The Top Mitsubishi Galant VR-4 Resource

Join the best E39A 1991-1992 Mitsubishi Galant VR-4 community and document your GVR4 journey.

  • Software Upgraded - Reset Your Password to Login
    In order to log in after the forum software change, you need to reset your password. If you don't have access to the email address you used to register your GVR4.org account, you won't be able to reset your password. In that case, follow the instructions here to regain access to the forum.

First post - longtime reader

joeastwood95

New member
Joined
May 18, 2015
Messages
4
Location
Mineola, NY
Hows it going Guys. My name is Joe, and I am the owner of 4/1000 from the year 1992. I bought it almost 4 years ago from someone many of you know, Alan. I bought the car knowing it was going to take a lot of work/money/time to return the car to its former glory. Nothing could have prepared me for what was about to happen though.


When I bought the car from Alan it was not running, although it had a freshly built motor that Alan built himself. Due to very unfortunate luck, the motor ended up being bad and right off the bat I was building a shortblock for a car I thought I would never have to do that for. HUGE moral and monetary setback. I had the block built at E-spec Tuning in Deer Park, New York. Erkel, the owner, also does all of my tuning for the Galant and my Evo 8. After the motor was built, everything was going fine until I was at the 850 mile during the break in period. I got in my car after a long and hot day at the beach in New Jersey. I drove about 3-4 miles when I noticed smoke coming from between the fender and the hood. I immediately killed the engine and pulled over with the biggest wave of anxiety coursing through me. I pop the hood and find oil everywhere on the drivers side of the engine bay and the dipstick out of the tube. the smoke came from the oil on the exhaust manifold. Semi-relieved, I was able to move the car in front of a wonderful old mans house. He had a Shelby Cobra sitting in his garage, so I figured I could ask him to borrow a jack and some rags to try and clean up the mess. I cleaned it up as much as I could, but I lost a lot of oil and was not comfortable driving home. It was the fourth of July, and I wasn't finding the brad penn break in oil I needed to top off to drive home. Now for the humiliating call for rescue from New Jersey on the fourth of july /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif Two days later I was able to go back with the right oil and my girlfriend at the times father for help. we changed the oil just to be safe and I was on my way.


I made it over the GW Bridge into the Bronx and I was about 15 miles from home when I start noticing my gauges fading and dimming, then throttle starting getting choppy, and the radio went out. my alternator was fried. the alternator is right below the damn dipstick and was covered in oil the worst. It finally worked its way in there. That was the night I started my triple A membership on the side of the Bruckner at 1 in the morning. What a night that was. 4 hours and two tow truck rides later, I was finally back home. My mom was getting used to me coming home with cars on tow trucks at this point, lol. I changed the alternator, and ever since then the car has had electrical problems. I took a break from the project to regroup funds and reassess the direction that I wanted to go with the build. 3 years later and here we are. The car didn't move for three years. In that time I bought and built an evo (that's a whole other story) and bought an s1000rr last year. I am a union elevator/escalator mechanic and I work quite a bit. The galant unfortunately just hasnt been a priority. The main thing holding me back from doing any major work to it was the lack of a garage.


Now for the current status. Back in September in '18 i was scolling through facebook marketplace when i found a JDM '89 galant vr4 in pretty pristine condition, and it was 100% stock except for a turbo back exhaust. Oh man. it was perfect. It was everything i wanted 4/1000 to look like without the headache of going through body work, rust removal, and paint. Well guess what guys, i bought it. I now own two Galant vr-4's, an evo 8, an s1000rr, and a triumph speed triple. I officially have a problem. Then in october i started working 13 hour days , 6 days a week installing the new escalators in Penn Station in Manhattan, and i once again found myself unable to enjoy my cars due to lack of time. Now all that is over, im working a mere 50 hours a week and have my weekends back, and the project is in full swing!



My plans now are to take everything from the USDM galant, and i mean everything, and put it in the JDM galant. my built motor, rebuilt trans, 4 bolt rear end, 5 lug swap. the engine is fully built, .020 over bore, forged rods and pistons, stock crank, fully ported and built head with crower 280's and L19s to hold all the boost in with a stock headgasket. one of the problems with the original motor was the use of helical gears in the oil pump, so i got a new oem oil pump and gears as well. The block is o-ringed as well so that should help keep the head down. Im going to be strapping a Holset hx52 with an 11cm turbine housing to this badboy, so this car is really going to move. Hot parts, intercooler, and all piping will all be custom one off pieces. Evo 8 brakes up front should provide sufficient stopping power, and a scirocco style aluminum radiator will be providing all the cooling as well as a B&M oil cooler. Im in the middle of compiling a list of every nut and bolt that i will be needing, as I am a nut and Im replacing everything. I also have every single suspension bushing that Ill be replacing as well as all bearings. every part that I put on the car is getting blasted and coated before it goes in. No expense is going to be spared, and thats how all Galants should be built. Oh, and I have a set of Volk RE-30's from my evo that i think are going to look PERFECT on a Galant, and i just cant wait.


Im really excited for this build and all the work i have ahead of me. I just rented a 2 car garage in my neighborhood, and its quite pricey so that is motivation to get this done quickly. My goal is to make the shootout in August, and as of right now that ois looking semi- doable. its just a lot of money to spend from here until then which hurts a little on the inside. but it will all be worth it in the end because I'm telling you, this is going to be a build for the books fellas. This week just going to the garage for a few hours after work I was able to already remove the engine and trans, drop the rear subframe, and remove the 5 lug hubs from the front of the car. I have plenty of pictures I'll be posting within the next day or two. Tomorrow I plan on tearing the rear end apart which shouldnt take too long, and my old Prelude to scrap. Hopefully Ill have them up tomorrow night. I look forward to interacting with all of you as ive been a long time creeper just reading posts haha. Im sure you all have plenty of information I can benfit from over the next few months.


Well its about my bed time now, so peace out guys. Ill have more for you all soon
 
Joined
May 8, 2019
Messages
19
Location
Sachse, Texas
Welcome to the board. I think you'll find plenty of people who can relate to your "adventures" with the first Galant. I'm in the process of resurrecting a project car that has sat for many years myself.

Little side note: I noticed you said your car had lots of electrical problems after you replaced the alternator. Parts store alternator? There's a thread about charging system problems just below yours. Be careful not to swap whatever may be causing your electrical problems over to the new car.
 

iceman69510

Turn Right Racing
Staff member
Joined
Mar 5, 2001
Messages
10,964
Location
Michigan
Welcome. Hopefully heart-break will turn to joy if you can find the time to realize your dreams for the car(s).
 

slugsgomoo

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 16, 2003
Messages
3,776
Location
Tacoma, WA
welcome! Definitely put "new dipstick" on your mods to buy list. Having the non-27 year o-rings will help avoid popping it, but beyond that put a clamp on the tube, and add a spring to it (some of the shops offer a tube with a tang welded on for a spring, which is pretty neat actually).

Glad the oil ejection wasn't worse, I've seen a lot of popped dipsticks result in engine fires /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 

joeastwood95

New member
Joined
May 18, 2015
Messages
4
Location
Mineola, NY
Yea I was aware of the thread back then when I installed the alternator. I think it had something to do with the voltage regulator in the alternator tbh. I remember I could get the car started with a full battery, but it would just end up dying because it wasn’t charging properly after that. At the time I started digging into wiring that needed attention, and then bam three years passed and here we are lol. Needless to say the parts store alternator will not be going in the final product
 

joeastwood95

New member
Joined
May 18, 2015
Messages
4
Location
Mineola, NY
Taking a step back for a few years definitely helped me realize my dreams for the car! Also allowed me to stock up on quite a few parts, haha. It’s all coming together now. I have a build sheet, with a list of parts and an order to buy them all to keep the work flow going properly. This summer will be eventful to say the slightest
 

joeastwood95

New member
Joined
May 18, 2015
Messages
4
Location
Mineola, NY
Already have a new dipstick / tube and a spring to go along with it. Will never make that mistake again! And Jesus it seems I was lucky in the situation. I definitely made out like a bandit short of spending a few hundred bucks to get her home
 

BLUELIGHTSBABY

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 17, 2012
Messages
82
Location
Franklin, NC
It sounds like alen didnt know what the hell he was doing when it came to building a short block. Glad you got a car and turned it into something nice.
 
Support Vendors who Support the GVR-4 Community
Boosted Fabrication ECM Tuning ExtremePSI Fuel Injector Clinic Jacks Transmissions JNZ Tuning Kiggly Racing Morrison Fabrications RixRacing RockAuto RTM Racing STM Tuned

Recent Forum Posts

Top