Well, I'll start from the beginning on how I ended up with 820/1000. I had a Craigslist ad up for a DSM shell/roller. I didn't really want a shell, but I was striking out pretty hard trying to find a complete rear DSM subframe to swap into 1837. I get a text from Brad Brooks (I didn't know it was him at first), who is a fairly well known tuner here on the East Coast. He apparently saw my ad, and hit me up asking if I wanted to buy another Galant VR4. At this point, Brad introduced me to a gentleman named Doug. Doug was the PO of 820/1000, and an awesome guy. He cut me a great deal on the car and a pile of parts to go with it.
The car was sitting for 6 years prior to me dragging it home an hour and a half from Virginia. I was told this car was owned by Marty Grand as some point. Overall, it's in decent condition, but needs A LOT of love. It has some rust issues, which have migrated their way into the body. Mechanically, it seems sound. I changed the oil and threw some fresh gas into the car and it fired right up. It purrs like a kitten. I'll need to do some work on the brakes and rear suspension, along with general maintenance items.
It's lightly modded:
-some kind of homebrew turbo back exhaust
-FMIC and hard piping
-hacked air can and K&N filter
-KYB adjustables and lowering springs
-front strut bar
-adjustable camber arms and welded trailing arms w/ energy susp bushings
-BSA Top 17 x 7 wheels wrapped in Bridgestone Potenza S-03's
So far, I welded up one of the trailing arms and installed new rear bearings, seals and a hub/spindle. The other arm was already welded up when I got the car. I rebuilt the rear calipers (thanks for the parts Doug) and slapped on some new rotors. Tomorrow, I need to bleed the brakes and hopefully take it out for a drive for the first time in nearly a decade.
As far as plans for the car go, it will stay mostly stock. The rust is rough in some places, and I'm not really up for doing all the body work it would take to completely correct all the problem areas. I'm going to neutralize the rust, and patch it up the best I can without getting too involved. I always wanted to do ridiculous sh*t to a VR-4, like throw on a set of fender flares, or delete the rear spoiler. Maybe this will be the car I can try out all the extravagant stuff I've always been too scared to do to 1837.