81EA81 Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 I have a Subaru Brat that has some extensive front end damage, The rest of the car is pretty nice and I'd hate to see it go. I was thinking about cutting the front end off and welding up the front end of my 81 wagon parts car. Dose anybody know if this can be done? I do understand that these cars are a unibody construction. Please enlighten me:burnout: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[HTi]Johnson Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 I have a Subaru Brat that has some extensive front end damage, The rest of the car is pretty nice and I'd hate to see it go. I was thinking about cutting the front end off and welding up the front end of my 81 wagon parts car. Dose anybody know if this can be done? I do understand that these cars are a unibody construction. Please enlighten me:burnout: Anything can be done with enough time and determination. Did the front end damage mess up the "square-ness" of the car? Do the doors still open easily? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nomad_Brad Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 I'm kinda in the same situation, I have a 1990 loyale turbo that got bump in the driver side, and messed up the ac condenser and radiator, I started ripping all the tap welds off and hopefully will be able to get another and weld it on?, I tried finding more people who have done this but cannot! more info would be SWEET! -Nomad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81EA81 Posted February 2, 2011 Author Share Posted February 2, 2011 (edited) I found this car while looking for parts for my 86 Brat,the person I got it from said the guy was trying to save gas by leaving it in 2wd and slid around a corner and hit a parked truck. then he sold it to the guy I got it from for around $200, I cant remember the exact amount.Then he tore it all apart and sold the parts(some of which I bought). He said he was going to take to the junk yard in the next couple of days where it would eventually get crushed so I figured I'd try to save it. No engine,transaxle,driveline,rear diff. It should be fun[/url] how do i insert pics? Edited February 2, 2011 by 81EA81 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skishop69 Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 I can't remember the years, but the Brat, Turbo Coupe and Wagon all are the same from the front doors forward. Depending on the amount of damage depends on where you cut and weld. The correct way to do it is build a jig that lines up with the two main unibody rails on the undercarriage. You want to extend it forward and up into the engine compartment so that it will line up to where the front cross member bolted up. (I should mention, you need to strip the whole front of the car before you do this...) You set it up with two bolts coming from the bottom of the jig upwards through the cross member/frame holes. This will give you your starting reference. There's a lot more from here. A LOT... The jig is the only way to do it and have everything line up correctly so that it will drive correctly when you are done. It is a major undertaking that you need excellent welding skills, a welder and a sawzall for. The measurements are tricky too.... If you want more, PM me and then you can send me some pics so I can tell you what you're looking at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MPGvan Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 i can not even make a attempt to answer your question without first seeing a few pics of the damage However.. i believe the first thing i would do is to strip the hood fenders grill and all nonessential parts off the brat.. then get yourself a lazor pen, tape-measure, plumb bob, cumalong, portapower, big sledgehammer, torch and logging chain and try to beat the brat back into shape as strait as possible.. some times this metal bends back surprisingly easy with a little good ol fashion brute force...lol if all is going smothly and you only wish to use it for off road then go on to the next little trick...lol clamp and spotweld 1inch square stock on the inner fenders of the engine compartment fire wall and tie everything to the strut towers, frame in your radiator with squarestock then scab it all in..... pull the hood/fenders/grill off the wagon and weld it together making a tilt front end again this is without seeing pictures and only for off-roading.. and to bump your thread to the top....lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MPGvan Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 i can not even make a attempt to answer your question without first seeing a few pics of the damage However.. i believe the first thing i would do is to strip the hood fenders grill and all nonessential parts off the brat.. then get yourself a lazor pen, tape-measure, plumb bob, cumalong, portapower, big sledgehammer, torch and logging chain and try to beat the brat back into shape as strait as possible.. some times this metal bends back surprisingly easy with a little good ol fashion brute force...lol if all is going smothly and you only wish to use it for off road then go on to the next little trick...lol clamp and spotweld 1inch square stock on the inner fenders of the engine compartment fire wall and tie everything to the strut towers, frame in your radiator with squarestock then scab it all in..... pull the hood/fenders/grill off the wagon and weld it together making a tilt front end again this is without seeing pictures and only for off-roading.. and to bump your thread to the top....lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motzingg Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 +1 i pulled out some pretty nasty front end damage on my brat with a forklift and a sturdy post. the actual front bumper/radiator support pieces will probably be all you need, those might be more compatable with the wagon instead of being 3-door specific. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81EA81 Posted February 8, 2011 Author Share Posted February 8, 2011 i can not even make a attempt to answer your question without first seeing a few pics of the damageHowever.. i believe the first thing i would do is to strip the hood fenders grill and all nonessential parts off the brat.. then get yourself a lazor pen, tape-measure, plumb bob, cumalong, portapower, big sledgehammer, torch and logging chain and try to beat the brat back into shape as strait as possible.. some times this metal bends back surprisingly easy with a little good ol fashion brute force...lol if all is going smothly and you only wish to use it for off road then go on to the next little trick...lol clamp and spotweld 1inch square stock on the inner fenders of the engine compartment fire wall and tie everything to the strut towers, frame in your radiator with squarestock then scab it all in..... pull the hood/fenders/grill off the wagon and weld it together making a tilt front end again this is without seeing pictures and only for off-roading.. and to bump your thread to the top....lol You should tell me more about the tilt front end,I was planning on mobin it anyway. I could try to email some pics, for some reason I cant post em here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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