81 Hatchback

This is the most beautiful hatch back I've ever seen. I want this one so bad. I really wish the plaid seats in my Brat weren't completely destroyed. Brown and tan is such a great color combo. The 81 and 82 subarus were the only ones to come with the plaid seats and cyclops light, as well as the 4 spoke 4 horn button steering wheel. They got it right on the first try. Man do I want this car as well. I guess I'm just greedy.

Snotorious BIG & the BRAT

Up until recently, I've had no need for my studded snow tires. Then the ice storm of '11 came, and it was nice to have them. Driving through that ice accumulation was like driving on sand. It was interesting, because it didn't really compress, and if you got going fast enough you were sort of planing on top of it, like a boat comes up out of the water. Just stomp on the brake pedal though, and those studs dig down into the road and stop you like you've tossed an anchor out the back. It's nice to have a car that not only can accelerate in the slick, but actually stop. This car is the best, ever. Although, my wipers have frozen up, I'm not sure what is up with them. Fuse is good, I'm guessing water got in around them and froze solid. I'll take it open maybe this weekend and re-grease everything. It feels great to go anywhere. This car is probably making me over confident.

Quite possibly, the best utility subaru ever

Wow, I hope they upgraded the powerplant. That thing is awesome!

Mystery Oil Leak

From somewhere, oil is getting onto some spinning thing in my engine and making a mess! I need to find out from where it is coming!

My new speaker! Also, tail gate trim!

The stock 1982 Subaru Brat GL (deluxe model!) came with no power steering, no power windows, no power locks, and an AM FM radio with one speaker. That's right, it's mono-time. The speaker in this Brat sounded awful, but if you turned the bass all the way off, and listened to talk radio at a quiet volume, it sounded okay. I pulled out the factory 4x6 speaker and here it is. A little on the shot side. I replaced it with a 4x6 Sony speaker. You can see, it sits right in the dash pointed directly at the passenger hidden between the two vents. The old speaker had a bit of cloth between the speaker and cabin so it was hidden better. I'm not sure if I like having the speaker visible or not. I might put a cloth back in there. Either way, it sounds much better than the old one. It even has a bit of bass now. I'll bet I could even listen to the radio going highway speeds.

I also got in the mail a few plastic clips that hold the tail gate trim onto the bed. Mine were all busted and so I pulled the trim off as to not lose it. The new clips were pretty cheap and I got them from the Subaru dealership, plus a few extra.
It looks much better with the chrome trim. I need to paint up my bed though, it's starting to look pretty bad, where the seats go the paint has been rubbed through and was primed, but it's not holding very well. I can't decide between black, red or white bed liner. Black is classic, white might get dirty real fast, and red might just look weird. I'll decide soon enough.

Interior & Trunk Space

I got my new seat covers on. I had pulled the seats out and disassembled them for a better installation of the covers, but they went on pretty easy, and I'm pleased with them. I got them from Seatcoversunlimited.com

They are custom fit for the brat seats and seem to fit real snug, I also got the pockets on the back for maps and what not. The interior has been vacuumed out and I got some navy blue floor mats which work well, were cheap, and also cover the big tear in the drivers side carpet. I put on a sweet lace up steering wheel cover, as I had decided to use only "old" accessories in this car. The heat is a little bit lacking when I'm going 75 down the interstate, it just can't keep up with the cold weather. I might try giving the old unit a flush once it warms up above freezing. I took the Brat to Ohio the other day, making 360 miles total, mostly highway at 60mph. This car was made to cruise the state roads of Indiana. It grips the road well and loves to go 60 and haul mopeds. I got 27mpg on that trip even with a truck load of mopeds and my wife riding shotgun.

Forward Progress

The Brat towed behind the moving truck without too much fuss. You could hardly tell it was behind, this little truck is wonderful. I got a few scratches and a heck of a lot of dirt on the car from the trip, but not too bad. I pulled the passenger seat out today and installed a new horseblanket seat cover, I'll get some pictures up shortly. I also installed my new lock in the drivers door, reattached the lever for the exterior handle which had come loose in transit, and lubricated all the linkage in the door and the regulator. That window goes up and down so easy, and the door practically falls open when you just look at the handle. It made me realize that I can actually get this car into very clean and functional condition. I'm excited to have a car that doesn't drive like a 30 year old one.