fastwagn

need to make sure both vacuum advance and pressure retard are working on the distributor. also check the electronic maodule in the distributor, they can partially fail, which means partial spark. +1 on the walbro pump, found 255s for both of mine. fuel pressure regulators can fail, but so far seems a bit rare. +1 on injectors, but they usually set codes for either injector, or if the drivers go bad, which leads to...the ECM's are pretty fragile. #3 in brat 1, so far so good in brat 2...and then there's always the possibility of a failing vane air meter, they can get corrosion or burnt spots on the varistor. also, good name bratrod, that's what i call my turbo brat #2

this happened on my turbo brat #2, it was not normal. service it first. this is not normal or a good sign. it can be as simple as being overfilled, or it can be overheating the fluid. typically it will come out of the vent, but if it over-pressurizes because of severe overheating, it will also come out of the dipstick. drain the pan, replace the plug. fill with around 2 quarts, start in park or neutral. check the fluid running. top off as needed. drive it. if it is slipping excessively OR you have blown head gaskets on the engine (it will superheat the coolant/radiator, which is also the cooler for the trans...), it will purge the fluid.

Hello again my fellow old school enthusiasts!! So early this year the head gaskets finally bit the dust on my daily/shop truck 83 brat. unfortunately it had also been whacked severely in the bed/rear quarters, not once, but twice. i took it off the road and started driving my brz for the summer and started planning a restoration, got a decent straight t-top shell, started getting parts for the engine rebuild, etc. then another 83 turbo fell into my lap. of course, it died on the previous owner, and he was well out of his depth to diagnose. he took it to another decent reputation subaru shop, who was frankly again out of their depth. so i got it reasonably cheap not running. swapped my vane air meter since the previous dummy, er, owner took it apart, new coil, new starter and re ran the trigger wire, and swapped over my distributor (coincidentally a "new" reman only a few months old before the other 83 was decommissioned), fired right up, runs decent, a little leaky, but no serious issues. but... this car is a good bit rougher than mine, even including my body damage. i am in desperate need of the needle bearings, or sizing, for the upper section of the tilt column (right behind the wheel) not destroyed right taillight assembly washer bottle would be nice. those are the biggest, i do need a windshield gasket, but it is looking good from subaru. lower dash trim, driver's side. turbo emblems for the mirrors i won't get greedy, and just leave it there for now, i'm sure as i continue refreshing this one, more will arise, and i am already getting a list together for the full restoration project car. any help with either parts or sources would much appreciated!!

cool man! i'll hunt for a set! was going to go 6 lug but these wheels look pretty period correct, and would look great on white. yeah rubbing may be an issue on my 83, i have it dropped down and sitting on gl struts. ivan, pm me your paypal!!

good work man! i went through a lot of this restoring my 1973 vega gt when i was 15, good to see someone of your generation that is still willing to put time and effort into stuff like this. brat is looking awesome! although...i would have kept the bar rather than the cap, but to each his own and i absolutely LOVE the peugeot wheels, what are they from? if you ever want to sell the bar, i have a couple of worthy candidates... getting an ecm from ivan's imports next week to get the 83 turbo running again, when it does, i'll start tearing down the 84 to prep it to receive the 83 drivetrain. at which point, i may have an even crazier drivetrain to put in the 83 shell... muwhahahahahaha!!! i promise i'll get some pics, camera has died on my phone, so i'll snag the shop camera one day and get some shots of the pair.

are you the same cat from nas, lives up near cherokee? i saw that one for sale on craigslist about 2 months before i got my 83.

that would make some sense, going to smoke test monday when i get back into town.

yep paid less for it than my 84...

yeah figured that would be an eventual step just based on the rat's nest of plugged vacuum lines. the manifold gaskets are damp, so thinking that could be a source of problems. drove today with a batch of fresh gas, hesitates, stalls, misses etc...pretty frustrating. makes me miss the joy of driving the 83 turbo...

finishing essing with the carb and doing plugs, cap and rotor tomorrow am on my 84, i'll wash it and get pics of it and my 83 turbo for the thread

cool man, thanks much! i'm going to put some time into it this afternoon, so i'll check there first. i'll let you know about the ecu's. currently just waiting on the new driver chip to show. a friend/EE was able to remove and then source the chip (a transistor set basically), just on the slowboat from china, literally.

i worked on my 1983 turbo brat for 3 years at the dealership, turbo, manifolds, reseal etc...the owner also has a baja turbo. one day, out of the blue, he called and asked if i wanted the brat because it was running rough and his local mechanic (a total idiot btw) said it needed a new engine. i responded yes, but was broke. "well i only want 500 if i sell to you..." "i'll be there saturday" it was running waiting for me in front of it's barn. had to replace ignition switch, and it has a decent paint job, but some pretty extensive cancer underneath, windshield leaks when it rains hard. but i've put 30k miles in 2 years. ecm popped an injector driver, but i am getting that fixed now. i found a deal on craigslist for 2500 for an 84 carb model. drove down in the 83 to check it out. got the owner down to 1500, waited 3 months, then picked up for 1300 out the door. it's a runner, only minimal rust (below the step and at the shock tower in the bed). now i'm planning to swap the turbo driveline into the 84, and swap a spare outback xt auto driveline into the 83. win win!! the key to these collector cars (and yes, these are collector cars, just like my syclone) is to simply insure them at the value you want. databases like these help, but insuring for proper value to begin with prevents the hassle after. i went through this with my first syclone. had to provide kbb collector value, and three "expert" sources. easier to just come up with a reasonable number, and insure for that to begin with. just like insuring a modded car, if you want money for the mods, insure for their added value.

as stated, i need a bit of diagnostic help with my hitachi 2 bbl. 1984 brat. carb was replaced with a decent reman prior to me buying the car. once it warms up and has been warm for 15-20 minutes, the car starts to miss and run rough. nasty hesitation. i have a service manual and am going through all of the fine adjustments but was wondering if anyone had any ideas. and no, i will not remove and install a weber. i bought this car as a rolling shell to be the new home of my 83 turbo brat driveline. i refuse to put money into the non turbo engine/driveline. i only want to get it running so it can be moved from home to shop as needed to to finish the body work and details prior to the "great swap". well, that, and the injector driver let out magic smoke in the turbo ecm, waiting on the only manufacturer still making the chip to send from china. thanks guys!

personally, i don't want truck wheels. i want to use any of the 15, 16, and 17 inch wheels that i have amassed for the rest of my fleet. so my 15" braids and gravel tires, my 16" rs wheels and dz101's, and my 17" rota track wheels when i'm feeling froggy. of course i don't want my brat raised up. i actually have it sitting perfectly on gl sedan shocks. maybe i'm weird, but i don't go mudding in my brat.

i have an 84 ea81 from a brat i just got. using the shell and interior as donor for my 83 turbo driveline. let me know if you're still looking. i can freight to arkansas for a reasonable price as i have a freight acct through my shop as well as a friend that does long distance trucking. shoot me a pm if you're interested. ryan