Recently out of boredom I decided to pick up a September 91 built Galant VR4 to let me swing some spanners on.

Fairly long intro to follow.

The short of it: 91 GVR4 with two dead engines. Getting a spare car for parts.

I found one for $750 and figured I have spent more money on bigger weekends, I couldn't go wrong.

The back story is:
Owner I bought the car from bought it not running. He had the same intentions I do. To strip it down and make it a fun daily. He was told by the previous owner that it failed to start one day, and they suspected the starter motor. Proof of this was the brand new starter motor in a box on the passenger seat. The old one was removed and the new was only partly fitted - bolts never tightened or power connected. They had been attempting to modify the timing on the car and do some 'work' on it. Unsure what that meant as I couldn't get it out of the owner as he didn't know either.
The bloke I buy it from picks up a spare motor with the idea of swapping the not running one out with this engine. Unfortunately for him he bought the spare engine already out of a car do no proof of it running besides a blokes word.
12 months pass, he had been spending a bit of time modifying his daily truck instead and this has sat idly by waiting.

I ask the bloke if I can come by and have a look and see if it is worth buying, he is happy to let me check it out and swing some tools around and make a decision.

I come along, throw in a battery and... nothing. Lights dim but nothing else. Basic fault finding leads me to the starter not being connected or bolted in. So I figure I'll go back to basics. I check the plugs and they are destroyed. I take a guess that it has dropped a few valves. He was pretty surprised. Not the most mechanically minded bloke though. Engine is seized. Breaker bar on the crank and it wont turn over. No biggie, there is always the spare engine. Timing looked good when i pulled the engine apart, but the crank bolt was finger tight. So it was destined to happen. To bad so sad.

I have a quick look over the long block, it turns over nicely, plugs are nice, all looks a treat. So I buy it. Comes with an Evo3 turbo, custom (horrible) steampipe exhaust manifold, and 4 lightweight rims. Im happy. I cant loose. I love working on cars.

Now it is in my possession:
I tow it home and get to work on pulling out this dead engine.

The more it come apart the worse the car looked. Wiring is all hack job, and I hate electrcial stuff so that should give you some idea of how it is. It appears it is all cut, twist, electrical tape job. No crimping, connectors, heat shrink, tape. Horrible stuff. The ecu is also in rough shape. So I'll send that off to ecmlink for repair.

So the engine is now out, i decide to pull down the 'good spare' top end to have a look and make sure it hasn't got any hidden damage. First thing, worn cam journal. Not great. End up pulling it completely down and it has spun a big end bearing, which has destroyed every other bearing and ultimately a cam and the head.

No biggie I'll use the other engines head and frankenstein one together. Take them to a workshop and the journal is too far worn, mo surprises. But the dead engine has taken such an ass whopping from the 6 valves it has dropped and the other 6 it has bent the shop has declared it not economical to repair. They will but they expect it to be over a grand (Aussie dollars here). The valve seats and cracked too. So that sucks.

Im now stuck with two stuffed heads, probably a good bottom end between the two other blocks, both bores feel fine - yet to be confirmed. No big drama, I'll find a new head. After a bit of surfing ebay and car sites it appears I am up shot creek without a paddle. They are expensive, if even available. Even if I have a friend in the US buy one and then ship it to me, I'm looking close to a grand.

So second plan. Whole new engine. Even harder to find. Plenty of evo donks around but no GVR4s... besides one in a CB lancer that has had a 4G63 transplant.

So this is where I currently sit. Waiting to get home from a trip away with work to go and check this new car out. The bloke is happy to let me compression test the engine as long as it is at my cost - I have the gear so no issues. The car runs and drives, but is fwd only, so no one wants it. It is also not able to be registered in my State due to modification laws do no one wants it. It apparently makes 192fwkw ~250hp at the front wheels. Some go fast bits, big 16g, some more rims, boost controller, some gauges etc.

I figure for the ~1500-2000 I pay for this car by the time I strip it for parts I'll be even or up - abs delete, bigger turbo, MBC, gauges, not having to rebuild a head, interior trim items.

Thats my long intro. I've been doing a heap of reading, and a fair bit of stalking before posting so hope to getas much knowledge and fault finding as I can from here and contribute back.

I also own a 2004 E55 AMG with a few mods if anyone is keen on that and my hack is a Landrover Discovery as the workhorse

Appears the second car, after being for sale for 12+ months with no interest has managed to be sold inside of a week of me being interested! The new owner plans on putting the 4G63 into a Proton. Such a waste.

So I have found a mate who is willing to have me buy a head off ebay and have it sent to his address in America, then on ship it to me. Most sellers, outside of full workshops, won't send it out of the lower 48 hence my dilemma.

Hopefully have it sorted in a week or two, and then get together a Frankenstein engine with the bits left over between the two.

New head should arrive any day, it has passed customs here, just waiting on final delivery. I have taken both blocks, cranks, rods, pistons into a workshop to be assessed if they are usable or not. If boring is required I will order in the new gear and hopefully have it in a fortnight. Enough time to have the shop do the boring, honing and refinishing of everything.

Pulled the tank out today while I am waiting. The fuel pump was destroyed, the housing rusted and the tank is full of sand, melted rubber from the pump, and rust. So near on a write-off. Plus the year old fuel, combined with the moisture and rain we get here it smelt absolutely horrid.

Keep at it. Don't give up. This is definately a big projet but you'll be happy with the end result. A 4 door sleeper with a beast in the hood. One of a kind. Let me know if u need any little parts here and there to get her running. I have a few extras laying around.

Cheers for the motivation. Every thing I touch on the car seems to be dead. But I guess that was to be expected for the price. I don't really mind, as I enjoy working on them anyway.

This is my first Japanese car and 4 cylinder. I've never pulled a car down this much though, plenty of times to bikes both road and dirt. So it is a pleasing challenge.

I have a budget in mind, but it will be tight as heck. I'm in two minds, one side says build it up good and proper the first time. The other says, go stock, go cheap, cause I have no idea what other problems the car has. If I need to I can just pull the engine again and re-do it with more if needed.

I think once the workshop gets back to me with the condition of the block and bottom end, the decision will be made then.

Gave the fuel tank a couple.of hydrochloric acid baths then a POR15 repair kit. Has turned out pretty nicely. I've also begun the task of sorting out which accessories from the two dead engines I want to keep. With that I am making a bit of space as well, which I pretty badly need due to the small workspace I actually have available. I am a bit of a hoarder though and always um and ah about throwing anything away - especially car stuff.

I was super impressed with how well the acid cleaned the tank out. It cleaned it right up, and brought it back to bare metal. If you were cunning enough you could throw in some tank sealer then and almost call it a day.

Spent today cleaning parts. Got the oil pump sorted, thermostat housing was knackered but got that sorted out, all the mounts, few accessory brackets, pulleys etc etc. Gained about a shelf worth of space back and most gear is nice and clean, lubbed and stored ready for the rotating assemblies to come back.

I have two clutches, fly wheels and pressure plates. How can I tell if one is in better condition than the other? I'd like to clear up the space they are taking, and if I can determine a better of the two I'll simply bin one of them.

Got my clutch 'issue' sorted. One of the spare gearboxes I have is just FWD, so the fly wheels.are different. As well as different diameters, which made my decision a bit easier to bin one. The fly wheel is a bit cracked, just surface cracks so I'll take it in to be machined too. No idea what a good or bad clutch look like so maybe the forum can shed some light on it for me.

My first attempt at some spray painting. Tidying up the valve cover, has turned out pretty rough! I think I'll sand it back and go again. Never really paid any attention to spray painting as I'm either doing it on hidden things or just not doing it at all. I was thinking white letters on red but after seeing it I think metal lettering on red will be the better choice with clear coat.

Unrelated is the 30 post min to lose probation. I realise posting here doesn't count bur forcing people, new people who don't know their arse from a handbag, to post in the tech section is a recipe for a shit fight IMO. I've met some incredibly knowledgeable people before who don't post online, to assume someone has an idea what they are talking about by their post count is a bit wayward.

Just been tidying everything up in prep for the arrival of my rebuild kit. New Walbro 255 pump, MBC, boost gauge, starter motor, fuel filter, plugs, fuel pressure reg, ARP head studs and some little odds and ends have arrived. Developing a nice pile of gear. Gave the engine bay a clean, a few cans of degreaser later it started to look acceptable, it was filled with grease as both inner cv boots had split and spat their grease everywhere.

It is looking like the kit will arrive the end of next week, then shop dependant for how long they take to spec everything out for me. I decided to buy a new oil pump as the one I have now has a BSE but the shaft doesn't have the groove in it. I decided to order a genuine shaft from Mitsubishi to replace it, figured a new pump is worthwhile too.

Well it has been a while. Rebuilt the engine. Got it back in. Started it up and had a decent 'tick'. Sounded like a really bad lifter tick. Took the lifters out, cleaned them, tried again. Slightly better. Pulled the plugs and one had closed up. So I pulled the head. Number 3 had swallowed a piece of metal about 1/3 the size of your little finger nail. Bore was fine, small marks visible with the eye but not by feel. Head was the same, lots of marks but no problems with valves or seats. Put on a new head gasket and put it back together. Now goes like a champion.

I'll adjust the clutch properly as I think it may be dragging, then look at fixing the cars smaller issues. Idle screw is a boost leak source for one.

Then I'll put some semi slicks on some rims and start turning it into a thrash car!