

Finally! After 7 long years of nagging at the 93-year-old neighbor's son to sell me the '82 Brat GL, we got it. Unfortunately, now that it has sat there for so long and hasn't even been started for three years, it needs some tlc. It was in very good condition when he first parked it there. The heavy snow two years ago broke both mirrors off, rust from our wonderful Utah salt, sun damage to the interior, lacquered fuel, etc. It has just under 86,000 miles on it and we will be the third owners. Everything is stock for the time being. We haven't really had to do much yet. Cleaned the fuel tank and lines, fuel filters, new plugs & wires, cap & rotor, and other minor things. Finally had to pull the carburetor apart to get it running. Has a few rust spots and the exhaust is rusted completely so I guess we will start there. I am not real impressed with the carter-weber carb so I will work on talking my husband into letting me do something different when we get the exhaust done. Any ideas? Also, I have the "cylops eye" but it doesn't seem to work. Not sure since I haven't pulled it apart yet but I think the motor is probably seized. Is there a relay to it somewhere? If anybody has any ideas on fixing that, I would be grateful. I have been checking this site out for last couple of weeks and I just wanted to say "THANK YOU!" for all the information. It was all extremely helpful. http://i1070.photobucket.com/albums/u495/Beckybrat82/Facebook/Wall%20Photos/277923_473745869310874_571522637_o.jpg