Brat78 Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 (edited) Will the EA81 bolt right up to a top mount EA71 bell housing, i.e., will it more or less drop right in and bolt up to the four speed in my brat? Cheers Edited April 4, 2012 by Brat78 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirk Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 The short answer is no. The long answer ........ Bellhousing mounts vary from 71 to 81 but there are some later model 71s which have side starter bellhousings. If you can track one of these down then you could be in luck. Or elese you can change the tranmision which is no big drama. You may have an additional problem though. Space around the steering columm is limited. (depending on what year the car is) On my 1979 EA71 there is not enough room to accomodate the EA81. I tried it once but to make it fit I had to leave out a bellhousing bolt on the steering column side. Even then it still rubbed against the steering column and the lack of bolt made the clutch slip on hard acceleration Cheers Dirk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirk Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 The short answer is no. The long answer ........ Bellhousing mounts vary from 71 to 81 but there are some later model 71s which have side starter bellhousings. If you can track one of these down then you could be in luck. Ooops. This doesn't help you at all. If you want to drop in an EA81 you will have to change transmission. space issues still apply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brat78 Posted April 5, 2012 Author Share Posted April 5, 2012 Thanks. It has not been fun trying to find 1600 parts. Yesterday I did find a yard that has three. For my money I'll probably just go and pick one up. Now that we have a little one getting into the garage has become much more challenging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peerson Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 If you find a 1980 or latter EA71 out of the hatchback, you can use that engine by swapping the bell house portion on the engine. 71's come in two flavors, top starter and side starter. I really wish one could do that to stuff a 81 in, but I do not think it would work/may require machining who knows what other problems. Other than that it is tranny change time. If you have the space that is. Did it on my 78 BRAT, pulled a 71 out of a 81 hatchback, swapped the back plate on the motor and dumped it in. Ran like that for at least five years before the dreaded coastal tin worm ate the body to bits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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