November 17, 201213 yr Author This "is" coming from a "Red-neck", so no "flaming" please.... I have done some, "get me by", type repairs over the years. But thinking that boot repair beats me,,, hands down...... :headbang::headbang::cool:
November 19, 201213 yr Author The rear wheel wells has some pretty nasty rust... so that needed to be tackled asap and the first stages of it happened this weekend! (p.s both wheel wells were welded up, but I don't have a complete set of photos from each, so this is a bit of a hodge-podge to show the process) Here's some photos of before: First, we just cut out the rusted spots: This was all that was left of the actual sheet metal from the wheel well on one of the sides: And sanded away the rest of the rust: The holes had to be patched up, so another piece of sheet metal was welded on: A few layers of paint probably wouldn't hurt The new piece to be welded on, note the holes left to secure it to the strut mount: And it's on: The other side (holes not filled in yet): Of course, there's a good deal of grinding still to do and some painting. In the mean time, I'm loving how my brat looks without the top on!!!! Pretty productive weekend :-p:cool: Edited November 19, 201213 yr by belacane
December 14, 201213 yr Author I need to change this thread to be called 'New Orleans Brat'... I'm headed down there to live at the end of December!
April 28, 201312 yr Author She's back! I recently moved to New Orleans, and since I had no one to drive down with me, my little brat stayed in Chicago until just a little bit ago. She's with me again down here and Boy did I miss her! Fixed a few things already. A closer look at the her rear, and the brake squeal turned out to be a wheel bearing in dire need of replacement, so that's done! She seems to have developed a nice exhaust leak while she was away, but as long as it's not dangerous or illegal, I kind of like the sound , so I'm not going to do anything with that for now. Next up: - finish grinding down the welds on the bed - rear disk brake swap - install the cool little prosport oil pressure gauge I just got, since the one in my cluster has gone kaput again - paint job (I'm probably going to have this done by someone else. I don't have the right kind of space, time or proper tools to it myself at the moment. I plan to keep the color) Also waiting on Idasho's aux input mod for the oem radio. Electrical is not my strong point yet. Can't wait to have my own music again! peace all
May 19, 201312 yr Author Since moving, I finally had some time to spend with my brat. Ground down some of the welds from the wheel wells, and also added an AUX input to my radio. LOVING IT so far! Edited May 19, 201312 yr by belacane
May 28, 201312 yr Author And she's down...sort of. On my wat home the other day, she started getting right up by the red line on my temp gauge, so I pulled over immediately, smelled and looked for leaks, and noticed that the coolant overflow tank that the previous owner had put in was empty. Poured in some water, but it disappeared again. There's evidence of a rad leak and I have yet to get under her and check around the water pump or the bypass hose. The fans work fine, and I'm gonna replace the thermostat anyhow... More updates after I haul her into work on my day off to take a real look. In the mean time, I miss driving her This is my first time dealing with this problem. Any ideas or hints or tips are most welcome of course
June 17, 201312 yr Author She's back up and running now! It didn't initially show it, but after a little investigation it was obvious that the radiator was cracked and leaking. A simple replace (i opted for a brand new rad) and she's on the road again!
September 15, 201312 yr Author Did two things I'd never done before over the past week: 1) wheel bearings and ball joints 2) partially rebuilt the hitachi carb. Also.... 3) Put on the badges for the tailgate! The carb is fine and she runs so much better. The wheel bearing turned into a crazy mechanical adventure that's still not finished.... because I ended up bending the steering knuckle in a press (yeah... when the press doesn't want to move... don't move it!!! ), and ended up getting a thread chaser caught in the brake caliper bracket. Still working on drilling it out. Also apparently learned than an '82 Brat has a slightly different caliper/bracket assembly than an '86. And the fun continues... :) Edited September 15, 201312 yr by belacane
September 29, 201312 yr Very, VERY NICE! I love what you have done. Keep up the good work and keep us posted.
October 3, 201312 yr Author Thanks for the kind words and for keeping up with my thread I'm about to change out the doors for some less rusty ones. After that, I think it's time for a paint job. I'm really looking forward to doing that. Edited October 3, 201312 yr by belacane
October 4, 201312 yr Thanks for the kind words and for keeping up with my thread I'm about to change out the doors for some less rusty ones. After that, I think it's time for a paint job. I'm really looking forward to doing that. What color will you paint the Brat? Mine is that stock shadow grey sort of color with red pinstriping and red Brat logo. I like it and may respray it that color but lately I've been thinking about a nice Irish green with white accents. My '04 WRX was a San Remo red, and I had it painted a Cosmos Purple color that was on the second generation of the GTO (04-06).
October 4, 201312 yr Author What color will you paint the Brat? Mine is that stock shadow grey sort of color with red pinstriping and red Brat logo. I like it and may respray it that color but lately I've been thinking about a nice Irish green with white accents. My '04 WRX was a San Remo red, and I had it painted a Cosmos Purple color that was on the second generation of the GTO (04-06). I'm not 100% sure yet. I was also originally thinking some type of light green (not bright like irish green though). But the more I think about it, the more I'd like to redo the original blue. I really like it. I also have an '02 wrx that is the "other red" (I can't think of the name), and I really like that too. Somehow, I like keeping my cars as stock as possible. Regardless, when I do it, there will definitely be pictures posted!!
October 9, 201312 yr Author nice rear arch repairs. good build! Thank you! It's coming along slowly, but surely.
October 10, 201312 yr Nice looking Brat. Your updates are motivating me to take action on my carb rebuild.
October 11, 201312 yr Nice! Don't see ANY older Subaru's down in New Orleans, heck ya don't even see many Subarus period. When I lived there people thought I was nuts for wanting one.
October 11, 201312 yr Author Nice looking Brat. Your updates are motivating me to take action on my carb rebuild. Awesome! Good luck and have fun! Im still having problems with mine, but I'm sure I'll figure it out. I have a feeling the emulsion tubes ate switched....but I haven't had a chance to check. I'll post updates here.
October 11, 201312 yr Author Nice! Don't see ANY older Subaru's down in New Orleans, heck ya don't even see many Subarus period. When I lived there people thought I was nuts for wanting one. That sure is true. Although about a month ago I was really surprised to see another brat on the side of the road not far from my place. It was crashed up on the front end...ended up buying it for a song and now I'm parting it out. Apparently it belonged to a German exchange student who had originally wanted an el Camino but couldn't afford one. Once it's carcass is gone, I'm pretty sure I'll be the only 2nd gen brat for miles. Edited October 11, 201312 yr by belacane
January 5, 201412 yr Author SHE'S ON THE ROAD AGAIN! I was having issues with bucking when my brat reached operating temperature. I cleaned out the carb, investigated the thermal vacuum valve, thought maybe the EGR was malfunctioning. B ut the real issue turned out to be a vacuum leak in the big line from the EGR (which I recently learned tends to leak after some years). I decided to just plug the whole thermal vacuum valve to EGR at the intake. She runs great again. Here are pictures of the hose I took off and plugged (on the passenger side of the engine). Edited January 5, 201412 yr by belacane
March 10, 201412 yr Author Thank you! I love her, and I'm gonna keep working until she looks and runs as best she can!
September 19, 201411 yr Author Putting in a new accelerator cable this coming weekend.... the old one is getting frayed and sticky. Besides that, nothing new Hopefully I'll have some money together to paint her soon! Edited September 28, 201411 yr by belacane
September 20, 201411 yr Just a thought since you're a do it your selfer - have you researched the $50. paint job? I've done a few of them over the years and if you're not looking for showroom quality, they really do a good job. Basically use mineral spirits to dilute the paint to make really thin coats that are self leveling and can be applied by a foam roller instead of a spray gun. A car takes 8-10 coats. It's some extra grunt work for a much less expensive paint job. But it's about $50 worth of supplies from Lowes or Home Depot and you've got a car that looks nearly new. Edited September 20, 201411 yr by AdventureSubaru
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now