I Bought this Brat two or three months ago and have been getting tons of ideas from USMB but have yet to post anything until now. Selling my doofy camry should allow me to buy some parts that I "need". This brat is the fourth car I'v owned this lifetime but it feels like my first. I'm living in colorado but will soon be making the trip east to michigan with this brat

 

The only spot that has any real rust issue

I need a front bumper if anyone has a lead

and a pillar cover for the drivers side

I will put up some pictures of under the hood when I get a minute

Very cool and welcome to the board!!!

Nice brat man. Where at in Michigan are you going?

back and fourth between the tri-cities and the U.P.

Sweet BRAT. I'd love to be doing a trip like that in the old beast. Are you moving to MI then? Seems like more old school subies are finding their way here. I'm crossing the bridge quite frequently here, but I'll bet a BRAT hasn't made that crossing in quite some time.

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=136882

Gen 1 pillar covers. Not sure if he still has.

Damn nice! Where you at in Colorado?

 

I have an '80 that I am restoring.

That is one bad rump roast brat! Can't wait to see more!

Sweet BRAT. I'd love to be doing a trip like that in the old beast. Are you moving to MI then? Seems like more old school subies are finding their way here. I'm crossing the bridge quite frequently here, but I'll bet a BRAT hasn't made that crossing in quite some time.

 

I can't wait to get rolling Ill be seeing the bridge before christmas assuming I make it. I'm making a bit of progress on the brat preparing it for the trip home. I replaced the motor/transmission mounts and CV joints with my neighbor in September and then took it to the local imports mechanic and had him inspect all of the other wheel components. He said all of the ball joints and wheel bearings were looking fine so i decided to get an alignment done and balance the wheels which helped me feel more comfortable going above 45 MPH. I made a trip to Denver to pick up a SNUG-top and just got around to gluing on the rubber last night, I hope Silicone was the right choice. If anyone has any suggestions on things to keep my eye on while I drive 1,500 miles, or things to check out before I get on the road please talk to me! I'm definitely a noobie:headbang:

 

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=136882

Gen 1 pillar covers. Not sure if he still has.

 

It looks like they have probably been claimed by someone. I dont want to be a nag about it but maybe I'll PM him. Thanks for the link

 

 

Damn nice! Where you at in Colorado?

 

I have an '80 that I am restoring.

 

WOO how/where can I go to keep up on your '80 project? I'm trying check out as many projects as possible to get ideas for mine. I'm living in Salida but only for a couple more weeks.

 

 

That is one bad rump roast brat! Can't wait to see more!

 

Being a beginner on a budget the progress on this car will be slow. I figured that by making a little post on USMB I would motivate myself to keep things moving forward. Thanks for your intrest everyone!

Here is my resto build:

 

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=135475

Looks like a nice Brat you have there, I've actually got a seat with that pattern in storage. Can't remember right now if its drivers or passengers.

this is the sad story of a brat that whent kapoop.

 

I was gearing up for a long road trip and all I had was one blown speaker, so I got myself a new sterio and two speakers, I made a box for the left speaker and put it behind the drivers seat, and then I modified the dash mount to hold the new right speaker which was slightly bigger than the orig.

 

 

I got a front bumper in november, along with a few other odds and ends from a gentalman I met the day before I hit the road from Colorado to Michigan. The trip went by pretty smoothly, had to dump three quarts of oil in it because of blowby. I had newspaper in the windows of the topper because i stayed a night in denver and a night in kalamazoo with everything i owned inside (excluding the things that were on the top!). Driving through chigaco during rush hour was way too stressful. Here is a picture of the operation after going from point A to point B.

 

 

I moved into my new place and did a little bit of renovating,

 

 

 

The winter came quick, and the snow piled up fast and I needed to take a 3 hour road trip to Mt. Bohemia. I topped up the oli before i hit the road becaue the blowby was still causing me to loose oil. Im not sure if I didn't push the dip stick back down all of the way, or if there was just a lot of presure, but all of the oil blasted straight up the dip stick tube and blew out onto the spare and the inside of the hood. I realized this had happened after I heard a terrible knock for about 60 seconds as i pulled onto the sholder of the road. It was 7:30 am, -16 F, and I was exactly half way, broke down 30 min south of Houghton, MI.

 

 

I towed it home later that day behind my friend Nate's car. My brat is now sitting Midland MI, I dont have the resources to rebuild it myself, and cant seem to track down a new engine nearby. My Father is pestering me to sell the brat so IM ASKING FOR YOUR HELP to get it on the road soon. I think YOU all realize what it feels like to love a subie, and I do too! any suggestions on what i should do to rebuild it, or help locating a new engine would be so wonderfull! I NEED OLD BETTY FOR THE WINTER UP HERE 4 WHEELE DRIVE is soooo helpful.

Edited September 7, 201312 yr by rippin

search on Grand rapids Craigslist. there was a guy selling an engine for $300 a few weeks back. If you need a hand with an install, I'd love to help. there are a few of us here in MI. 

thanks for the info here is what i found i believe this is what you were talking about.

 

http://grandrapids.craigslist.org/pts/3986987249.html

 

I also found this wagon for sale

 

http://battlecreek.craigslist.org/cto/3993880602.html

 

does anyone know if the engine and the 5 speed from the wagon would work in my brat? it says it is a front wheel drive which is what im not sure about.

That EA81 engine is probably your best bet. There's generally not a high demand for them in the midwest since so few of them still exist in the area. That "or best offer" says to me that you could get that engine for significantly less than the asking price.

 

They can be swapped into your car with light modification. I think there are a few write ups around here. Sounds like mechanicalmisfit can help with the swap. With this board as a resource, you could have it running in a day.

If you go with the EA81 engine, you would need different Y-pipe, and transmition.

 

The Wagon would be the better buy. Lot's of body/interior items will work on your BRAT.

The 5-speed would work, but you'd loose 4WD.

I guess I'm going to hold off on both of those, because I have no leads on a transmission for a ea81.

 

 

who thinks this ea71 is worth a 300 mile drive?

 

I called and talked to Jim he said his absolute low is $225.

 

Edited September 9, 201312 yr by rippin

300 miles for a 200 dollar ea71? Damn. I feel for the situation you are in. If I had one laying around and I was near you I'd just give it to you.

I might even have an ea82 available in October. Not sure yet. But I'm alllllllllllllllllll the way out here =\

Wish I could help. Bummer about the Brat!

I drove 8 hours for a trans once. Small price to pay to get a car back.

I have an extra ea81 4 speed here as well if you end up having to go that route.

I have 2 good ea81 4 speed deul ranges kicken dont use them anymore and selling a 81 efi ea81 deulrange brat for 2000$ has 4 wheel discks extra rear suspention and 15 inch toyota rims runs very well 165000 kms I have owned it for 14 years and taken very good care of it body is getting tierd.

I have a built ea71 that runs awesome but i am all the way in vegas

I have an extra ea81 4 speed here as well if you end up having to go that route.

 

what would the advantages/ disadvantages be between the EA-71 and the EA-81? Im curious in both performance and diffuculty of instalation

Going to pick up the engine on sunday

Awesome! It's probably the simpler/better way to go all told. The EA81 stuff has it's advantages, but it's a lot more work than a simple engine swap.