hk20000 - comes back for some Mitsubishi love

[hk20000]

Before I start let me tell you a little more sentimental side of driving this:

The Galant VR4 of this year was a very classy very comfortable car with very plush interior as you'd come to expect from cars manufactured during the "bubble period" of Japanese automobiles (circa 1988 - 1996). Complete with creature comfort and performance packaged in a way you can hardly match in its entirely in a car priced under 50K today. Telescopic and tilt steering adjustment, fully automatic climate control, factory remote door lock and power package, full leather interior, 9 way adjustable front seats (fore/aft/lumbar/cushion front/cushion rear/headrest up/down/fore/aft), just to name a few, are mated with an overly athletic 240bhp V6 twin turbo power plant. It is a gentleman's car, but with a distaste of the norm and the common. Its poise inspires confidence, but it also intimidates the driver by its sheer ability. "Push me harder," is what it is saying, as the distinct twin turbo sound whizzes up with your heel-toe downshift, when you crank the wheel it puts its face right up to your nose, closer than you are ever comfortable with, "see if you run out of guts first or I run out of grip first. I dare you, I double dare you".

You picture the line you want to ride on in this curve, it leans a bit and suddenly you feel that you are turning more than you intend to even at blazing speeds with the tires just screeching away. It does not handle like those scary oversteering types but the rear seems to have a mind of its own and crank in just a few minutes of a degree to turn the car into the corner just that much harder, there is certainly more slip angle than you would anticipate in a front wheel biased AWD car but at this whole time the car is talking to you. More precisely, you and your car are having a corner-long team cuddle-up talk. It has so many vital players in the chassis that you must inform each of them as to what you want to do in a split second and they must do it immediately to come out of the corner exit victorious. Now that feels like accomplishment to me.

Every day was a prefect day for motoring in this car, it braced snow and ice, wind and rain (FACT: I drove through strength #8 hurricane in Hong Kong in it, overtaking stalled BMWs, public buses and expensive metals that just crapped out from the massive rain and puddles) , it did not even flinch to the slippiest of surfaces. It is using all of Mitsubishi's bleeding-edge technology back then to carry its proud 11th owner exactly where he wanted to be exactly when he needed to be. Once in a while it likes to test your nerves a bit by throwing you into a wide oversteer - but then it would gracefully recover itself, as if it is laughing hysterically and, fingers pointing in your face, say "I gotcha there man! HAHAHA"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlBlbzVQh7s
It would do this if you brake and steer at the exactly right moment at the right amount, and come out of the corner as though nothing really happened, it would do this without ever spilling the tofu in the trunk.....Yes you can do this in dry pavement if you have balls of steel, the car will do it as if this was what it was designed to do.

There is something I just can't put MY finger at but you don't so much pilot the car as you are there to interrogate its ability. And its personality is so complex, that I feel like I am in the interrogation room with the Joker here: You'll never expect its next move. Yet that is what makes the whole action of tricking it into doing things you want it to do - sometimes things it is not designed to do - so interesting. If a well sorted car is Tetris, the Galant VR-4 is Grand Theft Auto.

this is how it sat in HK. This chauffeured Spugen around he can vouch for the fastness of this.
Ditched the coilovers that was on the car that was too stiff for the car

the brand name is DTM, short for "Don't Touch Me". Please if you see anything packaged similar to these, don't even think about it. The reason will be seen in a short while.
Installed Bilstein shocks and factory springs before dumping it into a container. 3 weeks later:
Ugly as sin USDM headlights are installed to complete the VI process

Now lowered again with the lowering springs that came with the car when I put it into the container. 18" Motegi wheels and tires are found on Craigslist brand new for a really awesome hookup deal. This is how it sits now.


oh of course, you gotta see the engine it's engineering marvel.

Just to tackle 3 sparkplugs located in the back the engine has to be unveiled to this nakedness:

Therefore I opted for the ultra expensive Denso Iridium sparkplugs which are supposed to last 100,000km without ever choking up. fingers crossed I don't have to take this manifold apart until the engine blows up.

a little more background story about the 7th generation Galant VR4: twin turbo, 6A12 V6, 4 wheel steering, 4 wheel drive, 4 wheel ABS, 4 wheel disc brakes, 240bhp that is blatantly underrated. Automatic Climate control, sunroof, full leather appointment.... it's Mitsubishi's stab at M5 of that era the Japanese way.

Mods now:
Topmix carbon fiber hood
RX7 FD3S front seats
Bilstein shocks
lowering springs
18" Motegi wheels and new tires
Greddy Profec Spec B boost controller
Ultra manual turbo timer
Momo tuner steering wheel
SARD turbo piping couplers
S13 (probably) FMIC
custom one off exhaust system

What is intended for this project:

• tasteful bodykit install NOT GOING TO ATTEMPT THAT ANYMORE
• miniMac or carputer powered ICE DONE, BUT REMOVED FROM CAR SINCE ACCIDENT
• amp and sub system for that boom zit boom zit when you need it. DONE
• Prothane suspension bushings kit DONE

What I want to do with this project (but probably won't get around to):

• 4G63 transplant - because that engine is so much more common around here
• front half roll bar setup START WITH a DOOR SEAM SPOT WELD FOR NOW

Thanks for looking! Watch for updates!

[Leopold Stotch]

wow cool car, totally a different choice, must be fast!

[Crossbone]

haha dont touch me coils.. sounds coool

[Jackygor]

Time to swap in a fully built 4G63T...500 awhp > FTW!!!

[hk20000]

LOL I need to get the parts together first.....well more importantly I need to get the funds together first.

[Roach]

This is a very cool project. Is the 4WS system similar to that of the early 90's Prelude?

Kev

[hk20000]

no it's the identical system found in a 1989-1990 Galant VR4 (US spec) or 3000GT/GTO (world spec)

[kchan]

^
saw your car parked on my way to school, nice car

[hk20000]

^ please don't disclose locations for obvious reasons..... can mods delete his post?

[hk20000]

some updates:

now just waaaaaiiiittttting for parts and the bodywork done.... Mopac called me today that the bushings are here already just waiting for pickup...You'll see them in a few days.

[hk20000]

The Carputer project has failed it's too finicky and having the computer turn on and off everytime I drive the car must not be good for the computer itself.

The vibration is slowly killing the 400GB HDD I got from my friend anyway.

[hk20000]

Installed a compustar alarm system from Soundsgood. Bad idea to use previous wiring loom to connect the door locks and the door ajar sensor, this proves to be disastrous later.

[RabidRat]

spotted: grey VR4 at SoundsGood

[hk20000]

Update: The goddamned 12V DC-DC adapter does not regulate voltage and my carputer doesn't want to start up with a 14.4V feed. I can only start the carputer when the engine comes to a stop....

so I'm ordering one specifically made for a car and designed to give out 12V when the input is in the range of 8V to 16V to make this work....So the project must wait.

[hk20000]

The heater core on the car epic failed and it started to leak coolant all over the carpet and out the interior water drainage pipes.... I replaced it with a salvaged piece from HK because LHD and RHD heater cores don't interchange....so freaking gay.

On that note, though, I found out that Mitsubishi has engineered the dashboard so that it comes off with minimal number of harness pulls. The whole dashboard has a harness underneath that's attached to the car via 2 combination harness plugs and the whole dashboard just comes off without any struggles.

[hk20000]

Clutch Master Cylinder replacement.

Good news - this car uses the E39A Galant VR4 clutch master cylinder
Bad news - RHD means I can't use the whole rebuilt master cylinder from Galant

Came out like this. Leaked to shit at the pedal end.

Cleaned the casing thoroughly

pumped out the piston with hand and put the new one in. With only one in the whole of North America, it's better I don't attempt at boring the surface of the cylinder... put new one in and installed back into the car.

nothing fun to look at I know lol.

Finally put the interior back together




Sub and amp from parts that were in my garage once which I had no use of until now. Amp is MTX and sub is Kenwood. Them loud.

[SpuGen]

Car done yet?

I need a day off to fix my timing, and I should be good to go after my new coilovers come in

[hk20000]

^ LOL it's never "done" man! but I don't have anything planned for it in the mean time so sorta....

[Crossbone]

the heater core is alu, im suprised you didnt try to get it re-welded? at a rad place

[hk20000]

it's all rotted out as you can tell from the picture.... basically the center section got pushed apart from the end tank from my bhg in HK....

patch today, leak out tomorrow.... pointless...Might as well go grab another one

[hk20000]

Disaster strikes hardest in the best of times.



Just days after I chatted with the local bodyshop about how I plan to do a "complete" to it to make it look as good as it drives, some Eastern Asian folk (oh fuck this isn't a political forum - some ****ing **** who lost their magic carpet) decided that they would make a left turn without making sure that no one is coming their way. I reacted with all my years of experience at the autoX and the track days - I had 3 choices, 1, run straight like what the driver's education says you should, risking to T-bone her vehicle at the passenger side door at 60km/h minus braking speed, 2 swerve around like a mad man, avoiding her car and wrap my car around the light pole on the other side of the intersection, or 3 swerve and stop very precisely so she T-bones me at maybe 10km/h and I come to a controlled stop at the farthest right lane just stopping beside the curb. I did what I did and we all managed to walk out of this. I managed to stay in control with no small part thanks to the factory ABS system and the just renewed suspension components on the car that allowed the knife-sharp precision manuver to be realised with as little drama as possible.

Guess what? That other driver was an N and she was driving 2 of her friends - that is an INSTANT FAIL.

So ICBC is getting my car fixed. This thread is going to document how the epic repairs unfold.
So the epic repairs cannot be done without some parts collecting: Where do you get JDM parts you ask? From a USDM car of course! Had I not been doing research into parts availability and imported something more JDM specific (read: FTO), I would have been screwed without a single doubt. Luckily, the USDM Galant 7G (1994-1998) shares the same bodystyle as my Galant VR-4. And without waiting for any delays, a spare left side of the car is sourced from Ralph's auto in Surrey:




Complete rocker panel from A to C pillar, complete B pillar and parts of the roof rail is included in this bit.
Doors and left fender are also sourced for this repair work, as appointed by ICBC.

The chassis will need to be pulled by a chassis alignment machine. Hopefully I can catch a picture of that in the near future.
Also since the car is in the bodyshop right now. It is as good a time as ever to do a "complete" respray of the bodywork. I decided to stay grey as mismatched door jambs and trunk openings are stupidly gay and so 1990s. The factory grey, however, is quite un-convincing even if it is restored to its brand new conditions. Therefore with some fiddling with paint chips and codes, I have chosen this as the final color for the whole car:


A 2006 color. I brought the paint chip of the original grey and this new color under the sun. Other than how the metallic is accentuated in the bright light, this is a complete match to the original color. In this case, when the car is painted this color, the door jambs, trunk opening and the hood will look color matched, but the grey will positively pop when seen in bright light conditions. The highly reflective metallic layer on the paint also accentuate the curvy body very much as it reflects shapes of its surroundings on its paint surface.

Next up is a set of really nice clear corner lights:

As a responsible road user of BC, I refuse to install non DOT RHD headlights onto the car as it is certainly not a good idea for oncoming traffic. These headlights are DOT approved, generally factory specced except the orange reflector is left uninstalled. These headlights will replace the leaky, foggy and tired headlights that are on the car right now.

Will update when I see the car again with doors removed and wheels sent out for refinishing. Until then!

[Crossbone]

im glad you were able to find parts for your vr-4 its a awesome looking project

[hk20000]

The damage after doors removed from the car.

[hk20000]

This is just before the body man processes the rocker panel. This panel then gets sandblasted and treated with rust mort for ultimate corrosion resistance (I saw him do it, afterwards). Mitsubishi tried hard to reduce weight, just look at those holes inside the rocker panel. The holes are also reinforced by the step around them.

This is the quarter panel after the rocket panel is removed from the car. There is a rust hole in the wheel well that's getting some welding love soon. There's the identical panel outside the shop he'll cut out and replace the rusted area with.

This is the A pillar bottom area where the rocker panel mates to the car. The floor had been pushed in a bit around the B pillar but the body man Andy has got it perfectly straight with his mad hamm0rz skillz.

This is the chassis of the car with the B pillar cut out and the floor straightened. It's not too rotten inside which is a relief.

[hk20000]

New Progress:

This part is made in Normal, IL....The rest of the car made in Japan ROFL.

spot welded the door frames ftw.



SL63AMG came next stall. Soooo sweeet...218,000CDN?
{images removed so I don't get my ass sued - lemme clear out the license plate first}
8 cylinders for some ultimate chick magnetism.

[hk20000]

Diaper mod put ON!

Diaper on the crashed side

Sick wheels I scored on RS. Will be painted gold professionally

Headlight bucket replaced at n/c. Old one was torn from the chassis shearing from the Don't Touch Me coilovers

Unsightly dent on the roof repaired to perfection.

[brianau9]

i jiss in my pants when i see 12 chicks in/on the car

[hk20000]

^ you jizz in your pants in public 24/7 anyway.

[RabidRat]

Originally Posted by hk20000

I reacted with all my years of experience at the autoX and the track days ...to a controlled stop at the farthest right lane just stopping beside the curb. I did what I did and we all managed to walk out of this. I managed to stay in control with no small part thanks to the factory ABS system and the just renewed suspension components on the car that allowed the knife-sharp precision manuver to be realised with as little drama as possible...

[thumper]

any hope of building it up to something like this? http://videos.streetfire.net/video/5...120_640946.htm

or are u already there...

[hk20000]

his engine is a 6G73 it's the same engine series as the 3000GT. Mine is a 6A12 series it's the same engine series as a Japanese market FTO.

I have AWD he doesn't, so I win......in the snow. I'm looking at building a 4G63/4 for it eventually, aiming for like 400bhp? But far in the future. Depends on if the 6A12 dies first or I get my hands on a mint 4G63 first.

[hk20000]

Newwww Paaaaaaint

Straight as a ruler on the left side.

hawwwt

Removed sideskirt and mirrors for better finish.

The fenders are also sprayed separate from the rest of the car too.

[thumper]

what bodyshop is this?

[hk20000]

the one that gets censored if you mention its name.

[hk20000]

It's back out in the streets!!!!


The money shot:

Awaiting its 4 wheel alignment:

Dirty front mug shot before the sun goes down

[Jeremy Clarkson voice]It was hoovered and polished and hoovered and polished until perfection. [/Jeremy Clarkson voice]


I can jerk off to the car's picture now.

[thumper]

the headlights are a definite improvement but.... not feeling the wheel color

[hk20000]

just need a better camera this gold is awwwwright. I call it the pedobear gold. j/k.

[hk20000]

Day time shot (finally):

[hk20000]

True to the Mitsubishi sport, the first day it rolled out of the paint shop it decides to seize my right front brake caliper. I noticed it because of these symptoms:
1) the car pulls to a side when neutral
2) that one wheel radiate a lot of heat when I'm checking tire pressure
3) one brake rotor is a lot hotter than the other one on the same axle.

If you have these symptoms you might have the same problem too!

So here's how I swapped my caliper today. (first day out of the paint shop and I'm wrenching it, go Mitsu!). From getting reman calipers from lordco to complete to returning the core I used 72 minutes, as the time stamp on the receipts show (and took pictures!) so this should be as quick as it gets.

So materials:
1) remanufactured caliper that you need. Ask your local parts supply store for details.
2) brake fluid (I have some in my garage so I'm going to use that), usually you only need like 200ml or less.
3) Russell Speed Brake nipples. Tips from Spugen. $15 for the pair and so damned hassle free it's worth every penny.

So let's get started with pictars
1) In the air the front goes. Remember (especially if it's not your car) to use wood as a "cushion" when you jack even the factory jack spots, that way you won't end up with unsightly bent metal at the rails.

With the wheels off, just have a look around the area for other damages or repairs you might need to do later. For instance, the front tie rod boot is no good in this car. The boot is pretty perished and will need to be exchanged later.

Now is the time to pull out the remanufactured caliper make sure EVERYTHING looks like the one that's already on the car. NEVER even pick up a wrench without confirming that
1) caliper mount bolt holes
2) caliper slide pin bolts
3) number of pistons
4) the kind of attachment the caliper uses for the brake hose
are all the same as the old one before you remove the old one.

The older the car, the bigger the hammer/longer the breaker bar be. Rubber mallets are recommended as you are going to hammer on your tools and you don't want to damage them if you don't have to.

With a semi-complete remanufactured caliper it's great you don't really have to worry about sliding the calipers off the bracket because you just exchange the brackets with it. With no hands for the camera I
1) loosened up the 2 bracket mount bolts
2) loosened the banjo bolt that holds the hose onto the caliper
3) removed the 2 bracket mount bolts.
If it's a regular caliper re and re by this point your caliper should have dropped off the car. But remember when I said my caliper was seized?
I found the biggest screw driver I could find and pried it out. It clamped onto the rotors pretty damned tight.

This is about where you should look at your brake master cylinder and start to fill it. You should have dropped about 100mL by this point.
Now with the new crush washers supplied with the reman caliper, tread on the banjo bolt and hose assy onto the caliper - do NOT tighten it 100% at this point, and be VERY careful that the bolt is in straight. If it's in gay you will fuck up the caliper royally.
Installing the caliper is quite difficult as you are going to have to "feel" your way into mounting the brackets.... once that's in, you make brake hoses go around the least tensioned way and tighten the bracket bolts. Also the bolts that hold the caliper on the bracket comes loose from the box, remember to tighten that as well. Finally tighten up the banjob bolt that feeds fluid into the caliper.

now off to bleeding. Russell Speed bleeders are so cool. That's all I have to say. Check our Russell's website and tell me isn't that shit awesome.

before u go make sure you sprayed the whole assembly with brake cleaner to get rid of the oily mess you might have smeared over the rotor as you did this. spraying the whole assembly with brake cleaner before you bleed the brakes and make final tightening of the banjo bolt is recommended.

Test assembly by finger tightening the wheel onto the brake you serviced, spin it, and hit the brakes see if the wheel stops. If it does very rapidly, you are good to go, otherwise bleed again.

Drop the car and rush over to Lordco to get your core charge (core charge > caliper cost WTF?)

Go home and write all this up on RS. Yay!

[AVS_Racing]

saw ur car at surrey today are u even allowed to park in that triangle spot that u parked in haha?