Seahag1978

There's only good, no bad, and certainly no ugly. I love mine. I wil say... the 5 speed turbo needs to be a major consideration... it delivers the power when you need it! It has saved my butt on Boston area highways more times than I can remember, and it has me hooked! Best car I ever had! I understand the Sport model is a bit sluggish and you may regret it... I hope others can chime in with the differences. I find the mileage is not prohibitive, but it is more than I like to spend for gas, however, the comfort and the "get-where-you-need-to-go-safely" factor is well worth it. My other cars are BRATs and they sip cheapo gas like a fine wine. The versatility of the Baja is awesome. Rain or shine, big dog, 2 little kids in car seats...it's all there. The tailgate is integral to the bed, holds 666 lbs. making it quite long, add in the switchback... a full sheet of plywood, no go... anything else, no issue. Trust me, get one... you'll love it. If you don't, sell it and buy a Ford, there are tons of people looking for used Bajas, that's how I got mine

and sisterhood

I was a volunteer at the Wicked Big Meet here in Mass. It was quite a gathering... somewhere in the neighborhood of 750+ cars... all new school, except me and my BRATs. At any rate, many people had the mic to express their 2 cents about the event. One individual's simple phrase hit me hard and fast and has stayed in my mind and heart ever since. "Subarus come with friends." Now, ain't that the truth? Love you all! Mary

hmmm... was that you in the car in front of us? We were in the blue Packard. Now that's a car for the drive-in Carrie and Dawn of the Dead were the last movies I saw at our drive-in before they tore it down. You did a great job on the BRAT! Awesome... keep her well! Mary

The little gauge that shows me the volts stays constant on 12. How do I check the alternator for AC?

I stopped at a stop light this afternoon and my tach was keeping perfect beat to the music on the radio. It's mostly rising and falling with the vocals, right down to the syllables as they are sung. It's pretty funny... acts just like an equalizer. I only does it when I'm stopped with my foot on the brake, the engine rpms stay constant. Is it just happy, or did a ground go astray somewhere?

Huh?

Guess you've never driven a Hyundai Elantra at 2 A.M. amongst the truckers in the mountains of PA? Now there's a targeted death trap... 6 months old... traded it for a 5 sp. Baja Turbo the next week... try to screw with me now... dinkweeds!

Not to knock the pink... it's just TOO Mopar for a foreign car... totally wrong and you'll probably get ridiculed by the Mopar guys Yellow is better suited. This is mine. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/photos/showphoto.php?photo=1349&cat=500&ppuser=5798 Emerald nor Lime Greens... not great colors for a BRAT... a bright blue (WRB) or Bright Red would be better choices. Oh, lose the double flat black stripes... BRATS need to be bright and happy, but not American muscle car wannabes They can carry their own weight, stick to the primary colors.

Keep it well, there are no more coming. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do mine

Have the TIME of your life!!!! Looks like you will! Best of luck kiddo! BTW, I hate you

The two-tone has always looked to me like a little kid built it from "pieces parts" of his broken cars and trucks... very quirky and very functional. I wouldn't trade mine for anything.

Actually, the Baja is holding its own in resale value. As far as I know, SOA killed it as of April 2006 making it obsolete at a very young age. Those who have them, take good care of them. I did hear a rumor from a BMW guy that SOA is planning a 30th anniversary model of the BRAT, probably just wishful thinking

Good choice on getting a Baja, they're great cars, I love mine! You might want to go to the Baja forum on http://www.nasioc.com it's waaaay down the bottom of the forum list. There are several owners that have owned theirs for a while, and from everything I have read, the only real regrets is not going with the turbo model. I have the turbo and it has gotten me out of a few tight spots in Boston area traffic. Power when you need it, worth its weight in gold. The MSRP is only an inflated price to give the dealer wiggle room to satisfy the leinholder of the trade in when the loan is upside down. When you have no trade in and your own financing that's eliminated. Best of luck! Keep us posted.

Were you peeking into my car? We had to do that for a while, but I just kept it on my door, then "lent" it to the passenger as needed. One solution is to get some of those little foam disks you put on the bottom of a candle when the candle holder is too big. Fold it in half and lay it over the hole where it goes on the crank and jam it onto the metal crank part sticking out of the door. It'll stay on pretty good and the disk will last a couple of months... just replace it when it falls off again. They come 12 in a pack, so 50 cents will get you a few year's worth Works for me!

I just got 2 sets, they're awesome quality... thanks for the quick delivery!

This is a shot of the '84 that I have with the pinstripe going forward off the BRAT decal. Just imagine the stripe going backward too. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/photos/showphoto.php?photo=9561&cat=798 The seat covers from Saddleman in Utah are solid blue not plaid, and the blue is a great match for the dash.

Barb, Those blue seat covers came from Saddleman, Inc. Logan, Utah. Now, I also noticed on the Brat that it has the Brat side decals and two thin pinstripes a half inch apart that go to the front and rear and end in a point. > It would look sharp in blue on the white.

Looks awesome! It stopped my heart for a second! This is what my original BRAT "back in the day" looked like: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/photos/showphoto.php?photo=2728&cat=500&ppuser=5798 For keeping it stock, I believe Todd has a source for the multicolored stripe. Mine also had blue interior with steel wheels. Quirky color combination... but weren't they all a little off on the color coordination?? I have a Gen2 that came with blue seat covers, I'll see if there's a tag for the maker on them. It matches the blue perfect! Keep at it! It's a hobby, not a race

My daughter is having this problem on her Forester. She hasn't had any luck getting Subaru to help her with it. The dealer isn't any help either. I have 5 Subarus and I'm a bit ticked off. The conditioner was added and bought SOA enough time to get her over the 100K. It's just wrong. I did find a website: http://www.subaruproblems.com It appears to be a law firm looking to collect enough people for a class action law suit against Subaru... there's big money in class action suits for the lawyers... unfortunately, once they take their cut, the consumer usually only gets a small portion of the settlement

It was meant jokingly. What I meant is, shifter buzz isn't serious, it's just annoying, like so many other noises in an old car, so turning up the radio cures them. When new problems come along, and they will with an old car, you will be hearing other noises that cause vibration or shake. This new problem will need your attention until the cause is found.

Bobby, For "annoying" noises, like shifter buzz, just turn up the tunes Now, on the other hand, if the noise is accompanied by a "shake, rattle, roll" or vibration... then turn down the tunes and listen... push the shifter forward toward the dash, so you can hear the "new" problem... always works for me!

It's not so much the funds, as time... the parts are cheap. Many, many, hours of very dirty work is required to restore these cars. I sympathize with you, having a young family is difficult enough with just finding the time for the wife and kids. I was a single mother and I could never have done this when my daughter was little, cheap parts or not. Been there, done that. Fortunately, I'm old now and share a common interest with Tim, my other "half". We make a great team. I have hit all the old shops... independents... the same old story... we just junked all the old parts last <insert date here... month, week, yesterday>... uh huh. SOA of NE already abandoned them years ago... so no dice in this neck of the woods.

My word... those are precious! Get that car done and show it! We need more people to show in the foreign classes in order for the judges to take these cars seriously. Porches, Jags, Rolls (BTW, I beat a Rolls!!!) were built for the long haul and the price reflected it. I am making headway with judges to actually look at the BRATS... it's been a tough row to hoe... they usually walk past them and never give them a second thought. Spectators yak for a long time with their stories of their father, uncle, second cousin removed having one when they were young... and I let their kids sit in the jump seats The kids ask where the seatbelts are and I point them out... the parents always take a picture of the kids sitting with huge smiles. Makes it all worthwhile. As it stands American made is the judges main focus for awards. Sooo, with all your NOS brightwork, I would love to see you take a first! I have gotten 4 trophies in 6 shows... never a first... a "best" once because I was the only ones... still not too shabby. Not to hi-jack, but, my engine usually blows the inspection. I need a color mix for the air cleaner and some spiffy way to fix up the "ClusterF" of wiring. Any suggestions? Paul, get that baby done!!! It's awesome!

Here they are: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/photos/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=5798 it's the red one.