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1979 Brat Dual Carb EA81 Swap


LouKoff
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Finished the last of the rust repair and got all of the undercoating done.

 

33540260035_99f8c7289b.jpgWheel well rust pre-cut by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

 

33411606931_1e3ac1f804.jpgRusty wheel well by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

 

33411602481_94fa379ed2.jpgWheel well rust cut out by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

 

33383265832_07a059296f.jpgDriver rear wheel well repair by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

 

32696682604_639aba5317.jpgrear end undercoated by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

 

I welded some nuts/washers to the underbody while it was clean so I have an easy way to remove the bed seats and made some new tabs on the bed seats to mount them.

 

33383256902_2e9f3c7f03.jpgBed seat frame mounts by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

Edited by LouKoff
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  • 2 months later...

Got a lot more stuff ready for primer/paint.

 

Bumper prepped for primer

 

34380973790_74023740a8_z.jpgBumper prepped1 by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

 

34726189706_439fd1774c_z.jpgBumper prepped2 by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

 

Got the engine bay seam sealed and prepped for paint, and seam sealed the interior(not pictured).

 

34380977450_d1b5cf9e8b_z.jpgBay prepped for sealing by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

 

34604029822_f82a19ff76_z.jpgBay Sealed by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

 

34381024300_83c4da415a_z.jpgD Bay sealed by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

 

34726196556_9ed02e790b_z.jpgP Bay Sealed by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

 

Cleaned up a lot of the suspension components and am working on getting the gas tank refurbed.

 

34634139841_47ebc93fa5_z.jpgControl Arms/Subframe by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

 

34381009630_291ba3287b_z.jpgSuspension prepped by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

 

Got the bed and tailgate cleaned up a little better and ready for primer

 

34381004330_2b303769e1_z.jpgBed and Tailgate ready for primer by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

 

 

Started bodyworking too, it definitely shows that this was a hard working truck for most of its life.

 

33924084234_689c1459ec_z.jpgD Bodywork by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

 

34381020400_3abf0bab5d_z.jpgD Rear Bodywork by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Started assembling the short block, got the engine bay painted, and got the bumper, cowl, and front valence primed.

 

I got the case halves together but haven't had time to put the pistons in yet.

 

34522636263_8e9cf68533_z.jpgCrank and cam in case half by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

 

Painted the engine bay a semi-gloss black, didn't want to paint it the same color as the rest of the car because I thought it would clash with the wrinkle red engine scheme.

 

35165905912_8e28843904_z.jpgBlack bay by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

 

Had to get a little creative with my paint set up

 

34945359720_d11b0b9588_z.jpgPaint set up by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

 

34945361250_8945db3705_z.jpgFront end pieces primed by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

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Started putting the suspension back together. I stiffened up my bushings, engine, and tranny mounts with 3m window weld urethane and installed new front control arm bushings. I also started reinstalling stuff in the engine bay. I started fitting and knocking down some high spots I found on the fenders and mounted the hood. I'm working on rebuilding the master cylinder and putting in all new brakes/finishing up the suspension next. When its back on the ground and rolling I'll continue the body working.

 

I also finished the assembly of the short block today

 

35394001466_2990726a96_z.jpgRings installed by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

 

35394000266_ef3f6ba223_z.jpgPistons installed by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

 

35433563315_f7d2b3dc05_z.jpgPiston crown by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

Edited by LouKoff
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  • 2 weeks later...

Got the rear suspension and brakes back together, started rebuilding the rear cv axles (waiting on new cv boots), got the brake booster painted and got the master cylinder and windshield wiper motor reinstalled. Put in a new poly rag joint meant for vw's. Repacked my front wheel bearings, painted the front knuckles, and installed new wheel seals. Reassembled the front suspension with new control arm bushings, leading rod bushings, ball joints, and tie rod ends. I got the 4wd linkage modified to use the first gen linkage, to do this I cut the "cup" off of the single range tranny, removed the linkage from the dual range cut the threaded end off of it and welded the "cup" onto it and bolted the 4wd shifter mount onto the dual range tranny.

 

Rear brakes and suspension back in with new shoes, wheel cylinders, and struts.

34874491783_0b377efd7b_z.jpgRear back together by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

 

Taking apart the rear cv axles

35683558285_e45d046088_z.jpgRear CV by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

 

Here's a photo of the modified linkage

 

35514574612_29d326fd2b_z.jpgModified linkage by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

 

Tranny installed

 

35514582392_3d19040da8_z.jpgTranny in by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

 

4wd linkage just like factory

 

34874525523_49ab4206b1_z.jpg4wd shifter by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

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Got all the front suspension back together and got the car back on the ground. I decided to raise the rear suspension up a bit as well. Now that I can finally move the car out of the garage I finally got the bed, bed access panels and the tailgate primed. I also started doing some more bodyworking and was able to not make a mess in the garage with all the dust.

 

I'm really pleased that the brat is finally back on the ground again

 

34958400963_0d5bcb72fa_z.jpgBack on the ground by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

 

Bed sides primed

 

35598568852_c5748d322f_z.jpgBed sides primed by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

 

Tailgate primed, seen its better days but doesn't have much rust

 

35598571412_9722da22a8_z.jpgTailgate primed by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

 

Now that the bed is primed there no more bare metal on the truck and I can get down to business on the bodywork

 

34958392703_885f79ab99_z.jpgBed Primed by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

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  • 1 month later...

Got most of the body work done, after spot priming there are a few spots I still need to use some on. I'm gonna try to get the last of the filler work done and spray it with high build primer in the next couple days. I also got all of the rust  cleaned out of the gas tank by soaking it vinegar for a couple days and shaking it around with some nuts and bolts inside, I neutralized the vinegar with baking soda and coated the inside of the tank with some light oil. After cleaning the rust I gave the tank some fresh paint.

 

 

Gas tank cleaned and painted

36429275602_4d4d450c42_z.jpgGas tank by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

 

 

Heres the brat after bodyworking, ready for spot priming

36551543506_af4e51752a_z.jpgBefore paint by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

 

 

I might have gotten a little carried away with the body working and smoothed out the super dented wheel wells. I think it looks a lot better though.

35762178864_722e2889a3_z.jpgBed after bodywork by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

 

 

Lastly, here it is after spot priming. It's really coming together.

36597754035_74f85d11a2_z.jpgSpot primed after bodywork by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

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I got the filler work I wanted to get done before spraying the high build primer and seam sealed the bed. I also got the first round of high build primer sprayed, had a hell of a time getting the gun to spray right and didn't end up having enough primer mixed up or time to get the bed or tailgate sprayed so that'll have to wait for the next round. 

 

36607412416_f06fb6c5a4_z.jpgSeam Sealed Bed (1) by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

 

36257603650_32f10e3aba_z.jpgSeam Sealed Bed (3) by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr 

 

36484643662_36c2710287_z.jpgHigh build primer by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

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  • 2 weeks later...

After block sanding the first coat of high build primer I found some more low spots and body lines that needed some more work so I did some more filler work to get it ready for another round. I also painted the brake calipers black and almost finished rebuilding the rear cv axles but I still need to do the boot clamps. Hopefully I'll have the car block sanded and fix any last spots that need attention so I can spray the basecoat soon.

 

36882399685_9fa66c7622_z.jpgP side before 2k by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

 

36485977540_77df23b101_z.jpgP side before 2k 2 by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

 

36711472952_367f8d0742_z.jpgBefore 2k by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

 

36742522591_a712356344_z.jpgP side 2k by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

 

36073791513_f4e29b7091_z.jpgFront 2k by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

 

36882411745_24ecdfb559_z.jpgD side 2k by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

 

36742490251_1c0797bbdf_z.jpgD side 2k 2 by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

 

36485951560_4a065c183b_z.jpgMisc 2k by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

 

36711505242_d8c18e1fa9_z.jpgTailgate 2k by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

 

36485944790_c94b44a012_z.jpgBrake calipers painted by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

 

36882427705_87fb19d8ce_z.jpgCVs rebuilt by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

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  • 1 month later...

Got the engine in yesterday! Was planning to get it painted this year but had some issues with a contaminated rag when spraying the sealer so I got some eyelets on the roof and bed, and now the weather is too cold to spray so it's time to get it running and driving and I'll paint it in the spring.

 

23643793968_118faf358b_z.jpgEngine in by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

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After lurking on USMB for way too many years, I finally decided to join just so I could leave a
few words here. First I must say what a great job man your BRAT is gonna turn out real nice!

 

Now if you don't mind me asking what pistons did you use and where did you get them?

My EA81 is going to sit on the bench until I can find those elusive boob top pistons.
Any feedback greatly appreciated.

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Thanks for the kind words, it really means a lot.

I got the pistons from ram performance, ltd. Unfortunately I'm not sure if they are making them anymore, they used to be listed for sale on their website www.ramengines.com, worth a shot to email them and see if they are still available to order a set. They just order them with their custom specs from wiseco anyway so I would imagine you could still get a set.

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Holy smokes man you have no idea how stoked I am to see your reply! I was looking all over the place for a way to break the 100 horse barrier. A whole year has gone by since I pulled my motor and you my friend, just figured out the equation for me.
 

I actually called Ram some time ago about those forged pistons. The aviation guys know their craft (no pun intended) and they told me exactly the same thing you said. From what I understand, they are good for 9.3:1 compression and very few folks are serious enough to shell out big bucks for them things. I was skeptical before but now I know for sure.
 

Thanks again for passing on the info. I feel perverted looking at your piston photo :unsure: but your ambition and dedication inspires me to do the same this holiday season. I look forward to your continued progress in the future and wish you all the best!

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  • 2 months later...

Been while since I've been able to work on the brat but I got a few things done in the past couple of days. I got the gas tank and diff and rear cv axles installed as well as gas tank breather line, new fuel pump, fuel filter, and fuel line. Also started fabbing up a set of 1.75" unequal length headers to give the car some rumble once it starts running, I think they look sweet too. Also started working on getting the wiring harness in, getting the heater hoses routed and started trying to figure out some other things like the clutch and throttle cables and routing a vacuum line for the brake booster since it's on the opposite side of the car on the dual carb manifold. Didn't feel like much was worth taking photos of this time.

 

Diff rear cv axles and gas tank installed

 

25520634848_6d9bcbc73c_z.jpgDiff and gas tank in by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

 

Heres the unequal length headers, only made it to the merge but the rest should be relatively easy to finish

 

39360656862_7d75f41a66_z.jpgUEL by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

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  • 2 weeks later...

Got most of the wiring, heater hoses, vacuum lines etc figured out and continued working on my headers. The engine is almost ready to start, just have to get a nut and bolt for the alternator, get some hose clamps for coolant lines and then I will have everything I need to wrap up the drivetrain. Also have almost the entire brake system back together, with all new soft lines, just have to get a piston compressor because my drivers side caliper won't fit on the rotor with the new pads.

 

The engine mocked up with coolant lines and vacuum lines, waiting for hose clamps for final assembly.

 

38848318905_7fa8a2ba91_z.jpgmock up by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

 

Heres a photo of the headers. Still need to put another short length of pipe on the end of the headers and weld on a flange and bung for my wideband but I'm pretty happy with how they're turning out

 

39037669704_e04d7e1301_z.jpgHeaders by Luke Hoffman, on Flickr

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  • 4 weeks later...

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