Seahag1978

Not for nothing, but back in the day, when I got my '78 BRAT as a birthday gift from my boyfriend, I drove it for 14 years and never changed the axles... the rust gods got the whole car first... that has to say something for new factory axles. The exhaust system was another story... 3 failed during that time frame. My current '78 has eaten 2 in 3 years. I purposely bought used ones for my '86 with 3k or so on them and they are still ok. If a rebuilt is going to fail, it will do it quick enough to at least get your money back

Absolutely! For some reason, very few BRATs I see on the board have them... I think they make the truck! Otherwise it looks like a Dodge Rampage I saw one Wednesday night! Nice shape too, all original including paint.

Nooooooo! They like being abused and neglected! When you hear a squeak or moan turn up the radio, most will pass. Morning sickness in the brakes, squeaks from an over the weekend rest. They quit as soon as you step on the brakes or dive into the next pot-hole. Just keep fresh gas and oil... the rest will take care. If it's being particularly ornery, then listen carefully and it'll tell you what's wrong. Whatever it is will only keep you down for a few hours. Best of luck with it! You'll LOVE it!

Hmmm... doesn't look like a nose-dive to me... neither does mine. I like it. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/photos/showphoto.php?photo=9026&cat=500&ppuser=5798 I really like cobcob's BRAT... nice find kiddo! Anyway, whatever ails it shouldn't keep you down for more than a few hours... trust me on that... name it, it's happened to mine! Best of luck with it!

My '86 has 15" pugs and a heck of a rake. It's in style here with all the muscle cars running around

Wow! The title of this post brought me back to the days when the BRAT actually could run on either regular (leaded) or unleaded. I got quite nostalgic, they did run better on leaded... not so fussy and had more power. More knock, but at least you could make a hill and not get honked at.

A few years back, I called my local dealership looking for tune-up parts for my '78 BRAT and he asked if it had a Hitachi or a Carter-Weber carb. He must have been trying to look smart by tossing names around. Then he said he hates looking at the microfiche to find part numbers and pretty much told me he didn't want to sell parts to me?! The whole car has been rebuilt part by part from various sources. Smart... he ain't.

Ditto.. I do have a tach, but never watch it, unless it grabs my attention, like when it was dancing to the radio that time last fall.

The red one looks like (same shape) the ones on my chrome wagon wheels, except mine have a black logo on a white field.

:)

There's like a gazillion of them out there, just stop when you see one and measure it. It's not like a 360. Jeez. Besides, from my experience, most people can't read a ruler anyway, so taking someone else's word is pretty brave.

An old-fashioned leather chamois (not synthetic) will prevent any water spots without damaging the paint and gives a great shine to chrome and glass too. You'd be surprised at what soap and water misses that the chamois picks up. I just toss mine in the washer and dryer after each use. They'll last for years.

Ohhh!! Be careful with Spray n Wash! It contains petroleum distillates which will "dry" your paint and cloud your clear coat. I would rewash the car as soon as possible with a mild soap that has no degreaser in it, then wax to replenish the oils.

Shoot, I've forgotten more than you know now... you could be right in this case. Ummm, what was the question again? :)

LOL! Nothing stronger than a 40 watt bulb in this house!

My mother is old <shiver> not so bad, she played 36 holes of golf at 86. Anyway, the new 50 is 40... and since I LOOK 40 something that makes me 30 something. Right? Right?? RIGHT????!!!!

Make time... it's a moral imperative! 8 years ago, I was married to a slug for 7 years. He didn't want to do anything or go anywhere. I became that same slug. My hips and knees caved in, I was in physical therapy and quite frankly, wheelchair bound if I didn't take drastic measures. I told him one night that he needed to live somewhere else. He did. I met Tim on the internet and we hit it off... same mindset, same interests... same-same, if my right foot hurts his left will, if my left eye itches his right will. It's freaky. We need to make it a practice not to mention it unless one sees the other reacting to the problem. He's a work-a-holic... not work-work... just doing things... working on the cars, the house, boat... just keeping busy. I am too... and we meshed. We have accomplished so much together... not saving the world kind of stuff, just things that mean a lot to us and the people dear to us. At any rate, seven years later we're still getting dirty... in every sense of the word!!!

Besides the 4 Subes, 78, 86, 84 BRAT (parts), 05 Baja 5 sp. Turbo, we have: '05 Ford F-350 Diesel Lariat (work truck) '50 Ford F-1 (Jeep drive train) in purple (show truck) '04 23' Polar Center Console fishing boat with offshore package and 225 hp Suzuki 4-stroke (up for sale) Year unknown (old)-John Deere tractor for plowing A few pedal bikes

Hey kiddo, don't break your neck! Wow, you're sure gettin' around! Keep mom and dad sleeping... it's better that way. Take care

It will, just remember... you ain't. It also makes good kids make split-second, very bad decisions.

Hey the water flows down the window and right out the bottom of the door... no worries, right? Seriously, my bottom welds are g-o-n-e in the '86, they have been since day one of ownership. To buy and ship 2 doors across the country is VERY expensive, let alone whether it makes it without a forklift puncture or a drop from 10 feet. True stories... TWO BRAND NEW hoods. There are NO junkyards on the east coast with old Subes, if they still have one kicking around, it's toast for sheet metal, interior... NICE! The ones I have found managed to get 75,000 (highest) on the clock before they rusted into unroadworthiness. Sometimes a lot of tedious repair is the only option. Can't you just feel the love? It's the only reason

Does anyone have a solution for a Gen1 BRAT? I'm using one of those cardboard trays from Mickey D's on the passenger floor. Looks pretty lame when you NEED a sip THAT second and the tray sticks to the bottom!

The shifter is on the console, and it's just like mine, which is a dual range.

On my single range, I have one shifter on the floor with 4WD on the top of the grip (the left hand picture) and can just be pulled (?) without depressing the clutch to engage (but never over 50mph or cornering). In my dual range, (the right hand picture) the shifter is on the console between the seats and when you pull up, it has to also have the clutch depressed to engage it into 4WD, for either speed... there is a light on the dash that tells which speed you're in. Same with the single range, the light on the dash will illuminate 4WD.

Please do! I surely won't be living in this state when I retire! Not too very far away! Glad to help out... best of luck with your sale!