BratRod Posted April 1, 2014 Author Share Posted April 1, 2014 Thanks for the complements. The 85' is 99% rust free and is getting babied. The 84' has some minor rust issues, like in the picture, that need to be addressed. I'm picking up a MIG here pretty soon to fix the rockers and patch a place in the floor pan. Both are stock, minus the weber on the 84. The suspension is just cranked all the way up. The original plan when I had just one brat was to put a small lift on it, and run some 14" A/T tires for DD use. Then I got the second brat and was going to lift it and use it mainly as an off-road rig, and do more of a JDM style Brat on the 85. Now, plans could be changing again. The Brats are fun and all, but they're not the most comfortable vehicles in the world. Plus it could use a power plant upgrade. So, the 84' may be sold sometime next year so I can buy something else, or fund a complete EJ swap. I don't want to do it, but my mother said she would kill me if I brought another vehicle home. And having two Brats that are practically identical just doesn't suite the vast want I have for other cars. Still loads of time to make decisions. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brattastic Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 I know what you mean, all you really is need is one Brat. Too many other cool (or rare, different, not mainstream) vehicles out there to play with. I also plan on selling my other Brat ('81) to try and recoup some of the money spent on the '87. My wife will probably won't understand when she finds out I'm looking for a 62-65 Ford Falcon/Ranchero pickup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckkiller Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 I know what you mean, all you really is need is one Brat. Too many other cool (or rare, different, not mainstream) vehicles out there to play with. I also plan on selling my other Brat ('81) to try and recoup some of the money spent on the '87. My wife will probably won't understand when she finds out I'm looking for a 62-65 Ford Falcon/Ranchero pickup. Its called OCD! I went from building this 1968 stang Then when I finished I began building my custom 4x4 E350 7.3 psd camper van Then I built my Sami to tow behind my van Sold the Sami to began my brat build....don't sell the brat just move onto something else!! Buck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BratRod Posted April 2, 2014 Author Share Posted April 2, 2014 Samurai was the first thing I ever went offroading in. That was back when you could still pick them up for $600 instead of the $6000 they go for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brattastic Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 Those are some awesome vehicles. You definitely have skills, that's some work to be proud of. My favorite is the Samurai. Love those and the Trackers, just getting hard to find good ones. I've done a couple older chevy trucks but after restoring a '81 VW Rabbit diesel pickup I was hooked on having vehicles that are out of the ordinary. That van is definitely not ordinary but very cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BratRod Posted April 14, 2014 Author Share Posted April 14, 2014 (edited) Alright I got an update for you guys! I recovered my dash. Gee... that's a lot of vinyl Exactly what I wanted. Yeah... may be able to cover the seats with the left overs! Lol Lets get started! Most of the top done. Where I ended the first night Night 2 with some components thrown in to see how it looks. View of the top while I pulled the Brat out of the garage to do some things on Mom's Civic. All done! Minus a little fine trimming here and there. I started with a 54" x 6' roll of felt-backed vinyl. I wanted a huge piece in order to cover the thing in one piece, and the felt backing to cover the minor cracks in the dash that the shippers ruined... wasn't happy about that. That's why I haven't spoken of it. Anyway... got some 3M headliner spray. It seemed to have good reviews on amazon, so I picked up a can from AutoZone. Pretty good stuff. Not at all like the Super 77 spray. It adhered very nicely, and is forgiving. Best to let it sit for about 5-10 min like the can says; makes all the difference. I didn't manage to get it covered in one piece... which kinda sucked, but ehh. I had to make a seam on each side. It's not suuuper tacky, but it is noticeable. For the $40 bucks in materials I am thrilled with the results. Yeah there is a nasty dent on the driver side pad. It's a sight better than the gaping caverns that these dashes are notorious for, though. I am happy and that's all that matters. This was what I did to the 85' last year. I was quite happy with it. Except the 110 degree summer DESTROYED the leather in a day. The newly recovered dash will replace the one currently in the 85. Here in the next several months! The 85 gets a reseal, clutch job.... and a secret, never before see (by me), mod on a brat before! Will the 84 end up with the SPFI set up instead of the 85. WHAAAAAAAT?!?!? How much longer will the 4th gear syncros last in the 85? What will the 3rd vehicle I bring home be, and will my mother evict me because of it? The 84 gets patched up with my newly purchased welder! What'll happen? Stay tuned! And because I don't know where I posted this last time... the 85 down by a pond. Edited April 14, 2014 by BratRod Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brattastic Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 Nice work! The vinyl looks great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BratRod Posted April 24, 2014 Author Share Posted April 24, 2014 (edited) That is indeed a supercharger.... I've done some math and by over-driving this thing just under a thousand or so of it's max continuous rpm, I should get around 5psi. Not really aiming for power on this, though. Just the "Is that a blower sticking out of the hood of that Subaru?" response. For those concerned it's an AMR 500 (500cc per rev) and can be had for very cheap, relatively speaking. Plus it's just adorable compared to a 671. VW guys run these all day and get pretty good results. Gotta buy some flanges, steel, pipe...etc. Shouldn't take to long. Will be doing a draw through setup. Updates to come... still not the secret mod i'll be doing. Edit: Here's a guy in AUS with the same SC as this one. He replaced that automatic, btw. It sounded horrible. Edited April 24, 2014 by BratRod Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BratRod Posted July 2, 2014 Author Share Posted July 2, 2014 So... update, kinda. Both Brats are running just fine as before. The 84 is currently is under a tarp in the driveway at my mother's. And the 85 is in the driveway at grandma's! Picked this up the other day for $50 D/R 5spd Came out of a car that is currently sitting on an s10 frame. Claims that it ran fine. I'll rebuild it if I have to. Can't beat $50. Got the 2-piece drive shaft, as well. Stoked about that project. Just means that the SC project is on hold for now. This is a more practical thing to do tight now. Repaired the floor pan in the 84. Ugly, but solid. It may find a new home in the next year, if things go how I want them to. We shall see... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brattastic Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 I'm still watching your progress. The supercharger is COOL. I just got an EJ18 motor with 68,000 miles on it for free so I'm looking to do a swap out of the EA81 motor on my green brat. The extra 35 horses would be great. It would be great if you were doing an EJ swap so I could follow along and get some tips. Keep up the good work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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