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Jan 18, 2014 21:48:23 GMT
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I'm going to have a major building project on our house in the next 12/18 months.
So as part of keeping the costs down, I figured a pick up would be a good idea. Cut down on delivery costs of materials. Ability to pick up potential bargin items, kit or tools. Prevent builders on site leaving site to get the odd bag af cement....I'll do that. Etc...
So it's going to get bashed.
However, what better to do, than to get something which could be a bit of a project to get ready for the building work, then after its served its purpose, it then becomes a fun project.......... WRX Brat ?
Now being used to classics, and mainly an Alfa man, this will be something new to me.
I know where there is an ex farm brat, sat in a farm yard, that I could probably get hold of.
So anyone here able to give me some pointers as to what I need to look out for on these ? Just obviously looking to get this MOTd and a sound base of the next 6 months.
Oh, and do you think I could get a full size euro pallet in the load bed?
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71 Alfa GT 1300 Junior 89 Alfa 75 3.0 V6 Veloce 89 Alfa 75 3.0 V6 America 2015 C220 estate Daily shunter
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Jan 18, 2014 22:45:07 GMT
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Been done before there was a drag car on Autospeed back in the day (say 10 years ago)
I would say no on the pallet, the arches come in a fair bit, don't have the width between towers but just working off the top of my head Don't they rust, I mean I use to see a lot of Rusty ones here... and we don't get UK style rust... could be the hard life farm vehicle thing and kept ones are OK
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Last Edit: Jan 18, 2014 22:46:59 GMT by notsoswift
Contrary to popular opinion, I do have mechanical sympathy, I always feel sorry for the cars I drive.
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Jan 18, 2014 22:48:39 GMT
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Not sure if you'll cut down on delivery costs, if any of our local builders merchants tried to charge for delivery on anything over a few £ they'de be out of business, you might be able to save on sand etc by fetching it loose but the amount you'de have to load in at a time to cover the fuel costs wouldn't be safe.
Honestly unless the brat is rot free you'de be better buying an MOT'd cheap ratty mk3-mk5 transit tipper and running that till it either gets VOSA'd off the road or fails the MOT on an epic amount of welding, that way you'll have a decent amount of load you can carry.
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Jan 18, 2014 22:53:48 GMT
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They're great cars, as all Subarus are (IMO), but it may be fairly rotten and in rough condition. The Brat/Brumby had a flat four didn't it (EA82? ). With a curse word carburettor - you can get LOADS of parts from Australia.
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fred
Posted a lot
WTF has happened to all the Vennies?
Posts: 2,957
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I would go the old Transit tipper way too if you are thinking of bricks, sand, cement etc.. get a ratty one with a decent ticket and work it!!
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'79 Cossie ran Cortina - Sold
2000 Fozzer 2.0 turbo snow beast
'85 Opel Manta GSI - Sold
03 A class Mercedes
Looking for a FD Ventora - Anyone?
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old volvo estate with a roof rack FTW i say. run it into the ground and weigh it in.
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79cord
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,608
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They're great cars, as all Subarus are (IMO), but it may be fairly rotten and in rough condition. The Brat/Brumby had a flat four didn't it (EA82? ). With a curse word carburettor - you can get LOADS of parts from Australia. Given the trouble I had finding a GOOD bonnet for fathers 65,000km '82 Leone Sedan I'm not so sure.. Though the AWD wagons sold well here & Brat/Brumby soldiered on into '92? Certainly have a cult following. As an automatic Fathers immaculate retirement spec. sedan is pretty soporific & unrefined, though that might not apply or be so obvious for other variants.
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Jan 19, 2014 11:02:14 GMT
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It really depends on the year and state of the brat, earlier ones had the almost indestructible EA81/61 (1800/1600) pushrod engine, mostly coupled with a strong 4WD dual range transmission. Later ones were sometimes FWD and mostly fitted with EA81 (1800) engine.Parts for the engines and suspension are not that hard to find, as they share almost everything with contemporary subaru's (Leone2 or L-series2). Body and glass will be hard but RUST is your biggest issue. All older subarus rust like hell and they rot through the sills upwards behind the dash making them susceptible to just breaking in half.
In my opinion, if you are going to run it into the ground/bash it up, don't use something rare like a brat. There are loads of other old, large, unwanted vehicles to be had.
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Jan 19, 2014 14:33:48 GMT
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Rust, rust, and more rust. The gamekeeper on the estate near my parents jetwashed the mud off his before the MOT - and most of the underside of the bodywork went with it...
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grumpy
Part of things
Posts: 557
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Jan 19, 2014 14:53:19 GMT
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Ts anice idea to have a retro working vehicle , but working just means it will get trashed , and you would probably have to soend alot on fixing one up in the first place , plus they are more farm vehicles and as stated wont have much capacity . There are plenty of cheap pickups if thats what you want , old ford 2wd's and vauxhalls etc.
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Jan 19, 2014 16:27:59 GMT
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what about a ford p100
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grumpy
Part of things
Posts: 557
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Jan 19, 2014 17:50:35 GMT
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If you think about a a transit there is a very nice mk2 tipper on ebay for 1400 looks great . You wouldnt lose money on it
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Jan 19, 2014 23:13:06 GMT
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They're great cars, as all Subarus are (IMO), but it may be fairly rotten and in rough condition. The Brat/Brumby had a flat four didn't it (EA82? ). With a curse word carburettor - you can get LOADS of parts from Australia. Given the trouble I had finding a GOOD bonnet for fathers 65,000km '82 Leone Sedan I'm not so sure.. Though the AWD wagons sold well here & Brat/Brumby soldiered on into '92? Certainly have a cult following. As an automatic Fathers immaculate retirement spec. sedan is pretty soporific & unrefined, though that might not apply or be so obvious for other variants. Should've added - 'in comparison to England', where the availability of part is zero. I got whatever I needed for my Starion from Australia.
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Can't get a transit, as its too big for the garage (which it will have to live in), the drives not really large enough.
Maybe a hilux, but I really like the brat idea. Looking at the higher mileage one on ebay at the mo. don't think it would get truly trashed, especially if I line the load bed.
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71 Alfa GT 1300 Junior 89 Alfa 75 3.0 V6 Veloce 89 Alfa 75 3.0 V6 America 2015 C220 estate Daily shunter
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Just as importantly if you're going to use it for tip runs you may find it's classified as a commercial vehicle so may not be allowed or expensive regardless of you doing your house up. Worth checking with the council
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Carter
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,535
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If you are doing construction waste tip runs then you will have to pay a charge anyway, unless it's the odd rubble sack or two and a bit of timber. The Subaru MV pickup, or Brat and Brumby if you are in the US or Oz, is a cracking little workhorse. It won't take a ton, but for errands to the builders merchants and light loads it's ace, rear wheel drive with engagable 4wd so no getting stuck. You can get them on a non commercial insurance too, though some insurers will be funny about this because of the pick up thing. I put mine with Adrian Flux, no probs. As has been said, they rot and rust, chassis and body- that's pretty much the main thing to look for. Parts are non-existent, though there was a scrappy near Woodbridge in Suffolk that had a whole bunch, that was years ago though. The flat-four engine is ok, you will want an 1800 though, not the 1600. Oh, and weird Wheel PCD, though the standard steels are ok. I used to use one for work, but most of my work at the time was carpentry and joinery on farms. They don't have large bucks, so be prepared to get a dented roof if you are carrying lengths of timber, unless you have a roll-bar or such. If you are careful it won't get trashed. For a house build I would consider a Hilux over a Subaru, larger capacity and parts readily available... And they look awesome beaten up Here's my old one.. Me on a scrapyard dig..
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'77 Chevy G20
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Feb 10, 2014 10:20:50 GMT
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Just get an actual van, pickups are greap until it's raining and you need to move plasterboard. I bought a Suzuki Supercarry to run about it while we did our house, saved me about £2k & sold it for more than I bought it for 10 months later. Or something like a Toyota Estima/Lucida to avoid issues with the local tips. I bought the Suzuki as a few years back - at the tip if it would fit under the barrier you didnt need a permit (it did fit, scraped the roof rack if it wasnt fully loaded up) Now you need a permit (max 12 trips per year) & you cant take a pickup/large van in at all. All that said, if you just want one (undertandable as they are awesome), it's best way to justify it to the Mrs
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Last Edit: Feb 10, 2014 11:50:16 GMT by joem83
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Feb 10, 2014 11:24:14 GMT
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If you want a realistic view, you're not going to save, if anything you could end up spending more...
As said, you won't save on delivery, doing tip runs you'll probably have to pay and all your traders are going to have their own motors..
Then you've got to factor in getting/keeping it road worthy, how much extra its going to cost you in running it and its more than likely just going to be redundant apart from a few novelty runs picking up smaller orders because its not big enough or practical to move anything else that the lads can't sort out themselves. Which if that's what its being bought for, seems kind of pointless.
If you want something fit for the purpose you're intending to use it for then you should be looking at tippers/bigger pick-ups that are going to do the job you want properly imo.
If you just want to help out, offer your free labour mate, that way you can keep an eye on whats going off, get to know the lads who you're giving your hard earned to and save a few quid in the process.
If you just want a cool project that's been triggered by the work that's going to take place, it would make a good project, but maybe you should re-think why you actually want to buy one?
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Feb 10, 2014 15:00:15 GMT
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rear wheel drive with engagable 4wd so no getting stuck. they're actually front wheel drive with 4wd on the button, only for use in wet or mud since it has no centre diff! yeah 4x140, only found on old subarus or peugeots. The rims in the pictures are actually not the stock rims
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Carter
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,535
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Feb 10, 2014 17:54:16 GMT
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rear wheel drive with engagable 4wd so no getting stuck. they're actually front wheel drive with 4wd on the button, only for use in wet or mud since it has no centre diff! yeah 4x140, only found on old subarus or peugeots. The rims in the pictures are actually not the stock rims Lol, yes FWD you are of course right, schoolboy error on my part The steels on my blue one were stock I'm sure! I've seen a fair number with those steels on too... Am I wrong on that too? Edit: to add... As in, the steels were stock in the uk I'm sure
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Last Edit: Feb 10, 2014 17:59:35 GMT by Carter
'77 Chevy G20
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