tundrabrat

Well... you helped me make up my mind. I am going to get my new (old) Brat back on the road and enjoy it this Summer, rebuild my 2 extra ea81 engines and sell them and any duplicate parts and put the money into a modernized drive train (not sure if 2.5 or 2.0 turbo). You have done a heck of a job... I'm having my 12 year old rebuild one of the ea81's and he wants the Brat when he can drive... I hope he picks up 1/2 as much as you did from your Dad. I'm adding this to my favorites page... now get back on it... I can't wait to hear this thing is running!

EJ motors would require you to pull the motor. I'm guessing this is an older motor thing. I'll be sure to do it when I complete my ea81 rebuilds this Summer. Thanks

This looks great! i thought I'd have to get DL lights... now I can use my extra grill to do this. I've got one of the older lights with the big emblem... anyone interested in a trade for the later model?

Never heard of the final step, is that an ea81/ea82 thing?

Have the same problem on my 85 Brat. It definitely isn't stuck in 4wd, just the switch... thatnks for the confirmation.

I'll look you up when I'm back in town.

He's 12. But he's been watching me build engines for the last few years and I figured side x side with no deadline is a great way for him to learn.

Dents pulled, detailed and registered when I get back from my vacation... That's when I'll post more pics. Over the summer I plan to replace the shocks, fix the rust before Fall. I'm going to show my son how to rebuild an engine as we rebuild the two extra engines, and sell them to fund the Brat. Thinking about my options... Lift, engine upgrade etc. Just haven't made the call yet.

03- Picked up first Subie while living in Japan. 94 BG5 Twin Turbo Legacy GT. This is where I first started turning wrenches on these (T-Belt, water pump, etc.) 06- Picked up second Subie once I returned to states. '05 Legacy GT Wagon 5spd. I did an STI swap, brake kit, suspension, 2 turbos... throwing a rod bearing this is also the first time I did a complete engine build. 10- Sold the Leggy with built motor and had been without a subie til last week when I picked up a 85 Brat. Picked up a 97 4runner and have had to give it a whole lot of TLC including new heads and gaskets... funny, I bought this so I wouldn't be working on cars so much. Since selling the Leggy I have built two other performance EJ25 for people, done a complete engine drive train swap and I am the "mechanic/partner" on an RS with a built STI swap we use for Auto crossing... kind of exciting not having to build an engine and drive train that has to hold together above 80hp I'm excited about the Brat... it's not a daily driver so I can take time with it. It looks pretty straight forward, and I have a total of 3 engines and a bed full of parts to work with. Hope to see you all around...

Hello All... I just picked up this 85 Brat last week as a project. Long time NASIOC member... but glad to be on a board that seems less about "look at me" and more about "what do you have/how can we help". Looking forward to getting this thing back on the road with help from all the experience on this board. Not many up here in AK so for now I am old school in a sea of WRX's:banana:

Picked this up last weekend with 2 extra engines, 2 tubs of parts, a 2nd complete exhaust system, a second set of wheels with snows tires all loaded in the back with a topper on it. Rust is limited to bottom of doors, behind rear wheels and the wheel wells in the bed (no rust through there). It had been sitting in a car port (luckily) since 2007 because the owner couldn't figure out how to get it started... I managed to get it started after 30 mins of tweaking:). Interior is extremely clean (other then a tear in the driver seat) Spent about 2 hours cleaning it... other then that I have done nothing else. It is missing the driver side window... believe it or not... I walked into the local subie dealership and located the last one in the US... it will be here by Friday. A few dents here and there... having a professional dent puller take them out ($150.00) then a coat of wax and I think I'm going to play with it a little Got it all for $400.00. From what I have read, sounds like a good find. More (detailed) pics when I get back in town and get the dents pulled.