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>>The bolt pattern on the spfi intake(on the throttle body area) is quite a bit different. Well, that sucks The manifold is about the heaviest part I would need to ship from the states for SPFI I'm guessing, I should have brought one back with me along with the Brat rear bumper I picked up out of Oregon a couple weeks back Thanks for the info guys... Dean.

I'm still kicking around the idea of using GD's EA82 SPFI build-up on my EA81 Brat, but short-term I have a NA EA82 here that isn't really planned to go anywhere. Is there any value in putting the EA82 intake manifold on the EA81 in the Brat - will I get any performance improvement with the larger (from what I've read here and elsewhere) internal diameter of the EA82 manifold ? I believe the NA and SPFI manifolds are the same - correct or not ? I know the MPFI is completely different Thanks! Dean.

>>US Brat's do have the intermittant wipers - GL's only of course. Did you mean to say that the "Brumby" doesn't have them? No, the local "Brumby" was not fitted with them - in any option level as far as I know. I am 100% sure the early sedan's here didn't have them either, because I know the '81 I used as a console donor had an aftermarket unit fitted on the opposite side of the steering column to where the manual choke is fitted. I recall asking about intermittant wipers on here at least 3-4 months back and a handful of US guys stated the Brat's didn't have it either - maybe they were referring to DL level only or had only seen DL level Brat's. Interesting the US market used something like intermittant wipers as a break-point between DL and GL... Dean.

Dropped into my local U-Pull-it yesterday looking for a few bits and noticed they had an 83 Leone sedan in the sale yard with a different intermittant wiper switch. The DL-level US Brat's, as we know, didn't come with intermittant wipers, and the general upgrade is to take the complete switch (and intermittant relay) from a wagon - which has the rear wiper switch built in...and the rear wiper switch is pretty useless on a Brat unless you want to wire in a rear wiper on a canopy. The 83 sedan, however, had in this case a off/int/lo/high switch without the rear wiper switch attachment. I know for sure early sedan's and coupe's DON'T have intermittant wiper switches, and I don't believe the 83/84 coupe's were fitted with them either so it might be a sedan-only fitment (at least down under). EDITED 4/3 : 83+ coupe's have the intermittant also. I haven't found an '82 to check. Hopefully this is of use to some out there looking for intermittant wipers on their Brat... Dean.

I went through the same process a few months back, but on a RHD vehicle instead of LHD and there are "some" differences. You'll need the A/C pulley off the crank from your donor, the wiring loom and relays (if fitted) on the left side shock tower (early EA81s don't have the relays), extra thermo-fan (mounts to the right of the standard unit), and I believe half the heater core changes (it does for RHD for sure). Pulling the heater core is a PITA without removing the dash. There will be an extra cable to run into the blower fan circuit (hidden right in the middle of the dash). I'm sure a few US members will be able to correct any LHD-specific differences... Dean.

Here's mine : 89 Brat. A little over 100k on the odometer (in miles). Little bit of rust around the window frame that needs to be cleaned up, a few dimples here and there. Mods: Rear discs (thanks to Edrach), 5 speed box, pug 14" steel rims. 82 front clip (chrome bumper, straight grille). Slanted console for the Pioneer CD player from an '81 hatch. Looking for a full-size 82 rear bumper in chrome or black! Dean.

What color interior ? I have a dark grey sitting in a wreckers 5 minutes away... Dean.

I am sure I've read of someone swapping in a mid-90s Liberty (Legacy in the US ?) dash into a Brat, it did take some major work but did fit in the end and looked pretty nice. Dean.

I know the rotors are different between the EA81 & EA82 (don't know the exact difference, so I can't really answer your question), but late EA81 rotors are slotted... Dean.

I don't know for sure if they made a "Brumby" tailgate badge - mine just says SUBARU I do recall seeing one in an advertisement, but I can't say for sure if they were a regular production item. Maybe the earlier models - phizinza would know. Brumby's aren't over-common at JY's here. We just have plenty of wagons and the occasional coupe - no hatches. Oh, and lots of EA82 wagons. Even Vortex's (XTs) are hard to find...I've never seen an XT6. The only badge I know different, is the one 86bratman mentions. Ed (edrach) was looking for one for me when I got my rear discs from him I'll also check my local dealer in case they do have some badges still... Dean.

Thanks for all the replies guys, looks like I'll be hitting a few JY's when I'm in the States come April... Dean.

Got a photo Jon ? Thanks! Dean.

Couple of random cosmetic questions on a quiet day for the LHD guys: (1) Were the '83 Brat's available with the metal (chrome) full bumper in the US ? I know the 84+ Brat's had the plastic-coated bumpers, but I'd like full-size metal rear bumper to match my front '83 bumper. (2) My RHD Brumby/Brat has the basic vinyl floor & door panels. Subaru only put a map pocket on the drivers (RIGHT) side (the touring wagons got it on both sides, but the doorskins are different shape and most wagons got carpet). Logically US units should had got the map pocket on the drivers (LEFT) side...Is this the case ? Thanks for any input Dean.

Bumper is different too I think...I know an 83 Leone I looked at with quad lights had the indicators in the bumper itself, while my single-light has the indicators next to the headlight. I guess you could leave the indicators in the bumpers and have two sets working I also recall - and this isn't specific to the question asked - that the early metal bumpers use a slightly different method of attachment to the fender sheetmetal than the later plastic bumpers (I retrofitted from plastic to metal). Dean.

>>Our EA81's never had crank driven fans. Only our 4wd's did...must have been for the hotter weather we get here (especially up north). When I removed it (prior to the A/C install) the cars did rev a lot better...I assume your US-delivered cars just had the one thermo fan and the A/C cars also got the other thermo fan ? >>PS is on the opposite side, so has nothing to do with AC here. Same here, but the bracket should still be the same design (A/C is on the right side of engine (looking from the front of the car), and P/S is on the left - I don't think Subaru would change that layout for RHD/LHD ?). I haven't looked into enough P/S equipped cars to see if the bracket is different. Changing from the A/C bracket to the non-A/C would save I'd guess 15 kg...it is _that_ heavy. Non-AC : With-AC (fitted to car now) : >>Our glove boxes are all the same size. Must be a weird LHD thing. Our non-A/C are much deeper but otherwise the same shape. Subaru used the same mould for both types, but cut the depth and put a screw-on cap across the back to clear the extra A/C equipment in the cabin. Red outlined area is removed and blocked off in A/C cars : >>Our pullies are all one-peice. We have three types, all bolting on one-after-another. The medium one for the alternator, then a smaller one for the P/S (if fitted), and then a larger one for A/C (if fitted). There wouldn't be any real performance gain out of you guys switching from a larger pulley to a single one would there (less dead weight to spin is better) ? Dean.

I've just about finished putting A/C INTO my Brat and you've probably missed a few bits that can still be taken out. The thermo fan for the A/C can go (if your hatch is 4wd it should be replaced by the crank-driven version but personally given your location I don't think it's necessary as the other electric fan will kick in when required and should handle the heat), the bracket that holds the A/C compressor and alternator can be replaced by the no-A/C bracket that weights about 1/3 as much (unless you have power steering, I haven't seen an EA81 with P/S but without A/C so I don't know if that bracket exists as a third variant). The internal airbox can be replaced by the non-A/C version which means you can put the longer glovebox in (the airbox should seperate into 2 parts, you keep the one with the round fan and remove the other part with a non-A/C original). There should be a cable running from directly behind the dash controls which can be disconnected (it piggy-backs into the main car loom). You should be able to unbolt the front pulley off the crank - there are two 14mm bolts from memory which hold it on, plus of course the main crank bolt which you then re-tighten afterwards to the torque'd setting. I've got a RHD vehicle, but I believe most of the above should apply to LHD. That A/C bracket is a PITA to change over, as one of the bolts is directly under the carby and you have to loosen/tighten about 1/16 of a turn each time (I used a breaker bar and it just fitted under the carby base, a socket wrench won't fit). Dean.

Thanks for the bump. I went back to the donor car today (83-84 coupe with all the options), and the wiring is different because it had power windows. There's a big block of relays sitting on the LHS shock absorber mount and most of the connections now match up. I'm not planning on fitting power windows to my Brat but I'll have to use the same wiring. Tip 1 for anybody planning on retrofitting A/C - try to use an early A/C system. I had a look at a '82 Brat with no other options and the wiring is much simpler than on the Leone. Tip 2 - make sure you get absolutely everything from the donor. I have mixed-and-matched some pieces (ie. condensor (because the donors had a whack in it), thermo-fan (was gone from the donor), and they don't match up. I've seen 3 different compressors, three different driers mounted in different spots (either on the side or front of the engine bay), and two different condensors (the lower fitting comes out either vertical or horizontal, and it's a *************** to mix across and then run the formed pipe from the compressor to the condensor). Tip 3 - I'd strongly recommend pulling the A/C belt off during the cooler months (for you guys in Washington that's about 11 months ), as the EA81 runs a lot better without the extra load. For non-A/C cars I'd recommend getting rid of the crank-driven fan altogether unless you live down south - when I pulled it from mine the car felt a lot less sluggish, and I've had it running on 90+ degree days no problem (the thermo kicks in fine). Dean.

I'm in the later stages of retrofitting an A/C unit out of a Leone (1984) into my Brat (1989), and have all the mechanical connections done but the wiring has me stumped. From the earlier (83-85) cars I've seen there is a completely seperate circuit that runs from the back of the A/C unit into the back left corner of the engine bay, which connects into a longer length of cable that has two connectors going into the main wiring loom, and another wire that extends around to the front left corner, spirals around the main wiring loom under both fans, has a connector for the thermo-fan and then continues around to the front right corner to the compressor. The trouble is, on my 89 Brat the connectors that should hook the A/C into the main loom don't exist and I am thinking Subaru changed sometime during the mid-to-late 80s and included the A/C into the main loom. (I am using front left corner, etc, in place of front drivers side because my car is RHD and most readers here are LHD, but the connections should be pretty much the same with luck!). Any readers out there with both an early (say 83) and late (say 87) EA81-based Brat who can check and compare their A/C wiring circuits to prove/disprove my theory ? Thanks. Dean.

Good points: they run practically forever, easy to work on, mechanically parts are same as any other EA81 (wagon, coupe, etc) so you can pick up just about anything from junkyards easily. The tailgates are about the toughest part to find as it's obviously Brat-specific. Bad points: typical Subaru rust issues (especially around the windows), low power output no matter what you do to the engine, lousy 4-speed gear ratios, obscure bolt pattern. If you want EFI, go for an EA81-T if you can find one as they are MPFI, or retrofit from an EA82 (see posts by GD, etc, in the retrofitting area). Dean.

Wouldn't hurt to pull the stereo box out if it has the normal 81-82 angled unit as a few people change them over from the 83+ model so they can fit DIN sized CD players. Dean.

Thanks for the info guys, I'll give either method a try this weekend once I get my A/C belt. Carnot, I think the shipping from Australia would be higher than you could p/u one from a wrecking yard locally. Also, at least for the EA81 I pulled it from (I believe it was an 82 as that was the only MY in the yard), you can simply unbolt the outer pulley from the inner (it's attached by both the main crank bolt, which is 22mm, and 2 x 12mm bolts), then retighten the 22mm bolt and you're done - I think the 2 x 12mm bolts are just used to keep the A/C pulley and water pump/alternator pulleys running together. Dean.

I'm retrofitting an A/C system to my 89 Brat which was delivered without, and need to fit the pulley onto the front of the crank (currently there is only a single pulley which runs the water pump and alternator (and did run the crank-driven fan which is being replaced by the electric A/C unit). My question is, what is the best/easiest way to fit the pulley - it took me close to an hour at the wreckers to take the pulley off a donor engine that someone had thoughtfully already pulled from a Leone and left on the ground as I had to remove most of the back of the engine, sump tray, etc, to get a point where I could wedge the back of the crank to stop it turning (gearbox was already gone). Thanks in advance! Dean.

Thanks for the info GD, custom wiring is always fun Dean.

We're heading into spring here down under, and the wet weather is finally arriving. My '89 Brat/Brumby doesn't have intermittent wipers, only slow & fast (I can't believe a 1989 _anything_ came without intermittent wipers!), but I've seen the wagons have a different controller with intermittent built in (along with rear wiper control, which would be handy as I'd like to put a wiper on my topper/canopy). My question is, what do I need to change to get the intermittant wipers working on my Brat - obviously the dash control, wiring, etc, but do I need to change the wiper motor and anything else ? Thanks. Dean.