vwBrat

If it were southern Oregon or northern California and still available I'd grab it, but not sure I can swing the trip any time soon =/

The hardest part of rebuilding that carburetor is taking it off. If you've had it on and off 5 times now one more time with a little extra time to carefully take it apart, clean everything, and put it back together is not a big deal. I would start with just running it and walking around smelling to see where the fumes are coming from and then do a really meticulous inspection of everything that contains fuel starting with the tank and looking at / pulling / pushing / wiggling each piece. Is the smell only when driving? If so then look for holes where wind could pick up fuel vapors. Does it stink coming out the tailpipe? Does some area smell fuelly? The one big KAPOW when you shut it off is nearly always in my experience too high of an idle. If it's idling under about 1000 rpm it shouldn't do it.

A backfire after you shut it off is usually caused by either way too high of an idle or less often but still sometimes by too much fuel and big air leaks in a hot exhaust. Dieseling is when you shut the key off and the engine continues to run from compression ignition even though there is no longer any spark firing the plugs. It's a completely different issue. I don't think a 79 has or needs a fuel cutoff solenoid, but not looking at schematics or the car I can't say for sure. If it were my car, I'd check where the fumes are coming from -- Is it coming out the exhaust or is there a fuel leak someplace (check from the tank to the carb). If there are no leaks in the tank or lines another simple check is the float valve. Is the carburetor overflowing with fuel? You should be able to see an air bubble near the top of the sight glass in the side of the carburetor. Is the tank venting properly or is it blowing fuel out the filler cap (or someplace else)? Does it suck in or blow out when you remove the cap after driving it when it begins to smell fuelly? I think it should be mostly neutral with not a lot of air in or out. The only Subaru specific advice here is looking for the bubble in the sight glass in the side of the carb. Most cars don't have that feature. Hopefully there's something helpful in this. Dave

Depending how thick the shell is, you may be able to take a punch and carefully fold one side in until you have something to grab and pull it out.

Welding to broken studs or bolts if you can actually make it work does a great job. The heat and cool makes enough expansion and contraction fast enough to break most stuff free. The cause of most broken studs and bolts that I have seen is when metals are mixed. Stainless in anything but stainless, anything but aluminum in aluminum etc... really increase likelyhood of issues. Always always use anti-seize on any kind of mixed metal fastener when you put it together.

I am toying with the idea of doing this with 17 inch rims. Same offset and stuff as above. It adds just under 2 inches to overall diameter (just under an inch closer to the fenders at any point), and just over an inch to width with a 205/50-17. I think there is enough space that it wouldn't quite hit fenders at any point. It would give a little more flotation to crawl over snow. It would also give just under an inch of extra clearance to get over stuff. Another size I am considering because I would really like the extra flotation -- a Brat is already so light it can crawl over snow that the bigger 4wd's just sink into -- is 16 inch rims, same offset, but 8 inch instead of 7 with 245/50-16 tires. That size adds almost 2.5 inches to width and a little under 2.5 inches to diameter (just under 1.25 inches closer to the fenders). I would want to do a lot more measuring before I tried to go this far with the stock suspension. My biggest concern going up in tire size is does a stock Brat 1.6 have enough power to still move the car with the bigger tires? Looking for input/thoughts/opinions.

The only things holding mine in were the tight fit on the trim ring and the setscrew. It comes out toward the key, so a key in it shouldn't be in the way. I would think it should come out and then you can take it to a locksmith to fix. It's worth trying. Be careful and if it doesn't come out you've lost nothing but a little time.

On my 80 Brat I had no key. Someone had put in an aftermarket switch. The lock cylinder came out pretty easily. From the point where you have it in the picture there was just a small set screw in the side and it slipped out. The local locksmith rekeyed it and gave me a pair of keys for about $25. I put it all back together and it works great.

I looked up quick and don't see any mention of it, but you do have a fuel filter before the pump, on the tank side, right? If not then junk can make the pump not work. If you have an oem style pump you should just take it apart instead of replacing it . It's one piece to unscrew and then pay attention to the little bits that come out. Clean everything and put it back. It should work fine. If you can get the top off and back on the carburetor you can clean the insides on the fuel pump with no problem. If you do think you have a vent problem, you can check by driving with the gas cap off or loose next time you have about a half tank or less. If the problem goes away and reappears when you put the cap on properly then you know to look for venting issues.

It's very very difficult to make a carburetor gasket that actually seals. It's well worth buying a kit if you need the gaskets. There are venting issues with my Brat too. It's not stopped it from starting, running, or damaged the fuel pump. After a long drive I get gurgling noises out of the tank and if I take the fuel cap off I get a pretty significant whoosh of air. If everything is sealed well enough to make more vacuum than the 3 psi of the pump can pull then I could see it becoming an issue with running but it still shouldn't damage the pump.

I have an 80 Brat. I think I have more junk on my carburetor but other than that they should be similar (Again I think). The float valve is on the top, so no way anything could leak down from that. The main jets are on the bottom, and have access plugs on the bottom of the carburetor. The access plugs could leak as they are on the bottom, but I don't think it's likely they would just start to leak on their own without having been messed with. I think the ports from the main jets went up in the carburetor, so would not leak fuel out of the bowl. The accelerator pump has a fill port at the bottom, but again goes to the top so should not leak without something drawing fuel to the top of the carburetor. Some carburetors have a power valve that goes into the bottom of the bowl. Mine doesn't so I can't say where that goes. The top of the carburetor can be removed without removing the carburetor from the car. It gives access to much of the inside of the carburetor. The sight glass on the side of the float bowl is a very possible source for a leak. I am not sure how to fix, or if it really can be fixed at home. If filling the float bowl could ruin a fuel pump, then driving the car would ruin it. I don't think that is a source of fuel pump trouble. If it's an electric pump a few seconds with the key on before you try to start the car should fill the bowl even if it's empty.

The fuel pump on my first gen Brat went out. I took it apart just to see what was inside and it's really a very simple pump. An electric magnet moves a metal piston back and forth. The piston has two one way check balls on it. There is very little to fail. I cleaned the junk out of it and it works great. I also put back the prefilter that some previous owner thought wasn't needed. I think that is what allowed the junk to get in it and stop it from working. As far as air leaks on the tank side of the pump, I think I have one but haven't found it yet. The lines all look good as far as I can see them. I suspect it may be inside the tank. I know this doesn't answer specific questions, but it's related and may be a little helpful?

First gen Brats (at least mine) have the bolt on ball joints but still use a MacPherson Strut. It looks identical to the photo posted of the second gen style strut except for the brake line mounts, and possibly the bolt that holds it in place with the steering knuckle. If they are rebuildable, that's awesome but unfortunately mine was worn all the way through the inner tube when I got it. It already had aftermarket cartridges in it. Macpherson Strut definition: MacPherson struts consist of a wishbone or a substantial compression link stabilized by a secondary link which provides a bottom mounting point for the hub or axle of the wheel. This lower arm system provides both lateral and longitudinal location of the wheel. The upper part of the hub is rigidly fixed to the inner part of the strut proper, the outer part of which extends upwards directly to a mounting in the body shell of the vehicle.

It is a McPherson strut, but the brackets welded onto the lower part of the tube are different. I am not sure what other design they used.

Those may work, but the bottom mount is slightly different on the first generation Brats. I wish I had one to try when I had them out and see if they are close enough.