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GST with PSI's build & restoration of 1813

GSTwithPSI

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 1, 2012
Messages
3,460
Location
SoCal
This is the intro to my build/restoration thread for 1813. I purchased this car in August of 2011 and have been stacking parts, and doing repairs and restoration slowly over time. I’ve found that the car’s previous owner(s) have done quite a bit of damage by half-ass repairs and mod jobs. 80% of what I’ve done has been reversing damage that’s been done by bad mechanics. You can see more background on the car here click in my initial intro thread from when I bought the car.
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My goals for the car are primarily just to be a fun DD. I would like to do some drag racing with it as well in my free time. I have a huge mod list, but the major mods are:

2.0L refresh
1G rod, 2G piston combo
Balanced and blueprinted rotating assembly originally built by RRE
Cyclone Intake
Holset HE351VE Variable Geometry Turbo
Snow Performance Methanol Injection
DSMlink…

So to start, I bought the car and was told by the last owner that all the car really needed was a fuel pump. That turned out to be farther from the truth than I could have ever imagined. I got a sender unit with a kinked outlet line. Here are pics of the reconditioning and -6 AN line conversion.
Here’s how the unit started.
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I ground the outlet line flush and drilled and tapped the hole with a 1/8 NPT tap.
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I used a 1/8 NPT / -6 AN fitting and put Teflon high temp sealant on the threads after I screwed the fitting into the sending unit. I then used some fuel resistant epoxy putty to seal the fitting just as a precautionary measure.
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Lastly, I used a 1/8 NPT coupler and barb fitting to attach the fuel pump hose. I sanded the top of the sending unit and removed all the rust. Taped the fittings and wiring and painted the unit.
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Here is the finished product.
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I dropped the fuel tank. I cleaned, prepped and painted the exterior. The inside was starting to rust and corrode so I had to do a lot of work cleaning the inside also. I’ll have some after pics of it soon but it turned out good.
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For anyone trying to adapt a AN line to the stock hard line here’s how you do it. You MUST have an inverted flare adapter fitting. I got mine from RCI, but they are available other places. If you aren’t familiar with what im talking about, just know if you do not have the correct fitting, the line will leak and sh*t can catch on fire. That should be enough to deter anyone from screwing the wrong fitting on. See here for a good read on some of the incorrect fittings that are used: click
Notice the flared center inside of this fitting. I included a few shots of the progression of installation from the stock hard line to the finished product with the -6 AN line installed.
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As I mentioned before, the previous owners were quite the backyard mechanics. Here are a few shots of how hacked and messed up a few of the previous owner’s repairs were. These were just a few of the things that were messed up by hack job repairs.
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The motor.... I bought the car under the impression it just needed a fuel pump. As it turned out though, the car ended up having 8 bent intake valves. Fu*k me. I pulled the head and just planned to get the head fixed and slap it back on. As I started to check out the timing components, I realized the oil pump had RTV sealant oozing from where it sealed to the block. This worried me. I am a firm believer in gaskets. IMO using RTV sealant or gasket maker for anything that a gasket is specifically made for is stupid. It’s a band aid at best, and not using a gasket whenever you can is just dumb to me. People spend tons of money on parts and expensive engine components and then cheap out on sh*t like gaskets. I just don’t get it? Anyways, because of this find I decided to pull the motor, tear it down and inspect everything; and it's a good thing I did. I dissembled the motor down to the block and rotating assembly. There wasn’t a single gasket in the entire thing. Whoever built this motor used RTV sealer on EVERYTHING!!!??? The oil pickup, oil pump, water pump, oil pan, rear main seal, blah, blah, blah. Literally, the only gasket that was used in the whole motor was a head gasket. Even the thermostat housing was sealed with RTV. I couldn’t understand it. It probably took me 8 damn hours to scrape and clean off all the RTV off of everything. I finally got it all off and cleaned all the mating surfaces good and checked them for trueness and damage. I pulled everything apart and reinstalled everything using FelPro gaskets. I used copper spray on almost all of the gaskets except for the head gasket. It does a great job sealing any imperfections that the paper gasket can’t. Plus, after you spray it on it gets a little tacky so the gasket is easy to place. Copper spray is amazing. I installed ARP head studs and a FelPro composite head gasket (9627PT). Lastly I painted the block with few coats of high temp paint and checked all the torque on the rod and main caps just to be safe.

Before:
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After:
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A few additional shots:
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I had the head reconditioned at a local machine shop here in SoCal. They milled the deck surface and replaced all the intake valves. They gave it a nice cleaning and I gave it a coat of high temp paint before I slapped it on the nice clean block. I torque it down with new ARP bolts using ARP molly lube.
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I installed Fidanza adjustable on the stock cams for now. EVERYTHING else is gates. New gates water pump, tensioner pulley, idler pulley and hydraulic tensioner. I went with a Gates racing timing belt also. OEM Mitsu thermostat was installed as well as Mitsu knock and temp sensors. I’m just waiting on a few timing tins covers to finish up assembly. I cleaned and touched up all the engine accessories before they were bolted on. The long block is now mostly assembled and looks super clean.
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While I had the motor out I went ahead and repainted the engine compartment with some semi-gloss black. I also did the front wheel wells. A few before and after shots.

Before:
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After:
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The suspension....Let me just start this by saying what a fu*king disaster this was. If I knew exactly who screwed the suspension on this car up so bad I would have beat them to death with the damn strut assembly. I only started working on the suspension because I was doing a 5 lug swap on the car. As soon as I removed the wheels I knew there was a problem. I noticed the front springs were sitting crooked in the front strut perch. Additionally, the spring was rubbing on the inside of the wheel well when compressed. It wasn’t until after I removed the front and rear strut assemblies that I figured out what was going on. It turns out the guy who had the car before me actually cut the springs so short they wouldn’t even sit snug in the strut anymore. I should mention these weren't even stock springs, but ebach sportlines. I have never heard of anyone cutting a spring that is already designed to lower a car, but I am never ceased to be amazed. Cutting a lowering spring seems really stupid, but after seeing all the other sh*t messed up by the previous owner I’m not even surprised. Here’s a pic of me actually wiggling the spring in the strut while it’s fully assembled. The springs were so loose I didn’t even need to use a spring compressor to remove them.
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Here are some shots of the 5 lug swap, and how I removed the rear axle cups with a 3 jaw puller. I cleaned, inspected, lubed and painted all the hub assemblies before installation. I trashed the cut Eibachs for a set of B&G lowering springs. I reinstalled them on the almost new KYB AGX adjustable struts that were already on the car. I also put on new bump stops and strut rod covers while I had the assemblies apart. I’m excited to see how the car’s stance looks when it’s all said and done. Up top I installed new upper strut mounts on both sides. I threw on my Whiteline 22mm front swaybar and new stock swaybar end links on both sides to finish up.
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So I get everything together start bolting the passenger side strut assembly onto the car. I get it on and notice it will only turn about 20 degrees before it locks up. It wasn’t allowing enough motion for the strut to rotate like it should. The ball rotated perfectly in the socket with the strut removed though. It was blowing my mind. Come to find out the lower control arm was bent, and increased the ball joint’s center angle so much that it wouldn’t allow the strut full range of motion. It wasn’t until I ordered new control arms that I realized how messed up the old arm was. I replaced both sides with new arms just to be safe. Here are a few shots of the new arm side-by-side with the old arm.
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Bad:
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Good:
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Next on the agenda is finishing up the motor and throwing it back in the car. I have an external 255 to wire up that will be used in conjunction with the stocker in tank pump, and then need to reinstall the fuel tank. More updates to follow soon...
 

bobdole

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 23, 2007
Messages
866
Location
U.K.
Great build. Everything looks great. Look forward to seeing more updates.
 

matt92vr4

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 3, 2010
Messages
676
Location
Venice, FL
Looks great! We are currently in a very similar situation lol
 

iceman69510

Turn Right Racing
Staff member
Joined
Mar 5, 2001
Messages
10,964
Location
Michigan
Very nice work. Kudos on your efforts.

I'll have to try putting my block on the stand like that. I have never done that.
 

matt92vr4

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 3, 2010
Messages
676
Location
Venice, FL
Yeah I noticed that was an interesting way to mount the block.
 

GSX_TC

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 7, 2011
Messages
3,722
Location
Houston, Texas
lookin Good Brett, I see one one of the brands from my store, Master pro haha.

are you gonna keep it blue like your 1g?
 

GSTwithPSI

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 1, 2012
Messages
3,460
Location
SoCal
Thanks Mike. I'm really disappointed you didn't get your car done in time, and just as disappointed I couldn't get mine done either. I know how it is to rush and try to make a deadline just to be let down in the end. After I knew I wasn't going to make it to the shootout, I just slowed down and decided to do all the things I wanted to do anyways but time wouldn't permit by trying to make it to the shootout. I think I will be better off now that I can take my time and give lots of attention to detail. Hopefully you can do the same. Better luck next year to both of us I guess.

I will probably get it painted eventually, but haven't decided whether I'll keep it blue or not. Time will tell.
 

GSX_TC

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 7, 2011
Messages
3,722
Location
Houston, Texas
Yeah now that I have an entire year to wait till the next shootout, this gives me time to do ALOT =) hopefully the both of us can roll out there next year like originally planned.

Anyways, I think that car wouldn't look badass in that darker metallic blue. Or even that Evo 9 grey =)
 
Last edited:

desant78

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 23, 2010
Messages
732
Location
Clarksboro, NJ
dude great work! looks like your a doing a real thorough job, and it's coming out great so far.

Keep up the hard work, and kudos for taking creating what a fine example of a vr4 would be.
 

GSTwithPSI

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 1, 2012
Messages
3,460
Location
SoCal
Quoting faqinshiet:
Wow..good work! What color was it originally? Just wondering. What area of sd are you too? Im in the mission valley area usually.



I'm in located in the Mira Mar area, and The car was originally BG.

Sooooo0o I dropped the motor in yesterday and I have a problem. I installed all new avid aluminum motor mounts in the car click The problem is, as the motor sits now, it's an inch or so too close to the driver side frame rail. It seems like each mount is just a half inch shy of where it should be located to allow the motor to sit perfectly side to side. It's off enough that the power steering pulley is actually hitting the frame rail. I know it's the new mounts too because the motor sat fine with the old stockers installed. I'm not really sure how to go about fixing this issue. Has anyone else had this problem, or had a problem like it? I'll post up some pictures later to give you guys a visual idea of what I'm dealing with. I'm thinking of slotting the passenger transmission mount to allow the upper through bolt to slide back more toward the passenger side of the car, thereby shifting the whole motor a bit to the passenger side. Then I have to figure out how to shift the front and rear mounts though, and am stuck on what to do there. Anybody have any ideas? I only need about another half inch of clearance.
 

GSX_TC

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 7, 2011
Messages
3,722
Location
Houston, Texas
Brett, id return those mounts, get your money back because they prob aren't meant for a GVR4 or something. Then just pick up some of those red or black poly mount inserts and press those in your stock mounts and be done with it.
 

GSTwithPSI

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 1, 2012
Messages
3,460
Location
SoCal
I messed with the fitment a bit today and got 3 of the 4 motor mounts to fit good. I loosened the attaching brackets that connect to the block and used a pry bar to better position the mounts. The driver side mount is hopeless though. These mounts are garbage as far as fitment goes. If I didn't have so much time and money invested in them, I'd throw them in all the trash. I have a few pics of just how far off this thing is from fitting. It sits too high as well as cocked when it's installed and tightened. I'm going to have to make a few cuts to the aluminum stock to get it even close to fitting. At this point I really don't care if the mount gets screwed up, as I'll just buy a new one if this one will not work after I mod it. I'm ready to hack this bitch up with a saw anyways, because I'm really pissed that these mounts fit like sh*t. For all those of you looking to buy Avid aluminum motor mounts, don't do it. I can't speak to how they fit on other cars, but the VR4 specific ones (which these are) fit like crap. That is all for now...

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LIV4PSI

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 24, 2011
Messages
1,774
Location
O-H-I-O
I didn't know there were GVR4 specific Avid mounts. I bought 1G ones for my car, and I didn't have any fitment problems on any of the 4.

Very nice build. I love when members have the proper amount of pride and respect for their GVR4.
 

GSTwithPSI

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 1, 2012
Messages
3,460
Location
SoCal
I ended up hacking up the driver side mount to get it to fit. For those of you who have installed these already without issues, I really can't see how. After I modded the mount it was still a bit shy of where it needed to be. I got tired of screwing with it and will probably attack it this weekend sometime. Of all the issues I have come accross so far, this one is by far one of the most frustrating. I'm cool with old parts and stuff breaking or whatever, but this is ridiculous. These things are new, and should fit like stock for what they cost. Regardless of what others are saying, I would not recomend buying Avid aluminum motor mounts to anyone. If someone else here has some pictures of how these mounts fit on their car I'd be interested to see them.





 
Last edited:

bazeng

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 6, 2003
Messages
2,520
Location
Melbourne, Australia
Is it possible to have mounted the gearbox mount upside down?
This may be stopping you from getting the correct engine level on the timing side?
 

Tre3zy

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 25, 2008
Messages
602
Location
South San Francisco, CA
Quoting LIV4PSI:
I didn't know there were GVR4 specific Avid mounts. I bought 1G ones for my car, and I didn't have any fitment problems on any of the 4.

Very nice build. I love when members have the proper amount of pride and respect for their GVR4.



you bought 1g ones for the gvr4??? id like to see those pictures as well because i was interested on buying this mounts in the future...
 

LIV4PSI

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Joined
Nov 24, 2011
Messages
1,774
Location
O-H-I-O
Yes, I bought 1G ones. The research I did before buying them said that they were the same. The front bracket that is different on GVR4s is still used, and that is the only difference between our mounts and DSM mounts.
 

Brianawd

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 18, 2005
Messages
2,117
Location
Portland OR,
1g and galant vr4 mounts are all the same other then the front roll control mount. I have installed more then a few JDM motors into 1gs and the roll control mount is the only one I change out.
 
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