Mechanical_misfit

It's lookin' great Shaun! I gotta find that same roof rack. Mine is long gone. I can wait though. When I re-paint mine I may just weld up the mounting holes and go without one. Also, thanks for the info on the BRAT 5 lug swap.

Haha, thanks for the pic Josh, that's classic! Thanks Batlwgn, I thought I saw that you're a fellow Michigander. Your wagon also looks like it's in pretty nice shape. I might have a set of center caps for you when you decide to repaint your wheels if you're interested.

great idea on fixing those speaker holes! This thing is really looking sharp but I have one negative thing to say. I don't like how the space behind your tube bumper looks. Maybe it's just the picture, but with all the white behind it, it looks like something is missing. Have you considered painting that part of the front black? Don't get me wrong, the bumper itself is very cool, I just dont know about behind it. It looks unfinished I guess. Just my $0.02 Otherwise, This thing is straight dope. We need some pics of it outside now.

this one had a super charger on it at one point not an ea81 though http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=88950&highlight=superoo it's yellow too!

Looks like you got it worse on your side of the lake. It's still too cold for me. Monday I will be hitting the local Junkyard to grab the hood latch for you if you still need it. I'll see if the cable is any good as well, I think the handle was busted though.

I'm waiting to hear back on the sale of my fixie, and don't want to count any chickens before they hatch, but what does everyone think of these stripes? Does anyone have a pic of these on a car? I like them a lot, but like I've said, I'm on a pretty tight budget for this thing. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Gen-2-Subaru-BRAT-Hatchback-Wagon-Desert-Fox-Stripes-/140529338681?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item20b8338939#ht_500wt_969 I managed to put some rain x on the windows. It's cheaper than buying new wiper blades No real other progress to report today. I think I over indulged in that free beer last night

I've also heard mixed reviews on painting those textured bumper covers. I will have to talk with my painter buddy and see what he says. It seems like that back in my days at the body shop, one of our suppliers had a good paint system for them. Maybe I can figure something out. I've also had good luck with the back to black stuff, but these guys are ugly and I would like them to look as good as the other trim that I've painted. We will see.

That is a very nice wagon! I will have to go and paint those panels then. Maybe I can do it next Friday if I wind up not working. I'm thinking of re-painting my bumpers too. They are faded pretty bad, and it would make the car look so much better if they were black again. I really want to get a brush guard similar to what you have on your brat too.

I was wondering about that. A long time ago I saw another DL in a junkyard that looked like they had been painted that way. Do you have a pic of yours? I was also thinking of getting some aluminum polish and trying to bling them out. Are they aluminum even lol? Also thanks for the compliment. After seeing your progress on the fwd wagon, I couldn't help but get motivated.

and here is the after All in all, it only took me about 5 hours worth of work. I was really milking the job too. I was lucky that my aunt had stopped by and dropped me off some beer that her and my Uncle did not plan on drinking It was really nice of my grandmother to let me use her garage today. My current house doesn't have one, and with the weather we had, it made it all the more appreciated. If you have a faded out old car, it is definitely worth your time. This thing is looking great now, I am thrilled. All in time for this thunderstorm that is supposed to turn into a snow storm this evening. Gotta love MI Stay tuned for more updates, I've got more plans for this guy. I just gotta stay with in a pretty tight budget.

then it was on to buffing. you can sorta see my progress in this pic I found a matching spare, and buffed out my air cleaner cover. I'll do more under-hood detailing once I have some degreaser. It was getting there, and I was getting excited to get it outside to see it. I can't wait for a sunny day to really see her shine

album should be working now. I also resized all of the pics. anyway, here is how my day went. The paint on this thing is actually in pretty rough shape. It has pitting everywhere and was faded. I eventually want to do a complete repaint, but I still have to replace or patch the rocker panels. Money is tight on this end right now, but once my summer job with the DNR starts back up I'll have the extra funds to do that. For the time being I thought it would be nice to make this thing a little bit more presentable. These pillars were faded out from the original black. Easy fix scuffed and masked off. also did the wiper arms while I was at it. sprayed on the color, I used some cheap base coat that I had kicking around. Cleared

Well, being that work is too slow for me to be there today, I figured that it would be a good day to do some work on this little guy. I'm just getting started now. I uploaded some before pictures to IMGUR, I'll go through and update with some after pics when I'm done. Here is the album of before shots. Mechanicalmisfit.imgur.com Be warned, these are large images and I have not had time to re-size all of them yet Today's plan is to buff out the paint and do some detailing. I'm going to touch up the b and c pillars were the paint is fading too. Time to get cleaning! Weekend Nachos ftw!

That definitely looks like something worth fixing. When I was still working at the body shop, I had fixed many Monte Carlos and Cutlasses of the same vintage with way more rot. Same goes for the 89-98 full size GM trucks, way rustier, parts are easier to get for those though. It's very good to see this thing being saved. I'm sure there would be more of these in the mid west, in this shape, but it seems like once they started falling out of the "late model" catagory, teenagers and highschool kids got a hold of them and beat what was left into the ground. I know I did

no problem Sir, Looks like you'll get a pretty good deal too!

Loyale, if you can, have him cut a little bit more than what you have marked in those last couple pics. have him go past the seam were the weather strip sits. That way you can drill out the spot welds and have a better repair.

I'm sure the DNR will have me working by the third weekend in May. If for some reason I'm not, I would absolutely love to make a road trip with my `84 DL. I hope they get my my schedule soon

I figured they were no longer available but I had to ask. My first subie, a red `92 dual range swapped loyale sedan had some 195-75/r13 rwl tires with white wagon wheels. I've always loved that look on those cars. I'm doing a lot of searching for a set for my current ea81. If I can come up with anything I'll make sure to let everyone know.

...So fly

looks great. We need to see it outside now. Also, where did you find raised white letter 13's?

Tail lights http://www.ebay.com/itm/Subaru-Brat-Tail-Lights-1978-1981-/251007393373?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item3a7134de5d#ht_500wt_1202 corner lamp http://www.ebay.com/itm/Subaru-Brat-Passenger-Light-and-Bezel-1978-1981-/251007394138?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item3a7134e15a#ht_500wt_1202 and head rests if you need them http://www.ebay.com/itm/Subaru-Brat-Rear-Headrest-/251007391057?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item3a7134d551#ht_500wt_1202

How do you like them? I was thinking of doing the same myself.

looking way better without that front bumper. Looks like you got a sweet deal, cant wait to see more progress. I can't comment on the seats being correct, but they look pretty cool