bratman2

Eulogious, Our Walmart in eastern NC doesn't carry the Douglas in 185/80/13 anymore, or they don't list them. I checked Tirerack myself when a few weeks went by waiting on the Kuhmos and they didn't list them either. Firestone still makes the 360 according to our tire dealer but they couldn't find any when I was trying to get a set. Also they are a Firestone/Bridgestone dealer but will order any tire you want. That was option no.3 on my list. The only Goodyear I know of in that size currently is the Marthon which may not be what you want. Hankook, Firestone and Kuhmo are three I know still make a 185/80.

Our local tire dealer told me that the 185/80/13 are only made in a single run once a year by some tire manufacters. A few have quit making them all together. I had them order me some Kumho's and after 2.5 months still didn't have any. He suggested opening up my options and in two more weeks I had a set of Hankooks. Have about 5k on them now and they seem to ride good and are wearing well. You can get them but it may take a little while!!

I ran 195/75/14 on my 87 Brat. Only minor rubbing when turning and hitting a bump at the same time. had to trim the inside of the front mud flaps. Quit after half the tread was wore off. I currently run the stock white spokes and 185/80/13, prefer the ride and having some of my performance back.

I installed a Redline Weber about 8-10 years ago on my 87 brat. Works very good. Took me the better part of half a day. A couple of tweaks over the next couple of weeks to fine tune. Replaced no jets, dropped it in like it came. Really cleans up the engine bay not having 18 hoses running everywhere. Still average 29-30 mpg out in the sticks running country roads. Very nice Brat you have and I wish you well on your installation.

I installed an Accel 8140 yellow coil nearly 12 years ago on my Brat. Never had a problem. Still using it today. My understanding on the Accel 8140 coil is that quit a few years ago they outsourced the manufacter of these coils and then the problems starting appearing. The orginals were USA made as is mine. Could be wrong as my memory isn't the greatest but a properly made 8140 will work for many years.

Why would you want the fan to run all the time? Once you get above 30-35 mph air is forced through the radiator faster than the fan would pull anyways. Have you done any trouble shooting with the cooling system?

I used a Magnaflow SS muffler on my Brat. Not overly aggressive on sound but you wouldn't mistake it for stock. Originally used a "turbo" three chamber muffler from Autozone. First one got split down the side when I was having carb problems and the ol Brat backfired. Second one rusted out at the inlet. So got tired of messing with them and went with a Magnaflow, 2"inlet and outlet with a 2" exhaust pipe from the Y pipe back. Been installed about 2 years now. A 2" muffler is a slip fit to the factory exhaust pipe to answer your question The Loyale.

For $200 you practically stoled it! Looks nice!

Resistor should be up and to the right of your gas pedal. Mounted into that end of the duct.

My brother has a body shop so I know a little about paint. Imron would be my top choice if gravel roads were traveled very little. Imron is hard so it is very scratch resistant, but it chips easy because it is hard. I wouldn't top coat with clear. Imron will keep its shine for a very long time. I had my 87 Brat painted with Imron in 2001. Mainly because I work at a chemical plant and there was an acid type rain that fell from the plant stacks sometimes. Very hard on paint. It looked good for over 5 years. Just had it repainted 1.5 years ago with a NAPA ureathane and it doesn't have that wet look like Imron did. In hindsight I wished I would have ponyed up the extra bucks for a Imron recoat even though it still looks good when washed and waxed. Good luck and that is my limited knowledge on paint.

I remember changing a front axle out on my daughter's 93 Legacy a few years back, car has been long gone now! I droped the "A" arm to do it super quick, took all of 20 minutes or so. Next day she tells me dad you messed up my car it pulls now. I drove it and sure enough it pulled ever so little to one side. I slid up under the car and the washer on the control arm bolt showed about an 1/8" of clean shiny control arm. It just so happens that the control arm has a hole that was maybe 1/4" bigger than the bolt. Adjusted back until the head of the bolt lined up and the pulling went away!! Maybe not a text book adjustment but did have an effect on alignment. What suprised me was how little it pulled and that she noticed!!

Nice looking Brat!!!

Edrach, that is a nice, solid looking brat. Guess I should be glad you don't live in Eastern NC!! But I am not and wish you did! What would I do with two. Is this one of them things were youw onder if later you will regret it?

Well I guess that was a poor term to use. I gave my wife the newest car we had and we cut down vehicles. I have the Brat and a 2005 Suzuki Bandit and she has the 05 car. I don't forsee ever selling the Brat . So it is my primary four wheel ride. It doesn't get abused.

Thanks Bratman18!

Over the years I have added KYB rear shocks, Magnaflow SS rear muffler with 2-inche exhaust from the Y pipe back, Webber carb, new radiator, Subaru RS seats out of a 03 RS. the seats were new when I got them taken out of a newly purchased RS that was being converted to a rally car. Also installed 6 speaker stereo, new carpet, had the bed done a couple of times, it needs another go at it now. There is lots more that I have done over the years and most of it escapes me right now.

I bought this Brat in 97 to drive back and forth to work. After a year or two kind of got attached to it somewhat. Had it painted in sept. of 01 for the first time. Just had it painted sometime early last year again. Added the factory repo stripe back a few months ago. Cleaned up the wheels and had them painted a few weeks ago with new lugnuts, polished the center caps and am going to try and just drive the dickens out of it for a while. So here is a okay picture I took a couple of weeks ago.

Also if your temperatures allow paint in the morning when the wind is most calm.

Same problem I had, a small Powder Coating place was located about 25 miles away. I was told he was real resonable but it had to be ready to powder coat. Your rims look nice, much better job than mine. I was more concerned about the outside and that is were I focused most my efforts. The Frost White is whiter than the off white factory color but I like it. I will try and get a picture up tomorrow or so, maybe a new thread. Lot going on around here the past several days. Wentz912, Potter Tire and Oil of Aurora, NC. Been dealing with them for 28 years and they go out of their way for me. Like I stated it took about 3-4 months to get a set so they are some still around. The way they explained it to me is that they are a rarely used size now so the few companies that make them make one small run a year. In a few years I doubt you will find them at all. They are all season tires.

I just mounted my repainted white spokes a couple of weeks ago. I couldn't find anyone to sandblast them locally so electric sander with 180 and a wire wheel brush on a drill were my tools of destruction. Wish I could have gotten them sandblasted as I am sure they would have looked alittle better! I spent about 2 hrs. preparing my wheels before dropping them off at my brother's body shop. He sprayed them with self etching primer and Frost white. I installed new lug nuts, center caps that I had polished and new Hankook 185/80/13 tires. Those 185/80's are getting hard to find, had Kumho's on order for 3 months and finally gave up on them. I repainted the Brat for the second time last year and installed a repo of the factory stripe about 4 months ago. Hope you are as happy as I am with your wheels.

I will second what Edrach said. I installed GR2 rears about 7 years ago on my Brat, still fine. I soaked mine down with CRC and busted a socket on them a hour later. Sprayed them down again and left them to soak over night. Made a world of difference and was lucky it wasn't the bolt or my knuckles!

I used Rustoleum Road Warrior as mentioned earlier in this thread on a 2000 F150 I bought new. I sanded the bed with 180 sandpaper, blew out with my gas air blower, wiped it down with some enamel reducer I borrowed from my brother's body shop. I sold the truck in 2006 and the bedliner had been in 5.5 years and still looked good. No chunks, no peeling only slightly fadded. One kit did 2 complete coats in a fullsize shortbed. It is a two part epoxy base. I was highly satisfied with how it held up and would not pay for anyone else to do mine after achieving those results. I took my time and spent all day doing the job making sure to rough up in the tightest of corners. I am getting ready to redo my Brat and that is what I will use. I installed the duplicolor bedline about 11-12 years ago in the Brat and it didnot hold up very well. The Brat does have a less than ideal surface compared to a new truck so that probably is not a fair comparison but I feel the Road Warrior is a better quality product.

If your Brat is the same as my 87 Brat you should have a drain plug in the bottom of the gas tank. You could wait until it is low on fuel and drain it out to find out if you have rust or water in your tank. Fuel filters very well could solve your problem. While warming up it keeps the fuel bowel full. Get driving and it can't keep up with the demand due to restricted flow.

I would be leary of mounting any fan to the radiator core itself. Bumps and fan vibration can eventually lead to radiator core failure. I don't care how hot of a climate you drive in there is no reason to have the fan wired to run all the time. When a vehicle gets past 30 mph you are pushing way more air than any fan will probably draw. You are taxing the charging system and putting undo wear on the fan which should last many years. I replaced the twin factory fans in my Brat with a single 14" hayden. It works but when it kicks on you don't get the rapid temperature drop of the twin factory fan system. The aftermarket fan doesn't pull as much cfm of air as the factory twin fan. The only reason I dropped the Hayden into the Brat was because I had it left over from another project. Plus it could be mounted to the radiator frame. I would do what was already suggested and that is get a factory used replacement. That will probably be about the maxium cfm of air you will get. Plus it shrouds the radiator to pull across the whole core. Have it wired back into the switch. If you have problems with temperature and the fan works you need to address the problem. Be it the thermostat, water pump, radiator, radiator cap or whatever else is affecting the cooling system in your Subaru. Another thing, water cools better than antifreeze. After you have addressed any problems in your cooling system you could adjust your antifreeze to water mixture to 1-2 for better cooling.

Try Redline MT90, it is a 75w-90 weight GL4 synthetic. Have used it in my Brat for years with good results. Though it will still be a challenge at the temps you are talking about. Don't use Mobile 1 gear oil as it is too slippery, don't ask how I know!