moosens

Great story. Hey I’m cleaning out a lot of parts and I also love the 2.2 first edition. Let me know if you need some parts. I have a lot of stuff I’d be happy if you just covered the shipping. Justy and Sambar I’m distant from. Just never turned my wheels. My version of “cute” is the 70s boxer era. But I hope you enjoy your hunt. I see the 90s Sambars here on the east coast randomly.

Filler neck is the same.

I can’t tell which state you’re in, but I’d have your dealer check with west coast distributors. If the parts guy or gal is decent and has two minutes they can investigate west coast stock. Haven’t done that in a while because the old parts guys have retired and the young punks are just that. Good luck.

cashingmystuffin - that’s me. Mostly 70’s Subaru parts. Not much anything else with very little exception. Random 80’s parts may show up still, but please don’t ask. 90’s first gen Legacy and 2000-04 Legacy Hope you see you there.

I didn’t take into consideration that you may just really want that body style. 85-94 loyale Check the 2.2 swap posts in the archives and Not have to search for long periods of time for that drivers side EA82 timing belt. If you lean heavily towards the EA82 you’d do yourself a favor to check parts availability. Especially that left side timing belt.

I see you’re in WA Personally I would skip the EA82 and stick with that good old 2.2 magic first gen Legacy. We used the Loyale series to the max in the day. I had many, N/A and at least one or two turbos. Not like I don’t know about them. Given the day we live in now my feeling is that the EA82 series cars days are numbered. I can find 70’s parts easier than 80’s You already know the 2.2 If you romanticize historic then I’d go for the EA71 or EA81 and gather parts asap. If you want some extra practicality out of your vintage Subarus then the 2.2 first gen legacy is the almighty. That’s my two cents. Enjoy !

Nice picture ! Report ? How’s it rolling along now ?

Dirty - nice ! enjoy !

Not just a threat this is my reality. After over 40 years of Subaru fun I now have the two cars I want as I retire. So I’ll be selling nearly all of my extra parts. Some New Old Stock is still with me. I’ll post what NOS I have as I pull items out. And plenty of good used stock too. Some items already listed with the FB vintage Subaru parts group and may be listing elsewhere. For now I’d like to avoid eBay. But in a month, maybe more maybe less I’ll try to list a few items. I’m not happy with them since I stopped selling several years back. If you’re kind of new here and don’t know me just look up my history here. I had my post count chopped back when because too many folks got to thinking that post counts gave them status. But I am pretty much an original member from 1998 or whenever it was. Roll bar Fenders Hood Glass Quad headlights Grills Trim bits and bed trim (not sure if I have the tailgate trim- relax) lots more Milford CT exit 35

Anything older than gen two there ? My 79 took second place in the pre-95 here at the WBM Nice to see your rig there. I’m sure it dumbfounded at least a few young ones.

As mentioned above. Step one spring clip on backside of window crank ( US term) then crank handle comes off easily. Two: door handle remote cover has one screw. While holding the handle outward you’ll be able to free up the remote cover. Be careful don’t pry anything. Large upholstered door pull handle has two screws. Once all those are off the panel you can grab from the bottom edge, I go to a corner. Start pulling gently toward you and the door card will begin to pop off. You’ll notice the clips if you lightly tension before yanking hard and then you can position closer to the clip and then you won’t damage the Masonite panel which does happen when you rush. If needed get a thin straight screw driver and pop the clips right close as you can to the clip. But that’s mostly for cars sitting long long times. With the clips all popped you just lift the upper curved section up from the door. Lots of bits getting hard to find. Folks aren’t as willing to give up their stand by parts from parts cars etc. So I recommend you take your time. And also Enjoy !

Yes, Earl aka pooparoo did make them. He had some bad experiences and now is opting out of printing for the most part. But I think if you catch him with a message and pay up front he may run off a set or may already have some stocked. And there is or was at least one other person in graphics who also ran off sets. But I’ll be damned if I can think of that person. If you dare to get on face book you’ll get more answers. 4x140 group Old School Subaru group Good luck.

More than a couple times I’d run into a young DMV employee or such and they’d just be amazed and say things like “this isn’t right” or “I think you’re missing some numbers” , silly kids.

Here on the east coast of the USA our 1979 was still the short VIN.

Break out the old Chiltons with the color section on spark plug reading and you’ll see what Larry means. Easy enough.

Sounds like you’re my kind of vintage Subaru owner. That engine is fairy bulletproof. Has the fist - very simple - electronic control fuel system. That is the ECU. But you could always make it as simple and direct as the previous years. Just be aware there is an ECU in that 81 but if is the most primitive and really to tame emissions. And I recently saw one for sale on eBay I’m pretty sure. Not that you’d need it. But I’m that guy that if I know the part extends the car’s life and that part is nearly unobtainable I’ll spend the few bucks and shelf stock it. And it would give you one you could open up and re-solder any cracked connections etc. On that note folks have bakes the boards to melt and reset the solder. But I’m going off on one item that nobody talks about much. But older electronics you can bet they’ll be failing. Digress now. Some of us have parts catalogs. Not sure where they are online or if they are there but try to find the one pertaining to 77-79 cars and that’ll help you immensely. Maybe follow my route as I mentioned with my 70’s cars. I’ll try the original engine first. Then bump it up 1600, 1800, EJ22. Whatever route you take just enjoy it. Driving these old cars around can work both ways. Plenty of thumbs up. But also plenty of A holes who think you’re only holding them up. Middle finger ready ?

Early 2.2 can’t go wrong. Keep the body rolling on terms you can deal with. Makes sense to me. I have an EJ22 with super low mileage and just acquired a roughly 10?k engine with all the harnesses and management. One or both will end up in my 70’s projects. But I’ll run out the engines and maybe step my way up using the smaller and EA engines up first. You have fun and show it off. Just don’t scrap the old running gear please.

MAF clean ? No air leaks in any ductwork ? Injector ?

Your 1981 Brat is the last year of the First Generation series as we call them. 1982 starts a new body - new generation of Brat. Yours is very collectible and I hope you enjoy it. First year of the dual range coupled to the older transmission. Subaru often does engineering exercises like that at the end of one generation. Then that technology will be standard issue in the next generation. You can look at their history and see many examples. That said be sure you know your Brat and enjoy its exceptional status.

Nice deal.

I think that price is fair given mileage and availability. For a future vintage project I just drove several hours mostly due to NYC traffic to pay $800 for a low mileage sedan with the early 2.2. Car had interior stripped so I really paid for the engine, harnesses, and not a lot else. I will also try to extract the 4EAT transmission for our 94 Legacy but if that doesn’t happen I still feel I got a somewhat fair deal. Guys like me have to wake up and realize there are no more $500 beaters. Also, I would never make the effort I did for any other engine. It’s the first edition 2.2 and that’s it. Simple and reliable.

Most folks avoid that four cam engine. It’s such a short run and Subaru then offered a more reliable 2.5 To me it had better be dirt cheap because you’re rolling the dice. my opinion

Andrew ended to passing on this one. No space for it.

Big edit. My trip was very cool and I’ve returned with my two cars. But I left the ff1 wagon there and as of right now there is no other person willing to take this car on. The car was used as a truck its last year of its running life. No back seat. It’s a bit rough along the rocker panels (sills) but is mostly all there. Could be a fun runner but might take a lot of effort for restore. Engine is there and likely would run with fresh gas and an oil change. Owner is a great guy and would like to see this and a few other cars of various makes gone and moved onto people who can appreciate them. Let me know if you’re interested and I’ll get you in touch with the seller.

Ok yes I do recall those spacers. Same as Bennie, never had those loosen.