The Beast I Drive

every hydro motor Ive ever had had tick of death something horrible, but they were high mileage engines, and with very questionable pasts.... I know of a couple others that tick like that as well.... -Bill

I do believe that's Team CF's EA81 wagon in that video..... -Bill

Not really with 6+ inches of lift and 31" tires, not to mention these will be just about 3/4" below the trim under the rear side windows. They should be quite safe. -Bill

I was thinking about putting them on the hood too, after all thats where they were on the truck I grabbed them from but my hood frequently gets replaced, so Im gonna put them on the back of the car somewhere. I think I'll put them on the sides... Pics when I get around to doing it -Bill

Hey everyone, here's my 'Doh! moment of my life: I live 10 minutes from the Slab, in Zillah, and Ive never even realized it's there and Ive lived here my whole life. Anyway, if anyone plans a run out there, gimme a holler, Im always up for a run in the hills and I have spare parts if you break something, not to mention I literally live 10 minutes away... I do know the type of terrain out there though, its the same as my friend's ranch, lots of hills that get more treacherous the closer you get, rocks of all sizes, hill climbs, off-camber stuff, etc. Nothing extreme really like Evans Creek or Walker ORV park, but pretty fun stuff nonetheless. -Bill

These Pulled them off an old Dodge at work, the angle on the back is perfect for mounting them right on the bodyline below the windows on an EA82, they will look great either one on each side below the rear windows, or one on the driver side of the hatch below the window, I havent decided which way I want to mount them on the Beast just yet... -Bill

The 4 speed shifter (gear selector) is the one you will need to modify. The Brat 4wd selector will bolt directly onto the 4 speed D/R, you will just need to also swap the ball joint from the 4wd rod on the S/R tranny onto the D/R, IIRC. I'll look at that closer today. Either way, there is no linkage really at all to mess with. -Bill

The gear selector lever on the D/R 4 speeds is a bit different from the setup on the Brat single range trannies, and the only year there was a crossover was the 81 Brat. In essence, if you cant find the 81 Brat shift levers, you can bolt the stock 4wd selector assembly to the D/R trans, but you will have to modify the gearshift lever, it needs to be bent to a different angle in a couple spots, so that the lever moves about 3/4" forward over the shifter bushing. Its hard to explain, I will try to take some pictures of the ones I have, though I have modified mine to work with a 4" lift, you will still see what I mean. -Bill

IIRC, the 1600 DL (2 big headlights, vs. GL-4 headlights) was still available, which would still have the 1600 and S/R 4wd. But dont quote me on that... Using the EA71 pistons and decked heads will get you somewhere between 9.5:1 and 10:1 compression, I would recomend using at least Super Unleaded, but regular would prolly be ok as long as you dont detect any detonating. Ive heard it is quite a peppy motor with those mods, something like a 50%+ gain in power and torque over stock -Bill

Nice catch on the red, I meant to type "were Hydro as well" But I must have forgotten (I was eating at the time, so technically I was pre-occupied...) As for ID'ing a 81 Brat, the only real obvious way to tell is to look under the hood... They look exactly the same from the outside. Other little things about them are different (one-year-only clutch cable, different throttle cable from the 78-79's, obviously a "lo" position on the 4wd selector, usually had a tachometer) but nothing on the exterior. -Bill

Damn that looks like fun, both you and Zap have prety sweet rigs, but I think I like your 4Runner better, just cuz its a 4Runner..... -Bill

IIRC, EA81 crossmembers are something like 1 1/2" wider than the Brat crossmembers. But with a lift, if could be made to fit quite easily. Another option, as Earl suggested in the Wanted thread, is to grind enough material off the bellhousing so that it clears the EA71 steering components. The EA81's from 1985 and later had Hydraulic lifters, which at this age typically need to be rebuilt or replaced, or they will drive you insane with the TOD. 1981-1984 were solid lifters, and 1984 EA81's with automatics were as well. The Hydraulic lifter motors also had larger valves than the early solid lifter motors, and were rated at slightly more HP. Best part about them is you dont have to split the block to change the hydro lifters, they drop right out the bottom when you take off the oil pan and rocker assemblies, so replacing them is not an issue. Then you never have to worry about adjusting them -Bill

BRING SPARE PARTS AND TOOLS. YOU OR SOMEONE ELSE WILL NEED THEM. -Bill

I will be there, hopefully with 4.444's Planning on bringing a buddy with a half-rump roast built Chevy by then too, if thats cool with ya'll -Bill

Jeff, if you don't have plans for that ea82, I'd like to buy it back sometime, it was a perfectly good motor and I forsee me needing it in the near future... -Bill

There was a guy who put a rotary into an RX a while back, I think he ran the piss outa it and then it sat down in Florida for a long time, it was for sale not too long ago. It was a Black RX... -Bill

Things to look out for at the junkyard, in the tranny you want to make sure it goes into gear nicely, the problem with the 4 speeds is the synchros for 3rd and reverse commonly fail, but you wont usually be able to tell until you drive the tranny. Excessive shifter slop isnt an issue, that is an easy, easy fix covered in the USRM. Also make sure there is no shaft play on the input shaft, and as little as possible on the front diff stubs, you dont want to take one of these trannies apart, they are somewhat complex and stupid, and you need special tools to disassemble them and put them back together right. If you plan on lifting your rig and running big tires you want an 81 tranny, for the lower 3rd and 4th gears will make it easier to run big tires on the highway. If you are staying with stock tires, the 85 and later 4 speeds have a much higher 4th gear ratio ideal for highway cruising. As for the motor, just make sure it turns over and has good compression, and theres no water in the oil. If all that is good, then the engine is probably good. The wiring is the same unless you have a points distributor in your car right now. If you have points you will have to convert the car to electronic ignition to work with the electronic disty on the EA81, which is really just unplug the points ignition module and plug in the electronic disty. Vacuum lines and EGR and emmisions equipment is all up to you, you can re-do and remove a LOT of stuff, unless you have emmissions testing and inspections, but all the stock equipment will work just fine in the EA71 engine bay. -Bill

The 4-speed D/Rs are all the same dimensions externally, just the 81-82 D/R have different 3rd and 4th gear ratios than the 83+ 4 speeds, and the 81's have the special shift levers to fit the Gen 1's. All the 4 speed D/R have mounting points for the EA71 trans mounts as well as the EA81 trans mounts, because they all use the same case castings. FYI 81 D/R uses the same trans mounts as the S/R 4 speeds. The 5 Speed D/R's on the other hand are not a bolt-in swap. They are about 9 1/2" shorter than the 4 speeds and do not have the castings for the EA71 trans mounts, have a completely different linkage setup than the 4 speeds, and the case is a lot wider than any 4 speed D/R. You have to make a custom crossmember to make it work and without a lift you will have to do some beating on the trans tunnel to make it clear with no rubbing. I have also swapped a 5 speed D/R into a Brat, but it has 2" lift blocks on the crossmembers, and I welded mounts to the body to use the EA82 tranny crossmember. -Bill

Actually... The crossmember you need is the engine crossmember. Any 4 speed D/R will bolt to the trans mounts in an EA71 car, BUT you need the shifter levers from a 1981 Brat d/r, they are specific to that year and are the only ones that will work unless you make custom shift levers. You need the engine crossemember and steering rack from an 81 Brat, because the wider bellhousing on the D/R tranny will interfere with the steering linkage on the stock EA71 steering rack. You also need the pitch stopper and bracket from the 81 Brat, or make something custom. Ive done this swap before, so this is information based on real world experience. -Bill

That mud looks a lot more fun the the mud I found Friday night.... But thats a different story for another time Looks like fun! -Bill

Check the tie rod ends, those are a common wear items. -Bill

If they don't match then your car is illegal, both numbers have to match otherwise one has been swapped for some reason... Which is illegal. But if you don't have inspections in your county then it will prolly never be noticed -Bill

Check the VIN on the firewall in the engine bay against the VIN on the dash, if they don't match then you have a problem, but if they do match then either you got a car that was supposed to be a Turbo, but the factory F-d up and made it carbed, or a previous owner before the one before you did the swap... -Bill

You know you can just cut the ends off a 5 speed crossmember and drill the holes to bolt it into the stock location... Its a hell of a lot easier and safer. -Bill

14s are still a viable option, there are 4 or 5 different styles and sizes of super swamper tires still available in 14, as well as maxxis bighorns and general AT2's. There are also plenty of good snow tires, street tires, and rally tires still available in 14. I just think if someone is going to be making custom wheels they should consider both sizes, because some folks still want 14s -Bill