Warren99 Posted October 25, 2021 Share Posted October 25, 2021 Ok so I recently found a 1978 Brat in decent condition for pretty cheap. It has the full rear seat assembly still. I'm trying to find out as much information as I can about it before I start working on it, for example: what trim is it, what features are rare factory options or hard to come by, what might stand out as something that a previous owner changed, etc. From the little bit I've learned so far, obviously, the quad lights say it's a GL, but it doesn't have a clock or tachometer, which I thought I read is what all GL's have. It does have the AM/FM radio in it though. The other big things are the front bumper and the SnugTop on it. Does anyone know how many of those they made?(the topper is serial number: 0062-S) Lastly, I don't know how to interpret a pre-81 Subaru vin, but here it is: A69L-010816. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren99 Posted October 25, 2021 Author Share Posted October 25, 2021 Also, I have lots of pics, not sure how to post them tho since they are a little over 2MB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosens Posted October 26, 2021 Share Posted October 26, 2021 Hi Warren, a 78 will have quad lights. It’s just blessed that way. In 79 and later you needed the GL trim for the quad lights , am/fm , four spoked steering wheel , and maybe a couple other things I’m not thinking of. But those are the basics. Yes that’s an early SnugTop , keep it well. Trying to locate a shell-to-body gasket is tough but people have made do. If you don’t have a key you can likely get one at a good hardware store. Some will argue but the fact is the Brat started here as a late 1977. Yours might be one. Check the tag for mfg date. Otherwise it’s a 78 from your description. Kind of surprised at the lack of a tach. If you can locate an old parts manual/ catalog it’ll show you all sorts of great info. Check around online. Or search eBay if you want a physical copy. People have gotten pretty stupid with pricing I have to warn you. As I find time I’ll bring a parts catalog home and help you out. But I’m not the only person with them. They printed plenty of copies. As for pics , I’m all used up and need to clear some out. Otherwise I’d post some pics of pages for you. One guy suggested something that works for me. You email yourself the pic you want to post and when you go to send it’ll ask you which size you want to send. Select the smallest or next size up. Just review the size requirements and keep under them. When you open your email just save it. Then you can add that smaller copy here really easily. Enjoy ! Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosens Posted October 26, 2021 Share Posted October 26, 2021 (edited) So just thinking that my 78 4WD wagon was the same animal as a Brat and that did NOT have a tach. So maybe 78 they didn’t have them other than for the Coupe or Hardtop. Another one of those things that the parts catalogs make clear. Ancient Chinese proverb: no memory is as clear as faded ink. Although I have owned way too many 1970’s Subarus and Brats in general it’s been a while. Edited October 26, 2021 by moosens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren99 Posted October 26, 2021 Author Share Posted October 26, 2021 Manufactured in January of 78 lol. Also forgot to mention in the glove box it still has the dealer folder with stuff like owners manual, warranty cards, insurance, etc, still haven't looked through it but I'm sure there some information in there. And it has a 2 spoke steering wheel and does not have the 8 spoke wheels, did that only come with DLs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subasaurus Posted October 26, 2021 Share Posted October 26, 2021 the 2 spoke steering wheel is odd for a GL, i thought GL's had 4 spoke steering wheels? mine is a GL but has only a speedometer but no tachometer, has the factory A/C, the dealer added A/C had control knobs above the shifter but below the radio. being AM/FM tells me it was mid trim or top trim. post your imagess on imgbb, then link them here and they'll appear as a full photo here. -some rare stuff on a brat that are hard to find for your knowledge- all 4 mudflaps, centercaps with the logo still in the center of them, uncracked tail lights, especially the passenger one, jumpseat seat belt covers, windshield, front rotors, front calipers, -some unrealistic rare stuff to have on the brat- uncracked dashboard, an original radiator that doesn't leak or been repaired lol, antenna that isn't bent, original seats that aren't torn, original floor mats, original carpet in the bed of the "truck", do post pictures!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosens Posted October 26, 2021 Share Posted October 26, 2021 I’m not sure you could get the four spoke steering wheel in the 77/78 Brat or 4WD wagon. My catalogs are at storage now. Saw your pics in the other post. Looks like a nice base and you have the air deflector. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren99 Posted October 26, 2021 Author Share Posted October 26, 2021 https://ibb.co/cNrWbK1https://ibb.co/FHwvsMFhttps://ibb.co/gj1d4tmhttps://ibb.co/XCJrXqNhttps://ibb.co/C5bvpyNhttps://ibb.co/wKTCjjRhttps://ibb.co/9hpgt0k Tried putting each one into the insert other media thing but it would just turn red, so here are the the links hopefully you can see it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren99 Posted October 26, 2021 Author Share Posted October 26, 2021 Both tailights are uncracked and unfaded, both Subaru floor mats are in decent shape, have 3 of the 4 mudflaps, have all center wheel caps but none have the Subaru logo part still, the passenger seat appears to be in good condition, I don't know what you meant by the jump seat belt "cover", but the belts are there, the bed carpet is there but has seen better days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren99 Posted October 26, 2021 Author Share Posted October 26, 2021 Wow, so the dealer paperwork has like everything like I even found the "Pre-Delivery Inspection and Adjustment Service Check List," signed and in great condition, notice how the tachometer and clock don't have a check, and mine is lacking those. Long list of pics but it shows everything I mentioned in the last post along with some of the paperwork. https://ibb.co/K2Cv7Vwhttps://ibb.co/4mdj2yZhttps://ibb.co/Zz6YMxLhttps://ibb.co/HzMdk5Yhttps://ibb.co/bN38n8Ghttps://ibb.co/T8fjz1whttps://ibb.co/pW7M0cPhttps://ibb.co/7VgYSx2https://ibb.co/SdsSwYDhttps://ibb.co/G047xV7https://ibb.co/MVw4Lqqhttps://ibb.co/4Y38pgHhttps://ibb.co/hC7cjHdhttps://ibb.co/pXzL8mxhttps://ibb.co/2qSBpm1https://ibb.co/YL9JWZV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren99 Posted October 26, 2021 Author Share Posted October 26, 2021 Didn't get a pic but saw on the other side of the yellow paper that it was sold for $5,802. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosens Posted October 27, 2021 Share Posted October 27, 2021 Cool. Lots of older cars had the info in them. Several of us have those items. Nice that you got them too , especially the window sticker. Sweet ! In 77 and 78 you got those style bolt on centercaps so there’s no emblem in those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosens Posted October 27, 2021 Share Posted October 27, 2021 Your bed seatbelts look decent enough to restore but what the other guy mentioned were the vinyl covers that went over those seatbelt coil units. They’re nothing that can’t be made up / copied easily. But you have a lot of work to do before worrying about those. Best of luck with it. My suggestion is get it down to the core and work that body. Brake lines are a big issue at this point too. Plenty to keep you busy for a while. Enjoy the efforts ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren99 Posted October 27, 2021 Author Share Posted October 27, 2021 Yeah I'm not too worried about restoring it or anything, not anytime soon anyway, but I wanted to know what stuff was rare to come by or at least in good condition so I could be more careful with them. One of the centercaps are on the floor w a 7/16 socket stuck to it lol, I wonder who thought to use an american socket on a Japanese car from the 70s. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subasaurus Posted October 27, 2021 Share Posted October 27, 2021 (edited) 4 hours ago, Warren99 said: Yeah I'm not too worried about restoring it or anything, not anytime soon anyway, but I wanted to know what stuff was rare to come by or at least in good condition so I could be more careful with them. One of the centercaps are on the floor w a 7/16 socket stuck to it lol, I wonder who thought to use an american socket on a Japanese car from the 70s. things to be extremely careful with while you keep the brat stored, that top canopy looking thing which is called a "Roof Spoiler" is EXTREMELY rare, i've been looking for one for years now, so that i would say is the rarest piece you have. next thing to becareful not to break are the front corner lights and the tail lights, everything else is somewhat findable with money and a couple of weeks of searching. Edited October 27, 2021 by Subasaurus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subasaurus Posted October 27, 2021 Share Posted October 27, 2021 (edited) lol they got lazy with mine with the inspection check. here's some other stuff that came with the vehicle when new, so if you find any of this other stuff, don't throw it away. Edited October 27, 2021 by Subasaurus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subasaurus Posted October 27, 2021 Share Posted October 27, 2021 i just remembered for some odd reason about your tach question, my brat does have a tach, it was my wagon that didn't, anyways early 1978 models, regardless of trim level came with only speedometer but no tachometer, somewhere around mid 1978 tachometers started to come out, unsure what models got tachometers or if they all did after a certain date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren99 Posted October 27, 2021 Author Share Posted October 27, 2021 Thanks I'll post when I look through all of the papers it came with. Also unfortunately the driver front corner light is broken, and the passenger one is damaged but may be fixable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren99 Posted October 27, 2021 Author Share Posted October 27, 2021 Yeah mine was made in January of 78 lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren99 Posted October 27, 2021 Author Share Posted October 27, 2021 And from a quick glance I think the booklet has 90% of the papers here. 15 minutes ago, Subasaurus said: lol they got lazy with mine with the inspection check. here's some other stuff that came with the vehicle when new, so if you find any of this other stuff, don't throw it away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren99 Posted October 27, 2021 Author Share Posted October 27, 2021 Under accessories it lists white wheels, are those referring to the Jackmans or are the wheels on mine supposed to be white? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subasaurus Posted October 27, 2021 Share Posted October 27, 2021 33 minutes ago, Warren99 said: Under accessories it lists white wheels, are those referring to the Jackmans or are the wheels on mine supposed to be white? pretty sure the steelies, if they are original to the brat, are suppose to be white, but maybe someone else knows more about this than me. as for the jackmans, there's 2 style's of them, one being flat design and one being curved, gen 2 had the curved one if i remember correctly, except for 1980-1981 brat models, those got the new curved jackman wheels on older body gen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subasaurus Posted October 27, 2021 Share Posted October 27, 2021 this might help some too. http://www.indysworld.com/subaru/gallery/wheels/wheels.html#wagonwheels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kookeyes Posted October 28, 2021 Share Posted October 28, 2021 You'd know you were in a GL the second your butt hits the plaid seats. No GL/DL designations for year model 1978. Only in 1979 for the 4WD wagons, and 1979 through 1981 Brats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kookeyes Posted October 28, 2021 Share Posted October 28, 2021 ....for the round-eyed body style, I mean, before they squared up the entire lineup for the eighties, including the headlights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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