Uberoo

pick a tire size then build a lift around that depending on how much cutting you want to do.typically 27-29" tires are about as big as you want to go otherwise you start loosing gearing.I had 29" tires on my ea81 wagon and it was about the limit of gearing.with the deeper low range of the 5 speed 29" tires should be reasonably comfortable.However when I wanted to go bigger I jumped up from a 2" lift to a full 8" lift with a Tcase just to have the power and gearing to spin 31" tires. a typical lift for 27-29" tires is 2" with alot of fender clearancing or 4" with little clearancing needed.Much more than that and it looks like the tires are too small.

For the rear windows replace them with plexiglass rather than metal because metal is heavy and you will create a huge rearward blindspot. The bumper looks nice but where/how does it attach to the "frame" of the car?

when the motor blows swap in an EJ22 for more power and better reliabilty.Dont even think of turning the boost up unless you want to swap the EJ22 sooner.

So did you get anymore suspension travel?

drums are cheaper,and even most economy cars today still have rear drums.While four wheel disk brakes will stop better for the average car it is isn't worth the extra effort when drums still stop the damn thing.

A tubed 2 door nova is not a sleeper.A turbo dodge minivan is a sleeper. The RX7 is cool but its just an RX7 with a 5.0V8 swap-very common.It has a few things thrown in but its more or less the owner being lazy. Put a STI engine in the RX7 with a welded rear diff and I bet it would be even more fun.

I was thinking for or less find a sealed torque converter.That adapting that to the front of a transmisson. I think ive read about torque converts exactly that that with external fins for cooling.

wrong thread?

The brat used to be Bill's(the beast I drive),Bill did all the fab work.

transfercase.

so what happens when you drive 5 MPH for hours?

For my gen 1 project I will be swapping the dash and modernizing the wiring by converting to plastic fuses and adding relays in a few key parts that the factory left out. While I am at it it would be great to add in fuses for the EJ22,fuel pump, and cooling fans.The first step of that is finding out what fuse does what.My brat doesn't have cover or label explaining what each fuse is so I was hoping someone could chip in and explain what each fuse is in a top-bottom fashion IE headlights taillights heater fan etc Also what circuits are tied to the same fuse?IE is there a high and low beam fuse or just a bigger fuse that covers both of them? Thanks in advance.

I have a flywheel in my garage and I'm not sure if it belongs to a EA81 or an EA82.What are the differences between the two or what some ways to tell them apart?

For the plastic pieces or the window?There are no screws holding the the plastic pieces on.The only feature on the inside of the B pillar is the threaded insert for the top of the seatbelt.

I have a 78 rust bucket brat that I am scrapping to get a rust free gen 1 brat.I'm pretty sure the new shell doesn't have the plastic B pillar trim just after the door glass.The 78 has those side pieces so I am wondering how they come off?Dont want to break them.I didn't see any screws on the inside so... Also what is the best way to pull the 3 piece rear window?It might be useful to have a spare. Thanks in advance.

Because when your jumping an automatic acts like a "spring" in the driveline.Rather than everything linked solidly with a clutch there is some play because of the fluid. As for the trans overheating bit,both of us are talking about two different types of offroading.In your case you hold it at stall and launch and your only using it for a couple of minutes.In the slow speed offroad world think of holding it at stall for HOURS.

I wish I could ride along, but I'm too broke to drive up there.On the other hand I will be picking up a clean brat shell to start building..

Ive seen stock and built transmissions die offroad. With as much money spent on those things I would hope they would be maintained.Case in point the owner of the local 4x4 store has a 460 bronco on 44" tires,and a supercharged 454 powered s10 blazer also on 44" tires.Both have a built automatic.Both have to stop on long hill climbs because both trucks cook the transmission. There is puddle near the top of a steep/long road,every time if he can even make it to the top he has to drive through that puddle fast just to try to cool everything down. One of the recent trips up his big uber capable rig had to be towed back to town because the transmission fried to the point it wouldn't move. The same is true for every other vehicle with automatics Ive encountered up there-always needing to add transmission fluid or stopping to cool the transmission.Yet for some reason all of them swear by their automatic..On the other hand,the only problem with a manual is maybe the oil gets so low that it starts whining or is difficult to engage gears. unless I am misinformed subaru automatic transmissions really don't like to be at any angle other than horizontal.

My next offroad project will be a gen 1 brat with an EJ22 and a REAR MOUNTED RADIATOR located roughly where the tailgate would normally be.I am wondering if I should have a fan blow air on the engine at slow speeds.I know that most of the cooling duties are done by the coolant system,but I am just wondering if a fan circulating the underhood air at slow speeds would be beneficial or even needed? With the radiator in the bed,the engine will be visible behind the grill.I will also have an oil cooler mounted behind the grill,but that should help rather than hinder. On my hatch with an EJ22 it always ran abit hot until I vented the hood.So I am wondering if a fan might help.The hood on a Gen 1 brat has some functional vents so that should help.

And yet the most common failure I see offroad with traditonal 4x4's is the automatic hating life.

FWD imp axles for the front.

that DOHC EA82 sounds weird.

Been there,done that,got the T shirt..

If you raise the stall and drive slow you might need a better tranny cooler because until your up past stall you generate heat.

As much as I hate EA82's they are an OK engine IF It is maintained and IF they are kept stock.The cooling passages through the block are barely adequate at stock power levels,raising the power is asking for trouble.The Ea82 block is based on the Ea81,with 10 less HP its cooling system worked great.The Ea82 has the same roughly 1/2-3/4" holes for coolant from both sides of the engine.The EJ22 has a 1.5" pipe that connects both sides of the block for cooling. Think of it this way the Ea81 has roughly 15-20 HP at it could be raised before cooling system issue come up,the Ea82 has about 10 hp to be gained before the cooling system can't cope(on flat ground,not even mentioning hills).The Ej series engines with the big crossover tube the cooling bottlenecks at the radiator,a bigger radiator is easy to find,enlarging the holes in an Ea82 block is not. The only way an Ea82 will live a long life is if it is maintained immaculately and kept stock.