Introduction. Considering rescuing a gvr4 from the crusher.

Hi guys,
I've joined this forum because I'm looking at the possibility of buying '92 gvr4 from a co-worker. I can't remember what number, somewhere in the 700's. I'm really more of an old Nissan guy (my current dd is a bone stock '71 510 wagon) but there's just something about an unassuming old Japanese sedan with an AWD turbo powerplant/drivetrain tucked underneath that just appeals to me. It would definitely be a project car. To wit: the car reportedly has a cracked head and or block, which, I'm told, is the assessment of a reputable mechanic. Curiously, the only symptoms noticed by its current owner are a moderate occasional idle surge and the occasional random stall. I'm looking at it with the assumption that I will need to replace the long block.
My questions are:

-where would I look to find a rebuilt or even a used 4g63t long block? How is availability? I've noticed that the engine was used in many generations of evo, but that the mounts don't conform, does that make the Galant 4g63t a rarity?

-What are things to look out for that are particular to these cars? both dealbreakers and items that would knock a few bucks off the price would be helpful.

-I don't like the "hey, can you guys explain everything to me, please?" approach
either. I'm gleaning the tech articles on the forum as well, but
as time is a factor I would be be grateful for any additional input from any of
you with spare bit of knowledge and a spare minute to reply.

-What do you think a fair price for the car might be? (i.e. what would you
personally be willing to pay?)

-It has about 150k on the clock, the current owner is the first owners
granddaughter. He reportedly bought two from a dealer thinking them to
be collectible.

-The car is an unattractive brown color and the paint on the hood/roof/trunk
is oxidizing.

-I'd like to assume it hasn't been beaten, but I'm of the opinion that you
can never really know without gutting the mechanicals.
The second gear synchro might be shot, as it is in my Datsun (or the owner
simply wasn't careful with the clutch that one time, who knows?)
I'm hoping I'll be able to sort that out with a test drive.

-KBB for a fair car is about $1100. I was thinking $7-800 would not be an
unreasonable offer but I'd like to know if I'm grossly over or
undervaluing the vehicle.

I'm sure I'll think of more things to ask, and I'll add more info after I've had a chance to inspect the vehicle. Thanks in advance for your input.

 

[broxma]

The LB is essentially the same out of any 90-92 TEL.

Dealbreakers with the GVR4's tend to be rot. Since many were northern cars and saw a lot of salty winter days, many have unrepairable body rot. Even rot can be fixed in many cases but adds a lot to the cost.

I did a complete rebuild to my car and took pictures of almost every step if you want to see the depth at which you can go in restoring one of these cars. Many of us around here have done very extensive restorations so look in the build logs for more information.

I can't comment on the price, my car was free. I don't know if GVR4's came in a brown color so I'd check on that.

If you are serious about doing a restore on it, plan on at least 3-6 months depending on how in depth you want to go and figure a good 2-5K depending again on how far you want to take it.

I can tell you, in my opinion, in the end, it is worth every penny.

/brox

 

[raptorWagon]

1st Question: 6 bolt 4G63s (they came in 6 or 7 bolts at the flywheel, stock is a 6 bolt) found in the '90-'92.5 DSMs (Talon/Eclipse/Laser). '92.5-'99 DSMs were all 7 bolt blocks and yes those do have one mount that is different. Availability? pretty common among this board and any dsm board, you should be able to get a block off of someone. Easiest way, put a "Want to buy" ad up for everything you need for the car, plenty of parts going around.

Yes the Galant VR4s are rare in the states, but there are a lot of components that do interchange with 1st gen DSMs(90-94), motors, transmissions, rear differential, axles, engine harness, front/rear subframes, etc. The driveshaft is not interchangable.

-1st gear in the stock trans is weaksauce, doesn't like it when you launch it too much.
-Does it still have 4 Wheel Steering? If so, is it disabled or any leaks at all?
-Brown color? GVR4s in the States only came in Green, Black, Grey, and White. Are you sure it's a VR4? Galant GSXs (AWD Non-turbo) on the other hand came in a variety of colors and no 4 Wheel Steering.
- $700-800 is really cheap for one of these cars. I picked my car up for $3k with a lot of rust on the rear end.

There's probably more stuff, but read, read, read, and read some more and you'll be good to go.

Good Luck!

 

[HHIVR4]

The key to owning and driving these cars is doing most of if not all of the work yourself.
Parts are readily available and there are endless options as far as engine upgrades.
You can buy a used longblock with trans and t case for around $1500 or sr you can spend that much just on the head if you want.

 

[donkeylips]

It shouldn't be brown, raptorreed hit the nail on the head with that one, and pretty much everything else. Maybe it's nile black with severe paint fade and some kind of contamination? Up here we actually have rust. Serious rust. I just bought my '92 for $500 or $600. I paid $1250 for the car along with a separate but complete and ready to run 6-bolt with HKS cams, also got a couple spare transmissions. This car has lots of rust, to the point where I don't feel bad about driving it in the winter - I actually bought it for that purpose. But it's gonna take me a lot of time to clean it up and rust-proof it with por-15.

You're on the right track with price I would say. These cars definitely have a higher price tag than DSMs, but the demand isn't super high. Some people get their cars for free, and others pay $7000.
Look for a 6-bolt 4g63t from a 90-91 turbo dsm. If you get a non-turbo 6-bolt, it will need pistons from the 4g63t to run any real boost. I think these cars are perfect because they are rare without the drawbacks to a rare car. Parts are super abundant and cheap. You usually don't break parts that you can't get from a DSM. Gas tanks are coveted, but you shouldn't worry about it in CA. Body parts you can get from any model galant.

Welcome and good luck!

 

if nothing else, buy it to save it from the crusher, and sell it to someone if you don't want to keep it /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[iceman69510]

Get the VIN and we can verify if it is a true VR4.

Oh and BTW, nothing wrong with being a Datsun 510 guy and owning a VR4 as well. There are at least 3-4 if not more guys on here who own both. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[mitsuturbo]

DSM mounts changed in 95, with the redesign of the body. 7 bolt 4g63 engines bolt up the same in 93 and 94, they just have slightly different internals.
Turbo piston and ring sets can be had for VERY cheap, and you can use a NON turbo block if you have any trouble finding an 89-92.5 turbo block. Of course a turbo block is generally more desirable; they have piston oil squirters whereas the nonturbo blocks do not. I've run both and not had a problem with nonturbo blocks. I've noticed little difference between the two, as far as performance/reliability goes. The nonturbo block i ran had higher oil pressure, which would be expected.

GVR4s came in green, grey, white, and black. Those are the only colors we got in the USA. If you've got a brown/gold car there... it's probably a GS-X that has been turbocharged, or it's been repainted.

 

Wow, thanks for all the replies folks.

As for the color, it's possible that it's black and I was mistaken. I've seen it primarily at night when leaving work and the yellow streetlights on the faded/oxidized paint may have tricked my eye.

If it is a tarted-up GS-X then someone went to a lot of trouble to make it look like a legitimate vr4. It has the vr4 badge near the right taillight, the 4ws decal on the rear glass, and the LED boost/vacuum gauge on the dash cluster (as well as a cheap aftermarket boost gauge on the a pillar, which I've seen in operation). It also has the little n/1000 plaque above the center stack.

I haven't spoken with the owner in a few days and I'm still trying to get a handle on whether or not my budget will allow a project like this. I really do like these cars and the 4g63 seems to have a great deal of potential in case I feel the need to make the car more potent in the future. Being a nissan guy the sr20det is kind of my default reference point and from what I've read the mitsubishi motor seems to compare favorably. If only it were also longitudinally mounted...

I'll try to update regularly as I get more info on the car

 

[464/2K]

Try and get pics of this thing. Then we can play the guessing game on the price. I'd say plan on spending $5,000 to get the car running great and some mods too. Remember these cars are gettingto the point where all rubber hosing needs to be replaced. If the car is a CA car, you should be fine on dust issues.

But yeah, plan on around $2000 on a long block if you do forged internals. Then $1500 for a transmission. The. The rest on acessory parts like tbelt,waterpump,hoses,maybe a bigger turno, dsmlink.