RavenTBK

Heh.. until I picked up the ol BushBrat from VA, I had never seen one in person.. and going on the looks I get when I drive through town, apparently nobody else has seen one either. Later on, I've only seen one other Brat, and it was beat to hell on the back of some redneck's trailer heading out of town. The junkyards tell the same tale.. finding parts is a biatch. I've found only ONE EA81 car in all the yards within two hours of the house. About a handful of EA82s, but thats it. Subaru never quite took hold in the southeast.. or everything has been crushed. :shrug:

dang.. since I cant find what I did with the image of all the smilies holding the signs, I guess I'll just type it out.. This thread is useless without pics!! :-p

All I can say is wow. Glad it turned out to be something easy instead of fried wires.

Well, there was plenty of interest in this swap awhile ago. Has anybody else actually completed it yet? So far, mines still doing great, with the stock harness, cause I'm a lazy bum. :cool:

Yep.. clicky.

And why do you have to be in CT instead of say... GA?

I guess he didnt sell it the first time. I remember seeing that same Brat on eBay about two weeks ago.

Of course I hafta pimp my own. These are my faves out of my collection. Note that awesome flex! From the recent Ocala run.. this was a lot more difficult to traverse than it appears in the pics.

But what about the stubs that go through the hub? The front doesnt have a second roll pin on the outer side like the rear does it? Under ideal conditions, if I could've done it, thats what I would've done. I'd just as soon had him rebuild both front axles, and pop em in when I got home.

Heh.. at stock height you wouldnt have made it over that log at the beginning of the hole. There were aso some hairy spots in the middle that I had to jump from 1st low to reverse and back again. In that hole, I was #2 behind Larry's big mama Bronco on 37s. I had some serious ruts to contend with as his 6000# beast sank down in several soft spots. Hell.. I'd prolly attack it myself in something smaller. Yes we did have plenty of rigs to pull each other out. I know I wouldnt have made it.. but yeah. BANZAI! heh. It was a great ride. Now I was the scrawny puppy flopping along trying to keep up with the big Broncos.. and it took a bit of balls and a lot of wheelspin to keep up, but I did it just fine. I was told that most of the holes I floated on okay, and if I had some mud terrains, I'd run circles around the Broncos instead of barely clinging to not being stuck in the deep stuff.

Some Brat action pics from that last hole... click any image to enlarge. Heh.. from the spatter on the side of the Brat, you can tell I spent most of the day in FWD. I ran FWD for as long as possible, until I had to go 4wd to get out. It let me know the limits of the Brat w/ this setup. Although in this hole is was 4wd all the way. Next upgrade is a set of 30x9.5 baby swampers and welding up that rear end.

Anywho.. I did make it home in one piece. I didnt have any leftover bolts like I usually do, and the fresh axle did great.. even running 80-85mph for 3 hours up I-75 & I-10.

You're absolutely right. Thats what CVO is.. Constant Velocity of Ocala. Thats where I was. Oh.. and the dog thats there is a helluva lot bigger than he looks in the pics on their website.

Well, I've since gotten it all put back together, eaten lunch, and am now getting ready to begin the trip home. CVO rocks!

That jeep was a trip. It hadnt been off the trailer for 15 minutes before he snapped that rear driveshaft. I later learned why it broke... the mofo has a 454 Chevy and a turbo tranny in it coupled with stock drivetrain parts. Damn Jeep Dana 35 axles trying to turn those 48" turf tyres.. god. Waay too much engine in that beast. It was fun to watch for the 15 minutes though.

There actually are a handful more Brat action shots.. Larry (big rump roast red & white Bronco.. aka, "the winch") went through the area in my sundown shot... and everybody else was pussing out cause Larry had a hard time getting over a fallen log at the beginning. So I said what the hell and went for it. With the A/T tyres, I didnt get much traction, so I kept the wheelspin up and bogged my way through it. The log was no big deal.. the Brat just walked over it like it was nothing. Anywho.. the entire group was standing at the end of the run watching me. When I startedthe climb back out of the hole everybodys jaw dropped. Supposedly theres another handful of shots Larry snapped of me giving it hell in that hole. Hes gonna post up on FSB (the site I linked to) later tonight. I cant wait..

Yes, its too big. You need to sent me that hybrid so I can replace the one thats blown out on my Datsun Z. Honestly, I'd link its too much turbo.. as a T3/4 hybrid like that is a step up for the Z car (2.8litres). Then again, I've learned that I dont know a damn thing about anything.

And other nursery rhymes. After the romp in Ocala, I knew that the axle with the torn boot wouldnt last long. It didnt even last the trip back to the motel. As I pulled in to park, I noted the loud cracking and popping had now replaced the low growl that it had been making when I travel in a straight line. Since I'm in Ocala, I called up CVO to buy a new pair of axles and limp home. Turns out they are currently out of stock with Brat axles, but they can reman mine and have it back to me in about an hour if I can bring it to them. So I slowly drove across town to CVO, and bagan the joyous process of axleshaft removal right there in their parking low. Man.. what a bitch that was. Only took me an hour, and a couple big hammers I borrowed from CVO. So now I sit, in the Brat, in the parking lot of Constant Velocity of Ocala, on the laptop online through my SprintPCS phone.. as I wait for Mr. Kevin to rebuild my axle. I should be done and on my way here in just a lil bit.. but I figured I'd post up and share my experiences. These people at CVO are the best. Yall need to send them some more business.

Heres a handful of pics I took while riding with members of my Bronco club out in Ocala National Forest (and nearby). These are ones I took myself.. theres another camera that was on the ride that hasnt posted.. and he's got plenty of action shots of me & the brat gettin down. http://www.fullsizebronco.com/forum/showthread.php?t=30237 Surprisingly enough, I only got stuck once...and it wasnt even that bad. If I had a set of M/T tyres I most likely would've come right out. I did, however, go through some seriously nasty stuff that took some clutch and steering finesse. 4000rpm and between 1st low and reverse.. got right through. This ride kicked rump roast! On the downside, I wont be able to get home without swappin a pair of fresh axles up front. I drove down with torn doj boots, and the mud and grit has clogged them up somethin fierce. Its bad enough now that one clicks bad goin straight, and the other produces a low growl that I can feel in the seat. Fortunately, I'm still in Ocala, and I'm gonna stop by CVO and buy a fresh pair before I begin the 200mi trek home. I'll post up the other pics when they come in.

What is it that you need to know? I dont have any diagrams handy as I'm out of town in a motel typing this. Maybe its something that myself or someone else could remember off the top of their head.

After thinkin bout this for a few minutes.. I'm wonderin exactly why this is a good thing for us old gen folks. Since its the same size and all, what mechanical advantage would it give us? So we have another option in selecting a clutch disc.. it doesnt matter too much if we dont have the pressure plate to put some more stick to it. Now the new gen kiddies have it good. Instead of having to pay $150 for a disc just because it says WRX on the package, they can pay $35 for an EA82 disc if they're cheap like me. Or am I talking out of my bum again? I dunno.. I need more caffiene so I can think this out..

Kickass. Now you just need to get someone to hold the camera outside the car. Oh and fix your steering gear..its on the wrong side. If it wouldnt cost so much to do it, I'd seriously consider a move to *.au. Beautiful.

Naah.. just look at the bright side. This just means that you need to install a 6" lift, and 31s.. that way, instead of having to back up to avoid a mudhole, you can just romp ight through it! And with the lift, you'd also miss all those hidden stumps in the brush.. so when you miss your turn on the trail, just make a uturn instead of reversing.

So then, in theory, all the aftermarket clutch discs being offered for the WRX should just pop right in eh? Interesting discovery. Now I've got yet another dream cluttering up my thoughts.. hehe. Keep up the good work!

I'm going to be departing the Tallahassee area sometime late this afternoon. What time did you want to meet up? 10-ish? The meeting point okay with you? As for the Broncos.. there might be one with us on Saturday. Seems like all the others are holding out till Sunday to ride with the local Land Rover club up into the mondex. Either way, I'm sure between us, we'll have enough tools, and machinery to get out of anything. Here's my cell if you need to reach me 850-322-2680.