Bugaru

I am unable to do the cross member swap due to the way I built the existing one into the skid plate/cage assembly. At least for now. Heh Heh..."SUPER hillbilly style" not just the regular hillbilly style. I've got an acceptable amount of clearance up front(although more would be nice), I wanted to lengthen the control arms and fit the EA82 axles to correct the nasty positive camber problem I have. The adjustable lift helps but not quite enough. It looks like the struts will clear the fenders after the mod without anymore cutting. I need a new set of front tires and I don't want to burn em up when I come to Portland.

Is there a universally agreed upon measurement to lengthen EA81 lower control arms to fit the longer EA82 axles properly? I can't seem to find a specific thread. Also looking for any feedback from those who have done it, pros, cons?

I'm taking the I5 and 580 up to San Fran, then 101 up through Humboldt and then 199 through Grants Pass and North to I5. Pretty much the scenic route.

A few other welded diff things, Anti-seize the crap outta the inner and outer stub/DOJ splines, I've never had one get stuck, even after sitting for over a year when water was all in it. Carry an extra axle assembly because you're more likely to bust a DOJ with a welded diff, and don't forget to carry a few extra roll pins. But most of all push it to see how far you can take it, GD and I did some comparisons when I was still running an open diff, there is no comparison. If you can weld it, do it.

I'm heading up to the WCSS leaving San Diego on Aug 20. Is there anyone along the way who is going that would like to caravan? All the soob owners I know are up there already, so it would be cool to meet some other members and of course have some backup for at least part of the trip.

Craptastic!

Are the bearings and module both bad? I don't know about EA82 distys, but EA81 modules can be found in some Hondas(so I've read). If you have bad bearings I'm sure you can find just those at a place like Kaman.

If it rattles, cut it out. I've seen cat parts go all the way down the line, you might have some bits in there. After I get my welder back, all I will have on the exhaust is a muffler.

A few things I should mention about this radiator setup. The MR2 radiator does not have a radiator cap fitting, since it is a rear engine car the cap is within the engine compartment. It is inexpensive to have one welded on though, it only cost me $10. Also, I chose this radiator, like I said earlier, because it's the only one I could find that would fit above the strut brace on the cage. One could probably fit the stock radiator or possibly a larger one without a strut brace. The MR2 is a 1.6 and the rad has a little less fluid volume, but so far I haven't had any issues. Hoses line up well, brackets are easy to fab and they're plentiful. I may end up running a secondary Bluebird Bus heater core in the grill for that 110 deg weather you guys are having up there.

Thanks. The aluminum would break before bending, it's very rigid. Those are secondary supports to the cross member though, I have the skidplate tubing supporting most of it where it ties into the rollcage.

When I first got my Hatch, I had the same problem, loosing coolant, no white smoke in the exhaust, WTF? Well after trying everything else I did a compression check and sure enough the right bank of cylinders was at around 60 psi or less(left side normal). After I ran it a little more(bad) I got massive amounts of white smoke in the exhaust. The one thing I did notice before it fully went out was a slight smell of coolant in the exhaust. grossgary has a point about the heater hoses and/or core leaking, I had that problem with one of my wagons.

I didn't know what else to call it, but it's kinda up and around. I used 4" aluminum "C" channel for the front lift blocks so I could feed the exhaust tubing through it resulting in a gain of a few inches of ground clearance from where the exhaust used to run underneath.

I guess technically it's called DEQ up there and it was back in 2005 when I had it inspected last. The hatch is a 1984.

7Point62, sweet name, If youre going to cut it open and gut it, remove the exhaust and do it from the top, so IF you do have to get an inspection it wont be noticed. Cutting and opening is the best way to make sure you got it all out. As far as gas mileage goes, I don't know. I dont have a fuel gauge or a properly working odometer yet. GD would know.

I live in a county that doesn't require smog, ie the sticks. :banana:The one time I had to pass was in Oregon.

No worries. I only had to pass smog once.

Do you have a single fan only? Does it work properly? If you only have one fan, get another to compliment it, I prefer to run dual electric fans. Also flush and backflush the cooling system. Are you losing fluid at all? Make sure the radiator fins aren't packed with mud or other debris and if it comes down to it you can always run your heater to take heat off the engine.

Why do I keep losing power going uphill? Note the flow direction of the honeycomb (and the fact its "free" and making its way down the pipe). Twice this has happened on my EA81, I hate cats. Replace with 18" of straight pipe, done.

The camber was so far out from the lift, I was burning up tires like nobody's business. I keep it dropped for the street and lift it when I'm putting in my rear axle for off road. Soon enough I wont need this setup anymore, I've got some mods in the works.

Ah I see the pics, that was a pretty "good" hit. Any damage in front of the rear axle or to the running gear? Can you bob the tail and make a trail rig outta it?

Crappy. I hope no one got hurt. Can you salvage anything? I lost my Soob powered VW Baja Bug in a rear end car sandwich and got hurt to boot.

So I broke a necessary exhaust component, and I'm stranded for the day so I thought I'd get a few photos of the radiator and scoop setup.

Don't let a bad tank turn you off to a good deal on a Brat. In my experience, if a tank is rusty enough to get a hole all the way through, it's not worth trying to mess with. Even if you plug it and clean it out, you will prob eventually get rust contamination in the fuel, clogging the lines, filters, pump and carb. I have just recently installed a 20 gal air compressor tank in the "bed" of my Hatch and it works great. The drain at the bottom works perfect for the outlet and the other fittings on top are my filler and vent, I didnt have to cut or drill anything to make it work. Air compressor tanks are thicker steel than normal gas tanks and are designed to withstand up to around 150 psi, very tough. Plus they look cool and are available in all different sizes.

Yeah, I'm doing my best to make it up there. So far it looks good, just have to work out some bugs. Check your PMs. Ian

Heh heh, it does look like a paper shredder. But it's actually a waterproof marine enclosure for my cd player. Ok I'll write up the scoop with pics and a template. Sweet hatch BTW. Ian