gwilson87

From what I have read you have to have the oiler setup always since the AC compressor uses the refrigerant to keep it oiled. I found a few write ups awhile back about how to turn any stock AC compressor into an air compressor, but it wasn't top of my list so I lost track of them. I knew I should have bookmarked those...

I understand your want for finding a good car for under $1k. And also, praise to the fun finds that KSL classifieds has to offer! Let me know what you end up getting and I will be more than happy to help fix things up and rummage junkyards with you. Be even more willing once my brat is finished... *insert hopeful sigh here*

On half off wednesdays I paid $135 for mine. The normal price for a trans is $90, then a $30 core. However I got charged for a transfer case, and the core for that. Wasn't particularly happy about it because I drove up to this junk yard specifically for half off wednesdays, and ended up paying the same price the junkyard thats 5 blocks away... I was arguing with the checkout guy for awhile asking him to show me where the transfer case he was charging me for was it and he just kept saying that because it was 4wd he had to charge me for a t-case also.

Is this the switch you are making reference to? If it is then I am pretty sure I don't need this one since I have a 5sp D/R waiting to go in and I do believe that the switch that triggers 4 hi/low is on the trans.

He said he could get my legacy driveshaft shortened to fit the brat. It is about an inch top short. Cost would be about $85 so im going to have to wait till the next paycheck.

AC to air will be one of the last things I do to the brat. First it needs to be put together, which I got a few more pieces towards the final product. Still trying to figure out the driveline issues because six states distributors wasn't really stoked to help make a driveline for a subaru. He said "no subaru is worth that much effort". Anywho, more to come on that later. New part goodies have been received. Adapter plate made from 1/2" steel. A friend of a friends father in law has a few of these he had made and might be willing to sell some... New XT6 pressure plate, pad, bearings etc. Built to last also! (duralast) Hopefully I will get my flywheel redrilled in the next few days. Probably drop it off at the machine shop monday and pick it up later that day. Still in debate of whether to drill it myself, and then have the machine shop resurface and balance it for me, or just have them to the whole dealio.

If you are saying to use the EA81 tie rods on the EA82 rack, that was my first try but it doesn't work. The EA81 inner tie rods are female while the EA82 are male.

I have been playing with putting power steering into my 85 brat and it has been a PITA thus far. EA82 x members are about 2 inches wider which means that the control arms are also two inches farther out which means that your wheels are being screwed up camber wise. I have been making some alterations to me EA81 x member to fit the steering rack from the EA82 inside of it. My only problem now is to get the tie rods shorter, (EA82 rods are 2 inches longer of course.) or to somehow attach the brats tie rods to the power steering rack. Main problem being that the brat tie rods are female ends and the EA82's are male. Talking with some machine shops about making a custom bolt that can be threaded into the brats tie rods so that it can be threaded into the power steering rack. Either that or i am going to cut the tie rod from the EA82 and get it re-threaded making it a shorter tie rod. Around here EA81 power steering racks and cross members are pretty much non existent and i don't have the money to buy one and have it shipped to me. I this works you can all expect a write up with pictures for those of us who like the pretty colors.

EJ22 is straight up fuel injection. You wouldn't be able to use the carb but like GD said, you get more power for the amount of your work. I myself am working on a EJ22 swap into my 85' brat to replace the EA81, lots of work but hopefully the payoff will be worth it

You could always be like me and just be teaching yourself how to do it along the way. Makes for some frustrating times in the garage and lots of wrenches thrown at walls tho... I kind of lucked out and have a buddy with a subaru mechanic father-in-law and another guy who has done my swap in his Loyale. Now if only they had spare time to help. Good luck with whatever you decide and if you do start tearing into stuff, take lots of pictures. It helps with the reassembly for those of us with not much mechanic background.

I was thinking of putting in an air tank there for when I do the ac to air compressor mod later on.

Wow . That looks so good. I hope to someday have my brat looking just half, shoot I will take 1/4 that good. What did you do to fix the rust on the bottom of the doors? That is something that is bothering me about my brat aside from the wheel well rust spots... :-\

Hooray for your brat! I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who takes pictures of their mileages as they are driving.

So for those of you who care, Pull and Save in West Valley Utah considers subaru d/r trans as a transmission and a transfer case. Sucks for me because it ended up costing the same as a trans would have at the junkyard down the street. Anywho... Here are some pics of goodies picked up at the junkyard today, and a few fun transmission pictures. Magnaflow exhaust Fuel pump from turbo fuel injected Loyale Snazzy subwoofer for under the seat or something if I can figure how to wire it up. The legacy transmission (held up by radio flyer, been in my family for as long as I can remember) Transmissions. Appearing from left to right: GL 5sp d/r, Legacy 5sp, Brat 4sp d/r. Note the size differences, the brat trans is 10" longer than the soon to be swapped in GL trans. That means the Legacy driveshaft will be shortened to fit in there. Yay for more projects!! More pictures and random writings to come as things get pieced together. Maybe one day I will be able to post a picture of my brat out on at least the road, hopefully a dirt one.

In the process of moving to a new place the work on the brat came to a crawl. Tomorrow I am getting the 5sp d/r from the junkyard (half off wednesdays!!! ) Hopefully I can find a proper fitting crossmemeber with power steering to put in. I also got a nice section of square steel tubing to be used as a body lift. Pictures to come soon.

I vaguely remember reading someones experience where pushing the struts and not the cross member will REALLY wear on your axles. I believe they said it would "eat through axles" So that could be causing some shuddering. Don't hold me to that tho

I might be wrong but im PRETTY sure in order for the subwoofer to do its job, it has to be in some sort of box enclosure.

I know nothing is wrong with it, just seems like the norm around here is to convert to 6 lug hubs.

AWESOME!!!! I laughed when I saw the wheel was drilled to 4 bolt rather than redrill the hub to fit a 6 bolt. There is a little dune buggy body for sale I keep driving past that I want to put my ea81 engine in. But one project is enough for right now.

Possibly a compressor hooked up to a power inverter would be easier, but honestly, where is the fun in that? It may not be the most practical thing to convert the AC to air but it is unique and fun. I for one know I will use it pretty often with mountain biking. I might not be airing down my tires but I bike a lot and it would be nice to have the air right there when I need it. I can't wait to get my swap done so I can start on this.

I am looking at the process of turning my ej22 engine in my brat into on board air. As for write ups... google will give you better results than anything here. Lots of rock crawling jeeps do the conversion. I am going to convert mine with help from a crawler buddy. Including a 5 gallon tank where my spare tire used to go.

"Sticky: Frequently Asked Questions: Tires Wheels Lift Kits Mods for offroading Soobs." This thread at the top of the offroad area has a lot of links to different people who have made their own lifts. Hope this can get your creative juices going. I am taking some of their ideas to make my own lift. I'll send you information as soon as it gets done.

I am now tossing around the idea of converting my ac compressor to an air compressor for on board air. I tend to pinch flat tires a lot while I am biking and having air would be handy for that. Also possibly being able to air down tires for future off road excursions could be usefull as well.

So I'm having a conflict of interest one might say, so I'm looking for some feedback/opinions. With my swap should I keep my AC? I haven't had AC in any of my vehicles for a really long time so its not as if I will be missing it. Also this brat will primarily be used just around town and off-roading. Another thing is power steering. I am having troubles finding the proper crossmember and power steering rack that isn't too wide. Thusly, I am thinking of just making my stock brat x-member work until I find said power steering setup and install it later on. Obviously having power steering will help out when offroading, but I dunno how soon it will be able happen. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated as far as what you have done to make AC work in your swaps and etc.

Latest update, the legacy wiring harness is pulled and thinned down some. Hopefully I will get it wired enough to start it. I wont be getting the transmission till friday. Also still need to find a proper fitting front crossmember to get power steering. When im back at a computer I will upload some pictures. As far as I know I cant upload any pics here from my phone.