I've had my Brat since May of this year... got it for $340

 

 

 

^^^ pics of when I first got it home. It has dents, scratches, a mickey mouse driver's turn signal, spraypainted grill, but suprisingly very little rust. just a little surface stuff here and there, 350,xxx miles on the clock... and a big hole in the engine block from a thrown connecting rod:

 

 

 

 

Edited January 5, 201511 yr by 6 Star

My dad had a spare ea81 that he gave to me in trade for long hours of yard work... it was worth it
$930 later of professional engine surfacing, boring, new pistons, bearings, etc...

 

 

made sure to rustoleum all my pulleys to keep them fresh :

 

 

 

new clutch kit:

 

 

 

 

engine going in:

 

 

 

assembly:

 

 

 

and all finished (minus exaust setup... that was a headache trying to find new bolts and nuts to incorporate the spacers for the emissions recycling thing...)

 

 

 

I ended up just removing the whole emission recycler thing... just welded shut the holes on the back of the spacers. And I ended up just buying some all-thread from Tacoma Screw for hardware.
More pictures to come of further progress!

Edited January 5, 201511 yr by 6 Star

nice work

and I've done an engine/tranny swap or two in and out of Brats before.

 

Thats a post-'84 bigger diameter clutch?

 

I put a small clutch in my '83, and i helped my old roommate put the big clutch in his '84

nice work

and I've done an engine/tranny swap or two in and out of Brats before.

 

Thats a post-'84 bigger diameter clutch?

 

I put a small clutch in my '83, and i helped my old roommate put the big clutch in his '84

 

thank you

Well, the chassis/tranny of the car is an '85, but the engine I was swapping in was and '82. I ordered a '82 pressure plate, clutch, pilot bearing, and throwout bearing. Everything matched up good, except for the throwout bearing... had to order another one for an '85 lol.

I did not know they made different sized clutches...

Yeah - you used the small (83+ 2WD) clutch. Not good for lifted rigs or larger tires, etc. They increased the diameter of the clutch by 25mm for the 83 and newer 4WD's.

 

GD

Good thing I didn't order an '85 kit then, considering I'm using the flywheel from the '82

I don't plan on lifting or anything with this rig. Its not too far off from being restorable. If I want a monster I'll buy a worse condition one zzz

Keep the flywheel from the blown engine. You'll be happier the next time you replace the clutch.

 

Also, no need to worry about emissions any longer since there are no emission check required if your Brat is over 25 years old.

 

Nice job is keeping a fine Brat out of the crusher. Best of luck with it.

Yup, the whole short block is sitting on a crate in the shed, pressureplate clutch and flywheel still attatched. So I'll have that sitting there next time I need to swap. Hopefully that is not for a long while.

Thank you for turning me on to the different dimensions of clutches... Its quite the difference?

Right now I am changing out the drivers side cv axle. I was going down the freeway when all of a sudden my front end started to shake but only when I was on the gas... got off the freeway immediately and took backroads home, took it easy.

Lol the thing sound like a hotrod, I have a hole about the size of an elongated football in the muffler. It blew at the seam. I will either need to just get a new muffler or straightpipe it. I don't really want to draw attention to myself, but at the same time I can't help but like the loudness of the car

Oh, and the heater doesn't work... no speeds of the fan come on. Hehe I'm remembering more about whats wrong with the thing the more I think about it.

I can feel the difference between the 2 clutches.

 

When my roommate replaced his clutch, he had originally ordered the wrong clutch from partsgeek and didn't find out till the trans was out in my work shed which he tied up for a week before he could get the correct clutch and installed, lol.

 

Bigger clutch kit is a bit more expensive, and the only options for the bigger are the Duralast at autozone which is cheaper but a little inferior, or the beck-arnley I believe that is pricy.

So basically the bigger clutch feels smoother/stronger?

Thats deffinately something I will look into when it comes time to change clutches out. Thank you for all the info, everyone.

So here is the emissions thing that was attatched to the old heads:

 

 

 

I took the spacers off the bottom, and cut the piping that leads back up to the carb and welded those shut. Here is the finished product:

 

 

 

Made a little more engine space and I didn't have to find a manifold that was designed to run without spacers.

Edited January 6, 201511 yr by 6 Star

Yeah I did the same stuff,

couldn't find a 4-bolt flange or gasket that would match the head, I welded that emissions pipe shut and continued to use the stock spacer like you.

I had to heli-coil thread-repair all 8 exhaust bolt holes in the aluminum cylinder heads! Major P.I.A.

I had to heli-coil thread-repair all 8 exhaust bolt holes in the aluminum cylinder heads! Major P.I.A.

 

Oh my goodness... I commend you on that! If I had to helicoil all that I think I would have cried.

I take it the exaust bolts were rusted/ironed in?

New cv axle is in

 

 

No more acceleration shakes!

Edited January 5, 201511 yr by 6 Star

I dont have problems with the huge images...

 

 

But I also have a huge monitor

 

 

Looks good man. If that CV joint isnt too torn up, that axle would be worth saving. Clean it up, re-boot, and keep it as a spare.

Ooops... well I don't have it anymore lol.

The place I got the new cv axle from charged me a core, so it came out to 104$... to get my 50$ back i went and brought in the old one.

I think it was pretty far gone anyways, who knows how long the previous owner had been driving with it torn.

Just about scared the crap out of me while I was going down the freeway and it was shaking

Just about scared the crap out of me while I was going down the freeway and it was shaking

Yes, when the DOJ goes, it can shake pretty badly. I once had one vibrate so much it felt like the entire transmission would fall out.

Oh my goodness... I commend you on that! If I had to helicoil all that I think I would have cried.

I take it the exaust bolts were rusted/ironed in?

 

Yeah, when I removed them they all stripped out aluminum threads around each of the studs/bolts that came out. They were rusted, car had been sitting and not run in awhile.

 

 

Today I pulled a dual range 5-speed transmission from the junk yard to convert my 4-speed, muahahaha.

Brats Brats Brats

Today I pulled a dual range 5-speed transmission from the junk yard to convert my 4-speed, muahahaha.

Brats Brats Brats

 

Very nice. I plan on leaving the 4speed in mine. Keeping it OG :cool: haha

I kind of like the taller gearing. And I already have a 5speed dual range in the '86 wagon, so if I'm looking for mileage that will be the dd.

I have to drive the brat while I work on the wagon though.

Once the wagon is done the brat will be the weekend warrior fun vehicle

Yes, when the DOJ goes, it can shake pretty badly. I once had one vibrate so much it felt like the entire transmission would fall out.

 

Lol I was bracing for a wheel to break off or something

Edited September 5, 201114 yr by 6 Star

Now that I have the Brat mechanically sound, I can start addressing the cosmetic things.
There is a little ding/mush in the drivers side fender. Also the previous owner replaced the drivers side blinker with a running light.
It blinks... but looks dumb lol. It is secured in place with screws that go through the top of the bumper (smh). So I am looking for a oem replacement.

 

 

Hammered out passenger fender, needs to be smoothed out.

 

 

 

Surface rust on the passenger rear quarter pannel

 

 

 

Banged up tailgate and rear bumper from the p.p.o. backing into it with his backhoe, this is after I have banged it out a little bit.
Need to also fix the handle... having to open the tailgate from the inside mechanism.

 

 

 

Some scratches, nothing major, should be able to buff them out.

 

 

 

Some minor crunches to the front valence.

 

Edited January 5, 201511 yr by 6 Star

Some interior things;
I'm looking for a center/shift console... didn't come with the car when I bought it.
Didn't come with a stereo either, but thats no biggie.
Also the seats are badly torn and are almost held together by ducttape, which is why the seat covers are there.
I need to fix the heater too, before the cold weather comes.

 

 

 

I need to put the door panels in. I have them, just need to put plastic on first to keep out moisture.

 

 

 

Almost 370,000 miles and still truckin along
(my milage post in the o.p. was off a little)

 

 

 

The bed is in excellent condition.
No rust, and all of the jumpseat features work like new.
Just need to put the top trim on the tailgate and get new struts for the canopy lid.

 

Edited January 5, 201511 yr by 6 Star

Okay, so not everything mechanical is fixed...
I still need to address the blown muffler. I will either replace it or just straightpipe it... I'm thinking straightpipe

 

 

The drivers side rear bushing is looking a little worn.

 

 

 

Same thing with the passenger side... this one looks worse.

 

 

 

The undercarriage looks really good as a whole. Very little rust.

 

Edited January 5, 201511 yr by 6 Star

I messed around with the timing on the Brat today.

I adjusted the idle to sit at 700rpm, and then made it so that piston 1 was firing at 10 degrees before top dead center.

It seems to like it at that timing. I will fine tune it a little more later.

I also noticed that the car tends to hesitate a little at low rpms, like when I start off from a stop.

When I did the rebuild, I focused entirely on the long block. The carb has not been touched.

I see that the previous owner installed a new fuel filter in the engine bay. I'm wondering if it could be a pvc valve or egr that needs to be replaced.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated

The shakes are back...

This time it feels like its coming from the front passenger side wheel.

The bearing has been singing in that wheel ever since I got it, so I'm sure it is in need of replacement.

It doesn't wiggle the steering wheel, it can be felt through the chassis of the car. Feels really floppy. It feels like there is a bulb in the tire or something.

Has anyone else had this kind of thing happen? I know the tires/rims are fine... I'm questioning if the bearing can shake the car that much.