Twitch de la Brat

Here's an early pic of my BRAT. I've got a couple more with the topper on, but it has pinstripes following the same line that the BRAT stickers would. \You can kinda see the sport logo near the back of the bed in this ^^^ pic. As you can see, I do have the T-Tops. So if those rumors of some BRAT's having different cams are true, then maybe I'm one of the lucky ones? When I rebuild the engine, I'll bring the cam to somebody who knows these engines really well, maybe Ken over at Delta? Twitch

I've known about the BRAT turbo's for a long time. I know this is definitely different. And I'm pretty sure they were referred to as "BRAT turbos" when they were introduced. I figured this was the circumstance. And I have yet to drive any other BRAT's that were properly tuned. The trim designation comes from the typical designation by manufacturers and aftermarket companies. I was thinking it may have been just a decal package, or maybe a dealer "package", such as the "star edition" RX's. The build date is 04/85, so the chances of leftover BRAT Turbo parts being used on it are rather low. Thanks for the help so far. Twitch

I have already asked a few of you in person, but I haven't asked the whole body of Subaru nuts. Has anyone ever heard of a Sport package being offered on the BRAT? Any years, any trim class, any dealerships? I have searched the interwebs trying to find anything, and I have yet to come up with anything conclusive. I have noticed between driving other EA81's that the BRAT does seem to have more power, but I have yet to do a side by side comparison. So if anybody wants to pit their BRAT against mine in a 1/4 mile run, bring it on! :-p Anyway, please help me out on this, I really want to know if this stupid thing is a rarity (more than the typical BRAT anyway) So my Year, Make, Model, Trim, Subtrim is: 1985 Subaru BRAT GL Sport Thanks in advance Twitch

What he said ^^^^ Also, if its just a 2WD pickup, slam it and make it a mean drifting machine. Or make it a drag truck. There are so many options for you out there, you just have to find the one you want to/can do. Twitch

OK, if its not letting you move the shifter out of park even with the brake pressed and the button near the top, on the side, pressed, you may have a wiring issue. But it also may be a linkage issue, but the linkage may require crawling under the car. To start I would pull apart the console surround and check for any bad wires. Then check out the linkage on the cable, make sure it works properly. This includes crawling under the car to check out the linkage on the transmission. If both of those areas are just fine, it sounds like you've got a problem in your shifter, and the easiest route would be to replace it. I'm not sure what years will fit, but I think if you found another loyale with the same shifter setup, you should be fine. They come out as one unit, and I believe you can remove the cable from either end, so getting one out is going to be as tough as the toughest screw. Twitch PS: The reason why the override button is there is for towing purposes, and in case there is a malfunction, such as the one you're having, and the car still needs to be moved.

You do have a valid point, but if you just post up the build date and build number, there's almost no way to track that. Unless somebody goes through the hassle and gets the info from Fuji and goes through and matches up the build date with the build number, I don't really see a security issue here. Heck, if even if they post up their engine serial number as well as all that other info, why would anyone want to track a lowly Subaru owner? And if somebody feels that its a security risk, as you do, they don't have to post up anything. Its a free world and I can't force anybody to anything against their will, well not over the internet anyway jk Twitch

Well I don't have to worry about either of those... I just have a GM alt on the front that sits a little further forward than the stock alt. So my next performance upgrade will probably be an EA82 intake and weber carb. After I poor man polish the intake and tune the weber carb when I get it. Twitch

Can I have your tires? JK Looks like you picked up a gem. Treat her nicely and she'll last you a good long time, as you well know Twitch

Point out faults of the car and mentally tally up price reductions to have them fixed, such as dents, dings, minor issues such as sticky buttons, stains on the seats, etc. Use those to reduce the price and check on craigslist for similar vehicles in your area, it may show a trend that the car is worth less than asking price, or maybe more. If its worth more than the asking price, have a trained mechanic look the car over, as there my be some major issues they are trying to hide. Twitch

I just had a thought, have you checked and cleaned your throttle position sensor (TPS)? It may be causing you grief. Its possible its sticking when you drive it and causing the intermittent high idle. Twitch

Owners unknown as well? In that case, I would be very wary and check over EVERYTHING. Esp the head gaskets. They may have fixed the internal leak, but these ones still seem to leak externally, so check it over very well. Now this one actually sounds like a pretty good deal. It may be a few years older than the rest, but its only a one owner and has fewer than 70k on it. But again, scrutinize everything, make sure nothing is hidden. If you have the ^^^^ (above) model to choose from, skip this one. If the other one sells, then it may be a decent deal, but you have the 04 2.5 for the same price and same mileage, and having the 3.0 doesn't make that much of a difference in price. So far, it sounds like the 02 forester is your best bet. Although it has more miles than the 01 LL Bean, its still a one owner and about $3k cheaper. Check the head gasket as soon as you get to the car, as they are still under the extended warranty. So if it is leaking, use that as a price reduction, but then take it to your local Subaru dealership and have it fixed for free Now this advice goes for all the engines, if you hear an odd rapping/knocking sound coming from the engine, most likely its just piston slap, completely harmless. Just sounds really nasty, and again can be used as a price reducer, if the dealership doesn't know what they're dealing with. If there is ticking coming from the engine bay, on either side of the engine, its most likely either valve tap, or lifter knock. That can be easily cleaned up with an engine treatment, just don't tell the dealership Pull off every engine cover you can get off without major issue, and check everything underneath them. This saved my sister's hide on a car, so it may do the same for you. Anyway, I know I'll think up more to have you do, but that's about the jist of it. Twitch

I know, many manufacturers do it. But I was just hoping we could get a thing going like the EA's have over in the older gen. So we could start figuring out how the build numbers, build dates and serial numbers stack up. Twitch

Wow, do they suck or what? And they're on there for only a few thousand yen! Grrrrrr... Twitch

You would need the EA81 tranny as well, as no EA81's come with a top mount starter. Unless you got a "fat case" EA71 that has the side mount starter. Twitch

I think leaving both on for road use then pulling the pins for offroad use would be best. I personally don't like the way my car reacts when making sharp maneuvers. And having a heavier car will just exacerbate the problems. If you try any quick motions, such as to avoid an unexpected object in the road, I think you'll see my point. And if you are to pull one of the swaybars, I highly recommend doing the rear and not the front. You don't want your front tires to lose contact with the road surface in an emergency maneuver. Twitch

Now I can't say I've done this on a fozzy, but I did do it on my BRAT and it did make a fairly noticeable difference on the road. I suspect it will make a big difference for you, as your car relies more on the sway bar than a BRAT. I think the quick disconnect idea would be great and make it nice for on-road use and offroad use as well. BTW, what design did you use for the quick disconnect? I know just unbolting it is quick enough, but did you use some sort of pin system? Twitch

Well since we have one for the EA's, I think its about time to put one up for the EJ crowd. I'll start. That says 10/89 and the build number is 939187 aka: the last 6 digits in the VIN So I technically have an 89 legacy, not a 90 :-p. I would post up an engine serial number but mine isn't the original engine, so that would be moot. Lets keep it going! Maybe even make it a sticky Twitch

As many of you know, and some of you who don't... Hellz Yeah EDIT: This is a pic of Xandra's odometer. She's a 90,91,94 Lego on her second engine and third (technically) tranny. Twitch PS: The BRAT hasn't changed much yet, but that's because the speedo cable snapped

That looks like a late 70's Chevy dashboard. Sorry Mick, I'm lost on this one. Twitch PS: Is it one of the lights on the dash?

What brand of wires and plugs are you using? I've had really bad luck with Napa Beldon Brand wires, on a variety of cars. Subaru wires and NGK wires seem to work the best, from my experience. Also, I have found Bosch and NGK plugs to be the best. The ac is causing a load on the engine, that makes it work harder, therefore causing more misfires. A bad O2 sensor will sometimes cause a CEL (Check Engine Light), but I have yet to deal with one that causes much more than just the occasional cough. Twitch

Lol, hondas... And its good that you're not looking to go out and race your car. It'll last a lot longer without that kind of abuse. Oh and if it seems that you're surrounded by Subaru's while driving and when you park, its normal. Subaru's usually hunt in packs, even if the drivers don't know it. Twitch

Cool, I was wondering what happened to you guys. But uh, I think you had a typo, its in red above. And your link doesn't work yet, but I'm sure that'll change as you guys get going Welcome to the USMB and I hope you guys can keep producing good quality stuff Twitch PS: I love the rally pig

Well at least you hail from a former GM camp I kid, yeah most of us are really friendly and helpful. Just a couple hints, use the search function frequently before asking questions. Check out the "Related Threads" box at the bottom of a threads. There is much info to be gleaned from that feature alone. Anyway, grab a chair, kick back and enjoy your stay. Twitch PS: If you're looking for high performance upgrades, some of the best guys to ask are Edrach, Numchux, Qman, Zap, Suberdave, and more I can't think of right now (wow there's more here than I thought...)

From what I've seen, these engines have twin timing chains. Not dual like our EA82's, but twin, as in they run the same course. Not to mention they run for practically forever. Twitch