The Beast I Drive

You Might be a redneck if you mask off your stickers and decals when you repaint your rig..... I love what the Brat has become, it truly is a real, full-size toy! -Bill

If it is a Gen 1 Brat, you can re-clock the torsion bars in the rear, they dont have struts like the EA82s. You might get a little negative camber when you do that too, but Im not sure, I know you get positive camber when they are re-clocked to lift them, and have to be shimmed to get it straight again... The fronts are a different story, you would have to come up with shorter struts and springs... EA82 struts DO fit in the Gen 1 knuckles, so theoretically you could modify Gen 1 or Gen 2 top hats to fit 2wd XT front struts, and that would lower the front..... -Bill

Today actually felt cooler for me here, but maybe its because I spent the better part of it behind a torch and a welder... It sucks to be at work though, our shop is filled with barrels of mint oil, so we have 2 choices. a) work outside, in the sun, in the dirt, making a huge mess and no shade or go home after lunch, and do as little as possible prior to that We opt for option B until our space gets cleaned out -Bill

How big is the Diesel? Im thinkin you could multiply the torque if you used 2 of them in line with each other, so the output of the crank on the 1st one coupes to the front of the crank on the second one, but if they are too big and too heavy then it wouldnt work too well... The deisel definitely has the torque where you need it most for off road, especially with larger tires -Bill

Those are the Jackman wheels, they are either 13" which was common, or 14 inch which are uber rare... If they are 13" rims, odds are the tires in that pic are 175/80 R13s, if they are 14" rims (which they could be cuz thats an advertising photo of a showroom model) then they are probably 175/70 R14s. You are going with 15x7 wheels correct? With the Toyota offset, I think you could get close to that look with 175/70 or 185/70 R15 tires, but you might end up with more of a street look than a beefy all terrain look... -Bill

Actually, if you look closely, you can see that they are indeed EA81 fenders. There were no EA82 parts on this car IIRC, I remember seeing the original pics and thread for it as well. Glad to know no one was injured when the ammo went off, +1 for fireproof safe... I think losing a house definitely overshadows losing a car... Usually the house is worth just a wee bit more than the automobile.... -Bill

Ill be headin out to the shop in a few minutes, Ill write down the size of the bit and post it here when I make it back. -Bill

Lemme guess, the Sedan that was *supposed* to end up with me took a dump onyour chest? Muahahahahahaha............ -Bill

I think its 31/64", but Im not sure. I have the bit in my toolbox, but I dont want to go get it... I recall it being just over 1/2". -Bill

I do know that the 1600 uses a different clutch/pressureplate than the 1400, but according to Kostamojen, looks like the flywheels can be swapped on the 1400/1600, and the bellhousing on the 1400 should bolt to the 1600 trans. Check out his FF-1 thread, he was discussing this just a few days ago -Bill PS Ive sold him a FWD trans too

You'll be sweating Angus man... Only got to 105 here in Toppenish, but it stayed a bit cooler when the cloud cover came in, but the humidity is unreal. My black Brat runs cold, even in this heat! Really need to replace the thermostat in it... Rusty runs perfect, OEM T-stat in it We have 1 small window unit attempting to cool the shop whilst I cut, weld, and grind all afternoon, but it still keeps it a hair cooler than outside, and much drier. Supposed to be this weather all week *unamused* so Im gonna have to hit up my buddy's pool again -Bill

forgot about the antenna... I had early EA81 fenders on my 86 Hatch, I remember now the antenna was on the opposite side, though it mattered not because I had no radio... I never got around to installing the corner lights cuz I didnt want to break my 3rd and last pair, so I guess I overlooked that issue.... But they did bolt on with no problems -Bill

If your deal down there doesnt work out, I have a 5 speed 2wd tranny, its still in the car, and it shifted perfectly when i drove it. Its got the starter on top like you will need for your coupe, its in a 1980 2wd Wagon with a 1600. I don't see me using it for anything anytime soon, Im more of a 4wd/awd/rwd guy myself... I'd let it go pretty cheap -Bill

What year is your old hatch? The exterior parts are the same, but over the years a few mounting points and brackets along the chassis (mostly in the engine bay) changed to accomodate new equipment. The fenders and doors will bolt on, no problem. The interior should all swap over, but I think the 81 had the cool red guages? Anyway what are your plans for the grey interior parts? Are they in good shape? Im 40 minutes up the road in Toppenish, and I could use the grey parts if you dont need them, I have a few tan parts if you need any... As well as a lot of mechanical parts -Bill

Sounds easy enough -Bill

im gonna go buy me a good road map, but who has the best way to get there from Snoqualmie Pass? Or would it be faster to take Chinook pass? -Bill

an EA82 Turbo radiator is a 2 row, we bought a pair (I dont remember where though :-\) that had brass tanks as well, and they were a night and day difference. They were $150 a piece though All EA81 cars have the same radiators, be it Hatch, wagon, Brat, etc... The only real advantages the EA81 rads have is the all metal construction and thicker cooling area. If you get an all metal EA82 radiator it would be essentially the same thing, but it will directly bolt in, unlike the EA81 rads... Did you try hooking up 2 electric fans? Or are you ony running 1? -Bill

Man that looks like fun! If I had the Beast in driving condition I woulda been up there! When's the next run? -Bill

The hatchback one is thicker, and dimensionally different. Also, the bottom of the EA82 wagon radiator has pegs on it that go into the radiator support, whereas the HB radiator is the inverse, the pegs are on the radiator support and go into the radiator. I think you would have to notch out the lower radiator support, add the mounting studs down there, and drill out some holes in the upper support for the top bolts. I think. I'd have to go measure and look at a couple of my rigs to know for sure, but the HB radiator will take some fab to make it fit in the wagon correctly. -Bill

Yeah the work involved to make a functioning tailgate on this thing would just be unreal, the tail lights would have to be heavily modified or replaced with some from a different rig, and the whole rear unibody would have to be braced and reinforced quite a bit, there is a lot of structural rigidity in that area that would be lost... Then the whole gate would have to be fabbed from new sheetmetal as well as the latch points and hinge points, So tailgate is a definite no. Its doable, but more work than its worth right now. Maybe someday in the future... -Bill

Dude, is it just me, or are those Halo stripes Urban Camo??? Lookin Sweet! -Bill

Couple of good new supdates I got the collapsed suspension fixed on Rusty, took it back up to the mountains friday night/saturday morning and it performed excellent, especially with the new traction tires Today I got the yellow Brat running, its got a brand new carb on it and runs great! The trans is toast, though :-\ At one point I shifted into 1st, shut the motor off, then tried to shift it into the other gears, and it would row into the positions, but it stayed in 1st gear so the trans is gonna get yanked. I need to do a little cleanin up, make the tailgate handle work, and do some minor wiring, swap the trans and bolt it all together and Ill have another driver! I think Ill lift this one 4" and use it mainly as a street cruiser and poser Off-roading But Im sure it will see some mud... Also fixed the turn signal on my mom's Brat and cut off the second muffler... -Bill

Man that sucks, but I am glad you're ok... Looks like the structural integrity of the rig is gone, the only thing I could see be done with it now is try to straighten it out a little and brace any structural parts that buckled with some plate, then full cage, 4 or 6" lift, and make it strictly an off-roader Im sure you can get a fair price from the insurance company as long as you fight them hard. Edrach does have a lot of experience in that area, best talk to him... -Bill

Everyone has one of those days... I stipped an exhaust stud hole today finishing the exhaust on my brat, and I also discovered a coolant leak under the carb, and in the process of fixing that I stripped a carb mount stud hole too... I did get my rear suspension all welded up and back together and finished the exhaust though... Bill

There are 1st gen legacys with 3.9s, Ive seen them... -Bill