tailgatewagon Posted September 6, 2005 Share Posted September 6, 2005 what has been done. i think it would be cool to have some anserws for some of these questions and others im not thinking of,, anyone done 5 lug swap. any custom springs custom shocks race setups 4 wheel disk's?(from SubieGuy) I used the everything off the GL-10 wagon. I used the calipers, rotors and, backing plates. I had to grind a notch to clear two bolts. I also had to grind away some material on the backing plate to get it to fit. But after I got that cleared up It all bolted right up to the factory mounting points on the Brat. I still need to go back and do a little touck up welding to add some strength to where I ground away some metal. The grinding cuts out a couple of spot welds that could be strengthened up with a little mig welding. The only thing that I could go back and improve would be the brake lines. The rear discs are a little shorter than the stock drums. So they will work. You just wave to have them out of place compared to the stock set up. You will see once you get in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subieguy Posted September 6, 2005 Share Posted September 6, 2005 I did the 4 wheel disc conversion on my 78 Brat. Took a few modifications. Mainly doing some grinding to get everything to bolt on. But the bolt holes all lined up so no redrilling of any holes. Got my brakes from a 87 GL-10 wagon. They work great too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tailgatewagon Posted September 6, 2005 Author Share Posted September 6, 2005 did you upgrade the fronts also or just the back?? if you did the fronts are you able to use differnt offset tires front and rear(as in later style wheels? ) i guess if you upgraded the fronts then you could do the 5 lug convershion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subieguy Posted September 6, 2005 Share Posted September 6, 2005 No, I did not touch the front brakes. Never even thought of doing it at the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zefy Posted September 6, 2005 Share Posted September 6, 2005 RenaissanceMan has put some RX springs and stuff on his gen 1... he told me what he did but i have forgotten it... he did it so he could jump the car... i've been kinda wanting to get my hands on some 4 wheel disk brakes... lots of hills and mountains near me... and when i go down them after lots of use my brakes kinda stop being as affective as they should... due to the drum brakes being... well drum brakes... i've been trying to think of a way to get a strut tower brace into the front without having to remove my spare tire... over it, under it, around it... i dunno... i wonder if you could upgrade the front brakes to vented disks??? or maybe a nice sway bar?? does my brat even have a sway bar???:-\ kinda worried about messing around with my car now... it works right now and i have a long (for me) drive to school everyday... what did you have to do to get disks on the rear... besides grinding stuff... some specifics would be nice... i've never done any work on the rear of my car... so this will be new territory for me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RenaissanceMan Posted September 7, 2005 Share Posted September 7, 2005 So what you do... Get a set of struts from an EA81 4wd... make a cut around the top of the strut and remove all the "guts".. rod, pistons.. etc... (everything) You get a set of strut cartriges from a 1973 VW superbeetle... 1973 and 73 only. they will be 8 inches of travel. Make some way of fastening the cartrige to the housing of the EA81 strut. (I made some flanges w/ bolts, they work top notch) The strut mount at the top will have to be drilled out because the new cartrige doesnt have a flat on the threads. You also need 4 14mm washers to use as spacers in order to tighten the nut down properly (the only way to tighten down this nut btw, is by holding the rod with a rag and using an impact gun.) For springs I just use the RX ones cause they are stiffer. to mount them up to the Gen 1 spindles you just need to cut off that tabby deal thing that the bolt goes thru, and move it over (I tacked it in place with the strut in the spindle) Finish up the weld and there ya go.. (Please keep this weld cold, lay a bet then drench it in water so it doesnt ruin your new cartrige you have in there) http://usmb.net/albums/albuo68/000_0023.jpg http://usmb.net/albums/albuo68/000_0028.jpg On an EA81 with stock height, the suspension does not stretch enough for the extra 3 inches. HOWEVER, a GEN 1 brat or wagon will fit these with a little persuasion. I'm thinking if you guys want me to make these, I can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tailgatewagon Posted September 7, 2005 Author Share Posted September 7, 2005 awsome info. a question did this change the ride height? i guess a coil could be cut off the springs to drop it a bit. ? please pm me a price if your willing for a set of fronts i would just need the struts (no springs) thanks brian i can pick them up also. your in cali right. ill be down that way in a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zefy Posted September 7, 2005 Share Posted September 7, 2005 RenaissanceMan So what you do... Get a set of struts from an EA81 4wd... make a cut around the top of the strut and remove all the "guts".. rod, pistons.. etc... (everything) You get a set of strut cartriges from a 1973 VW superbeetle... 1973 and 73 only. they will be 8 inches of travel. Make some way of fastening the cartrige to the housing of the EA81 strut. (I made some flanges w/ bolts, they work top notch) The strut mount at the top will have to be drilled out because the new cartrige doesnt have a flat on the threads. You also need 4 14mm washers to use as spacers in order to tighten the nut down properly (the only way to tighten down this nut btw, is by holding the rod with a rag and using an impact gun.) For springs I just use the RX ones cause they are stiffer. to mount them up to the Gen 1 spindles you just need to cut off that tabby deal thing that the bolt goes thru, and move it over (I tacked it in place with the strut in the spindle) Finish up the weld and there ya go.. (Please keep this weld cold, lay a bet then drench it in water so it doesnt ruin your new cartrige you have in there) http://usmb.net/albums/albuo68/000_0023.jpg http://usmb.net/albums/albuo68/000_0028.jpg On an EA81 with stock height, the suspension does not stretch enough for the extra 3 inches. HOWEVER, a GEN 1 brat or wagon will fit these with a little persuasion. I'm thinking if you guys want me to make these, I can. besides being able to jump like a mad-man do these new struts actually give better performance??? corner handling and such??? i saw you flying through the trails and everybody yelled at you to slowdown and you didn't damage a thing doing it... (i'm sure if i did that with my stock set-up i'd have a spring pocket through my hood right now...) how much might you charge for such a set??? i don't have the materials or the equipment to make it happen... would i have to change any of my stock things to install these??? (so i can change it back to a completely stock gig if i wanted too) i've been told/warned/threatened to keep my brat stock... so in favour of me not getting my thumbs cut off i want to stick with bolt ons... these struts are right??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caboobaroo Posted September 8, 2005 Share Posted September 8, 2005 I have converted the front of my '79 wagon to EA81 vented rotors, calipers, and suspension pieces. I used the EA81 control arm to help keep the cost of ball joints down ($36.99 for EA71 vs. $16.99 for EA81). The only thing I had to do was make new stabilizer rods that were identical to the EA71's, then just welded them on and I had a nice upgraded front end. I also used EA81 adjustable struts and I cut 3 coils from the springs and I never had a problem with clearance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RenaissanceMan Posted September 11, 2005 Share Posted September 11, 2005 People were yelling at me to slow down?? really? I dunno, I felt like I was going slow enough to not worry about breaking anything. So I will look into the cost of cartriges at work tomorrow, and come up with a price for you guys if you are seriously interested in having me make sets. As far as changing the ride height... yes... just a little bit. With RX springs on Id say I gained somewhere between 1/2 inch to 1 inch in the front. on the alignment machine I got about only 1 degree positive camber at the wheels, which for all intensive purposes, is ok by me. Thats not enough to create any signifigant tire wear. With regular EA81 springs I would guestimate the height to be pretty much the same as stock suspension. For performance, I dont know if jumping would be your main advantage with these without stiffer springs. The main advantages I noticed were in two situations. Going over whoop-de-doos these kick arse. Having that extra travel allows your suspension to oscillate more without also moving the whole dang car. The other circumstance is overall reach. on those narrow atv trails that we were all doing I think I was the only one that didnt have low gear except the impreza. pulling off some of that crazy angle stuff with open diffs proved to be quite a challenge, but just having that extra flex for the tires to reach the ground made things easier, when you have 1 tire up and 1 tire down, being able to pull forward, etc... besides being able to jump like a mad-man do these new struts actually give better performance??? corner handling and such??? i saw you flying through the trails and everybody yelled at you to slowdown and you didn't damage a thing doing it... (i'm sure if i did that with my stock set-up i'd have a spring pocket through my hood right now...) how much might you charge for such a set??? i don't have the materials or the equipment to make it happen... would i have to change any of my stock things to install these??? (so i can change it back to a completely stock gig if i wanted too) i've been told/warned/threatened to keep my brat stock... so in favour of me not getting my thumbs cut off i want to stick with bolt ons... these struts are right??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RenaissanceMan Posted September 12, 2005 Share Posted September 12, 2005 Ok guys, I talked with my boss and I can get you the strut cartriges at a slightly better than retail cost. $97 for a pair of sensa-trac cartriges, plus metric hardware stuff for around $2. If you want a pair made and you mail me a set of ea-81 4wd struts I will sell them for $160 ready to be shipped, bolt on. If you want me to go find and buy a set of used ea81 struts... then maybe more like $220 for a pair. As far as RX springs... those are kinda hard to find, but we can work something out if you want them. If anyone is interested. my email is renaissanceman132@go.com -Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeEyedBandit Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 I talked to the local VW people at work and they say that the later 2 bolt super beetle cartridges are the ones, post august 73 cartidges. Also I found a 1981ish toyota starlet front cartridge will fit into a stock body(with the replacable cartridge) and has 8.875" travel, at least according to the monroe book. But I ordered one and it has 8 inches of travel. But for a direct replacement(with the factory replacable cartridges) even easier for people that don't have access to a welder. Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subiemech85 Posted April 21, 2010 Share Posted April 21, 2010 do the toyota units actually work? I have the stock insert needs replaced type Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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