So, i have a 1986 Brat GL that i recieved as a gift from in the family that is in depressingly sad condition. the engine runs, but has a phenominal time starting up, havent seen any problems with the tranny and 4 wheel. recently my mom was driving it and one wheel seized from a bad bearing(all 4 are since replaced), there is the all too common wheel well rust in the bed, both fenders and the hood are beyond repair and need to be replaced. drivers fender has a dent that interferes with the door and has rusted into its bent form, the passenger fender was attacked by a bear (not joking. both on my brat and my brothers outback legacy, the passenger fender got bit and bent out). and the hood has an odd bit of rust in the under frame of it. irrepairable, and i have no idea how it got there  .

 

interior is also in sad condition, but i dont need to type out annother paragraph on that.

 

Now, in a random stroke of luck, i found a 1985 GL hatchback (2 wheel drive) that is the same generation body styling  . and the even better thing about it; NO RUST  . it lived in arizona all its life so it has the standard arizona car accessories such as; the awesome faded paint look, that is now a matte finish also. the oh, so, popular cracked dash and just overall rubber parts dry rotting.

 

so my question is, just how much of the GL am i able to transplant into the brat?   considdering the brat has been a New England car for most, if not all, of its life, i want to eliminate as much rust as possable. fenders and hood are a must, but do the doors match? windshield?

 

i will upload pictures soon

 

 

side note: i dont have access to my brat at the moment, due to it being on the opposite side of the country, but im going to get it this summer

All of the body from the doors forward swap. but glass is different. 

 

all of the engine and driveline will swap over, but the gas tank is different

 

good luck

clarification on what miles said- door glass is different, but I thought windshield is the same?

i hope the windshield is the same. thats really the only glass parts that NEEDS replacement. someone had been running dead wiper blades on it for quite a while, so ive got two good arches going across the front

I meant door glass. windshield should be the same. rear glass is obviously different

The only EA81 series car that i remember having a different windshield is a coupe.  You should be all set to swap windshields.  

The only EA81 series car that i remember having a different windshield is a coupe.  You should be all set to swap windshields.  

never heard the coupe was different either. do you know this first hand?

never heard the coupe was different either. do you know this first hand?

This is true with ea82 coupe at least. Not sure with ea81 unless it is being confused with the fact for ea82. I would assume ea81's are all the same.

 

It should be true that hatch and coupe glass are the same for the doors. 

 

The hatch and the brat have the same rake, but the b pillar angle is different between brat/hatch

Edited January 28, 201412 yr by MilesFox

actually I believe the door glass is different between coupes and hatches as well. Maybe somebody who has swapped them out knows different, but that has always been my understanding

The hatch and the coupe should have a vertical b pillar, whereas the brat b pillar is pitched forward. Correct me if i am wrong. It has been a good 10 years since i have seen a coupe in person.

The hatch and the coupe should have a vertical b pillar, whereas the brat b pillar is pitched forward. Correct me if i am wrong. It has been a good 10 years since i have seen a coupe in person.

coupe doesnt have a b pillar at all, it is a "hardtop" as they say.

coupe doesnt have a b pillar at all, it is a "hardtop" as they say.

My reference is to the rear edge of the window

My reference is to the rear edge of the window

So is mine. there is no proper b pillar on the coupe, there is just a gasket that attaches to the rear (or middle if you will) side window. see pic below

 

i realize that does not neccesarily mean that a coupe and hatch do not share the door glass, like I said I never tried to swap, but my understanding was they do not.