Bad Brat-itude

That title actually worked to get your attention? Rad.

I've wanted a cruck for the last ever or so, and saw this come up nearby

http://bellingham.craigslist.org/cto/2842017907.html

I emailed asking about rust, existence of rear seats, damage, etc, his response: "There are no rear seats, there is a little bit of rust on one of the fenders, not spread at all. Its never been in an accident, one dent on the tailgate. The body is very good condition for a 34 year old vehicle. I have had this rig for over a year now and have never had any problems with it running or driving. very reliable. Unfortunately I can't seem to successfully post the pics."

Thoughts? Anything to look out for other than rust? CV's having been done recently covers that base. The price seems not awful if it's as rust free as he says, and I'm only a little skeptical of his inability to attach pictures

Work is five miles each way, no plans to put ridiculous mileage on it, I'd have an eye towards an engine swap and liftage (happen to have a buddy who DIY'd a lift kit and engine swap on an 80's subaru sedan, so feel confident on that front) Thanks in advance for the help/heckling

I have an inability to attach pictures, Don't let that scare you off. Call him and question him at length, you can tell a huckster by doublespeak.

Sounds great to me!

IIRC, the motor in that thing is like a Beetle motor. You can pull it without a lift (just need a buddy) and rebuild it in a weekend on the kitchen table.

any running brat is worth going to look at!

Pinch: As I have no reliable shop space, that's very nice to hear!

Rallying up the troops (aka my buddies with actual automotive knowledge) and hopefully taking a look tomorrow evening

MY evening is open tonight, all of them have ladies :P

'78 would be a first gen Brat..comes with a 1.6 EA71, less boxy body, more "70s" styling. They're a little harder to fiddle with...the narrower engine bay, in particular, makes it harder to stuff in a more modern EJ engine as I understand it. Not impossible, just harder. I think the suspension is also different enough that the "off the shelf" lift stuff won't work on the earlier cars either. The first gens are pretty tough to find parts for, particularly body/trim stuff that wasn't common with the other sedans/wagons of the era. Of course, rust is the biggest concern on these, as you must know based on your comments above. There is no part of a 70's Subaru that is not likely to have rust, so you really have to investigate thoroughly if you want a solid chassis.

I prefer the looks of the first gen, but they've got their problems. Second gens are a lot easier to own...they made room for things like automatic trans, turbos, etc. that make swapping it easier and you can also get off the shelf lift kits from places like sjrlift.com.

Bryce

Thanks for the input guys!

Took a look this afternoon.

I'll put it this way, the fellow was more than a little generous with his description of the fine condition of his automobile

(he neglected to mention the crushed tailgate, trashed interior, much more than one spot of rust, shot to hell CV's in the rear, AND the flat tire... to name a few.)

Shoot. Typical overly optimistic seller. Better luck next time!

President Reagan had one:

http://jalopnik.com/5877037/how-ronald-reagan-became-a-secret-subaru-test-driver

Clarty wrote: President Reagan had one: http://jalopnik.com/5877037/how-ronald-reagan-became-a-secret-subaru-test-driver

That is really bizarre.

SVreX wrote: That is really bizarre.

And probably my favorite thing about Reagan.

(Questionable taste in cars that is)

Who'd have thunk that the Gipper drove a Japanese lesbian pickup truck??