Rocha

If I want to go crazy... I am thinking 4/3 lift/ 27" tires and LSD.... but that is quite a bit of $$ in total... we will see.... But I am enjoying the current ride, this winter has been great! cd45, the car is done and driving, the pics are from a week ago, I just can't seem to find my digital camera with the rest of the nice clean pictures on it. I was trying to buy a plow from someone, but so far no luck.... that would be killer...

thought I would fill everyone in on my lastest update... Here is my last thread... http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=82814 I took care of a few spots of suface rust and then gave the brat a fresh coat of paint. Not very original, I've seen a few on the board this color, but it is certainly my favorite... Ultra-flat Olive Drab on the whole car. I sprayed below the trim line on the car and the entire bed with black beliner. I took off all the trim and badges, and masked everything else, so it looks good. This pic is before I reassembled it. I really didn't like the shiney maroon, and although the old pictures make it look nice, the paint was piss poor. The green goes really well with my tan interior too. Also put a set of nice studded snows on there with some wheels I painted black. As soon as I passed inspection, I removed my rear muffler at the flange. I welded a 2.5" straight exhaust that fits in the stock location and hangers. Now I can switch between the two when I need to. (for inspection) It sounds mean, I love it, not loud, just makes my 1.8 boxer sound more like a truck. and last night, I fabbed this up. I really like the stock bumpers on the subie, but I wanted some protection for the directionals and headlights. I do a decent amount of off road/trail/smashing into snowbanks driving. As much as I would like a killer mad max bumper, it will have to wait until I put on a lift and bigger tires. err... excuse the road salt.... that would be the 6hr trip to burlington and back.... So for now, I bent up some stainless tubing, and drilled some holes through the top of the bumper. The tubing extends all the way into the bottom of the metal bumper. So it is welded at the top where it enters the bumper, and then again at the bottom where it hit the lower part of the bumper. If you have taken you bumper off and seen the metal inside, you will know what I am talking about. All the welding was done on the inside so it looks clean and feels pretty damn strong... I will post some better pictures once I can find my digital camera, these are from my phone.

Anyone else want to help with A/C questions in the winter... ????

Thanks for the replies... anyone else out there have any lift/AC experience??? I won't have any trouble getting a good deal on bolts and steel, it is just a matter of finding the right size bolts, haha. I want to do this all in one sitting, and prevent as much running around as possible. I've e-mailed scott at SJR a couple times, he has been friendly and helpful, but could not answer my AC fit question. Archemitis, the strut tower extensions are just the problem... the rest of the lift is pretty standard. SJR is only selling 4" strut extensions, and if I can only fit the A/C compressor with a 3", then I am going to have to make them myself. Either way, I am not scared off by it, I just need to know the right angles/offset. I can drill/machine/weld all I want. But you are right, I would rather buy one from SJR if I was sure it would work. I just want to make sure it will fit with my compressor first, hence the thread. I know AC is for sissies.... but i live in the northeast... and man it gets hot/humid here. This will be my first car with stock/working A/C. Mike W, my AC already works fine, I would rather not switch the compressor out, its not worth the time/$$. Do you think the bracket pictured here would have worked on your 3"? http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=49969 The post doesn't say much .. well it doesn't say anything at all.. so I have no idea. THANKS!

I searched and I searched.... but still my question remains... check out my thread to see my current ride. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=82814 The car is a 1983 Brat GL with A/C. I am going to put a 4/3 or maybe a 3/3 lift on it. Later it will get some 14" rims with something under 27" for A/T tires. It is my daily driver and will have mostly road miles, but I take it offroad plenty. My question is about my AC compressor interference. What will I have for problems with a 4/3 or 3/3 lift? I would prefer a 4" front, but if it takes a lot more fabrication, it is not worth the extra inch to me. So I have seen the mount someone made in the USRM to raise the compressor. And I have read in the old BYB instructions about cutting off some studs hanging off the bottom, and then bashing under the compressor on the wheel well a bit. Were those mods for the 4" or 3" lifts? Could someone here tell me what they had to do to fit the AC and lift? Any personal or firsthand experiences with a 4" or 3" lift would be appriciated! Thanks for the help!!! If you can find a thread where this was covered in detail, please post the link, I could not find any that answered my question. On a side note, I will most likely be making my lift. I just can't drop the cash for a premade lift right now. If it was complete and the price was right, I would, but having to buy new shocks and the mod some things anyways, I might as well do it myself. I'd be spending over $500 with shocks and all shipped, daaamn. I know steel ain't cheap, either are bolts, but I have access to a full machine shop, and I can certainly cut and drill.

how is WBM.. and when is it.. ?? moosens .. I will PM you in a bit about going to that yard... I might be in the market for some parts... my plans for the brat are to get it running bulletproof, put on a small lift and some under 27" A/Ts. Maybe a brushguard if I could find one out here for a good price, or I will just make one. I am getting pretty attached to the stock bumpers though... I am trying to find subies out here so I can have the option to swap out my carb and such. I have this wierd hesitation at low to mid RPMs under partial throttle along with bad gas milage. Just have not been able to work it out yet. That CA emissions is a trip, but that will be in another thread... I have some more things to try before I cry out for help. haha brat82 .. I don't know how I ended up with a brat either... it combines the two things I used to hate most about cars... 80's styling... and pickup/car combos.... haha. But somehow with these subarus... it was love at first sight. A capable dependable cheap vehicle with 4WD, good gas milage, and working heat... awesome! I can see a hatch in my future. Other that that, I have been updating the rustproofing and treating any I can find. I might deal with my couple small oil leaks too... oil pump and pan look like I can do them with everything else in place.

I'm in southern NH, just outside Manchester, and about an hour north of Boston. I don't think I've ever even seen an EA81 subaru out here, but maybe I was never looking hard in the past. The only brats I came across were rusted beyond recognition. It looked like they had been parked in the ocean or something... man. I know plenty of people that had them in the past, but they have been long since retired by our nasty winters. Maybe I am not far enough into the country.. I will keep you all up to date on the progress of my brat. I'm glad to hear there are so many old subie drivers out here. ROCK!

Yea, the bus came out real nice. I drive it pretty hard, and have taken it everywhere, that thing has been on some serious trails. Even with and open diff, the rear engine rear wheel drive really hooks up great. Also has some significant ground clearance, and super narrow to fit on those tight trails. The pic is from Fruita, CO. The bus currently resides in Seattle in storage. The brat pictures make it look pretty good, it is no beauty queen though. I will talk about my future plans for the brat in another thread, hint... in the offroad section ... haha. It will be my daily driver, and on some pretty long trips, so we will see. It would be great to hook up with some other old soob drivers up here in new england. Let me know if you guys have any meets or such. It has been a pain trying to find any parts, everything is rusted, crushed, and long gone. So far I have just swapped the grill to the 'honeycomb' style.... much better, I think it gives me 5 hp, haha. I rebuilt the carb, did a little exhaust work, and fixed my shloppy shifter. TIGHT!

Hey all... Making my grand entrance here. I frequent the board, but usually only the Search function. About a week ago I picked up a 1983 Subaru Brat of my very own. I am excited about this beast... done a bit of wheelin, some nice snow driving, and have been picking away at little problems here and there. I can't believe how capable these things are stock. I work on a bunch of cars, but my other current rides are both air-cooled VWs that I have totally restored. A 1976 VW Westfalia Camper I have spent some serious time traveling in, and a 1969 Beetle that is almost ready for the road. picture of my bus: http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/313795.jpg picture of my bug during assembly: http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/383513.jpg After seeing a couple lifted hatches while traveling through CO, I was hooked. I helped my buddy pick up an 83 hatch out in Seattle, and could not resist so had to pick one up here on the east coast. This brat is originally from AZ, only a few years up in ME, can you say solid rockers, woohoo. About 111k, 4sp DR, A/C, non-power anything, original fading paint. For now, she is stock, EA81, solid lifters, Hitachi carb with the increasingly frustrating CA emissions. Anyhow, thanks for the help you all have unknowingly provided. I will be posting with a few specific questions I can't find answers to, but wanted to show everyone my ride first. Thanks to those who I have PMed with random questions as well. steve out