Last week I purchased another BRAT to use as a second parts car. Got the thing for $150 and had a hell of a time getting it loaded up on a trailer being that it was rusted and frozen to the ground.

 

I finally made it back out to my granny's house today and decided to take some pictures and get a better look at my recently aquired beast. I hope you all enjoy this as much as I did.

 

Other than being rusted out to where hell wouln't have it, its got a pretty sweet interior.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sweet non-cracked dash:

 

 

Now this is where things get weird. I checked my VIN numbers on the new brat and it was made in (5/83). Same as my blue one, checked both plates and the last three numbers on the white one is 147, blue one is 151. So I assume that the new white brat rolled off the assembly line 4 cars ahead of my blue one.

 

 

 

 

 

Hope you all enjoyed this.

sweet tailgate..with the badges it almost looks factory! and why are the center caps so shiny?

sweet tailgate..with the badges it almost looks factory! and why are the center caps so shiny?

That was my first WTF moment. I plan on snagging them here very shortly. Yeah, those center caps kick rump roast.

 

That thing still has the original Fuji Heavy Industries plug wires on it.

sweet tailgate..with the badges it almost looks factory! and why are the center caps so shiny?

 

Answer = they are clear coated aluminium.

 

GD

Aww. A little wax and it'll be as good as new. I've actually seen worse than that on the doors and quarter panels (the first one I owned -- drove it 10k miles before it gave in). But the rusted through floor, and rusty air cleaner are pretty bad.... I like the wooden tailgate.

I still can't get over the fact that my two brats arent so far apart. The first time I sat in it I felt the whole car just give with me in it, felt like my rear was touching the ground. Too bad the seats were already raided, would have made a good profit of them.

did you try starting it? i bet it would fire right up.

 

 

i also scored a $150 parts rig, and after 6 years of rest, i hooked a jumper up to it, and some starting fluid, it started, rocked it back and forth a few times to break loose the e-brake, and drove the half dead beast onto my dolly. it made me a believer just a little bit more.

Is that shot of the dash the white one or the blue one? If that thing has 64,000 miles on it and looks like that then someone must have driven it to a salt mine ever day or something. My cars got 64,000 on it and im in connecticut and mine still looks great for its age.

It'll buff out.

 

I'd have rescued it too!

I had started it once before and it ran with a little help from some fluid. Now it just turns over. The dash is the one out of the white car it just needs to be cleaned up a little bit and it would beat my cracked one.

Other than being rusted out to where hell wouln't have it, its got a pretty sweet interior.

 

 

First off, you gotta know that things a GL and not a DL.. the DL's didn't come with SWEET optional luxury lightweight racing JDM wooden tailgate

 

Secondly... only a subie guy would call that a pretty sweet interior!! the dash looks like it was probably protected from the sun's rays by about thirty pounds of leaves

 

Nothing like a good parts car find. That brat looks like the one that my buddy and I tried to play with when I was in high school.. it got hauled off one day when his dad got in trouble with code enforcement for having like, 20 dead cars in his yard. six, ten was OK.. 20 was too much.

 

Funny thing, with the VINs. I wonder if the cars were like "Bernie.. is that YOU!?!?"" when they saw each other?

my uncle lives in crossville tennessee (or maybe he doesn't anymore?)

 

nice brats, but if you don't mind me asking, what are your plans? just using parts off of the "new" one as you need them, or for a specific swap?

my uncle lives in crossville tennessee (or maybe he doesn't anymore?)

 

nice brats, but if you don't mind me asking, what are your plans? just using parts off of the "new" one as you need them, or for a specific swap?

I think when it gets warmer around here I might start parting the little stuff out off of it after I have my turn at the buffet. The reason it looks like hell is it sat underneath a bunch of oak trees in the woods since the Tennessee blizzard of '93. I want to repair my window roll down handles, im stuck with ratchets jammed on there to roll it down. Thought about maybe if I could get the motor running good I would take it out and put it in my hatchback:

 

Funny thing, with the VINs. I wonder if the cars were like "Bernie.. is that YOU!?!?"" when they saw each other?

After that realization sat in I had to take a step back and think about what I had aquired. Then I called just about everybody I knew and told them about what I had sitting in front of me.

 

First off, you gotta know that things a GL and not a DL.. the DL's didn't come with SWEET optional luxury lightweight racing JDM wooden tailgate

Yeah I think I saw on here that it was a special factory option for that year. I think there might be someone on here that might want to buy it, I could tell them how to make an exact reproduction of it so it looks OEM.

what would be truely very scary is if the vin's were ONE off! next in line...scary.but 4 off,thats still kinda creepy.

i still cant believe that it only has 64,000 on it. Get that engine running good and drop it in that hatch!!

Im wanting to take a cd player and swap into that bottom slot on that radio and put it in my blue one. Anyone have any advice on this?

Are you talking about something like this? This is how i put a CD player in my car.

 

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/724118/3

Are you talking about something like this? This is how i put a CD player in my car.

 

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/724118/3

 

Yep, thats what I would like to do.

ok well all you really have to do is cut the hole to fit the stereo and put it in there. You will have to fab up a bracket to support the back of the stereo. Also you have to make sure the unit isnt too deep. Ive heard from other board members that have tried this that it didnt work like it did for me because of not enough room. If you plan on using the aux inputs make sure they are on a wire instead of just on the back of the unit as when you plug in the RCA cables they dont interfer with it fitting.

Sweet score! I really dig that custom tailgate.

 

If you plan on using the aux inputs make sure they are on a wire instead of just on the back of the unit as when you plug in the RCA cables they dont interfer with it fitting.

Same for the antenna. My cassette deck doesn't fit cuz of the antenna placement.

ok well all you really have to do is cut the hole to fit the stereo and put it in there. You will have to fab up a bracket to support the back of the stereo. Also you have to make sure the unit isnt too deep. Ive heard from other board members that have tried this that it didnt work like it did for me because of not enough room. If you plan on using the aux inputs make sure they are on a wire instead of just on the back of the unit as when you plug in the RCA cables they dont interfer with it fitting.

 

Yours is a freak stereo dude, it doesn't look as wide as pretty much all others out there, it apprently isn't as long/deep......

 

Here's the one in my last wagon, standard Pioneer unit, as you can see it's far wider than yours, it is also space out from the front of the console by about 1/4 inch with a spacer a guy at a stereo shop gave me because it hot the heater box. The current stereo in my hatch looks about the same, I haven't take the time to move the pocket up into the stock stereo location yet.

 

Mine isnt all that different. Its a standard DIN sized headunit. Here is the closest thing i could find to it. Its basically an undated version of mine.

 

http://www.caraudiocentre.co.uk/product.asp?product=19769

What Curt has is exactly what I want to do once things start to warm up. Think I will try and get my dad to see if he can get me a cheap cd player from unclaimed evidence at the p0lice department. I take it the original OEM one is non-functional after this install?

What Curt has is exactly what I want to do once things start to warm up. Think I will try and get my dad to see if he can get me a cheap cd player from unclaimed evidence at the p0lice department. I take it the original OEM one is non-functional after this install?

 

Yeah, pretty much. Mine was still functional (had power going to it) but hooked to no speakers. I just let it in there are the time because it looked better than open holes. If you want me to I'll likely be pulling my stereo out for some work in the coming weeks I can make you a template for the hole you need and mail it to you, and if I get really energetic maybe I'll cut for the top pocket too...

 

I also might be able to make you a spacer if you can't find a suitable one.

What Curt has is exactly what I want to do once things start to warm up. Think I will try and get my dad to see if he can get me a cheap cd player from unclaimed evidence at the p0lice department. I take it the original OEM one is non-functional after this install?

 

much as it is with any aftermarket install, i'm glad the hatch i bought has an unmolested steroe console, the brat's was hacked to crap when i got it,