So after a long search, yesterday I brought home this lovely lady... to Chicago all the way from Utah (bought it off of TajMan).

 

'86, ea81, 5 speed swap, hardly any rust! She drove 1500+ miles like a champ.

Here are a few photos of our route

 

We drove through Wyoming:

 

We visited Scott's Bluff in Nebraska:

 

We stopped in Iowa:

 

Probably a lot more to come.

She's my first Brat (but not my first soob; I have an '02 WRX), and my introduction to the ea81 and everything that goes with it. I'm a total noob, so there will be many questions

 

I'm happy!

Edited October 3, 201213 yr by belacane

Congrats!

 

Heck of a drive to get it. But it looks to be worth it.

Now that is a drive for a Brat, lol.

 

Congrats on snagging a good one from way out here. Need more pics.

 

Just got back, was planning to take photos today, but it's pouring rain....

don't worry, there will be many photos!

Congrats!

 

Heck of a drive to get it. But it looks to be worth it.

 

 

Thanks! The drive was amazing! I want to go back to that area with her one day and hit up all the side roads in the mountains!

 

This little soob is going to be getting me out in nature a lot... looking forward to it so much!

i think if i had a choice thats the car i whould drive across the contry nice truck !

Nice score bro! This is a very short reminder of when I drove my 82' Brat back from L.A. last year in April! We'll have to meet up when schedules and weather permit!

Holy wow you are extremely close to me! Yes we must meet. Also I'm a girl

Also I'm a girl

 

DOH! LOL! My apologies for the assumption. I'm actually just off of Sheridan by the Loyola campus, so technically Rogers Park.

 

So do you have any immediate plans for your Brat?

i vote for a roll bar and brush guard with winch and kc lights like mine:cool:(well still working on setting up brush guard but the roll bars look so cool in these:headbang:)

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=133905

DOH! LOL! My apologies for the assumption. I'm actually just off of Sheridan by the Loyola campus, so technically Rogers Park.

 

So do you have any immediate plans for your Brat?

 

Yeah, I've got some plans of course.

 

So far my list is all repair / maintenance type stuff:

 

- replace tie rod boots

- new passenger side CV

- fix oil pressure gauge (trying a new sender unit first)

- fill in rust holes in the bed (on top of the wheel wells)

- weld on new sheet metal to the bottom of the doors

- repaint the bed with some type of liner

 

after that, who knows.... I'm just enjoying driving her!

Nice! What size tires you have on the Pugs?

Nice find. Good to see more old subies in the midwest. I miss working with the EA engines. Once I'm caught up with some current projects I'll be searching for another EA81 wagon.

 

Pretty good Wisconsin crows on subies. Haven't seen much in chicago, but there are plenty around on here to answer questions. Keep the updates coming. Brats are fantastic outdoor vehicles. What sort of adventures do you have planned for it?

nice! What size tires you have on the pugs?

 

15" 185/60

Edited October 21, 201213 yr by belacane

Behold my first foray into (sort of) body work!

 

The biggest challenge for me and the BRAT is definitely going to be rust especially since I am in the northern Midwest.

Ultimately, I'm going to repaint her entirely, but until I have the time/resources to do so I'm going to be doing some aggressive 'spot cleaning' of whatever rust shows up.

 

Tools I used:

- orbital sander with 150 grit paper

- 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper

- masking tape and newspaper

- spray paint primer (rustoleum)

- colored spray paint (rustoleum)

 

The first project I have undertaken is to simply sand out any and all rust bubbles I could find and put on a new layer of paint.

 

 

Here are some examples of the spots/bare metal that needed fixing:

 

 

 

 

 

This is my first time ever doing this, so I sort of just threw myself into it and hoped for the best. All things considering, it turned out pretty decent for a first try, minus the HORRENDOUS color, which I do plan on redoing at some point in the near future.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I swear the color looked so different when I tested it at the store... but the most important goal was achieved: RUST ABATED (for now) =P.

 

If anyone has any ideas or tips for me on sanding and painting and bondo work, I'd love to hear!

Edited October 9, 201213 yr by belacane

Nice find. Good to see more old subies in the midwest.

 

Nice to know that there are others in my area! You're not but an hour or two away from me.

 

Brats are fantastic outdoor vehicles. What sort of adventures do you have planned for it?

 

Not sure yet. I'm feeling a bit timid to be too tough on her since my time and more importantly space to fix what's broken is limited... but I hope to make some nice off road-ish trips in the area, camping or whatever, and definitely some snow!! (minus the salt please!). If you have any recommendations in the IL/WI region, do let me know!

for rust removal i use a 7 inch grinder with a wire wheel on my 85 brat and sand down the paint to make it even then prime with rusty metal primer and paint, for bondo you need to strip all the paint off where its being applied and apply the bondo in coats depending on how much the dents in and how far your able to hit it out, you will start with coarse sand paper and move to finer once you get closer to the right shape of the metal, i have also found out it pays in the long run to prime the whole car instead of just doing spots because you dont know when there will be more rust break outs in the near future and also it pays to get rid of all rust im welding my tailgate back together because of rust and next is the wheal wheel:-\so its better to get rid of all of it at the early stages even though it takes forever

I have also found out it pays in the long run to prime the whole car instead of just doing spots because you dont know when there will be more rust break outs in the near future

 

yeah, this is where I feel stuck since I don't have a garage or a shelter. May end up renting one for the winter just to do paint...

Thats looking good! We're gonna have to have an old gen meet sometime!

Thats looking good! We're gonna have to have an old gen meet sometime!

 

Absolutely! Just 'friended' you as a way to remember who's in the WI/IL area.

 

And thanks!

Cool, yeah! Hell, if ya need a hand turning a wrench, I'm always down for some Subaru shenanigans.

 

Maybe I can drive the '83 Ski wagon down once I get it buttoned up :cool:

Is that a lifted Forester in the Background or have I been token on some bad shiz?

 

 

Is that a lifted Forester in the Background or have I been token on some bad shiz?

Yep! Belongs to my friend.
On the right is my WRX

Funny that on that same day, there were about three other (unrelated to me) soobs parked just down the block. Looked like a frickin meet!

Edited September 18, 201312 yr by belacane

Fixed the oil pressure gauge today.

The first place I assumed it would go bad was the sender unit, so I replaced that. Now my gauge works again! Pretty happy about that and not needing to buy an external gauge.

 

 

 

Edited October 11, 201213 yr by belacane

I think thats the cleanest EA81 I've seen. Theres no oil leakage!? Did you clean it, or what?