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Finally. Fine-all-LEE. I snagged one. 😁 I mean, I'm in South Central Pennsylvania, and I've been looking for a brat within my budget for almost 10 years. Everything I'd come across was either too far gone; Or just way too expensive ( >10k!) Then it finally happened and, in my usual casual browsing of Face-space market world, I came across the BRAT in the lead picture. The price was good. I had a really nice 96 Brighton I built up over the last 3 or so years, and I listed it on marketplace to fund my pipe dream. It sold in 3 days. On day 4 I was out my door at 4:30 in the morning and on the road in my 1st gen legacy wagon with a dolly in tow, and beginning my 230 mile journey to my destination BRAT. Once there (about 10 after 8 in the morning) I got my first look at the truck in person and it was good. Not perfect, but good. It has a bull -bar on the front that looks pretty bad-rump roast and I'd love to know more about it (dealer option? Aftermarket?), and a rear bumper with a tow hitch and missing the end caps. Speaking of caps, all the center caps were present too, and as an added bonus at some point in the truck's life somebody added seats to the back (this being an 87 model, the only year they didn't come with the seats in the US as far as I know, also why it doesn't have the built in step in the rocker behind the door). The original seats (interior ones) were replaced with some newer model Subaru seats, but the guy still had them. I started it up, drove it up and down the driveway, checked the 4wd worked, made sure nothing was gonna fall off of it, threw the original seats in the back of the wagon, strapped the truck up and hit the road! (Look what followed me home!)

I forgot to add that the brake sponginess is most likely due to the rear brake shoes needing adjustment. They’re manually adjust via a small square headed boot on the diff side of the backing plate, under the bearing. If you’re really lucky you’ll have the factory rubber cover on them still. If not no stress. Spray them with some penetrative lube and let them sit, repeat several times of they’re stuck good. You can adjust the brakes with the wheels in the air, this will let you know if they’re too tight or not. The bolt will roll over with a lumpy feel to it. This ensures the bolt can’t back out and loosen off your brakes. That will make a huge difference to the feel of your brake pedal. It could be worth removing the drums to clean out the years of crap that will be in there. Also a good time to inspect for slave cylinder leaks and the general condition of the brake shoes. Cheers Bennie

Looks good l75eya! Bit of rust that us Aussies baulk at but seems to be no issue on your side of the world. I’ve not seen a rear bar like that before, looks tidy even without the bumperettes to finish off the sides. Good score on the targa top too - not really a targa as I found out last year but that’s what they’re know as over here. If you’ve still got the instruction sticker on the roof lining panel the roof glass is referred to as a “fun top”. And I have to say it - modifying a classic quote from a classic Aussie movie you guys would probably know… “That’s not a bullbar… …THAT’S a bullbar.” I’m sure if you can weld in new panels to fix that rust you could weld up one of these five posters while you’re at it I’m looking forward to seeing where you go with this one! Cheers Bennie

Moosens described checking if the cam timing is correct My bet is that the crank and LH cam sprockets are incorrect. Pull the covers and check the crank sprockets (can be done without removing the timing belt) between the 2 engines. But yea, swap the manifold gaskets for the correct ones. Pull trouble codes before taking stuff apart.