Anyone remember the Brat

Hopefully your mother didnt know Seer
just joking

 

Hahaha! That was in the days of eight track tapes!

 

In the late-70's, I bought an early 60's Ford Ranchero, cleaned it cosmetically (new paint, new interior, etc) and souped that little 4-cylinder up (rebuilt engine & transmission, hood scoop, four carburetors w/forced air, exhaust header w/4 pipes, Mustang transaxle, jacked up & weighted rear end w/wide tires, etc). Darn fun to play with, but a total cop magnet. Couldn't drive five miles without getting a speeding ticket (seemingly even when parked). Finally had to give it up.

 

Does anybody still build a boxer engine other than Subaru? Porsche I guess. The boxer is a pretty good design, low center of gravity. I liked my BMW motorcycles with the boxer engine. Superb handlers with that low center of gravity.

 

Subaru's up to the late 90's were the biggest pile of unreliable rusty junk on the streets. Cracked cylinder heads broken timing belts bad oil pumps radiators that rotted out huge holes in the frame work leaky head gaskets. I actually saw a later body style Brat on 302 in NH the other day he was doing 40 in a 55 I think he had it floored.

 

I have to agree with you there. They did have some issues. Like I stated before, my pops DETONATED the motor in his Brat towing a trailer. Literally blew up with engine parts and shrapnel piercing the hood! I had an 87 GL wagon that had a strong motor (130k+) but was taken off the road due to a huge gaping hole in the frame due to harsh Vermont winters. All in all though they are still some pretty damn rugged little cars.

 

Scion FR-S

 

Technically it's still Subaru...pop the hood and its stamped subie everywhere...

 

Oh , well there you go

 

My dad said he owned a Brat. He also said that the thing "couldn't pull greased shit out of an owl's ass" or something like that.

Apparently it was the weakest vehicle he ever owned.

 

Your dad has clearly experienced the joy of an early 80's Subaru. I owned the car version of the Brat and it was without question or doubt the WORST car I have ever owned. The engine was solid, but the carb, cooling system, electrical, brakes, body, transmission, and suspension were crap. (and I was just lucky with the engine) It was so bad that I wouldn't buy another Subaru for 20+ years. The fact that those Brat's still exist is the best proof of a miracle that I've ever seen.

I can say one good thing for my old Subaru, it did keep me in college. I had no money for a replacement and without fail that POS would crap out on me in the worst possible places. It would piss me off so bad that I would study harder just so I could get a good job and buy a replacement. When I landed that job I bought a brand new Honda the first week in the office.