Subaru BRAT rescue

[Little Bob]

Beerfinch said:

Yep, can't put it better than that. Looking forward to seeing it finished.

Ditto - for some reason I love this, and you’re doing some pretty impressive work OP.

There’s plenty of interest, keep going!

[Bill]

Great to see it coming together!

[yellowstreak]

There such cool little cars. Well worth saving.

[DaveEvs]

Primed, hammerited and sealed from nose to about half way along the chassis now.

Next step is to do the same right inside the re-made wheel arches.

Fuel tank will need repair, but I’ve borrowed a marine outboard tank as a temporary supply. Does anyone know if this would be road legal if correctly and firmly mounted in the load bay?

[Shinyfings]

I think quite a few of us like following stories like this. Old wreck of no huge value saved through lots of effort and dedication.

[Cambs_Stuart]

As for the tank, I'd ask an MOT tester.

[Jhonno]

Not really posted, but been following! Keep up the good work!

[DaveEvs]

Shinyfings said:

I think quite a few of us like following stories like this. Old wreck of no huge value saved through lots of effort and dedication.

And probably several thousand £ the wife would go mental about if she knew! Still - Manopause is now officially a thing…

[DaveEvs]

Managing to make surprising progress in hourly bursts.

Rear arch has had first coat of paint and sealer on the welds.

[DaveEvs]

Front end almost fully painted. Need to pop the headlamps out to finish the front panel.

[Nik Gnashers]

Thanks for the updates, great work !

[DaveEvs]

Up against a small snag with the replacement rear shock.

Original unit had a T-mount at the top where as replacement needs a bush.

Reusing the T could be achieved by cutting the old shock, then buying a new bush for remounting.

I would prefer to by a T-mount conversion kit. Any tips on where to look? General searches seem to all lead to American suppliers…

TIA

[TonyRPH]

Doesn't the mount press out of the old shock?

It looks like it might?

[DaveEvs]

The old bush has a metal outer, bonded to the rubber.

It might press out with a hydraulic press, but the receiving hole on the new shock has an internal lip which would prevent the metal outer of the old bush being reinserted.

I could cut the T-bar out and use a new poly bush to mount it.

[BrickCounter]

Great thread this. Reminds me of the blue one my uncle had in the 1980’s.

Yep, he worked on a farm and it rapidly dissolved away.

[DaveEvs]

Found a helpful bushing supplier and hope to have a set to test this week.

[DaveEvs]

Big shout to Mike at www.viamoto.co.uk for taking the time to work through his suppliers and find the right bush.

Cutting out the T-bar was simple, and we are good to go.

[Stick Legs]

rdodger said:

I'm pretty sure lanoguard sell something to remove the underseal

Lanoguard thins with Meths.

So remove it with meths.

[DaveEvs]

NS rear wheel arch done.

Just need to spin in round and do the other side now!



Differential mount is not located properly for some reason. It needs to be dropped to reinstall the fuel tank, and will be positioned correctly then.

[DaveEvs]

Differential location sorted. It turns out the upper and lower washers from the old bushes are needed to locate the “moustache bar”, so I’ve cleaned them up.