My 1979 BRAT

IBratmanI

IBratmanI

Subaru Ambassador- AdidaSubarus
I posted a sneak peak of this in my Loyale thread, but figured I'd make a dedicated thread for it.



I acquired this from an old friend that had been restoring it, but has lost space and time to work on it. It has a lot of work done to it, including; front and rear ea81 crossmembers and suspension. A small lift on top of that, now has an ea81 and 4 spd dual range transmission, instead of the ea71 and 4spd single range. It still needs some stuff. The front struts will be swapped for EA82 front adjustable struts to help fix the camber it has now. Also needs a little bit of minor bodywork and paint. It's getting a spray can paint job when the weather warms up. I already have wheels and tires that'll be used on this as well. Anyway, here are some pics. It's slowly going back together currently, but should be mostly together soon.

This is the rear conversion block for the ea81 rear crossmembers



A couple small floor patches



Underside is very clean



This is before the dash went back in



And back in



Windshield back in



View from the back with rear slider back in







Underhood pic. Still needs some cleaning up, but the motor did run for the first time in its new home the other night.



And this is the shifter setup for the 4 spd dual range all in place.



Forgot to add, I still have to fab a transmission mount as well. The stock transmission crossmember is still in place and doesn't match the dual range transmission, so I have to figure something out for that. But other than that, it's a bunch of little stuff to get it going.

And when was the last time you say a 1st gen Subaru on the road, or at all for that matter?!

 
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I know of a super secret location that has one or 2 more of these, pretty rough, but there are a few parts on them. One of the best junkyards Ive ever been to, its like going on a field trip, only without the big yellow bus...  its in Oxford- Ayottes parts....   Old car guy's dream.  Im sure he has more early Subarus, I was on a Monte Carlo and Datsun mission last time I went...

 
smelt240 said:
I know of a super secret location that has one or 2 more of these, pretty rough, but there are a few parts on them. One of the best junkyards Ive ever been to, its like going on a field trip, only without the big yellow bus...  its in Oxford- Ayottes parts....   Old car guy's dream.  Im sure he has more early Subarus, I was on a Monte Carlo and Datsun mission last time I went...
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No kidding. I'd be interested in seeing them. You must have some knowledge about carbs and crap? We're having some issues keeping this running.

 
Back in high school we could make any old Subaru run, all we needed was vise grips, galvanized chicked feeders for sheet metal to patch the bodies, some carb cleaner, and a hammer, and some string, spray paint from Mardens, big Oak tree with a set of rope falls for engine swaps...etc etc...   The carbs were really finicky, but we had really good luck with the bucket-O-carb-cleaner. It seemed like they were never really out of adjustment, just gunked up.  Just dunk, swish and re-install.  Is it just an idling problem, or all the time? If I ever get more than 10 hours off from work, Id take a look at it... my buddy here  in Litchfield still has that NA silver wagon too, same year as the blue turbo you got off me, may be able to rob some goodies from it if something is wrong with the carb.  It was running last I knew...

 
It won't stay running. It runs for 5-10 seconds and then dies. Also have an issue with the coil or something hooked up wrong so it runs after the key is shut off, but still dies because of the first issue.

 
Got the running issue sorted out. So it now runs and shuts off like it's supposed to.



 
blmpkn said:
That's in stupid shape considering age, damn!
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Yeah it really is in good shape. It's far from perfect, and has had a bit of body work done, but all metal, no bondo, and really not much work considering the age. That's what lots of washing a a good dose of oil will do.

 
None bondo huh? Man even more jealous now haha.

I'm quite partial to that "overly manly man" meme... "Subaru leaking oil?... Automated chassis protection"

I'd post it, so the level of funny would be worth the time spent.. But my phone's retarded. Hope you understand the reference lol.

 
Lol. No bondo. But there are a few weld deals that aren't the prettiest. Those will get massaged a bit before paint, but I won't get too picky.

Lol, one of the good things about an engine leaking oil, sadly it still wasn't enough for the older subarus in this region, they still rusted away!

 
Yeah eventually it'll be on the road. It's getting a spray can job, but it'll be a red, with white decals.

 
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What a pain in the ass it is to get antique plates. I have to fill out and sign a form in the presence of a notary. Then go back to the town office. They weren't even able to look up the msrp for the excise tax, and the state was closed by the time they called last night. So hopefully tonight I'll get the form notarized and tomorrow I can get a plate for it. This is all just to be able to drive it 4 miles from where it is, to my place. I couldn't get a transit plate because it has no sticker. Hell, it hasn't even been on the road since 2003 lol.

 
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