Seahag1978

After bugging him half to death, Paul sold me his pristine black dash. Thanks again Paul! I use a reflective sun shade all year 'round and crack the windows in summer. Automotive plastics were still in their infancy... prior to that, dashes were mostly metal. It's overused in modern cars... I think my Baja is 99% plastic. I have the old dash and am going to try fiberglassing it. I have seen the awesome work they do with custom interiors and sub boxes... so why not try it on the dash? I'm sure there's a way to texture it during the curing process. I need to play with it to see how it acts. Once that happens, I'd like to do a bed cover, for both the Baja and the Brats.

Argggh! What happened? I typed this and lost it! Nope, I used wood filler. These dashes were some of the first foam dashes and are ALL foam with a few metal reinforcment pieces. The early "old syle" foams were pretty primitive (compared to today's foams) and release a lot of air/gas. When the foam expands in the heat, the foam and filler will shift at different rates causing the cracks to re-open. The paint bubbles when the heated air/gas tries to escape. The professional restorers use a special foam filler and vacuum-heat-seal the new covering to the foam, which prevents shifting. They sell kits for dash restoration that have a special foam filler. I looked into it and after reading the application procedure, decided it would be very difficult, if not impossible to get a perfectly smooth job, so I passed on it.

I tried the "home" restoration... it looked great until the first hot, sunny day... then it looked like black lava... it bubbled and the cracks opened back up. Not pretty

Cool... he also went into an elaborate spraying rig that he made because he does a lot of it. Well, I kinda stopped listening when he got the part where you take the valve off an outdated propane cylinder and drill an access hole... yikes!

I was talking to a customer of mine who is a mechanic and owned a Brat way back when. He told me a little secret weapon on preventing rust. Take some 5-10w, Marvel Mystery oil and a dash of diesel fuel and mix it together. Put it into a bug sprayer and staying way from the exhaust, lightly mist all the parts under the car that are prone to rust. Then wipe down any rubber brake lines/hoses that get wet with the mixture. Living in the rust belt, he has done this at each oil change and has yet to have any vehicle rust out. Dirt will stick to it, but, as he said, "Who cares? At least it won't rust." This won't stop rust that's already there, but will prevent new rust from forming. His brother offroads in his Jeep and he sprays his more often. Seems worth a shot.

I think... well, pretty sure... the car has to have a regular plate first before you can convert it to an historic plate.

When my first Brat died... I was devastated. Me and that car had the best years of our lives! I'm finding better times reviving the new guys... seems they just evoke a spirit in us that has nothing to do with the car itself, but the carefree era in which they were born. I never think of bad things when I drive my oldies. I just smile. Last week, before the snow and salt came... I drove around with a life-size Santa strapped into the jump seat in the back. I hope I got some smiles back at me. These little guys are precious.

Baja 5 sp. turbo. Versatile. Truck bed. Very good comfortable seating. Powerful. Right off the git go... especially at the interchange from 93 South onto 95 North, saved my butt more than once. Comfortable ride not stiff or too sway-y on "Massa-potholes" roads. AND it's hella cute. Awesome trucklet. It will tow. I highly recommend it. I have had mine for almost a year, and love it... but you STILL can't beat an old Brat for handling in any road/weather condition. Done.

That would have been a bit scary. But then again... I would never sell even at 10k... once you sell it's gone from your control. Too many things have been sold out and lost into oblivion... my subies will never have that fate.

Awwww... that's cool to the max!

Yeah, the pressure from the escaped "meat" was sitting on his sciatic nerve making it very painful to walk. Oh... you sound like Tim (not my ex)... the he-man type! He never listens either Nothing stops you guys

I see you are in NY... no car cover... it actually traps moisture/dirt under it and will only freeze to the paint. The constant rubbing from the wind will also do damage. Not to worry about covering it if you have a good coat of wax on it, (include the chrome too), it's healthier for it to be exposed. Good luck with the surgery! My ex had the same surgery and the relief he felt after they removed that blown disc was so great that the actual surgical pain was nothing compared to the pain he had before. He was up walking the next morning... he was back to work and driving within 10 days. Take care!

Now that's the car for my "friend" that's looking for a wagon, dontcha think Paul? He better not drive that here in "Massivepotholes"

The one Russ describes sounds more like the one I had. It did have a sort of an upward swoop at the back. I also think the windows were a bit narrower in height, but same in length, than the one Mick shows. I don't recall seeing the name Leer on it, but for some reason know the name... I'm old though and it was a long time ago.

The Gem Top is a metal cap, kinda ugly. They did make a low fiberglass cap that was nice looking, I had one on my '78 Brat way back when. It even had sliding windows with screens. I have one for the '86 (see my gallery). It's fiberglass and sits at roofline and even accommodates a low roll bar.

4 for 4... the '84 runs and moves, but I wouldn't drive it too far... the chain from the trailer broke the bolts on one side of the moustache bar, and stopping is a little tricky with no brake lines

There's a little tool that looks like a two pronged fork. When you slide it behind the molding onto the clips, it pinches them together. They're usually pretty brittle, so it helps a lot to get them out without snapping them off inside or removing the inside door panel.

Well, I wasn't too lucky with the first one... took a lot of skill, blood, sweat and tears to get that running right (it still has a noise). The second one took a lot of hard work and talent. The third one was pure luck... it was advertised as a parts car. New brake lines (included), exhaust and some rust repair underneath and she's another pretty one. No body work!

I took a set off the '86. The only places it was beginning to rust was under that trim, it traps all the yuckies under it. I still have them I think, you can have at 'em.

As much information as possible is welcome. I had searched EGR and came up empty.

I had the same problem on the '86 on Friday night. Several strands of the battery cable were shorn off and it was only hanging by a few strands. Seems every single used car I have ever gotton had the same condition.

Ahhh... the Brat only has 66,000 miles on it, so that explains it. It's snowing like heck here right now so when it slows up, I'll see if I can put my color skills to practical use.

Could the lack of operability of the ERG affect the emissions test... by letting more air in? I understand that it recirculates unburnt gasses? Just trying to get a handle on its function.

Georgia smells funny. I used to travel through there often on my way to and from Pensacola, FL. A few miles from the border the air changes and you get this kinda sicky sweet smell that's very hard to describe... it's nasty. I got on the CB to ask what the smell was and a trucker came on and said in a very deep southern accent... "Little lady, that's Georgia approachin'". Never did find out for sure... must be the red clay. You do get used to it after a day or two.

I did read the fine print... drama is my middle name (actually it's Agnes) Mary Agnes Courtney... excuse me sir, would you like a sip of wine to wash down your communion host? <curtsey> Anyway... Connie, you and Bucky are IN like Flint! YES! High five!