So I've been thinking a Brat might make a sweet beater/daily driver/gas saver...and be handy to have around to haul car parts for the STi and stuff. (especially since the seats in the STi don't fold down, and I like protecting the interrior.)

I have to admit though, I don't know too much about Brats... Are they reliable? Anybody have any experience with them?

Thoughts?

Let me know if you know of a clean one for sale!

 

Brats Rock! Mine has 283,000 miles on it. I also have an Sti so i go from one extreme to the other. The brat is probably down to about 50 hp. But it gets 28mpg and I also use mine to haul stuff around. Best of all you can park it anywhere and nobody bothers messing with it. Those am/fm stock radios are not worth stealing. Most of the brats out there are trashed. If it comes from out of state it will be rusted out also. Good luck in your search for a nice one.

 

You can almost always find Brats for sale on http://www.ultimatesubaru.net/forum/, I just found at least 5 in the few minutes I spent searching. There are a ton of old-school Suby nuts in Washington, so if you're really serious about finding one, I'd search up there.

Brats are very reliable. The older carbed Subaru engines are pretty much bullet proof and are known to last well over 300,000 miles. They're a bit difficult to source parts for if you don't know where to look, but a lot of Subaru parts are interchangeable and once you start learning what fits on what, they're really easy to take care of.

If you do end up buying one, send me a PM or an IM and I'll give you a list of places to find parts for it. I used to work for a shop that rebuilds Subaru engines and we did a ton of the older stuff, and even had a project Brat as a shop car (which I bet they would sell to you). I worked with a guy who rebuilds the old school Subie carburetors and distributors, and with a guy who rebuilds axles, so just let me know. I'd also be happy to work on it for you/with you.

Here are some pics of the Brat at my old work: