DatSub

Re-post or not I hadn't seen it. Great classic car porn clip; what I wouldn't give to travel back to the 70's in Japan and test drive as many cars as I could get my hands on.

I guess I should've specified better. I'm talking about the build-your-own harness kits, not a totally wired harness. How many circuits would be sufficient and what is a good make?

Hey guys! My buddy has agreed to help me do a wiring harness with my 78 BRAT. He said if I get a kit he can help me build it, but he needs to know the specs I need. Anyone know of what the most reliable kit I could get to work for this? I also plan on doing the ea81 alt/disty swap when I install the harness. I just need something simple, preferrably with labelled leads to build a new wiring harness. This will be a great learning project for me and I'll post pics and my steps so others can learn too! Thanks! Connor

Tried to buy online twice only to be told its an r&r! thanks in advance! Connor

That's a good point, talldude. Especially now that I've gone through and replaced the coil, alternator, and voltage regulator & that didn't fix it(though it does seem a *little* better). Also, please tell me if this seems to be a symptom of bad grounding - usually only my brake light indicator works in my dash - nothing else does except the gas alternates between showing empty and showing full. Well last night I fired it up and once it was warmed up, one of the turn signal indicators was flashing. My turn signal wasn't on and it was flashing irregularly. Either way, I'm going to go through a diagram and check all the ground points. Thanks for the tip and I'll let you know how it goes. The next step if that doesn't work is to check the fuel pressure. Thanks again! Datsub

Goddamn... on top of that, Portugal has really lax drug laws!

Well... I bought it from a shop. They re-built the block, but apparently didn't do much else, though it was described to me as a "daily driver" and would be able to take me around for work. I barely got home and it was barely running & misfiring a bunch, and I demanded they take it back and work on it. It turned out it was crossed spark plug cables! Even then, I found tons of weirdly wrong things, like really loose connections, 5 of the 8 fuses were the wrong amperage, etc. UPDATE: Found that the bulbs in the dash are blown, by way of switching them around. Seems like something surged & blew some ************. Also, I wiggled the wires back there and now the gas gauge is all the way to the top. I am not sure, but I am pretty sure I don't have a completely full tank, though it may be nearly full. Haven't tested speedo. Any other things I should check? What about that resistor on the coil? Oh! I also checked the voltage and it is much more stable with this new voltage regulator. I didn't observe it go above 14.2 even when pulling the throttle. Thanks! DatSub

My Brat has been running extremely poorly and I think it's something electrical. I recently had some people work on this car and since it was returned to me, it's been bogging down a lot. When it does this, power cuts, I have to drop gears and give it the beans to get anywhere at all & I can smell tons of uncooked gas. Backfires too, mostly from carb, but also from exhaust. Also, since it was returned, the indicator lights have been all effed & all gauges are bottomed out, except the speedo, which appears to run a bit slow. The only one that works is the parking brake indicator. When I have it on and hit the left turn signal, the fasten seat belts light flashes. The right turn signal just makes the brake light dim and brighten. Turn signals themselves work fine, as well as the headlights. Here's what I've done so far: Checked battery - holds charge @ 12.2 & have swapped with another same story. Checked alternator - runs @ battery initially after start-up goes up to 15.2, then settles to 13.4-14.2 depending on how it's idling(I have no choke connected at the moment, but the problem is irregular in interval, so that doesn't seem to be a likely culprit). Because of it being up to 15.2, I swapped in a new voltage regulator. Works a LITTLE better, but still bogging down! Checked impedence of coil @ all terminals - numbers match up. Swapped fuses Checked continuity - both battery terminals have continuity to the body - is that normal? Heads are freshly rebuilt. Fuel pump & filter are relatively new, so it's unlikely that's the problem. I've also heard that alternators can still be going bad, though appearing to give fine voltage - could this be the case? Kinda off-note: Can I swap in an EA-81 internally regulated alternator or do I then have to change out the distributor and coil as well? I've been thinking about doing the whole upgrade, but only have cash for the alt. I realize I may have multiple problems, I am just stumped as all the diagnosis I have done so far has been fruitless, and it just seems strange. Any ideas? DatSub

Pooparu, you still have that coupe? I haven't seen it around in a while, I got sad about it. There was a gorgeous mustard B210 in our neighborhood(I think off 84th and tolman-ish) with the honeycomb wheels and apparently 64,000 original miles that I used to love walking by, but it got sold... :-\

Changed out the linkage, that's all fixed now, thank you for the heads up - rookie mistake on my part. As far as the adapter plate, I did some measuring and mine is about 5/8" thick. Is this too short? With the plate my buddy fabbed, it is running a whole inch above the manifold. Is the original weber adapter really over an inch thick? Well, either way he is going to slap a 5/8" thick plate together and we're going to swap out the 3/8" and be running 1 1/4" above the manifold. I am hoping the hood will close! Thanks everyone for the advice, I will keep you guys posted! DatSub

Very nice collection! I used to have an 83 Tele 62 reissue and an 89 P-Bass Special, as well as two Ibanez Roadstar II's, one with a PJ setup that was absolutely flawless black on black with a red pinstripe on the top, sick. The other showed its age a little, but had a gorgeous birdseye maple top and fat cream binding. Sadly, all of these as well as my Teisco that I completely built were stolen when somebody raided the studio my friends and I had put together.:-\ The only working electric guitar I currently own is a Telecaster Aerodyne.

Has my ************ty chalk-pen shark art. I'll be stenciling out and painting the real thing at some point. 1978 stock except Weber and wheels, which actually I really need some help with For some reason I can't get it to fit right. I posted a thread about it and just now finally got some pictures of where it is conflicting with my distributor. Maybe one of you EA71 dudes can help? Anyway, some very fine looking Subies out there... making me really want a tailgate wagon

Thanks for the info Spencer, I had no idea though I did notice they looked different from stock. I would certainly be interested in those wheels you have, and leave these as street wheels. I'll shoot you a PM after the weekend. I have Panasports on the Datsun. Had a tire blow out on the 99 in Seattle and couldn't exit for two miles. It was over the corridor where there's no shoulder. I just had to ride it out and when I got off the exit, the rubber was melted all over the wheel! I nearly shat my pants, but luckily there was absolutely no damage.

Thank you for the nice comments! I am definitely an MIJ-o-phile. I even prefer Japanese guitars(specifically the Fender & older Ibanez variety). I think a meet would be great! I was about to suggest a bar:drunk: but then realized that not everyone is 21. Somewhere like Rogue Brewery or Old Chicago would be pretty ideal. I needs me a nice bier when talkin bout cars! But seriously, it would be great to get to know some subie fans in my area. DatSub

Hello! I am new to the forum, but I have had a Subaru in the past, an 88 Justy(a friend had it taken to a yard two weeks after I gave it to him:mad:); maybe one of you took it home(it was perfect but engine was blown)? It was metallic black with black-tinted windows/pop-out sunroof and tinted tail lights full of LEDs(this was before "murdered out" was cool. In a way, I am glad I don't drive it anymore!) This was around Olympia, WA. Loved it and loved the gas mileage and capabilities, so when my 1970 Datsun 510 was rear-ended, I figured a Brat would be the perfect fix. I found this 78 in Sherwood that specialized in Subarus. They rebuilt the heads and did a bunch of other work to it and it feels pretty solid. Without further adieu, here she is: Don't worry, that shark is just a tentative sketch-up in chalkpen. I'm going to make some way better stencils off the Ratsun.net 510's Flying Tiger. Obviously not the prettiest Brat, but she will be taking me offroad, so no worries there. I guess I would like a driver's turn signal, if anyone has one to sell! Also, if anyone would be kind enough to direct me to a tailgate that would be incredible. I definitely have some plans for this bada$$ rig. I have already installed a weber, but it is problematic as it is (http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=130430) I also put in an MSD Blaster coil in. In the near-future I plan on adding: NGK Plugs Electronic disty Electronic alternator A sound system Marine speakers mounted in the roll bar crotches Maybe an MSD 6A(if I still can't pass emissions) A tach(I just don't like not having one, even my Justy had one) Some good knobby tires I think that's all I really wanna do at the moment. At some point I plan on not being so goddamn poor, so I will want to do a Hi-Lo 4WD swap and EJ22 and lift and nicer fenders and and and... well, I won't count ALL the eggs before they hatch! Anyway, I am excited to learn and share everything I can on this board. I also look forward to meeting some of my fellow NW subie owners and finding some sweet spots in the OR, WA area. Oh hey, a question for you Brat folks. Is the 78 model considered a first year, since they came out at the end of 77? Also, what is the difference between the first gens with two headlights and with four(other than the obvious)? Yours truly, DatSub P.S. And because I know some of you will want to see it, here is my 510. She will be pretty again someday!

Alright, finally got some pictures on here! Don't worry that flying tiger shark is just chalked on. I thought it was such an easy design I could chalk it on and tape it out and spray it... then I realized that I am not a very good artist and it looks retarded. I will print out and make a stencil at some point. Oh an if anybody's wondering, the black is rustoleum bedliner paint So, as you can see I got the weber on... sort of. My buddy fabbed a 3/8" riser and it's STILL having clearance issues over the distributor to the point that the spark wire is sparking onto that little nipple that's touching it! I guess I am going to have to raise it more and get some longer bolts? An extra 3/8" and it's still not fitting! Also, check out my throttle linkage. Why is the arm mounted straight out, yet the throttle is supposed to pull down? I'm starting to feel like I'm missing some parts Well, either way I got it started up fine, just need to tweak it into running well and mess with the linkage a bit. Also, didn't mount the arm to the choke because I can't find a good place. Just have it zip tied in a the moment(like my bed seats ) Anybody know where I can get a tailgate? Also for any of you non-subie fans I included the reason I got my Brat: my rear-ended(but still beautiful!) Datsun 510. Can you believe they gave me $5300 for that damage?! :cool: Bumper isn't even dented! DatSub

Alright, alright pictures tomorrow! I need to post some of my black Rustoleum bedliner/gloss red paint job anyway! I've been a bit busy as well as without a running car, but I finally got a shop manual for 72-81 Soobs and now it's time to get serious. My buddy fabbed a carb riser for me and we'll be slapping that weber on in the afternoon. It should go on just perfect, but I still have no idea why it isn't fitting in the first place. Based on that other EA71 setup my distributor is strangely closer to the carb. I can't explain . Once we get that running well, I plan on rummaging the yard for an 83+ disty and maybe getting an MSD 6A. I figure all the spark I can get in there will help lower my hydrocarbs from 2900. As far as I've read it couldn't be a bad thing. Also I impulse-bought some cheap rack lights I've also arranged to get some marine speakers tomorrow. I plan on mounting them in the back, either in boxes on the cage or in the bed next to the cabin. Either way I need to get some music to my passengers/victims. Next step after this is to paint the flying tiger shark behind the front wheels. I know Ratsun rocks it on their banner and to be honest its what got me jonesing for it on the brat, but it hasn't hit the cliche level yet has it? I've never seen it on a Soob