more powerful engine

[ojito]

Looking to replace my 80 brat with one in better shape. May want to have a rebuilt 1.8 put in this upgrade...maybe even a more powerful boxer from another Suby model (what would fit in an 78 to 87 brat chassis and who specializes in this sort of rebuild/upgrade?

[Dj7291993]

Look around here for info on EJ swaps. There is nore involved, but the EJ18, EJ20, EJ22, and even the EJ25 if you can find one without headgasket issues are much more powerful, reliable, and more fuel efficient. Night and day difference. I think the EA81 is a little more involved than the EA82, but when I did the swap in my 87 GL coupe, it made it a whole different car. There is plenty of info around this forum if you do some looking.

[idosubaru]

It's highly dependent on your ability to research and plan and location and resources. It's custom so it's gonna be very expensive.

 

Need to find someone willing to do it. There's a few people here that probably would do it for you.

 

You can always start a thread and ask. Location likely matters. I doubt you're driving 3,000 miles for a mechanic.

 

If you can find a local mechanic willing to try one option is to:

1. source a bellhousing adapter (SJR?) and a prefab wiring harness from someone in here that does that (the difficult part)

2. then have the mechanic do the easy install of those components. The it's little more than swapping an engine and making a few adjustments.

 

Looking for a mechanic willing to do the EJ wiring harness prep and bellhousing adapter and learning curve from scratch is going to be the hard part.

[ojito]

Gentlemen,

Thanks for the input. Definitely the engine swapping is beyond my skill set though I have managed to keep my 80 brat going for 36 years traversing a pretty knarly farm road. I'll leave it to an expert when the time comes

Did you have some experts in mind? Dania02525 may have an 82 with a weber carb that may be worth looking at in Shawn's shop in Colorado if it's still available.