January 4, 201412 yr I recently joined the group and thought I would share some pics of my 78 BRAT. I bought the beast in 2008 with 85k miles on it. (It still has 85k miles on it) Due to working on a ton of other peoples projects, mine has been slow progress. I will start off by showing you all the truck I originally bought.
January 4, 201412 yr Author Its been some time since those photos were taken. Here are a couple more...
January 4, 201412 yr Author Fortunately these pics were taken a while ago...I am further along. I will be posting pics "kinda" in order as they happened. Unfortunately I ran into a snag. Hopefully it will get straightened out soon. I took my motor apart to rebuild it (since it sat for 18 years in a garage) and found that one of my heads are cracked between the exhaust and intake valve seats.
January 4, 201412 yr Author There was a little rust under the front fenders, and I only patched a 50cent piece sized hole in the rear driver side wheel well. My first auto was a 79' BRAT which I restored when I was 15 yrs old in Pennsylvania, so i knew the bad areas to look at. That thing was a heap when I started!!! I couldnt pass this ride up when I saw it. I figured the climate in Colorado would be good for these beauties. I dont think I went wrong for $1100 back in 2008!
January 5, 201412 yr That looks mean. I think im more in love with the fading than an actual paint job. Nice one. Cant beat it for 1k.
January 5, 201412 yr Author Since I mentioned it earlier in the thread.... Here is the 79 BRAT that I built when I was 15 years old! Minus the mud (which belongs there) I rattle-canned the entire BRAT. It took me 1 year to build...the body was rusty as hell, but the motor was strong (79K miles). I only had to replace the clutch to get it goin strong. I wish I could find someone selling a set of 5 of the AWESOME wheels I took off a 1st GEN soob sunk in the dirt of PA. ENJOY!!
January 5, 201412 yr Author I wish I still had them!!! Unfortunately, I was forced to sell the 79 when I joined the military. Atleast its still on the road! I sent a good center dash section for the radio and such to the guy last year. I couldnt stand the thought of it and him sufferring with the lack of a functional interior.
January 5, 201412 yr Author Me too! When I tell people that I am restoring a car they always ask me "what car?". When I tell the a 78 BRAT, they always ask me (in a weird and very curious kinda voice) "Why?". I alwys answer... "CUZ THEY ARE AWESOME!!!" They will never understand unless they have owned one. I think the 8 spoke steel wheels are they cleanest looking if I cant have my other wheels back....
January 5, 201412 yr i feel exactly the same! and yeah, jackmans look amazing on these old brats ive got a set and i was debating on whether i wanted to paint them white or black, and that picture just made up my mind, black! i do have a set of chrome rims that would look good, but i think i might sell those
January 5, 201412 yr Author I guess I will keep the story of my 78 BRAT goin... Next....I decided to change it up a little bit. I hated the flimsy vinyl wrapped partical board behind the seats, so I decided to do something different. Its waaaay more solid and sound proofs a bit. Check it out...
January 6, 201412 yr Author Its 3/8" plywood with a funky grain...stained with a dark stain called Jacco Bean and the polyurethaned.
January 6, 201412 yr Looks like stained wood grain to me lol. I had a piece of teak plywood on my BRAT in the same spot.
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