hanyou

I found this... Shame it is $80 x_x http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-1979-AMT-Matchbox-Subaru-Brat-Stock-or-Custom-4x4-1-25-SEALED-NOS-/400293690923?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5d335cfe2b Some neat Hotwheels/Matchbox Imprezzas on there.. <3 the 05 rally edition. http://www.southtexasdiecast.com/hwguide/images/worldrally/B9607.jpg

Just finished up more exploratory rewiring.. Hooking the battery up immediately started the fuel pump.. mm varnish. Guess that answers the new mystery fusable link. Poked at it some more and for the first time since I bought it, I now have hi/low beams and dash lights! Need to sort out the flashers and turn signals.. showing at the dash so theres progress at least. Putting the push button starter back to turnkey next. Gotta love 4am inspiration ^^

I feel for ya.. I am rewiring an '84 Brat... started undoing crap the previous owner did, then didnt touch it for about a month.. now I have no dash lights when I try the ignition. Have a random fusable link running towards the back of the vehicle I cannot follow to see what it goes to. Two toggle switches.. one apparently for the radiator fans and one for.. something deeper in the dash Even has a push button starter wired in. Unfortunately, I know little about reading electrical diagrams, I am more of a physical look at the setup and rationalize how to fix it. Downside is my '83 Brat is rather different.. has more relays and whatnot (different starter type). I move to Japan around August so the deadline looms.. havent even put the motor back together yet, shop is being slow honing the cylinder /longwinded

Currently taking my Outback on a cross country trip.. Front struts getting swapped when I return. Got to spend the morning cleaning the dog's diarrhea out of the front and back. Between the seats and on the carpet.. FML. Woo day one of a two week trip x_x Pick N Pull San Antonio and possibly Dallas again next week report to follow.

Block finally off to be honed. Good bill of health but recommended new pistons.. found a set that gives 9.1 compression + the yield from milling my heads so hopefully it still likes 87 octane. Hopefully have it up and going within the month so I can finish up on the gen 1. LKQ junkyard visit this weekend, so hopefully ea82 intake manifold and Outback seats on the way, fingers crossed.

Ripped out the gen1's seats and carpet today. Fortunate enough to turn up considerable rust not previously seen, and I dont know a lick about welding. Quite a few holes from the middle of the seat area up to the firewall and most of the carpet was still damp underneath for some reason. Hoping to try hot wiring next weekend to see if the wiring/engine are worth keeping or go for an engine swap. Just got orders to Japan so my fleet is going to stay with the folks but I need to get them all driveable before the move. If I wasnt so paranoid about Japanese motor regulations I would bring my blue roo up with me, but I am content to take the Outback Bed liner and rims painted are next up. Pictures to come once weather lets me finish the stenciling on the body.

Gen 2 heads finally sent off to be shaved. Bit steep at $45 a head but they are the only game in the area. Gen1 sprayed up as olive drab, finishing out the roundel and numbering tomorrow, hope to have pictures up when the clearcoat is drying. Must say it looks right Willy's Jeep style, extremely happy with the progress. Debating on keeping authentic look of olive rims and push/roll bars, or going with black or white instead for a more clean look. Still kicking around keeping BRAT stenciled in the usual place or even swapping the USA stenciling above the serial with BRAT. Subies birthday is going to be the serial number

But I bought it specifically because it was an automatic I am in the process or rebuilding another automatic Brat so once I can track down some rocker shaft supporters or at least a whole rocker assembly then I will have something to compare it to. If I get off at a reasonable time sometime I will have the block sent off to be checked and heads milled.

1983 Automatic Brat GL Weber 32/36 DGEV EC Emissions delete Bosch plug wires 18-20mpg city, not hot rod :s

Quite right. Impatience got the best of me.. stores were closed and I didnt want to wait to borrow one. On further inspection it appears the head is fine other than the intake bolt.. the broken piece is actually a rocker arm supporter. Just need to track one of those down. My Victor gasket set came in as well, although it is tagged as Stone/Ishida. The cylinder head gaskets are stamped as Fuji though, so I am satisfied.

New red Bosch plug wires for Blue, searching for a new head for Red. Had a stupid moment and shocked my wrench with a hammer to loosen a bolt for the head.. wrench took out the stud just above it that holds the valve cover on. Insult to injury, both bolts on both heads are still firmly in place, but at least the head I damaged had a broken bolt in it for the intake manifold, courtesy of the last owner. PCV layout is as USMB recommended, although I am still pulling some oil out of the crankcase. Pressure is just below red when I start up and start driving but levels out after I have been driving awhile.. any ideas?

Engine pulled on my 84, also an automatic giving the center head nut some tough love, up to 1 off Nice light motor, wife and I lifted it out by hand.. didnt have any hoist or things to jury rig. Complete Victor gasket set on the way, just need to get the rest of the block apart to see what else I am going to need. Debating on going for a performance rebuild or regular rebuild.. from what I gather from usmb it is $900 vs $200 range. First time pulling/rebuilding a motor so I dont want to get in over my head, sounds like most of the difference is on the machine shop end though. Gaskets get here Wednesday, along with my $3 Haynes/Chilton <3 Autozone guide for the mean time.

I bought an 84 that had some seats and bracket laying in the back end.. the bracket ended up being too short. He gave me a box full of gen 1 parts as well so I assume its a gen 1 bracket. The seats fit but I cant guarantee they were from a gen 1..

Took out the radiator explosing some nice crystalized gunk in the water pump, drained some evil ultrablack motor oil, and started unhooking/labeling things in preparation for the motor pull. The more I uncover, the more I feel bad for the poor girl, she was quite mistreated in her previous life. Nice sooty spark plugs to boot, wonder if that played a part in the prior owner starting to disassemble her. Bugger kept the AC compressor and gave me gen 1 headrest tracks :-\ Feeling quite ambitious, lets see how long it lasts

Got to watch a home video from the 90s of one of my dad's Brats.. he bought it, wrecked, with less than 30k miles on it for $500. Took a good size dent out of the front, reseated the radiator, and off she went. Ironically the tailgate trim was already gone He said that it had a velvet bag from the dealer for the t tops, anyone ever seen one? Incidentally, about to buy the stuffs for overhauling Brat 2's engine.. Was looking for Fel Pro but Victor is only thing available short of online. Heard they had a good rep, any thoughts? Looking at a dark emerald green or blue on gen 1 or 2 when I have them up and going.. they have had a hard life, need to show them some love

The switch had just been left on in the car, no wiring problem for the wipers.. incidentally, someone mind posting the fuse order top to bottom? Mine has no cover and is missing most of the fuses.. Going to have a go at hot wiring it to see if it will turn over with a bit of gas down the carb.. the ignition is entirely missing along with the steering column cover, among other things. Heck of a project, but I cant let her rust or crush. *nevermind, found a link to the fuse list

Tried my running Brat's battery in my gen 2 and gen 1 Brat.. Managed to get hazards out of the gen 2, and wipers out of the gen 1. Least some wiring is still hooked up somewhere

More for the current generation, but the Subie gods blessed the family once more.. Wife turned up a 2001 VDC Outback for a good price, just pulled it into the driveway. Hopefully have pictures up tomorrow.

Lol.. to be honest I found them a tad ugly, wanting to go with painting the lawnmower blade ones white along with the roll/push bars, although I am tempted to do those in bedliner as well. The gentleman I bought the gen 1 from had another one with the matching rims. The poor thing had carpet sit in it for a good 20 years so the entire bed, tailgate, and back of the cab are rusted completely through. Real shame too, original paint back there was a beautiful shade of blue, exterior had faded to a decent blackish color. He said the engine ran with some carb cleaner or starter fluid, but otherwise there really wasnt much to save. Kind of wish I had gotten it for the wiring harness at least, the "wiring" in mine is rediculous, what little of it is attached to anything. Was a rediculous amount of work getting the gen 1 home, but so help me shes going to be beautiful when done. Wife and I loaded her into a moving vehicle and unloaded by ourselves. It doesnt run. And has 4 flat tires. Let it be said that while it worked, it was a terrible idea, one I highly recommend not doing.

Ok, so they arent identical, but they have a good pedigree. 2 seats for red, 1 seat for.. whatever the devil color the other is. Mirrors were inside. 75k on the one, 185k on the red. Gen 1 needs completely rewired but has only surface rust and is roughly 99% complete. Gen 2 has the intake manifold off and has a fair amount of bondo afoot but nothing too bad. 1 is 4 speed, 2 is automatic. Lot of work ahead and a paint job in the works for both, though I have yet to decide on a color. Thinking redo the red as red, and the gen 1 as white with blue Brat stripe. Photos courtesy of a windmill I was working on

There is a Brat for $4k right now. Interesting yellow thing. I personally am looking into an automatic with a spare motor in December when I get back. One in the vehicle isnt running and the spare is untested but he thinks it is working. Planning on overhauling both of them, so I might have one available after a spell. Plenty around, just need to know where to look. I have a tip on a pair of gen 2, running, for $2k. One's frame is bent to the point of not being driveable, but it runs. Also have a pair of gen 1s, 1 running, 1 parts, but it is obo at the moment. Pair of gen 1s keeps popping up around Antlers but the owner is a bit dodgy on questions. I recommend posting on craigslist that you are looking for one.. that is how I found the one I own now, and I had a good 4 or 5 other people offer theirs. Happy hunting.

Interesting rig although its a shame to do it to such a clean stock Brat.. There was a gen 1 in the area that the owner turned into a crawler as well, most dented/scraped up thing I have ever seen but unfortunately the owner thinks it is made of gold. Rescue mission in the works for when I return to the states, handful of Brats I am going to make a go at if they are still there. Lost 3 to the salvage yard just while I have been gone alone

I am thinking about throwing some Outback seats into the Brat eventually, but at the moment I am wanting some Subaru floormats like Alex has. Would love a Subaru logo seatcover as well but am having no luck.. Emailed Subaru themselves and they said they dont have any. Told them I wanted to put the new logo seatcovers on a Outback or Baja, implying I wanted to buy a new vehicle and they told me not to put seatcovers on them, some nonsense about the airbags...