r4pt0x
Well-known member
After driving a 2WD Galant GTI hatchback with 4g63T engine and long gearbox, i bought a 1988 dynamic 4 which was said to be rust-free..
Some of the rust i could spot before i bought it (and reduce the price), but the whole mess got uncovered when i started to disassemble the car.
At first i just wanted to make a quick&dirty repair and use it as a winter car for 2 years, but as the work and cost to get this car road-safe again is/will be way too much for a winter-car I will make it a full restoration. The engine will be replaced with the 4G63T engine i built for the 2WD galant 2 Years ago (only ~15k kms since rebuild).
It's a 6-bolt bottom end with VR4 internals, 4G67 head (both rebuild with new gaskets, bearings etc) + 4G67 intake manifold (smaller rooftop for higher compression and smaller manifold volume), MHI evo3 16G turbo, VR4 camshafts and evo 7/8 ECU. Power output was enough to easily spin the front wheels >100kph and i never reached the top speed the engine would have easily pulled the car to. ~270kph were enough to nearly crap my pants /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
pictures from the engine rebuild (with ebay 16g for mock-up and first few kms until i got the MHI turbo delivered) can be found here:
click
So lets start with the rusty piece of metal i bought...
The front left whel had a weird positive camber after i drove the car from the trailor onto the service lift. After removing the wheels i saw why: the linkage from the front damper to the knuckle was so rusty, it had already collapsed from the upper end and broken apart, so only some rust and the lower bolt was holding the wheel in place /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif
The pictures are mainly from the rear end, because i started here and will work my way through to the front. As the front is in really bad shape (except for all parts visible ) i will replace the whole front from the a-pillar forward with a rust-free VR4 frontcut from japan we've had sitting here for a few years.
The first 3 weekends were spent for the holes where the side skirts are mounted - they were only held in place by the glue stripe - and the rear left & right holes.
On the left side i just cut away the whole side pocket where the car jack would be - it was so rusty, i just poked through it from all sides when searching for some good sheet to weld on.
Then i dropped the rear axle, fuel tank and all mounting backets and brake/steering lines. All lines underneath the car were rusty and some already started to leak when they were bent just a little bit. So _all_ lines will be replaced by new ones through the passenger compartment.
Then i spend 3 days underneath the rear end, getting rid of all rust. The frame was gone on both sides where the diff support is mounted, so i removed all rust and reinforced this part with 2mm thick steel plates which run from the crossmember over the frame up to the support sheet of the rear strut. As the car will get strut braces front & rear i didn't go all the way up or added other sheets for reinforcement.
every spot of blank metal was passivated, coatd with zinc, filler and silver paint + clear lacquer. (pictures are mainly taken with the passivator freshly applied - its the milky stuff)
The rear axle will be replaced with the one that came with the VR4 frontcut - the diff is gone, but i have the driveshafts to fit the 4-bolt flanges. As i want to keep the 4WS functioning, i'll have a look on some evo 1-3 front differentials which have the speed gear ring on them - but these modifications run alongside with the body restoration.
As the upper suspension arms were missing on the VR4 axle, i refurbished the old ones. They already have been sand-blasted and painted, the bushings will be replaced with Evo9 uniball ones:
all other bushings will also be replaced - either with new stock ones or stiffer evolution ones if they fit. As we have a big german rallye-team just across the street i have a huge assortment of new bushings from rallye-basecars to choose from...
I'll update this thread every few days if i think the progress is mentionable.
Of course any suggestions or comments are welcome /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Some of the rust i could spot before i bought it (and reduce the price), but the whole mess got uncovered when i started to disassemble the car.
At first i just wanted to make a quick&dirty repair and use it as a winter car for 2 years, but as the work and cost to get this car road-safe again is/will be way too much for a winter-car I will make it a full restoration. The engine will be replaced with the 4G63T engine i built for the 2WD galant 2 Years ago (only ~15k kms since rebuild).
It's a 6-bolt bottom end with VR4 internals, 4G67 head (both rebuild with new gaskets, bearings etc) + 4G67 intake manifold (smaller rooftop for higher compression and smaller manifold volume), MHI evo3 16G turbo, VR4 camshafts and evo 7/8 ECU. Power output was enough to easily spin the front wheels >100kph and i never reached the top speed the engine would have easily pulled the car to. ~270kph were enough to nearly crap my pants /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
pictures from the engine rebuild (with ebay 16g for mock-up and first few kms until i got the MHI turbo delivered) can be found here:
click
So lets start with the rusty piece of metal i bought...
The front left whel had a weird positive camber after i drove the car from the trailor onto the service lift. After removing the wheels i saw why: the linkage from the front damper to the knuckle was so rusty, it had already collapsed from the upper end and broken apart, so only some rust and the lower bolt was holding the wheel in place /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif
The pictures are mainly from the rear end, because i started here and will work my way through to the front. As the front is in really bad shape (except for all parts visible ) i will replace the whole front from the a-pillar forward with a rust-free VR4 frontcut from japan we've had sitting here for a few years.
The first 3 weekends were spent for the holes where the side skirts are mounted - they were only held in place by the glue stripe - and the rear left & right holes.
On the left side i just cut away the whole side pocket where the car jack would be - it was so rusty, i just poked through it from all sides when searching for some good sheet to weld on.
Then i dropped the rear axle, fuel tank and all mounting backets and brake/steering lines. All lines underneath the car were rusty and some already started to leak when they were bent just a little bit. So _all_ lines will be replaced by new ones through the passenger compartment.
Then i spend 3 days underneath the rear end, getting rid of all rust. The frame was gone on both sides where the diff support is mounted, so i removed all rust and reinforced this part with 2mm thick steel plates which run from the crossmember over the frame up to the support sheet of the rear strut. As the car will get strut braces front & rear i didn't go all the way up or added other sheets for reinforcement.
every spot of blank metal was passivated, coatd with zinc, filler and silver paint + clear lacquer. (pictures are mainly taken with the passivator freshly applied - its the milky stuff)
The rear axle will be replaced with the one that came with the VR4 frontcut - the diff is gone, but i have the driveshafts to fit the 4-bolt flanges. As i want to keep the 4WS functioning, i'll have a look on some evo 1-3 front differentials which have the speed gear ring on them - but these modifications run alongside with the body restoration.
As the upper suspension arms were missing on the VR4 axle, i refurbished the old ones. They already have been sand-blasted and painted, the bushings will be replaced with Evo9 uniball ones:
all other bushings will also be replaced - either with new stock ones or stiffer evolution ones if they fit. As we have a big german rallye-team just across the street i have a huge assortment of new bushings from rallye-basecars to choose from...
I'll update this thread every few days if i think the progress is mentionable.
Of course any suggestions or comments are welcome /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
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