November 8, 201510 yr Author Just aquired some new parts. Box of AC related goodies. Compressor, dryer, compressor bracket, switch, fan (plus an extra good fan). Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr This is the bit that goes up under the dash. Its a bit tired. Is there a company that I can send this out to for a rebuild? Does anyplace like that even exist?Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr New wheels mocked up. I still haven't decided what wheels I want to get tires for. Untitled by blue03wrx, on FlickrUntitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr I cleaned this up, had some rust on some of the bits. Cleaned up the housing, de-rustified, fresh paint and all around polishing up. Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr Edited November 8, 201510 yr by spicypeanut
December 18, 201510 yr I grew up in Tucson, I completely understand the A/C is sooo very worth all of the hard work! If you're missing a bit or two, would you be able to get them from places like vintage air?That being said, most cars, including my 2002 Impreza and wife's 2005 C180 have no A/C! Ireland has such a mild summer, you might only hit temps of 18C to 20C (68F to 75F-ish) a couple times all summer.I love the progress, keep it up!
December 18, 201510 yr I desperately need all AC parts. The dealer did not install AC into the car. Does anyone know where I can get the whole kit and kaboodle?
December 24, 201510 yr Author Saw this guy on auto trader today. Getting rid of her already? Yeah I do have it up on auto trader, we are redoing our house and can use the extra money to help redo the kitchen before we move in. I would prefer not to sell it but the money would help get me into the house. I did just find the bed trim piece that holds down the carpet which is pretty rough but I'll be able to restore it. So I'm still continuing with the build regardless. Regarding the ac, I think it might be best if I went with a brand new aftermarket system. Does any one have any suggestions?
January 25, 201610 yr Author Uh I am pretty sure there is a piece of metal missing that would normally block off that hole, looking into the transmission it would seem there are some nice little metal shavings.... has anyone ever seen this happen before? Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr It looks like the factory casting of the transmission housing had that spot cast as if the factory intended to punch it out. Well what I think happened is, that little square piece of metal broke loose some-how and fell into the transmission and bounced around on the clutch/flywheel. I won't know for sure until my mechanic looks at it. Here is a similar engine/transmission and the metal plate is clearly visible. e3bf90ea (1) by blue03wrx, on Flickr Edited January 25, 201610 yr by spicypeanut
January 28, 201610 yr I think that is the hole for the clutch fork on RHD cars. On a side note, I am sure that A/C stuff was brand new (though really greasy/dusty), but you could replace the compressor/condenser with more modern hardware and have good A/C. Have you sold the car? Have a link to the ad if you haven't?
January 30, 201610 yr I think that is the hole for the clutch fork on RHD cars. Concur - Can be fixed with a rubber grommet plug. You'd want to make sure no debris is left in there though ... Ciao, Bantum ... Edited January 30, 201610 yr by Bantum
February 1, 201610 yr Author I think that is the hole for the clutch fork on RHD cars. On a side note, I am sure that A/C stuff was brand new (though really greasy/dusty), but you could replace the compressor/condenser with more modern hardware and have good A/C. Have you sold the car? Have a link to the ad if you haven't? Concur - Can be fixed with a rubber grommet plug. You'd want to make sure no debris is left in there though ... Ciao, Bantum ... Thanks guys, I haven't had a chance to take it to the mechanic yet. Any pointers on accessing that spot? I assume we need to separate the transmission from the engine and inspect/wipe out the debris.
February 1, 201610 yr Actually, there is a rubber plug which goes in there. It is an inspection and timing port. If you turn the engine over you should see timing marks for setting the ignition timing. The rubber plug insert is kinda difficult to find. I have been running mine without it for years. Nice build, BTW. I am beginning work on my '79, but am going a different direction. EA81 engine/trans/drive-train swap. Probably suspension mods for longer travel. I need to find longer travel struts, or another option to increase the suspension capabilities. I also will swap the AC compressor for a newer version more capable of running with R134.
February 1, 201610 yr Author Actually, there is a rubber plug which goes in there. It is an inspection and timing port. If you turn the engine over you should see timing marks for setting the ignition timing. The rubber plug insert is kinda difficult to find. I have been running mine without it for years. Nice build, BTW. I am beginning work on my '79, but am going a different direction. EA81 engine/trans/drive-train swap. Probably suspension mods for longer travel. I need to find longer travel struts, or another option to increase the suspension capabilities. I also will swap the AC compressor for a newer version more capable of running with R134. Thanks for the kind words. I'd love to see your progress. Make sure to document! The timing inspection port is actually on the engine side, which does have a small rubber plug. The hole that is now open, is on the transmission side.
February 2, 201610 yr If you don't have the flywheel shroud on the bottom or if you can take it off/bend it you could probably flush the pieces out with a garden hose. You might have to undone the engine/transmission mounts and lift it up a little. From the pics it looks like the flywheel already grounded up some of the aluminum.
February 3, 201610 yr Yep could undo housing & try from underneath, but for peace of mind and to make sure there's no damage to the clutch - I would take the engine / gearbox out for inspection / clean up & refit. The Timing hole cover got me first time round too ... !Cheers, Bantum ...
April 7, 20169 yr Author This just in. Mechanic said something inside the transmission let go. We are now looking into a full rebuild. Once the transmission is fixed, this Brat will have had nearly all of its mechanicals redone. More to follow.
April 11, 20169 yr Author Update: Metal chunks came out while draining the transmission. Definitely broken teeth. Not sure how that happened since I was putting along at about 30 mph on the street. I assume from all the years the metal just decided it had had enough. The transmission is at the builders place now. While its getting redone, we will have fresh bushings swapped in to hopefully tighten up the shifter. Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr
April 29, 20169 yr Author Just got the call. The builder is unable to track down 2 gears. (I should know which two tonight). Anyone have any leads of replacement gear sets? My other option is to have gears made. I'm also reaching out to my contact that had my 1909 Pierce Arrow differential gear created to see how much it would cost.
May 3, 20169 yr Author Major update: I spoke to the builder. The exact part that broke was the ring & pinion. Nothing else in the transmission was damaged. The EA71 4wd Transmission uses a 9 tooth spiral pinion and 35 tooth ring gear. It turns out the extra transmission I had laying around (unknown model) used the exact same ring & pinion as the EA71 4wd Transmission. The builder is checking the gears to make sure they are perfect. His actual words were, "beautiful" when he saw them. haha. Brat should be back on the road in no time! Just wanted to post this here in case anyone ever had a similar issue.
May 8, 20169 yr Author After all this, I found out that the builder couldn't use the parts after all. The shaft that the pinion is pressed into has a slightly smaller diameter and can't be used. So now I'm back to hunting for new parts or buying a used transmission. Can anyone help?
May 25, 20169 yr Author Try http://www.car-part.com There are a few of those transmissions listed there. Thanks for this. I did a quick search and there are def a few options that are cheaper than the place we found in Idaho. They wanted $350+65 shipping. Found one local for a fraction of that price. Just trucked it over to my builders so we'll see if the parts check out okay. Hope to have her back on the road soon. To make things more complicated, my registration is due on the 1st (which includes a smog check). I won't have the time to get it all back together and have it smogged before the registration is due. Looks like I'll need to Non-Op it and then handle the smog check after my dead line.
May 26, 20169 yr you can just pay the registration on time..smog out here in commiefornia is definitely necessary to complete the process BUT if u think you WILL get it smogged in under a year..? just make SURE you pay registration on TIME to avoid late fees! then once you pass smog the dmv gets automatically notified and then they issue your sticker! main thing is pay registration on time;) up to you tho! I've had to do it this way..good luck with the smog nazis! ughhh to this state...can't wait to move!
May 26, 20169 yr Author you can just pay the registration on time..smog out here in commiefornia is definitely necessary to complete the process BUT if u think you WILL get it smogged in under a year..? just make SURE you pay registration on TIME to avoid late fees! then once you pass smog the dmv gets automatically notified and then they issue your sticker! main thing is pay registration on time;) up to you tho! I've had to do it this way..good luck with the smog nazis! ughhh to this state...can't wait to move! Thank you for the heads up. I didn't realize it works like that (but it does!). https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/?1dmy&urile=wcm:path:/dmv_content_en/dmv/vr/vr_info#BM2514 Link for reference. I'll be paying the reg tonight and smogging sometime next month.
May 27, 20169 yr no problem! and i JUST realized this is YOUR build! we "met" already thru my current brat project i got from Kevin! glad to hear you got the transmission! hope it works out! glad it got put to use! your brat is amazing..wow..talk at u soon!
May 27, 20169 yr Author no problem! and i JUST realized this is YOUR build! we "met" already thru my current brat project i got from Kevin! glad to hear you got the transmission! hope it works out! glad it got put to use! your brat is amazing..wow..talk at u soon! Thank you very much for the kind words. My goal in saving her really was to pay the Brat the respect that they usually don't get. Kevin was a super nice guy, he's still got some misc parts. I think he said a few radiators and a transmissions for a 75 coupe 2wd (I think). Since you are in Cali, we should setup a weekend cruise up PCH with a few fellow group members. I bet that would be awesome. And the obligatory welcome home shot. Edited May 27, 20169 yr by spicypeanut
May 27, 20169 yr Author What a beautiful day! Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr
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