tdodge41

Hey Mdjdc, I would check the vacuum lines first maybe? I know my 85 Brat has a high idle as well that doesn't really seem remedied by the idle screw, I am working on replacing all my vacuum lines (as soon as I can identify all of them). Ah the joys of learning.

I plan on driving my 1985 Brat some 100 mile days just around the midwest mostly. Going to have to take care of some shaking around 65 MPH+ but thats about it. That and I need to get some kind of topper, as cab space is few and far between. Really excited though to be hitting the road. Besides getting it home the first extended ride its going to take is this Thursday night, just driving a 100 miles and gonna see how it feels.

Just so you know, this is what my Brat aspires to be. But red. Seriously love this ride.

You have a great body to work with. Keep up the good work. I have to redo some gaskets on my Brat at some point this summer.

So today I bit the bullet and had some exhaust work done on it. Pics to come. To quote Mechanical_Misfit "Sounds like a GD sewing machine!"

Thanks a lot Indrid Cold. I just got a set of the flat spoke wheels that Mechanical_Misfit is going to powder coat white for me, and that will be my full size spare. And thanks for the info on emissions testing and stuff. Hopefully I can simply that engine even more.

Bratrod: It was at one time equipped with cruise, and I hope it will be again. Don't know much about how the cruise hooked up and stuff, but I believe it was taken off by the previous owner, TomRhere.

Bratman: Yea, rust repair is gonna be the next few weekends I hope. Probably going to do a spray-on liner of the truck bed. Mechanical_Misfit was working on a rust repair technique for his wheel wells which if it works for him I will probably give it a shot as well. Something about painting the very first few inches of the wheel wells with a truck bed liner after sanding down and cutting out rust. More pics to come, promise.

So in the past few days myself and Mechanical_Misfit have been hard at work on the BRAT. First thing we did is took off those Loyale hubcaps (on his advice) and give it a little bit more style. Then we finally got down to getting the jump seats in the bed. There was a bit of battling with some rusty bolts that came from the bed of the last BRAT those were in. The two male ends we were able to PB blast and they loosened up. The female ends took a bit more work, eventually having to cut off the old bolts and re-drill holes. Attached the seat frame with 4 grade 8 2 inch bolts and nuts. Thats our buddy Kawaii from Hawaii. Dude chose to come to Michigan for school. We don't get it either. Finally we took some pictures of it next to its West Michigan vintage Subaru kin, The Desert Fox. And last but not least, painted the air filter top. Lots to do in the future. Gotta fix the loud exhaust number 1 this week. Probably just going to have to take it to a shop. Also getting some wheels powder coated white with the emblems I have. And next weekend maybe taking Saturday and spraying the bed with a truck liner. Also possibly buying a webber carb swap from TomRhere. And still looking for a topper, high roll bar, and a long push bar. All in all though, i am learning a ton about mechanics and could not be happier to be driving this ride.

SO jealous of your roll bar and canopy!!! Seems that here in Michigan those two things are more scarce than the BRAT itself. Wish I could post pictures from my phone to this thread, we did a ton of work the past few days, with a huge thanks to Mechanical_Misfit. Let me tell you, that guy is a artist when it comes to working out body work. Tom we pounded that dent out almost 80%. I will try and do some updating sooner than later. Got a lot of cosmetic stuff done, still gotta get to the exhaust and axle soon. And gastank. More to come later.

Seriously, a real diamond in the rough there. You have found a true gem.

This wagon is really a work of art seeing where it used to be. Looks great, congrats on all the work you have done to it.

Welcome from Muskegon, MI! Would love to be driving over there someday.

Your wagon thread is making me go crazy wishing I still had a wagon. LOVE the BRAT but there is just something special about having a wagon too. Something to look forward to maybe when the BRAT is finally all tuned up mechanically and running good (as much as I can get at least). Also in reading through the thread I saw something about a meet up that once happened or never did happen? I would love to get all the midwest vintage subaru owners in one spot sometime this summer. Either over here by lake Michigan or somewhere at Tom's house. I do have a tent after all.

So after seeking out a vintage Subaru for about 3 months thanks to The_Mechanical_Misfit getting me obsessed with getting one I finally found something. I bought a 1985 Subaru BRAT from forum member TomRhere (thanks again Tom). It really is the best car I have ever driven and couldn't be happier with it. Thats her after getting home from the 170 mile drive home. In the rain, of course. And there is one of myself and TomRhere taken by The_Mechanical_Misfit while picking it up. Since the day I brought it home I have been in the middle of giving it a basic tune up: air filter, fuel filter, spark plugs and wires, belt, a little seafoam for good measure. The only thing that has gone wrong so far is I had to replace the alternator. I found a way to totally split the pulley down the middle, making it not turn completely and wreck the bearing. Ended up getting a reman from O'Reilly because this is my main vehicle now and I did not really have time to look for something else. So thats it thus far. In the future I hope to get a topper and/or a roll bar, maybe find a way to redo the stripes on the sides with something that will pop a bit more, and fight the rust battle with all my strength.

This is going to be a newb question, but how do you know if your ride has a hill holder and it just doesnt work? I just bought a 85 BRAT last weekend and it doesn't seem like there is a hill holder on it, but maybe it's just broken. Where do you locate it under the car? Like I said, real new to all this.

Hey, welcome to the board. I just bought an 85 Brat here in Michigan and people look at me like an alien when I am around. Good luck on finding parts. If you are willing to pay shipping this board is a great resource.

Yes! New axle, fuel filters, wiper blades... this may help me knock out a large part of my list, combined with my tax return.

So this will be my last update here, because, well, in a strange turn of events, I now am the proud owner of a vintage Subaru! My first! I have Mechanical_Misfit and TomRhere to thank for hooking me up with a 1985 Subaru Brat. I am simply in love with this car, and cannot wait for tomorrow to give it a tune up. So I guess from here I will be starting a thread full of pictures of my ride and such. Thank you everyone, you were a huge help. Can't wait to get this thing going at full speed.

Greetings from Michigan, another winter wonderland. Your Brat looks amazing. Not an inch of rust! Are you the original owner or did you buy it from someone looking like that?

Welcome to the board. I am rather new as well, and not anywhere near you. But since joining it has been one of the most helpful resources in the whole internet. Hope you enjoy your stay.

So just to update, I think my new plan is going to be to keep my eyes open a bit, but I am for sure going to try and buy one when I am out west for the wedding. Maybe on the first day so I have something to drive to the wedding and then can work on while there, and then drive it home, cross country. I saw there are some really good looking Brats out there as well as some other rides in good shape. Hoping to have close to 3,000 to spend on the car and get it home. Wont start till August, but I will be amassing knowledge till then. And I will make sure that my trip is WELL documented. And to all those in the Seattle/Portland area I will be seeing you in about 5 months.

Hey ystrdyisgone, where in MT are you?

Thanks everyone! To update, Mechanical_misfit and I checked out that ea82 wagon today. I left the wagon a note and got a call from the man tonight. Doesn't want to sell it, but is a really good guy, thought it showed how much I want a subaru that I left him a note HOPING his wagon was for sale. Wants to chat more later. And yea, my big worry is I don't know a TON about vintage subarus yet, so if something happened on the road fixing it would be a challenge, let alone somewhere across the country. Although I did check craigslist seattle today (the wedding im in is on Whitby Island, if anyone knows where that is) and there are a TON of beauties out there. Amazing really. I will keep updating this thread as the journey continues. Tomorrow night we check out the loyale sedan sitting in the field.

Sequim, Washington is where they are, which is pretty much cross country for me, being that im in Michigan. But I have to fly out there for a wedding in August. If I dont have something by then I will look at getting a one way ticket and driving something home maybe.