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Gen 1 Brat Questions


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Hello everyone. I've been a member for awhile now and I have read through quite a few build logs and instructional guides. I have afew questions that I am sure have been answered before.

 

1. After rebuilding the ea71 I did a Weber swap. My only issue was the accelerator cable bracket. I have the cable installed currently but it does not hold the cable completely parallel with the linkage so it makes a small curve from the bracket to the linkage. Everything works for now but I am sure that eventually the cable is going to wear out.

 

Is there an aftermarket bracket available or do I need to fab something?

 

2. The car rus great and passed emissions. The only issue I am having is a sticky throttle. I don't believe that it is related to what I mentioned above about the throttle cable but I may be wrong. It only happens when the car is warm and has been running for awhile and then gets progressively worse. What happens is after pressing the accelerator at a low RPM and releasing it, the car continues to speed up. Eventually it lets go and returns to coast. When city driving I have to hit the clutch and let the engine rev untill it releases.

 

With the new Weber I do not have the fuel return hooked up. Is it possible this is the issue?

 

3. I would like to upgrade the brakes front and back.

Has anyone done a write up on this yet? And are there any recommendations on kits or parts?

 

 

 

 

Any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks again everyone.

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Did you use the Hitachi throttle lever and accelerator cable bracket with the Weber or the Weber parts? Original is best.

 

The Weber is very susceptible to a sticky throttle if you overtighten the nut on the throttle lever/throttle shaft. It is really meant to be 'just done up' and the tab on the lock washer bent over. It is really easy to overtighten this nut and the stickiness will be worse when the engine is warm or hot.

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The Weber is very susceptible to a sticky throttle if you overtighten the nut on the throttle lever/throttle shaft. It is really meant to be 'just done up' and the tab on the lock washer bent over. It is really easy to overtighten this nut and the stickiness will be worse when the engine is warm or hot.

 

this right here all the way

 

after a few days trying to figure out why my webber kept sticking, i overtightened the bolt, i did a webber conversion a few days ago and ditched the hitachi carburetor, plus about 18 pounds of emission stuff, poor car was suffering with all that stuff on her, 6 plugs on the engine block from EGR tubes, custom made plate for the EGR valve and a whole bunch of nonsense, theres so much more power.

 

plus an extra return spring on the throttle so that it returns all the way back down everytime.

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Did you use the Hitachi throttle lever and accelerator cable bracket with the Weber or the Weber parts? Original is best.

 

The Weber is very susceptible to a sticky throttle if you overtighten the nut on the throttle lever/throttle shaft. It is really meant to be 'just done up' and the tab on the lock washer bent over. It is really easy to overtighten this nut and the stickiness will be worse when the engine is warm or hot.

 

Thanks.  I will check this first.

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  • 4 weeks later...

this right here all the way

 

after a few days trying to figure out why my webber kept sticking, i overtightened the bolt, i did a webber conversion a few days ago and ditched the hitachi carburetor, plus about 18 pounds of emission stuff, poor car was suffering with all that stuff on her, 6 plugs on the engine block from EGR tubes, custom made plate for the EGR valve and a whole bunch of nonsense, theres so much more power.

 

plus an extra return spring on the throttle so that it returns all the way back down everytime.

 

 

I have the original carb and all of the parts so I am going to switch the throttle lever and bracket back when I get home.

 

 

 

What all did you get rid of from the emissions system and how did you go about it?

I was thinking about pulling the air suction system, EGR system, and canister, but plumbing the PCV system like a newer ea 81 or 82, I dont remember.

 

Did you just pull and plug everything? I am curious as to what was plugged and how everything was plumbed including vacuum lines. Pulling everything would really clean the engine up a lot.

 

 

Right now plan is to try and use the stock vacuum modulator to control the distributor advance/retard, charcoal canister, and EGR valve. I am going to post a write up on the research I have been doing on the Weber Carb Swap but I want to test a few things so that I can post my results and what configuration I end up going with.  I know that this isn't going to get me every drop of power the brat can give me but I am trying to keep her stock as possible.  To me it doesn't seem that anything in the emissions system is robbing any noticeable power to begin with and that there are some actual benefits from properly retarding and advancing timing. It seems though that everyone is set up slightly different and are getting completely different results.  

 

I guess I would like to know how you and anyone else has their EA 71 set up with a Weber.  There are a ton of posts all over this forum and many others, but they are very spread out and full of broken links and expired pictures.

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I have the original carb and all of the parts so I am going to switch the throttle lever and bracket back when I get home.

 

 

 

What all did you get rid of from the emissions system and how did you go about it?

I was thinking about pulling the air suction system, EGR system, and canister, but plumbing the PCV system like a newer ea 81 or 82, I dont remember.

 

Did you just pull and plug everything? I am curious as to what was plugged and how everything was plumbed including vacuum lines. Pulling everything would really clean the engine up a lot.

 

 

Right now plan is to try and use the stock vacuum modulator to control the distributor advance/retard, charcoal canister, and EGR valve. I am going to post a write up on the research I have been doing on the Weber Carb Swap but I want to test a few things so that I can post my results and what configuration I end up going with.  I know that this isn't going to get me every drop of power the brat can give me but I am trying to keep her stock as possible.  To me it doesn't seem that anything in the emissions system is robbing any noticeable power to begin with and that there are some actual benefits from properly retarding and advancing timing. It seems though that everyone is set up slightly different and are getting completely different results.  

 

I guess I would like to know how you and anyone else has their EA 71 set up with a Weber.  There are a ton of posts all over this forum and many others, but they are very spread out and full of broken links and expired pictures.

 

what year brat do you have? alot of things changed from 1979 to 1980 emision wise. The 80 had the second canister of sorts on the drivers side, thats easy to remove and plug, infact i added a coolant reservoir in the same location since the first gen never came with one which is suicidal down here in south texas.

 

im pretty sure the original hitachi carb is made to run correctly with the emission stuff, i didn't bother reusing the carb for this reason.

 

i used to be a stock freak, and never doing a modification, and if i did i would hide it really well, after a few years of doing that and then it all shatters away by having someone hitting my vehicle and all that for nothing, don't care much anymore, as long as the body is left alone, im fine.

 

i removed the solenoids, there should be two on the passenger side of the block, and some weird vacuum damper controller for them, as far as i could tell, there is no vacuum controller for the vacuum advance that gets regulated, and if there was and i missed it since there was so much nonsense on it, didn't affect anything, vacuum hose is attached directly to the manifold.

 

theres 2 small ports on the passenger side and 3 small ones and 2 large ones i think on the drivers side, half of them are plugged because i have no need for that many vacuum ports. the 2 passenger ones are being used for inside of the cab for something im still not sure about, the other goes to the distributor, on the drivers side you got the brake booster and 1 small vacuum is being used for something i don't remember now that also goes into the cab on the passenger side, and the other 2 small ones are plugged, plus the large one too. might be 2 large ones plugged actually, can't remember now.

 

the egr is optional, i didn't notice any difference, but since i was going all out and simplifying the engine as much as possible so that when you look at a wire or hose, you immediately know what it is. i cut up a piece of a front of a bumper on an EA82 and used the gasket as a template when cutting the metal, then used the same gasket to seal it up.

 

theres a cylinder looking thing inline with the emission tubes that go to the sparkplugs, on the drivers side behind the manifold, thats suppose to avoid dieseling, but i didn't expect any of this to even still be working after 40years, pulled it, didn't have a choice anyways since it was inline with the tubes that i was pulling.

 

you have 6 ports to plug on the EGR recirculating nonsense, you got one right next to every spark plug, and 2 more, one on the bottom rear of the passenger side of the engine block itself and that one attaches to the manifold on the rear passenger side as well next to the thermostat. i had to use a tap because the hole was slightly too small for plumbing caps that they sell at home depot, don't remember the size off the top of my head, 18thread, it was just the threads that were too large, i think it has to do with plumbing and bolt sizes being different and measuring outer diameter and inner diameter. Merica

 

the valve breather hoses or whatever they are called, you have 2 options, one is to just buy new hose and run them behind a shock tower with a pod filter, or you can make a hole for it on the bottom of the air filter like i did, buy a fitting with a plastic nut with a 90 on it, then buy a T for it, then you can attach the valve hoses to it, just expect to see some oil on the bottom of the pan of the filter.

 

i know theres other things im missing, but feel free to ask me, you can use the original throttle bracket but i recommend buying a new throttle cable from an EA81, they give you more length of cable and less of the tube that the cable runs through, unless you make your own cable. it took me all friday afternoon and all day from morning to night on saturday to finish all this including installing the carburetor and tuning it, but this was with runs to the autoparts store, if you have absolutely everything you need (which is unrealistic and impossible) expect 6-10hours of nonstop on this, and a back that hurts once you're done.

 

also get a manual choke with it, as long as you understand a lawnmower, you can understand a choke on a vehicle, plus if you're having tuning issues you can adjust the choke to get you home, too lean and you have to close the choke alittle when the engine cools down after getting off of the highway and such, so much more freedom. also i think the original location to non U.S. vehicles for the manual choke was on the left side of the steering wheel where that circle blank is with a black plastic cover on it, i've had 2 first gen's that were top of the line and this hole/cover has never had anything on it, so thats probably what it was for, just that it was never an option here in the United States because people would say its too confusing and call it a bad lemon immediately, infact some international markets got the manual choke as far out as the EA82 because thats what that country prefers.

 

there is no Step by Step on this, every year changes slightly because of the tree huggers and california, use your best knowledge and expect to break a bolt and drill it out and such, especially those 3 manifold bolts to the heads of the block.

 

also, timing will change when all the emissions stuff is removed and plugged, my vehicle went from 9.5 degrees to 12 degrees, runs like crap at the original 9.5 degree location it was originally at, but then again it could be because of the new carburetor also, or both.

Edited by Subasaurus
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So just to clarify. I have a 78 Brat but it has 77 on every sticker in the car. It has the starter in the 12 o'clock position and it has the round air cleaner.

 

I don't have any solenoids on the vacuum system, that came a little later.  

 

The ports that you talk about first, 2 on the passenger, 3 on the driver, Are you talking about on the intake manifold?

 

and the EGR recirculating.  Is that the air suction system with the reed valve and silencer?

 

 

The air suction system is the only one I am on the fence about eliminating. 

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phase 2 EA71 started around mid 1977.

 

my starter is on the 12 o'clock position and its a phase 2 EA71, i think its the solenoid/relay of the starter is the way to tell if its a phase one or phase two, can't remember fully now how to distinguish them. and as far as i know, EA71's from the year 1977-1979 got the round air cleaner, the 1980 and 1981 and i think even the EA81 got the oval air cleaner that said Subaru across it.

 

thats good that you barely have any emission stuff, you probably just have those EGR tubes, the EGR valve and a Charcoal canister on the passenger shock tower.

 

ports are the intake manifold vacuum ports, but you probably have wayy less ports than i do since you don't have much emission stuff on it, you got it pretty easy.

 

not sure about reed valve and silencer and such, its the circular piece of metal located on the back middle of the manifold, right behind the carburetor.

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