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My new redonkulous project idea


Uberoo
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So while I had found a hatchback shell,it was just that: no engine,transmission,suspension,interior,etc and it was it yakima- 4 hours from me one way.I was browsing the local craigslist when I found a 78 brat.I know that the early subaru's are a pain to lift, especially with the funky torsion bar but My 81 hatch was more or less all custom.It had a subframe,a tcase, and the biggest mismatch of subaru parts in the galaxy.

 

So here is my idea:

78 Brat

EJ22

5 speed DR

Nissan T case

EA82 front suspension+ crossmember+powersteering

EA82 rear suspension+ disk brakes

4.11 gears

31x10.5x15 mud tires

rear EA82 axles with legacy inner DOJs at both ends

spare tire + battery+ winch in bed

bigger fuel tank

 

I'm thinking make it look like a cross between a mad max vehicle and a bandit technical from the game borderlands 2

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fborderlands.wikia.com%2Fwiki%2FBandit_Technical&h=0&w=0&sz=1&tbnid=qLmkcB84POcuFM&tbnh=194&tbnw=259&zoom=1&docid=CWSCqL84Ym9XmM&hl=en&ei=7-MmUtWdFsrArQHUuoCoBw&ved=0CAEQsCU

 

I am thinking EA82 suspension because while its not as flexible as the EA81 torsion bar I am thinking that alot of the parts are EA82 so I could easily buy a EA82 parts car reducing cost. So far Ive only blown axles or stub axles when a tire was at the far end of its travel-IE stuffed up into a wheelwell .So If I run a little less rear travel maybe it won't asplode stuff. With the EA81 torsion bar and my strong axles I stopped blowing axles and only blew a stub when a tire when way far into the wheel well. If I can get the rear axle breakage problem under control I might be able to run 33" tires.

As far as the whole "collector" thing with the 78 brat, it comes from an estate sale out in the woods so its been sitting in a field for a while so I am thinking there might be quite a bit of rust on it.Parts availability is scarce so most people would probably just scrap it. 

 

 

I dunno what do you all think?

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drop it on a frame or make your own subframe setup toyota diffs mabee transfer case then whynot 2 speed powerglide behind 2.2 with transfercase lightweight and buletproff next thing a'm working on is subaru to chev bell houseing addaptor 350 in subaru and 2 speed in subaru sounds good to me or rwd subaru with 4l60 or 4l80 gm trans or buggy with ls1 engine subaru trans take that yea old 4eat lol

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drop it on a frame or make your own subframe setup toyota diffs mabee transfer case then whynot 2 speed powerglide behind 2.2 with transfercase lightweight and buletproff next thing a'm working on is subaru to chev bell houseing addaptor 350 in subaru and 2 speed in subaru sounds good to me or rwd subaru with 4l60 or 4l80 gm trans or buggy with ls1 engine subaru trans take that yea old 4eat lol

He is not setup for stuff like that.lol

But I would be interested in a 4l80e adapter to an EJ car!

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drop it on a frame or make your own subframe setup toyota diffs mabee transfer case then whynot 2 speed powerglide behind 2.2 with transfercase lightweight and buletproff next thing a'm working on is subaru to chev bell houseing addaptor 350 in subaru and 2 speed in subaru sounds good to me or rwd subaru with 4l60 or 4l80 gm trans or buggy with ls1 engine subaru trans take that yea old 4eat lol

So basically a worse performing version of your buggy right?In that case why even start with a subaru in the first place?

 

gross,sounds like a lot of GM parts.I wasn't happy that I had a fuel pump and windshield washer reservoir/pump from a ford. Besides a 2 speed would suck HARD for something that is driven on the street.Even with the EJ22 and 5 speed DR and nissan T case I used all 10 gears in the subaru box.Ok more like 8 but whatever. 1-5 lo up to 45mph then 1-3 or 4 high after that depending on the road.Not to mention the high/lo in the T case.Even if I lost my mind and wanted a bunch of GM parts on a subaru wheeler I wouldn't run an automatic anyway.

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Have you ever given much consideration to the samurai transfercase? With its 1.409 high range would make your diffs act like 5.79's instead of 4.11's. not to mention the low range gear options. They're pretty close to the same size as the Nissan with the same offset outputs. If ya already knew sorry about that.

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I have considered them but when it came time to get the T case at pull and save they didn't have any samurais.

Its more of question of finding one rather than using one.The samurai case is smaller so it wouldn't kill ground clearance as much as the nissan box-even with mine clocked sideways and tucked up into the body.

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So I pickup up the 78 brat today, it is still mostly there,at least enough for what I need so heres how it looks now.

brat001_zpsbaa93792.jpg~original

brat003_zps2a18b432.jpg~original

brat004_zps756eb50e.jpg~original

brat005_zpsb9a9a9e4.jpg~original

brat006_zps67b24fad.jpg~original

brat002_zps6fe5f375.jpg~original

 

I paid $154.55 for it.It has an engine under the hood but the heads are off and the pistons look froze in there bores.It came with another engine in the bed aswell. No idea on its condition either,but it was covered by the topper that was on the bed.We put the topper in the back of my truck because it wasn't held on with anything...

 

The driver side rocker panel is smashed,the fenders are rotting out, and the driver side door doesn't open so there is some work to do.

I'm going to clean it up and change out the tires to ones that hold air so I can move it.

 

I gotta ask, after seeing exactly how narrow it is if I swap EA82 suspension under it how far will the tires stick out of the body?

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  • 4 weeks later...

You can use the whole ea82 rear trailing arms and they will fit the ea81 torsion fram if you drill out the mount nd use the ea82 pivot bolts. You can even replace the shock with a coilover from an ea82 if you chose. 

 

The front hobs can be replaced with ea82. change the inner seal to match the ea81 axle. there is a way to use ea82 lower control arms, this makes the track wider than the rear, but you have to relocate a mounting tab to move thecontrol arm back the width of the bushing.

 

_EDIT__ what i am describing applies to 2nd gen brat. Not sure if the same holds true for a 1st gen. 

Edited by MilesFox
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WAY TOO MUCH MONEY at least for me.I bought this one for $150 not $1000.sure it has rust and the engine is In-Op but its a shell for an offroader.It doesn't have to be perfect because eventually it will get dented from trees,rocks,etc.Not to mention that I am keeping nothing other than the body from the 78.The engine,transmission,running gear,and suspension will all be newer subaru parts.

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  • 2 weeks later...

sorry thought you were restoring it no worrys

In a way I am, but its more of a resto-mod that full restore.I'm am fixing the rust on it before I am lifting it so it will be strong and hopefully last a while.Seeing as it appears the universe conspires against me so I can't have nice things the focus for this build is ugly but functional.Can't get much more ugly than a quad headlight 78 BRAT right :)

 

I'm kinda aiming for something like this when I am done, but better.

http://spokane.craigslist.org/cto/4019142065.html

Edited by Uberoo
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When something breaks or evolves typically improvements are made.For Instance when I first made a transfer case lift the T case was really low.In the subsequent hatchback version of that lift I cut out some sheetmetal and rotated the T case so it had about an 1/8" of clearance between it and the seat rails.One thing that I didn't like was the increased weight, between the transfer case itself,the assorted steel for the subframe and the bigger tires the car gained 500 lbs. With most of that weight towards the front, I resorted to various tricks to try to balance the car out again. I mounted the battery,my toolbox, and the spare tire in the trunk, and I found aluminum brackets to replace the cast iron pieces on the engine .I then drilled a lot of "speed holes" in those lightweight brackets.Those tricks helped but still the biggest weight gain was the lift.I used 1/4" thick steel for the vertical parts of the lift and 3/16" steel to tie the lift blocks together.So in continuing efforts to save weight I was thinking I would change the thickness of the lift in various places. I am thinking the front strut block will be 1/4" again just because they are by themselves with no reinforcement.Then the vertical parts of the chassis lift will be 3/16" and steel tieing everything together will be 1/8" after seeing just how strong the 1/8" box channel bumper I made was.

 

so to recap how well will 1/4" front strut lift blocks with 3/16" chassis lift blocks with 1/8" tubing tieing everything together hold up for hopefully prolonged abuse?Would 3/16" thick steel hold up as a front strut lift block?Gussets and bracing where applicable.

 

planned design is 78 brat,ej22+AWD 5 speed,susuki samurai transfer case,EA81 rear suspension,and EA82 front suspension, Not to mention any lightening surgery that I might do that doesn't affect aesthetics or strength.

Edited by Uberoo
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