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1986 Mirage Turbo. AWD 4G63T conversion.

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GSR-VR

Proven Member
111
5
Oct 7, 2012
Albuquerque, New_Mexico
I would like to share the build of my 1986 Mirage Turbo with you all.
It started life as a modest but very rare car. Weighing in at 2005lbs and really overspinning the engine dyno at 105 angry horsepower in turbo form.

Its been almost 10 whole months since I started this project and things have been a real challenge.

* I thought this would be one of the best places to post this because This car is pretty much half 1G AWD Talon... Well... Its going to be. (In progress)

***WARNING***
There are graphic images of a DSM being cannibalized ahead, view at your own discretion.

So this is the Donor car! 1992 Eagle Talon TSi!







Last pic is to prove its actually AWD



Thus far I've just been getting all the measurements down and its great to know that the AWD will physically fit in the Mirage! :D

Deep Breath...

















No turning back now...


Here are a few updates!

5 Lug Conv. 8)




Engine is out, trying to decide weather to dress up the engine bay or not. ***Considering conversion to Wilwood brake/clutch pedals.


Dash and all Electronics are being sorted, heater and blower are going to be kept excluding A/C.



Lastly, I am having issues with tires rubbing as you can see. I'm going to go ahead and cut the wheel well out on this side and make my own larger one.


Canidate for best looking mirage valve cover???




It turns out that:

A) The engine mounts from an Elantra for a FWD swap do NOT work.
B) The GSX mounts DO NOT WORK.
C) The spindles from a GSX/GST will bolt on. HOWEVER! The steering rack is NOT long enough to accommodate for this. You will be pigeon toed.
D) The AWD trans is much longer than the FWD trans and WILL hit your frame rail. I had to cut and weld in an arch to clear it.
E) The throttle cable will slide right in.
F) The factory hole where the brake booster used to be is a great fit for the new GSX wiring harness. (I'm not running a brake booster anymore)
*Side note. I am running Starion wheels. 16x7 +18 225/55R16. front and 16x8 +0 225/55R16 rear. The front wheels will rub horrendously if you don't trim the inner fender where the stock batter sat.

Progress is good, mostly boring grinding/welding where you won't see. Mostly in the rear cut of the GSX. I had to do some major trimming (will post pics) to rid the subframe of rust and crap. Sadly, things haven't been going as fast as I'd like them to be, as money and time have been on short supply.

With the motor and transmission in the car and the intake manifold/exhaust manifolds on it its hard to see where a FMIC will fit. So I'm thinking of chopping into the Bumper support to place it there and a tad lower to get some fresh air.

*cricket...cricket...*

more pics later today.
 
Ironically the guy I got my 1gb project shell from (which is also black) did the same thing your about to do. I know he's on here some where, but he did his 2 years back with great success car ran 10's with just bolt-ons,upgraded tranny and dsm link v3
shame so see such a nice shell be all cut up but oh well theres more out there.
 
Awesome swap, looking forward to your progression.
 
nice project any current updates?
this would be a perfect sleeper, no one would ever see it coming.
I always liked the boxy looks of the 80's mirages/colts, oh and thank you for sharing your observed info/specs on here.

do the factory front and rear motor mounts, on the frame, work with the 4g63t or do you plan to custom make something?
 
nice project any current updates?
this would be a perfect sleeper, no one would ever see it coming.
I always liked the boxy looks of the 80's mirages/colts, oh and thank you for sharing your observed info/specs on here.

do the factory front and rear motor mounts, on the frame, work with the 4g63t or do you plan to custom make something?



No, the factory Mounts do NOT work. Reason being is because the AWD transmission is "Longer" than the FWD one and it hits the frame. SO i cut the front end off of the car to make a tube frame one. I've tried using CSM/Hyundai mounts with little success. For now I've made my own mounts. Ideally they will be machined one day. I know why NO ONE has done this before. It is a LOT of work. I've built a VG30DETT S13 and it was a slice of Key Lime Pie compared to this.


Also the engine and transmission are in. The setup for the turbos is being contemplated still. I have many to choose from, but little money for strong engine parts.

I currently have the ECU/Wiring harness all hooked up into the body harness with the battery relocated. All lights and signals work etc.

DSM-Link v3 has shown up along with the EPROM ecu that is socketed. Speed Density Conversion as well. Looking at a either a twin or disc or a strong single setup.

I'm running a Tilton Race Pedal assembly.

In short, there is very little about the car that is still original. Just the wiring and some body panels.

The GSX rear subframe has been sand blasted and painted. The actual body structure isn't in YET. But I'm getting around to it.

I'm looking to be the quickest 4cylinder car in NM. That shouldn't be too hard. Fastest one right now is a 715AWHP STi. I hate STis...
 
the things I'd do to get a mirage like that...
 
i built about 5 of that generation colts. g32bt. fantastic car in stock turbo form. was much like a go kart. melted a few heads learning the turbo ropes, but i loved the light weight and nobody expected the speed it was capable of. i had a vid at one time online proving the car could do 200kph without redlining.
but i never had the time or will to do the 4g63t swap as all my research showed the wheels would just spin in fwd form.
this should be a monster if it works out. can't wait to see your progress. good job man.
i also loved all the factory turbo trim pieces the body kit had. i at one point made my own front bumper ground effects for it to give me some downforce at speed. but then i got a talon and the colt couldn't compare anymore. was this car a turbo originally?
 
i built about 5 of that generation colts. g32bt. fantastic car in stock turbo form. was much like a go kart. melted a few heads learning the turbo ropes, but i loved the light weight and nobody expected the speed it was capable of. i had a vid at one time online proving the car could do 200kph without redlining.
but i never had the time or will to do the 4g63t swap as all my research showed the wheels would just spin in fwd form.
this should be a monster if it works out. can't wait to see your progress. good job man.
i also loved all the factory turbo trim pieces the body kit had. i at one point made my own front bumper ground effects for it to give me some downforce at speed. but then i got a talon and the colt couldn't compare anymore. was this car a turbo originally?


Yes, this car was one of very few turbo cars from the factory. I might have driven the car for 200miles before I decided this was bullshit and decided to swap in the 4G63T and AWD + and all driveline components.

I'll try to get a picture of the turbo setup I'm fabbing.
 
***UPDATE***

Engine is out at Anderson's Machine Shop and is being rebuilt as follows:

***Using a N/A 4G63 6bolt block*** (because funds are short and its what I had)

Head:
- 280 Cams
- Dual Valve springs
- 5 angle valve job
(thinking about O/S SS valves)

Short-Block:
- Stock Turbo Pistons <- Courtesy of SnailSpool
- Stock Turbo Rods w/ ARP Rods Bolts <- Courtesy of SnailSpool
- Stock Crankshaft Knife Edged
- ACL main/rod bearings
- B/S Elimination
- ARP Head Studs
- MLS HG

All in All a pretty standard rebuild.

AWD 5 Speed Trans rebuilt to stock spec.



Here is where it gets interesting:

SnailSpool and I were thinking of going for 9s @ 5,500ft Elevation with...







An OEM 16G.










On pump gas.
 
What part of Albuquerque do you live? If you ever want a hand shoot me a message. Plus I would love to learn how to do an AWD swap.
 
What part of Albuquerque do you live? If you ever want a hand shoot me a message. Plus I would love to learn how to do an AWD swap.

PM Sent.



UPDATE:
Sadly; I've been screwed over on this car. I thought I could trust the person whom sold it to me. Its crushed and gone. All the work is gone.

*However* There is another project in the works that should be just as potent as this one.
 
I must say it does suck for all of that work to go down the drain... :/
 
I own 1987 mirage turbo and I make it awd with a 1987 Mitsubishi space wagon awd.

Very cool. From all the information I've gathered about these cars that is possible but I've never heard of someone doing that here in the USA. Mostly because an 1987 Mirage Turbo is rare and a Colt AWD is rare.
 
Very cool. From all the information I've gathered about these cars that is possible but I've never heard of someone doing that here in the USA. Mostly because an 1987 Mirage Turbo is rare and a Colt AWD is rare.
Very cool. From all the information I've gathered about these cars that is possible but I've never heard of someone doing that here in the USA. Mostly because an 1987 Mirage Turbo is rare and a Colt AWD is rare.
 

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