jdkneppy

My donor head only had valve seals on the intake valves and the exhaust valve guides are longer than the intake guides. Is that normal? Does everyone use head gasket sealant on the head gasket at reassemble? Thx

I had an old post months ago about the cracks in my heads and several of you said put them back on, its very common. My salvage motor has head gasket failure, warpage on the head and spark plug hole has stripped threads. If my old heads don't need to be machined would I be able to just slap them on? I don't know where the bubbles in cooling system in my old motor were coming from, but I assumed the head cracks. I would replace the valve seals on the cracked head. Thanks

I had an old post months ago about the cracks in my heads and several of you said put them back on, its very common. My salvage motor has head gasket failure, warpage on the head and spark plug hole has stripped threads. If my old heads don't need to be machined would I be able to just slap them on? I don't know where the bubbles in cooling system in my old motor were coming from, but I assumed the head cracks. I would replace the valve seals on the cracked head. Thanks

Rebuilt alternator installed today and problem solved. Now for turn signal fix, blinking faster than they should. Bulbs all good, but I can't even see the flasher unit up inside the dash. Thanks to all! John

Bummer, but that probably explains why the My Subaru app doesn't recognize my Brat VIN either. I checked with DMV when I renewed my license couple of weeks ago and they have no information I wanted. I just wanted know when and what happened. I will have to take a look at Autocheck and see if they have any info. Thanks

Me too. My 1983 Brat GL has totaled reconstructed title with very minor sheet metal damage on passenger side. I would just like to know history of vehicle for my own info and I am to thrifty (cheap) to pay for CarFax.

Salem checking in with a 13 Forester Premium & 83 Brat GL. Looking for early 80's GL DL with 4wd standard transmission & power steering for parts for my Brat.

I've had an inquiry about custom center caps, so will give my friends email address with his permission. If anyone is interested in 3D printed caps contact Terry Clair at tac650@yahoo.com for price and details wanted. Sorry but he isn't interested in shipping outside the USA, because of the hassle of international shipping. John

I love my Brat and it is a daily driver, now that it's running again. Usually just me, but wife goes with me on occasion but she isn't fond of the "tractor" ride. I can haul a little and get lots of attention and thumbs up when driving around town. I have seen one other Brat in town of 200,000+, but not lately. There are a few others around, but the Brat is not very common.

Dave & Bennie, my Brat has Subaru cruise control with the operating instructions in the owners manual. I don't know if it came from the factory or is a dealership installed option. On/Off button on the dash then resume, coast on the right side stem and the set button on the end of the stem. Little plaque on the dash says "factory ready for dealer installed air conditioning", but unfortunately it doesn't have A/C. John

Thanks Bennie, keeping her tidy is my goal. My plan is to keep her stock as much as possible. I have the original 13" wheels and center caps. Looking for rear seats, just for shows and fix the cosmetic stuff after I get her running sweet again. Most of the ones here have been off roaded, rusted out or just plain beat to hell. Nice ones are rare and expensive. Mine was driven by a lady and I doubt it has ever been off road. Cruise control still works too. John

I did find some plastic chrome caps on eBay that would have worked, but I like having custom 3D printed caps. Mine are 64mm with outside diameter of 70mm.

Ok fresh a few minutes ago. Touched up the paint on wheels and haven't washed it off the tires yet.

Scoby4wd you really scored on your find, sweet looking and top condition. My 1983 Brat GL is in nice physical condition, but has 203,500 miles on the clock. Just installed engine with 138,000 miles and now starting to work on cosmetic issues. How much of a job was the front seal replacement? My salvage yard engine has oil leaks I am trying to address.

Stayed with EA81, so no EJ in my Brat. Used EA engine $300 vs ?? for the EJ. I'm retired and have to keep my baby running with minimal $$. Terry just pulled current logo, but looking at the old center caps I noticed they are different. I'm sure the general public won't notice and looks better than black hole with nuts showing. I'm concerning painting the cap. I'll see if or how much they fade.

When my Brat was doing the same thing, it was the rotors were warped. Had the rotors turned and problem solved. You could probably turn the rotors and check for run-out. Don't think a visual inspection will tell you. If not the rotors only other thing I can think of is tie rod ends really worn & sloppy. Good luck.

I joined the USMB about 4 years ago after purchase of my 1983 Brat GL. I wanted to install 14" wheels, but not a lot of options. On the USMB I found that Peugeot wheels would fit my Brat and aquired 4 of them at local tire dealer. I just got tires mounted and what to do with the center hole. A friend of mine has a 3D printer and offered to print a custom set for me. After a couple of adjustments he came up with the perfect solution. Installed them today with silicone adhesive and they look great. If interested Terry can make a custom set for you in various colors, logos or almost any insert.

Mine is in Oregon and is 1983 Brat GL with automatic transmission 4wd on the fly. 203,500 miles and just installed salvage yard engine with 138,000 miles on it.

My 83 Brat is running again after salvage yard engine installed & now a new problem surfaced. Dash lights for high AT oil temp, brake fluid, brake light out & low voltage are on very dim while running, but none of those items are an issue. Could this be related to alternator or battery going out? Battery always starts the car so alternator must be working too.

I love reading these old posts on Brat values. I purchased my 1983 Brat GL with automatic transmission, GemTop canopy, good body and 193,900 miles in September 2014 for $1,300. It needed exhaust system and front CV shafts immediately. I have done a lot of work since and probably spend another $2,500 to $3,000. Just finished installing lower mileage EA81 engine and hope to drive it regularly again. I don't know if I could get my money out of it today or not, but don't plan on selling it any time soon so it doesn't matter. I love driving this little pickup and if it turns out to be a good investment great, but if not then it was still worth it.

I agree because my original engine from my 1983 Brat GL with automatic transmission had engine number 191484. It had hydraulic lifters. The replacement engine from a 1981 Brat with manual transmission is 578058 and has solid lifters. They must have started number sequence over with new model engine, although both are EA81 engines.

Here is drivers side replacement fabric I found a few years ago. I have enough for all seats and even the truck bed.

Here is photo of my 1983 Brat GL. Exterior is Cosmic blue with blue striped interior as shown on the brochure. I would have added photo of fabric used to repaired the drivers seat, but one photo on lowest resolution was 1.5 mb and wouldn't allow me to add another photo. Passenger seat is original and reasonablely good at 203,000 miles, but drivers seat back gone and seat needs to be replaced too. Hope that helps.

It is interesting that with over 200k miles there isn't a ridge at top of the cylinders from ring wear. So no hope for this block with the spun sleeve? Since it is original to the Brat I was planning on keeping it, for the time being. I could get the existing heads rebuilt, but no point if the block is trashed. Got my 1981 EA 81 installed and running. Still have to replace the water pump and some carb work, but running. Died twice on the freeway coming home from South of Albany Sunday at 60mph, then again in town at 35mph. I need to check all the electrical connections etc. I had it up to 65mph on the I-5 and was doing pretty well, but didn't want to push it right out of the gate.

Not sure what they are paying for EA 81 heads but are asking $285-315 each and I could get mine rebuilt for less than that. Hence the purchase of a complete engine. I could possibly rebuild my original engine with good heads. Where are you located?