Back after many years away... I'm totally nuts for subies again!

 

Thought I'd say hi and show off my ride.

 

 

88 Hatchback

4" Lift

EJ22

29" TSLs

Rear LSD/Discs

+ Lots More

 

Someday I'll do a build thread... it's been pretty epic.

 

It's been my DD all Summer but is about to be put up for the winter. Chances are it's the last hatch in the state... I'm not taking any chances with the salt.

 

Back in the day this was one of the first (if not the first) EJ hatches in the US. Some may remember I used to sell adapter plates.

 

In more recent news, my girlfriend just bought me an 84 Brat! Planning a nice build/up restore... can't wait to dig into it.

Edited October 15, 201312 yr by 88HatchMonster

I Like it! Is it a D/R trans with an adapter or ?

Edited October 7, 201312 yr by Crazyeights

Yup, D/R with an adapter plate.

I totally remember your build. I bought one of your plates back in the day.

I totally remember your build. I bought one of your plates back in the day.

 

Nice!

Very nice! I know all about that salt crap. My newest Loyale won't be driven in the winter for that reason.

Very nice! I know all about that salt crap. My newest Loyale won't be driven in the winter for that reason.

 

Yeah. It's a shame too cause they really shine in the snow.

now that is one mighty clean soob. i soo wish brat looked anywhere close to that clean

now that is one mighty clean soob. i soo wish brat looked anywhere close to that clean

 

Well it could someday! Your brat has lots of potential.

 

My hatch was rusted, rotted and rolled over when I started...

 

Here are some before and during shots of the build:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ok.... now you have to do a build thread. Just by the pics shared this is already one of the most in depth subie restores I've seen. Love the look of the lift too. Looks like a heavy duty build.

 

great looking hatch!

Awesome. The body work reminds me a lot of my old BRAT. I'm jealous of your EJ swap!

Another Vermonter with an ea81! Nice build man! 

That's some dedication and nice work.  Do you have any more pics or description of how you did your rad support?  When I build up my Hatch I am planning on making a custom one with angle iron similar to what you have there.

Thanks guys!

 

It will be fun to do a build thread or just post a few more pics to this one.

 

Going through all my old pics gets me all fired up to work on subies again.

 

The radiator support was super easy as I recall. Pretty much a straight shot across.

 

I made sure to weld nuts in underneath to mount a skid plate to later on.

 

Nice, thanks for the extra pic.  Makes me wish I could start building right now.  I see some reinforcements around the strut tops too that drop down to the unibody frame (?).  If you have any old photos of that hanging around I would be really interested in seeing those as well.  You've pretty much done almost exactly what I want to do with my hatch, except that I am going with the donor Legacy suspension and auto trans, but still, looks amazing and looks like it's a blast to drive.  I am totally jealous, I wish I could start building, but my house has other plans for my time.  Definitely inspiring.

Rather than use strut top adapters of some kind, I basically lowered the strut towers 4" and slotted the holes for camber adjustment.

 

I then reinforced the towers with angle iron down to the main rails of the unibody.

 

I do love this car! It is really fun to drive with the EJ and has an amazing ride and feel with how overbuilt the chassis is.

 

I know what you mean about itching to get on your build! I'm not going to be able to do much all winter, but I'm hoping to do a few indoor things like prepping a harness for my next swap...

 

My nether-regions are tingling from looking at this.

That is one beautiful bit of revitalization you pulled on that hatch. Keep her clean!

Thanks again!

 

Since everyone seems to be enjoying the pics, I think I'll make it my de facto build thread and roll out a a few pics at a time in semi-chronological order.

 

Oldest digital pic I have:

 

Always-trusty old EA81 pulled:

 

It starts! Floor repair:

 

 

Floor paint:

 

Bed-liner goes down (this stuff was awesome):

 

 

 

 

That's it for now! Stay-tuned!

Continuing on!

 

After all rust was removed from the floor and underbody, and new metal welded in, I sealed the seams with Por-15 sealant and painted with Rust Bullet. Then the underbody was sprayed with rubberized undercoating.

 

I built the basic lift kit around 1999 when I was still in high school. I tied the front and back together to make it a frame after I got out of college at least five or six years later. It got a few coats of Por-15 before it was bolted into place. You can see where my inner fenders were bashed in to clear the swampers.

 

Probably goes without saying that this kit is sturdy.

 

Towing capability is awesome with the frame and EJ22.

 

Last shot for now:

Yeah more pics!  I am planning on doing a frame like that too.  I thought I would have to buy a tubing bender for some dom like VaporTrails brat build, but looking at your square tube frame I'm thinking that maybe that would be overkill for my puropses since it's already got a unibody "frame" and I'm not going with solid axles.  Square tube would be easier.  I think my build just got a lot less expensive and easier...in my mind.

Yeah, I wouldn't worry about building a DOM frame if you are using stock running gear. This frame is by far the strongest thing on the car. I did beef up my stock gear a bit, though.

 

Radius rods were sleeved with 1.25x1.25 square and control arms were reinforced with square tube underneath from the pivot to ball joint then plated over the whole bottom. (wish I had pics of that process)

 

Edited October 26, 201312 yr by 88HatchMonster

Awesome work

That is one cool car with a lot of love and work put into it. Thanks for sharing.

excellent project

congratulations