mwc951 Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 My dear old Uncle (& GodFather) willed this to me. He's 83 and retired to Florida many years ago. He bought this 1985 BRAT new in Pittsburgh, then promptly retired and moved to FL. It's been sitting in his airplane hangar for the past 4 years, driven once or twice a month. I flew to FL this past weekend and drove it back up north, 1154 miles-19 hours. Had to replace the tires along the way, within an hour of interstate driving, 3 of the 4 tires had belts break. Other than that...it was a fine trip! It has 70,000 original miles...every shred of paperwork- including the window sticker and OEM Subaru shop manual. Called the dealer today and ordered up OEM tune up parts... air filter, fuel filter, vapor separator, cap, rotor, plug wires, plugs & an oil filter. Sorry for the long post...excited to be here...looking forward to using this great resource to keep my BRAT running. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northguy Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 Keep it original. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skishop69 Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 HOLY SH*T!!! DO NOT modify that Brat in ANY way. That is super clean and you may not know it, it's worth a pretty penny. Judging from the pics, I'd say as high as $8K at an auction. That seems to be where they've been recently in that condition. That is a rare find mileage and condition wise. Congrats and welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosens Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 Rustproofing ! Keep it in your living room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subyrally Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 wow, that is one clean brat. polar opposite of mine, lol. good to see another one on the road. mine will make it back to the road one of these days, i hope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PHATBRAT Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Looks pretty nice, Whats great is that you know the original owner and no surprises. Have all paperwork etc. Is it worth 8k, I dont think so but it would probably bring 4000-4500 for sure. First thing you do after that tuneup, take it to a bodyshop, the BEST body shop and have the rust around the wheelwells fixed immediately inside and outside. Once you have the rust, they go fast and I see that you have some, cant see drivers side but hopefully you only have it on one side. Nice find all together though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwc951 Posted February 17, 2011 Author Share Posted February 17, 2011 (edited) It has *some* rust. However it was Zebarted back in '85. Have a bunch of paperwork from that too. I was looking forward to installing a Weber carb, as I read the posts...guess I gotta keep it stock. The exhaust was replaced in '03 and is not OEM. Have the rear seats, head rests & belts too! I'd GLADLY sell it for $8K, as I'm thinking about building a house. More pics... http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/5907/picture244i.jpg' alt='picture244i.jpg'> Edited February 17, 2011 by mwc951 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Nice clean brat. Do make the investment to repair the rust, as it is minor, but in a place you do not want it. You could list the selling price for every bit of the original invoice in today's dollars. The maintenance records and original owner will hold the highest to book/auction value. DO NOT sell this car to some bastard kid who thinks he can put a turbo in it like anyone else's impreza/wrx This car deserves to be in the hands of a subaru collecor, or anyone who would keep a show worthy or classic car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwc951 Posted February 17, 2011 Author Share Posted February 17, 2011 Thanks so much for the advice, guys. I have too many vehicles as it is. There is rust on the top of both rear wheel wells, as well as the center of both door sills. I've researched and read about the wheel well problem and will address it. This vehicle is not perfect...but is in amazing condition for 26 years old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durania Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Man, it would be really hard for me to part with something like that. There are only a handful of these babies left in such pristine shape. The 85 model is actually in more of a demand, hydro engine and last year with the jump seats. This is one of the few cases where one can NOT post enough pictures. Engine bay, pretty please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bheinen74 Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Nice BRAT. Keep good care of this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shane_h Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Rustproofing ! Keep it in your living room. I'll second this! That's a amazing brat. If you've got too many cars, get something else! Don't part with this beaty! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwc951 Posted February 24, 2011 Author Share Posted February 24, 2011 Installed cap, rotor, fuel filter, vapor separator, plugs, wires & air filter. Seems to be running much better. I pressure washed the engine bay for a half hour with hot water and still tons of cosmoline under there. I got an offer of $5000 from a stranger on the street today! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomRhere Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 OMG!!!!!!!! :slobber::slobber: I WANT!!! But can't afford... Please keep it as original as you can...... Never,,,, drive it in Winter conditions. My '85, "was" in extremely great condition, until I drove it during the Winter, no choice really. Road salt took toll on it rapidly. Welcome to the Board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durania Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 Do you still have the jump seats. Least he left the frame in there and didn't cut it out like most. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mugs Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 Beautiful BRAT. I know it may be tempting to sell it, but don't. Obviously your uncle willed it to you because he thought you were the one responsible enough to take care of it, and carry on its legacy. Putting a Weber on it (IMO) would not hinder its value per se' and it would add a lot of more get up and go. I was amazed how much more pep I had when I put mine on. I took it all out, EGR (made a block off plate to cover up the holes,) all emission stuff (vacuum lines, evap etc,) cut out the cats, exhaust risers, etc, etc. All that is left is a vacuum line going to the distributor, one to the master cylinder, and my PCV hoses. It really cleans up the engine bay. And would add a nice touch to the car. Plus with it being in you family for a very long time in the future as well it will give it that personal touch that can make it yours. Enjoy...and leave that thing alone. No wild crazyness (EJ, Lift, custom this or that) should be done to that car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosens Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 I got an offer of $5000 from a stranger on the street today! With the rust , I'd sell it today and hunt out a rustfree job from the west. But I understand the attatchment. $5G is a really good price considering the rust spots and the current economy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwc951 Posted February 25, 2011 Author Share Posted February 25, 2011 With the rust , I'd sell it today and hunt out a rustfree job from the west. But I understand the attatchment. $5G is a really good price considering the rust spots and the current economy. Could care less about finding a rust free BRAT from out west. I'm not really a Sube enthusiast. Although I certainly appreciate it for what it is. I have too many vehicles and hobbies as it is. If I can sell it to a "collector" then so be it. Then again...I have the whole heirloom thing to contend with! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosens Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 Well I understand your points , but that's a good chunk of hobby money. You can thank Grampa for that too. My point is that's one heck of an offer for something with rust. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaBrizat Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 Could care less about finding a rust free BRAT from out west. I'm not really a Sube enthusiast. Although I certainly appreciate it for what it is. I have too many vehicles and hobbies as it is. If I can sell it to a "collector" then so be it.Then again...I have the whole heirloom thing to contend with! I appreciate that you're not a Subie guy, but please take care of this car for the sake of the rest of us. Don't drive it in winter and wait until salt is washed away by rain before driving it (reference the rear shock mounts in the wheel wells - rust is a death knell there. So try to sell it to an enthusiast if you feel you need to liquidate. Maybe you'll get better money from an enthusiast too. I similarly acquired my '85 that has about 56K miles on it. Was never into Sub's but remembered BRATs from HighSchool when they came out. Now I'm a car-guy and am blowing money on them all the time it seems. This summer I'm planning to take mine out of storage. It's been in there for a couple of years, so I want to drive it this summer. And I found that Cooper still makes some 13" RWL all-weather tires that I'd like to get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonicfrog Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 Nice clean brat. Do make the investment to repair the rust, as it is minor, but in a place you do not want it. You could list the selling price for every bit of the original invoice in today's dollars. The maintenance records and original owner will hold the highest to book/auction value. DO NOT sell this car to some bastard kid who thinks he can put a turbo in it like anyone else's impreza/wrx This car deserves to be in the hands of a subaru collecor, or anyone who would keep a show worthy or classic car. What Miles said! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoleyBrat 1985 Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 That is one beauty of a second gen brat, wish my 85 looked like that:slobber:, almost dropped a deuce when I saw that interior Those seats don't even look like they were ever sat in. Good luck in whatever you do with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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