February 25, 201214 yr My father and I have been taking our time on this project for about a year now. Thought I would post it up for you guys. 1982 Brat DL Some history about the car: We bought this Brat aproximately a year ago for $1000. The previous owner had the Brat only about a year or so, and before him the owner was an older guy who had the Brat since it was new. The Brat has been garaged its whole life and babied/pampered. The Brat ended up for sale because the previous owner got in a small fender bender. Pics of the damage: Here is the last picture taken of the Brat before the accident (the guy had bad luck on the drivers side I guess ): After some molding/reshaping/pulling/new pieces, we got it to look like this: Shot with our old wagon: Specs: Webered EA81, single range 4wd 4 speed Professionally chromed wagon wheels NO cracks minty dash Spotless carpet and seats Bedlined bed (no jumpseats) Truckstyle rear slider window, professionally installed KYB suspension up front Drilled and slotted rotors up front All chrome/bedtrim spottless Working, non-dented/rusted tailgate Work done so far: New suspension arm/etc to realign drivers front wheel. Messaging of front clip to get back to original (still needs adjusting) Plans: Make all damaged areas look like the wreck never happened. Paint needed areas back to factory color. For now she is sitting in the garage. Lots of other projects that need attention, and this one can wait for summer. Hopefully will have this done in time for a wcss14 or another subie show.
February 25, 201214 yr Nice. I thought GL had the halo fun roof and the center lamp on a 82 Gl. What trans does it have? Still a very nice Brat like the color and good job of fitting the replacement fender.
February 25, 201214 yr Author Shes a DL Single Range 4wd 4speed Thank you for the props, we were lucky to get this one.
February 25, 201214 yr Yes so glad it was saved and fixed. Too many people would have crushed it. Thank you for saving the BRAT.
February 25, 201214 yr Nice repair on that hit.. Got an '82 GL BRAT here, just need to get busy on it. Been sitting way to long.....
February 26, 201214 yr Author Nice repair on that hit.. Got an '82 GL BRAT here, just need to get busy on it. Been sitting way to long..... Thanks Still have some fine tuning; with the body panels on it looks like nothing happened, but when you open the hood and look down it is still kinda crinckled in that corner. Sure we could leave it the way it is, but this thing is way too nice to not be restored completely. I know what you mean by Brats sitting around... I picked these up for cheap not too long ago. Both are '82s. The orange one a GL and the silver one another DL. The guy wrecked the GL, cut the fronts off of both of them, and was about to put the silver front from the DL on the GL when he lost interest. The peices of the GL front end and the whole cut off section of the DL are both in the back, just waiting to be welded back on. Other projects just waiting for attention.
February 26, 201214 yr That is a very nice looking Brat. Only thing I would have done different, and I am not trying to be too critical, is stripped the paint off the replacement fender. Had my 87 for nearly 15 years now. Have replaced the seats, painted is twice and maybe two dozen other things over the years. Decided a couple of weeks ago to set my 06 Ranger out and keep my Brat back in the carport! Good luck with your project, you have a very nice base to start with.
February 26, 201214 yr Author That is a very nice looking Brat. Only thing I would have done different, and I am not trying to be too critical, is stripped the paint off the replacement fender. Had my 87 for nearly 15 years now. Have replaced the seats, painted is twice and maybe two dozen other things over the years. Decided a couple of weeks ago to set my 06 Ranger out and keep my Brat back in the carport! Good luck with your project, you have a very nice base to start with. No worries. The fender was only on for test fitment purposes, it will get prepped correctly for paint. Yup this one is deffinately a garage queen, no daily driving or parking in the elements. Thats what the beater dailys are for.
February 26, 201214 yr Really extensive damage to the driver's side front. Very nice restoration. Thanks for saving that one from the crusher.
February 27, 201214 yr Author Thanks Ed. I need to take some more current pictures... I did find some progress shots we took after the first week we got it. Since these pictures the tray area that the jack and charcoal canister sit in is now back to normal. Same thing with the fender wall next to it. Pretty much all thats left to straighten out is the area where the hood-bumpstop thing is and surrounding area. The hood also needs a little more attention.
April 5, 201214 yr Author Today was a nice day, so I thought I would take the DL out for a jog around the block. I love the sound of the weber. Documenting the current condition of repair. (this is what it looks like under the panels in the first pictures) ^^^ This will all be straight as an arrow when we're done. Thinking about getting a straight hood to replace this one, otherwise the inside framework of the hood might have to be removed to get it completely straight. Bondo would have to be used as well. x( The Goods. Weber and power steering; power steering not hooked up atm. Kyb GR-2 front and rear. Drilled and slotted rotors. The near-flawless interior. (Only flaws are the stereo console, which we have a mint replacement with oem radio, and a small tear in the drivers seat.) Fun fact: the steering wheel cover is made of ostridge hide. PIAA wiper blades. Custom (??) slider rear window. Project Mint-Brat and my '85 <--she needs a bath. A message from FHI. Can't wait to get this thing wrapped up and back to its former glory.
April 5, 201214 yr I would go with different hood. Not easy to get the framework out of one with all of the bonding goo that's used. I have attempted that, once... Nice work done to it sofar though....
April 5, 201214 yr If you have a Stud Gun it could save the Hood but with that much of a damaged hood it may be prone to a Oil Can Effect, which the metal pops in and out like putting a dent in a Soda Can and popping it out, and no amount of Bondo(body filler) will fix it, it will only crack and fall off with the paint. Good rule of thumb....Bondo should never be applied no more than 1/8" when its ready for paint. Good luck. Love your Brat!
April 6, 201214 yr Author Thank you everyone for the props. I think it will be easiest and look the best with another hood, we have a few straight ones to choose from in our parts stash. Since we are going to sand down and repaint a fender, might as well do the same for a replacement hood. 1982gl4, I feel the same way over your '82 gl wagon.
April 6, 201214 yr 1982gl4, I feel the same way over your '82 gl wagon. Thanks, I wish it was as clean as it looked in photos :-\ I would go for a new hood if I had one available to me, it's well worth having good sheet metal
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