spicypeanut

Finally got some new pictures up: Here are some shots of the speakers and boxes I have behind the seats: Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr Got some new plastic caps to cover the openings of the seat frames so water doesn't make a home in the pipes: Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr

Here's the link to my thread. Although I just realized I haven't uploaded the pictures I took of the speakers yet. I'll do that tonight. Be on the lookout for my next update: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/142864-1978-subaru-brat-from-death-to-life-and-everything-in-between/

I've got an official Subaru factory service manual but its the real book. Not a digitized copy. Would it be helpful if I was to digitize it page by page?

You can check out my build thread but what I did was replace the original speaker under the dash and install 2 5x7 speakers in their own separate boxes. 1 box under each, backed up as far back as it can go. Both facing upwards. Doing it this way, I am able to have good sound clarity and quality, without having to do any modifications to the vehicle itself.

Found the red one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1978-Subaru-Brat-DL-Standard-Cab-Pickup-2-Door-1-6L-/131062986470?item=131062986470&forcerrptr=true&pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item1e83f676e6&nma=true&si=jgAxi7t7gbOKIDXXv2%252Fml0R1kx8%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557 Also, here is some good info: http://www.hagerty.com/valuationtools/HVT/VehicleSearch/Report?vc=1331641

Anyone preserve those 2 links on ebay? The 1 gen 1 red brat went for 13k. The 1 gen 1 blue brat went for 11k. Sure could use those as examples.

Where was it located in the car? I have a factory service manual I can try to track it down to tell you what it is/does.

Unfortunately that is not the case here. I am using the correct bulb number. I just went out and retried it again. Tried to reverse the way its installed into the socket and it will only go in one way. The only thing I can think of is that maybe the bulbs I got from Auto-zone are can-bus compatible where-as I need the non can-bus bulbs. I've already got these on order and hopefully they work. https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/tail-brake-turn/1157-led-bulb-dual-intensity-30-led/159/700/

I'll be honest, I'm surprised they came out as good as they did. They were pretty rough initially. lol

Big update today. My updates seem to be fairly often huh..... The rear head rests are now installed. The rear seat frame is now bolted onto the plastic seat, which is then bolted onto the lower seat frame. Now originally the Brat's seats were welded in the bed. This doesn't work for me. I want to be able to remove them and re-install them as needed. I've re-engineered how these will be installed. 6 grade 8 lag bolts, with steel plates under the bed should work beautifully.But for now, onto some new pictures. Here you can see how we refurbished the seat frames: Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr Here are the head rests I got from RustyBrat: Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr Here's how they look installed: Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr Then a little shot of the fancy hardware holding the plastic seats to the seat frame: Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr Completed pics: Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr Things that will happen this week: 1. Welding on the lower rear seat frame, along with Grade 8 bolts bolting the rear seats in. 2. Re-worked exhaust system to try to pass smog. Everyone says with a pair of cats the car should pass, so we shall see.

What do you mean, could you elaborate please? I haven't done any wiring modifications other than swap the actual bulbs out.

The lower 2 clips on both left and right side pieces were broken by the previous owner. The previous owners fix was what seemed to be a JB Weld type of mass which attached the clips to the panels. I had to use the Dremel tool to flatten out that area. Basically what I did was after the panel was prepped, I bought some trim clips and popped them into the holes on the car. Then I used a adhesive silicone and matted the panel onto the clips on the car. You have to use enough silicone so that when the panel makes contact with the back of the clips, it can make enough of a bond to hold the panel on while it dries. I used to painters tape stretched very tightly to hold the panel in place while the silicone dried. The white clip is what I used for the side plastic panels. They fit perfectly in the holes in the car. The black clip is what I used to plug the holes left by the aftermarket mirrors the previous owner had used. Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr Here is where you can see the tape was used to hold the panel in place while the silicone cured. Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr

I've also adjusted the head lights so I can actually see a bit better than that first picture would lead you to believe. But the light bar will come in handy up in the mountains for sure!

Basically I've replaced nearly all the lighting on my car to LEDs. I've had to do a bit of testing (meaning, buy this online if it works use it. If it doesn't try something else). I've gotten the wrong colors, too many of 1 connection type or the other etc. major trial and error lol). But in the end I've almost got it. When you swap out the turn signals, you need to get one of these so they blink correctly. http://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/car-install-supplies/fl2-red-led-bulb-electronic-flasher/779/833/ The final hurdle I seem to have is if I install the dual intesity led in the rear brake light and touch the brake pedal, ALL of my running lights turn on. Take my foot off the brake pedal, everything that just came on turns off. I don't understand it.

I don't use it on the road. It's attached to the car, but it won't be used until I go off road. One picture was for testing purposes.

Pictures as promised: New Horns... Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr Here we have the redone jack and new coolant overflow tank installed: Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr Battery tie down. Now it wont be moving around under the hood! Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr Because the previous owner had mirrors that had longer mounting holes than the OEM mirrors, I was forced to plug them. But I feel it came out very nice! Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr Both left and right side plastic panels have been repaired and installed: Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr Here it is before I installed it: Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr And here I am teaching the ways of driving manual! Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr Here is a comparison of the factory head lights and then with a little "help" from my new LED light bar... Factory Head lights only: Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr LED Light Bar: Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr I've upgraded the following lights from incandesent bulbs to LEDS. Front and rear turn signal, front and rear running lights, front and rear side markers, reverse light, gauge cluster lights, light bar. Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr And just for fun... Untitled by blue03wrx, on Flickr

Hey all, I don't have much experience here but I was wondering if "upgrading" my old ignition coil would be a worthwhile upgrade. I have no idea what coil is on my car now. It has a black housing and while it visually looks fine and works fine, I was wondering if I might get a bit more power or more efficient burn if I was to replace it with something newer. Here are a couple I ran across while browsing online. Is this something that is worth upgrading? And if it is, is there anything I need to look out for when choosing a coil? These look to be nothing fancy: http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/details/QQSubaruQQBratQQReplacementQQIgnition_CoilQQ19781979QQREPO504601.html http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ado-e552c/overview/year/1979/make/subaru/model/brat "High Performance": http://www.summitracing.com/parts/acc-8140/overview/year/1979/make/subaru/model/brat

Thanks Ben, I'll try to take some pictures tonight. I would have posted the other pictures already but I can't seem to remember my Flikr password again!

Last night I installed 2 5x7 JBL Speakers into the custom boxes and put them behind each of the seats in the cab. The sound is amazing! Now I've got 2 good speakers behind the seats and 1 good speaker under the dash in the stock location, along with my Alpine head unit. The sound out of the Brat is amazing! Tonight I should be installing the last of the LED running lights.

Small Update: Over the weekend my dad and I knocked out a bunch of small things. Some of which include: Install LED Light Bar (7200 lumen) Install and Fix Black Plastic Trim pieces Cover up extra door mirror holes Install front Grill Fix Front Turn Signal housing Seals Install LED running lights (all that is missing now are the side marker LED lights which are on their way) Measure and Order higher quality speakers to install behind the seats Remove ugly coolant over flow tank and replace with high quality powder-coated tank Install Battery Tie-down Install all LED's into Gauge Cluster and mount Gauge Cluster Install Gauge Cluster Surround Pictures to follow....

Anything worth doing is worth doing right. So I'll be following along to make sure you do it justice!

What sort of car show charges the people that bring the cars? My family usually brings our antique cars and we've been to many concourse shows and none of them require a fee.

Thank man, your molds look like they turned out great! My fix seems to be holding up nicely. The plans I have left are to buy some long shank lug nuts so I can mount my new wheels. Get some meaty off roadish tires that fit (13 / 5x5 What tires can I even get?), install all my LED running lights (and light bar). And some little things here and there.

I didn't say anything. Just helping him understand that what he was looking at was hooked up correctly.

There was an ea71 5 speed? I can tell you from experience my ea71 4 speed is geared too low to be on the freeway. At 70 or so its right around 4000 RPM which is too high for me to be comfortable for any extended period of time.