Greybeard

In the very near future I will be rebuilding my front suspension and installing a 5 speed, at that time I will be removing the sway bar for access to the transmission. While I have the sway bar off, I was thinking about fabricating a new bracket to move it forward about 1", and replacing the rubber bushings with urethane. Retaining the attaching points on what Subaru calls the "leading rods", effectively shortening the sway bar arms, that should make the sway bar act like a "stiffer" one. At least that's what I'm hoping for. I'm only looking for an improvement not turning my brat into a "canyon carver". Has anyone ever tried this before? Are there any differences between ae81 sway bars? (Brat to wagon, wagon to sedan ETC.)

I wanted to report to the board what I found when I started to check out the "inhibitor" circuit. I found the former owner already jumped out the inhibitor switch, the problem was, when he spliced the starter wire in he did a poor job. He simply stripped back the black & yellow wire from the starter and pushed it into the connector alongside the original black & yellow wire from the ignition switch, then taped it to the wire bundle so it wouldn't fall out. This was a problem just waiting for a ride on a country road. Thanks for your help.

First let me describe my problem: My '84 Brat won't crank when it is warm. It always starts right up when cold, if I let it cool for 15 minutes, it will start just fine. The starter works correctly, I bench tested it early in my investigation, and have eliminated it as the culprit. This problem has only shown up in the last week, as the weather has warmed up. Here is what I find: I do not get power to the solenoid (on the smaller black & yellow wire) from the ignition switch. I do get power on the black & yellow wire at the ignition switch. (All indications are there is an open circuit between them when the car is warm.) If I jump the solenoid from the battery (large wire on starter) it cranks. This car was an automatic converted to a manual by the former owner. I am assuming the "inhibitor switch" (automatic only and I have no idea as to it's purpose, "neutral safty switch" maybe?) was not removed. It is shown in my Haynes manual's electrical schematic, and it is the only component shown between the switch and the solenoid. I think a "faulty "inhibitor switch" is the starter circuit's problem. I think it "opens" when the car gets warm. Here is my problem: Where is the physical location of this inhibitor switch? What does it look like? What purpose does it serve? My last resort is to run a new wire from the ignition switch to the starter, bypassing the "inhibitor". That would not be the correct way to solve the problem, it would look "tacky", and I'm not sure of the consequences if I by-pass the 'inhibitor"switch. Can anyone help me out?

I had a similar problem with my Brat, turns out the guy at NAPA gave me a sender for a car with a warning light. They open with pressure, instead of decreasing resistance with increasing pressure.

My 225K mile+ Brat is sitting really low up front. It's stock tires (175/70X13) are only about 1 1/2" below the wheel opening. I've ordered new springs & struts. (one strut, see below) I would like to lift the front ride height, just a little, maybe 1". I really don't want to spend the money to lift the whole thing, and the back is high enough. A recent change in my plans means I'm going to stay with the stock size tires. (maybe 205/60X13s on stock alloys in the summer) The Brat has already had the adjustable front struts replaced with non-adjustable front wheel drive struts. (KYB GR-2s, one is still clean!) Has anyone ever used polyurethane coil spring spacers in place of the adjustments? Is the geometry change any different than cranking up the adjustable struts? Will a 7/8" spacer throw the camber off that much? :-\ It doesn't look too bad when I put a jack under the crossmember, but I haven't really measured anything.

Yes, IHscout54, I have been running the Brat (I never know what to call this "vehicle", car or truck) for about a month. BUT! Now I have a third question. I find there are two different adapters listed to "Weberize" ea81s: '82 and older use 99004.110 and '84 and up use 99004.300. The pictures show them as very different. One is a "single plane" style adapter, the other seperates the primary and the secondary, sort of like a "dual plan ". Does anyone know if the manifolds are really different and which one is better?

Locally, we have a guy (with a chassis dyno) who is rumored to be pretty good with this style of Webers, he tuned my buddy's Triumph with dual downdraft progressive Webers. (5200series?) He's also done some "magic" on early Bosch fuel injection systems as well. Maybe I should invest a little more and have him look at it. I've tuned my share of Holley four barrels and spent some time on Carters (AFBs) too, but this Hitachi doesn't even look like a carburetor! Since you have run your Subie with one of these carbs, let me ask you just how much performance difference is there from stock? Is there more bottom end, that's where this little engine is really weak!

I have an 1984 ea81 with a Hitachi carb, I cannot see the fuel spray out of the shooter when I work the throttle lever. (holding the choke plate open of course) I couldn't even identify the shooter, should I be able to see it? If this is the problem, should I rebuild the carb. or replace it with a Weber. As with any ea81, any increase in low end torque would be useful, but is the Weber's improvement worth the cost and effort? :-\ The Weber kit at "Weber Carb. Direct" lists a kit for $309 to fit ea71 & ea81 1976 to 1982, will this kit work on my '84 Brat?

Thanks Edrach, I'll call them on my cell on Monday.

Anybody out there know where I can pick up a full set of stainless steel brake hoses for an ae81. My '84 Brat is undergoing a suspension upgrade this spring, and I want to do a little upgrade on the brakes too.

Well Bratman18, my computer went down a few weeks ago and I lost all my Brat pictures. They were taken by the former owner for advertisment. I bought the Brat the next day but haven't taken any pictures to replace them yet. No good reason, but it doesn't look very good right now. No rust but it's been neglected for some time, lots of little dings and faded paint, originally it was a Arizona car. Good interior, spoked wheels, that need paint. Alloy wheels, that look fair, need polished, light bar, that needs paint. See a pattern here? Whole car needs work. When I get a picture of the Brat, I will post all my rides, but only two are Subies, one is a '81 Triumph TR8.

Never met a moose while I was in a car or truck, but I have met a bull while I was carrying a canoe down a trail in Canada. They are a lot bigger face to face, (if you can call that a face) I'm sure glad he was in a good mood. By the way, experience tells me that unlike black bears and other forest critters, they are not intimidated by size. I'm afraid a Subie has to come out second in any confrontation.

Thanks guys! You are the best! Owning an older Subie without this forum would be impossible.

I have just purchased an '84 Brat (manual trans., if it matters), the former owner "started" to install a cruise control using GL parts, he mounted most of the components, but never finished wiring it. I have a yellow wire under the hood that goes on the ignition coil, but my wiring diagram (Haynes manual) does not say which side. I assume the wire goes on the positive side, but I'd hate to fry the control because I guessed wrong about the polarity. Can anyone take a look at their car or a good wiring diagram and let me know. Thanks for your help, I would never have bought this car if this forum wasn't here to support me.