mcmillonbe

After over of month of tinkering with this car, I finally was able to get plates for the Brat. I have been failing for HC emissions, but today got it close enough to take it to the state air quality and get a one year waiver. It blew 260 HC and needed to be 220. Here is what was done in stages that maybe will help if anyone else is trying to pass a car for state emissions. Baseline- I took the car in right after I bought it to see how bad it was, I knew it was bad, the exhaust smelled like raw fuel HC was 3800 at idle, and 1000 at 2500 rpm. I changed the oil, installed spark plugs, wires, cap, rotor, installed a junkyard carb,replaced fuel filter, thermostat and replaced leaking vacuum hoses. HC was 1800 at idle, and 180(passed) at 2500 rpm. For the third test I did a bit more, replaced EGR valve, rebuilt junkyard carb, installed new coil, had the distributor rebuilt, and fixed more vacuum leaks. HC was 800 at idle and 240(fail) at 2500 rpm. For todays test, changed the oil again(it was super dirty), retarded timing to 6 degrees and threw in some ethanol. HC was 260(fail) at idle and 160 at 2500 rpm(pass). This has by far been the most challenging of the 20 or so cars that I have owned. But at least now I can enjoy driving it. Oh yeah thanks USMB members for all your input and useful information, without this sight, I would have sold it for a loss.

Finally got temp tags today so I could take the Brat in for the 3rd emission test. It did not pass but down to 500 on HC(limit is 220) was 3800 when I first tried a month ago. Passed on the CO, so looks like a lean misfire. I had turned the idle mixture screw too much in, did not realize it until I hooked up the vacuum gauge, adjusted the idle and mixture and the vacuum is around 20(compensated for altitude) and the gauge is steady I think I will try to back off the timing to 6 degrees and get a couple of gallons of e85 to burn through, at this point it cant hurt anything. Already tried denatured alcohol, and the emissions stuff from autozone. Also will change the oil again, I am sure that it is pretty dirty again. I took on the freeway for the first time today, and it was able to keep up with traffic just fine. I still need to do something about the exhaust, I smell like an auto shop after driving it for more than 15 minutes, will probably just order a y pipe and cat from ebay for $150, and redo the rest of the exhaust with something more quiet that the farting cherry bomb. And still need to make time and replace the leaking oil pan gasket, the oil is dripping on the y pipe and smokes a bit when idling in traffic. But overall, after over a month of wrenching on the old car and spending around 700, I finally feel like this might turn in a fun daily driver.

I buy a lot of stuff from Harbor Freight know that there is a good chance that I will be taking it back. But I guess I have been pretty lucky most of the tools have worked very well. Good Stuff: Torque wrenches, have a 1/2 and 3/8 that have worked well, I know its not Snap On but good enough to keep a 2.5DOHC Heads together for over 20k miles, so it must be close enough. Impact sockets, haven't broken one yet 26 gallon compressor, have used it a lot over the past year, even if its slow to charge up the tank. Breaker bars and pry bars have worked very good Just bought a one man brake bleeder that hooks up to the air compressor, it worked very well for getting air out of the brake system after installing a master cylinder where tradition bleeding would not bring a solid brake pedal. The Junk: Bought the spring compressor that looks like a vee, you set the strut into the setup and slowly turn a bolt, did not even get one spring compressed before the unit stripped, ended up using a set I bought at Oreilyes along time ago Ratchets, have had a couple that stripped on the first bolt Rivet gun, broke after one rivet, ended up taking it back and using a nut and bolt for a door handle assembly in a Crown Vic I was working on. Overall not too bad, less expensive than the name brand stuff, still mostly use Craftsman sockets and wrenches.

Installed the master cylinder from ebay, kind of pain in the butt, didn't have a long reach 10mm wrench so the bottom flare nuts came off and on slowly. Then attempted to cross bleed the brake system since I could not bench bleed the master. After messing around for 30 minutes, decided to go to Harbor Frieght and pick up one of those one man bleeders that hooks up to the air compressor, Viola! It still took a good 30 minutes, but finally have a good brake pedal again. 30 bucks well spent for sure.

Went skiing today instead of working on the Brat, but I did get the master cylinder from ebay in 3 days so super happy that I can install that in the morning. Will also try to get the Brat over to the emissions for the 3rd test, it passed the 2500 rpm test but not the idle on the 2nd attempt. But since then, I have rebuilt the carb, distributor, installed a new egr valve as the old one was totally siezed, and fixed the hissing vacuum lines. Will probably run a gallon of denatured alcohol with 4 gallons of gas to see if I can get below 220 on the HC. If that doesn't work then Ill show my $600+ in reciepts and get a one year exemption. Just in time for the big storm on Saturday.

Yes you should save it. I bought an 86 Brat as a project about a month ago. It has needed a lot of work but overall I am very happy that I picked it up. I get comments all the time from people when I drive it around town. It's one of those cars that makes people smile. The first time I took it in to try to get it pass emissions, the tech came out smiling telling me how when he was a kid his mom had one. It made my day to see it bring such a positive reaction to someone who probably tests 20 cars a day.

Installed new egr valve yesterday morning as the old one was siezed, then had to remove the rear driveshaft on my h6 as the u joints were shot. Then last night attempted to bleed the brakes on the BRAT again, but I am sure I ruined the master cylinder pumping the brakes. So I ordered a reman off of ebay and should get that on Friday. I just finished reinstalling the driveshaft on my h6 and no more clunking on take off. Will be changing the oil pan gasket on the Brat tomorrow morning.

Ordered an egr gasket and bought a one man brake bleeder as my old one was cracked and leaking brake fluid. Should be getting the egr on Thursday from NAPA, until then I will bleed the brakes and finally adjust the rear drums. Will go into the emission shop on Thursday if time permits. Heading off to Wyoming on Friday, and will have to go back to the DMV next Monday if the beast doesn't pass emissions and attempt on getting a one year exemption since I have now met the min of $200 of emissions related repairs(distributor, rebuilt carb, plugs, wires, rotor, etc etc) And to think I thought this was going to be an easy project.

Bought a cigar, lit it and blew smoke into the vacuum port behind the carb, viola, a major leak at the big three way tee that connects to the pvc hose. Fixed that and gained about 2" of vacuum and for the first time, I have a steady idle. Also heard the erg valve knocking, major carbon throughout, cleaned up with carb cleaner, then decided to order a new one, this one is done. Once I install the new EGR later on this week, I will take it back to get testing for emissions.

Took a good part of the day and rebuilt the junkyard carb since the car has not been running all that great. Good thing I did, it was pretty dirty as expected, does not look like it had been opened up before. Installed it and it fired up. Pulls much better, no backfiring, but still working on vacuum leaks. Will smoke the vacuum lines and try to get it back to the shop to attempt a 3rd try at the emission shop. Also exhaust does not smell like raw gas. Besides taking a lot of time, this is starting to be a satifying project.

Drove the Brat up to Alta today, and it ran great, but later on in the day it was back to running inconsistent, so I will pull off the top of the carb and clean out the emulsion tubes and drain the bottom of the carb tomorrow. Despite being old and tired, it is actually more fun to drive in the mountains than my VDC with Baja springs and sway bars. Guess manual steering along with over 1000 lbs lighter gives it more fun factor.

It wasn't too bad in the garage, had to do a few lighter coats to prevent runs on the vertical areas. But the wheel I repainted was a royal pain to paint. Only got one wheel done, turned out okay, better than the brushed on tractor paint the PO applied.

Sanded and cleaned the bed of the Brat, then sprayed primer on the bare metal areas, taped up the rear window, removed the chrome pieces, used three can of the spray can bedliner, turned out pretty good. Will upload picture tomorrow. Also worked on one wheel getting off the black tractor paint that was brushed on. Found some good paint stripper at Home Depot that also came with a spray bottle. It took two applications, but now down to bare metal. Will prime and paint tomorrow, should look a whole lot better. Also got back my newly rebuilt distributor($105) all new parts and bushings. After three attempts of lining of the distrubutor, sweet victory, the old car fired right up. Runs much much much better, no more backfiring, the timing marks are steady, and no longer smells like raw gas. Still some fine tuning with the idle and mix adjustments, but will take it back into the emissions later on this week to finally get real plates. The guy who rebuilt the distributor was amazed the car would run at all with how bad it was. Oh BTW, the name of the shop is SNAP here in Salt Lake City, they rebuild hundreds a month, and they have quick turnaround, he had mine back in two days. Super good work!

Finally got to installing the new distributor, well kind of. Took the old one out, slid the new one in and went to start the car. I already set #1 to TDC on compression(love compression gauges). Car wouldn't start, no tach movement, so I knew something was wrong. Put the old distributor back in and it fired right up. Called up all the junk yards around here, no one had one. Then drove the old distributor to a shop here that specializes in this. He will have it back to me tomorrow or Wednesday for $105 or half of a new one. Took the POS new(reman) back and got my money back....The fun continues....

Picked up the "new" distrubutor from the local parts store this afternoon, was going to install it but decided to take a day off and watch some football. Will be installing it tomorrow, then off to get it restested after I play with the timing and fuel mixture as I am sure it will run so much better. The old distributor has some serious shaft play(1/8") and I am convinced that is why I have been failing the emissions at idle. Then moving on to replace a torn cv axle, crank seal, both valve covers, oil pan gasket and rear wheel bearings. Good times, but soon will be a daily driver, so I hope.

Took the Brat into for a free restest on the emissions to see where she stands, she passed the 2500 rpm HC but still blew 1500 on HC, limit is 220. I paid for title and registration, got a 15 day temp tag. When I spend over $200 for emission related expenses, I will get a waiver. So I dug deeper and discovered major play in the distributor shaft, also supports the rpms jumping and the timing moving from 8-10 degrees when shooting the timing light. The cap shows black misfires, so I think I am on the right track. I bought a distributor at the local parts store, should have in sometime tomorrow. I think this should get the old beast running good enough to pass emissions now. Glad to finally make some progress since this last month has been pretty frustrating. Also have it insured now, so maybe it will be the daily runner that I wanted it to be when I bought it. I am now into it about 1400, but at least I saved it from being crushed. Hopefully the distributor replacement will go better than most of the other issues that I have worked on.

Changed the old plugs wires, cap and rotor, and changed the sludge that was in the crankcrase with fresh oil. Ran much better but still has some vacuum leaks in the rats nest of vacuum lines. Also changed about ten feet of vacuum lines that were petrified and leaking. Still has a miss at idle. Will work on that next week after I deliver a sink and other items to our our cabin in Wyoming. This car is really starting to take up way too much time of mine. But I guess testing my patience on this old car is good for me.

Took the Brat into for the safety and emissions today. Passed safety, but failed big time on the emissions. HC was 3500, max was 220. Guess the junkyard carb wasnt as sweet as I thought. Will take it in next week for carb adjustment to see if they can get it to pass, otherwise guess I will be selling it out of county. Too bad, was starting to grow on me, just not willing to shell out big bucks for a car that won't be driven all that much.

Finally getting close to taking it to get the inspection/emission test here in SLC. Had the glass guy drop by to replace the cracked windshield, but the gasket was petrified so he had to order one. He said he would be back tomorrow to but the new windshield in. Then I'll drive it hard for awhile to get the cat warm and see what she does at the station. If it passes, I move on to rust work, welding in new metal, and get the body ready for a home garage paint job with a HVLP paint gun. I think I will keep close to the factory blue, but still not sure. Not going to let Maaco ruin the vibe of the Brat.

After struggling with the Brat, I had a pretty productive 24 hours. Changed out a very bad ball joint last night. Then this morning picked up an instrument panel at the junkyard to remedy the non working speedometer. It actually works now and the oil pressure is reading again, not bad for $25. I will get that seal that goes into the transmission once I find one. Also pulled a carb off a 84 gl wagon because the carb that was on the Brat was total junk. Spent 6 bucks on brake and carb cleaner, cleaned up the carb and to my amazement, it fired right up, took a 2k fast idle, and has a nice and steady 800 rpms idle. No backfiring and so much more power, $30 well spent. Also took the Brat off the online local ads because I think I will be keeping this for awhile. Super good day for the Brat! Doing the rear brake shoes tomorrow, and maybe the crank seal if I don't run out of time. Then going to get the half rump roast exhaust welded up right. Once that is done Ill take it for emissions and inspection, and I think it will now pass with the "new" carb. This may be my daily runner up the canyon if all goes well, my VDC is so much nicer but far less fun for sure.

Intake leak fixed! I removed the carb this morning, and decided to tear it apart and have a peek, I ended up using most of the parts in the rebuilt kit, and watched a super detailed You tube video, I don't remember the user, but I typed in Subaru Carb, and it really helped a lot. Got it back and running after replacing some rock hard vacuum lines. Hooked up the vacuum gauge and its nice and steady, just have some small adjustments to do in the morning, but the backfiring seems to be gone. No more leaks when I spray carb cleaner around the base of the carb. I wont know until I actually drive it and make the two to three shift. But not going to that until the morning, also going to replace the leaky crank seal, tired of drips in the driveway. I told my wife that if I do much more to the Brat, that it may end up being a keeper.

Yes, I will give the members first chance with it. Found the cause of the backfire, the intake gasket is leaking, revved up when I sprayed carb cleaner in the area, you could see it being drawn into the gasket area. I think now, I will rebuild the carb while I have it off, we have emissions here otherwise I would do the weber conversion. Sounds like a fun way to spend part of a day

Went to the local muffler shop to quiet down the cracked exhaust as the cat. They did a great job and only charged $45! Still pretty throaty with the cherry bomb, but the backfiring needs to stop. i think I will be unloading this in the next week or so. Love the project, but don't have the tolerance for a 26 year old car. Not the cars fault. Its been a fun 48 hrs.

I picked up this 86 Brat today. This is my 10th Subaru, but haven't had a e81 since high school(20+years ago). I woke up just in time to make it to the bank to get the cash. As I was signing over the title, the po had three of four calls of people with cash to take it. But I was lucky. It drives pretty good, has a exhaust leak where the y pipe meets the cat. I will see tomorrow if the local muffler shop can fix it, otherwise I will order another y pipe. I spent a good part of the day looking it over and cleaning it up. Plugged the tire that was flat and sitting in the engine bay, and put it back on so at least it has four matching color rims. I don't know if I will keep it and fix it up good enough to pass inspection/emissions. It has a stumble around 1200 rpms I need to look into that. Overall very excited to get down and dirty on this project, I told my wife I will take her in it tomorrow once I get the exhaust fixed. My neighbor told me he wants this car for his son, I told him I would think about it. Not too excited about a teenager torturing this poor old car. Sorry for my finger in the picture, not the best taking pictures on my phone.

Yeah I will shoot some pics when I get it home tomorrow, then hopefully will take some more as I get it cleaned up and get it going. Glad to see that there are still people out there who like older cars. My wife doesn't really understand my fascination with old stuff, but that okay, she has a new car. And now I will have two old cars.