1991 Galant VR4 My Idea of a Daily Driver

[RvlutionMtrsprt]

This is my idea of a fun daily driver... Started out with a non-running 1991 Galant VR4 (253/2000) that I brought home on the trailer from California. When I bought it the compression was ~100psi across the board and I expected to do a complete rebuild right off the bat. Got the car home and put in a fresh battery, poured a little oil in the cylinders, threw on some new plugs and wires and got it fired up. Turned out that the battery was just super weak even though it had 12.5V because with a new battery and the oil it was now making 150psi across the board and running fairly well.

At this point I decided to take it from a completely stock car to a 16g with supporting mods. I had a small 16g from a previous build that was in great shape so I used that and my old Denso 660cc injectors, Walbro 255, AFPR, Keydiver chip, 3G MAF, Profec B. After busting JR's balls for long enough (that's the owner of ETS for those of you that don't know) he decided to listen to me and they used my car for the prototype of their GVR4 FMIC kit. I drove the car up there and they built the FMIC kit, jigged it, built me a 3" exhaust system and I was back on the road the next day. The car ran superb and I was plenty happy with the power and the way the car drove. Shortly down the road, the bug bit me just like it does for most of us and ~300HP just wasn't enough

Now starts the real fun!! Since I had both the Galant and my '94 GSX running at this point I decided to tear the Galant apart for a full build. Nothing from the previous build was re-used. I had a goal of 500awhp/500awtq for this car so I decided to build a 2.3L, FP3052, E85 powered car and see how it went from there...

I have changed a couple things about the car along the way, like swapping from a stock port 2g head/intake manifold with stock size valves, BC springs/retainers and stock throttle body to a ported and polished 1G head from AMS with 1mm oversize valves, JAM dual springs, Driven Innovations SMIM and a 63mm N/T throttle body but I still kept the HKS 272's. That was probably the biggest change. Here is how the car sits now:

Chassis:
DMS Gold 40mm coilovers
Rebuilt driveshaft with all OEM parts
New OEM front wheel bearings
Drilled front rotors with Metal Master pads front and rear
Full set of 8 Black SS brake lines
Black SS clutch line
OEM Master and slave cylinders
New ball joints in the front arms with Whiteline and SuperPro bushings
Stock 1991 GVR4 wheels with Falken 615's
Custom GVR4 floor mats
Leather shift boot
DSG Delrin shift knob
ABS delete
AWS delete
P/S delete with manual rack
Jay Racing Active Toe Eliminator Kit
4 bolt rear LSD and axles
Whiteline 26mm rear sway bar
PINA Motorsports rear upper control arms
New Subframe and Mustache bushings from GW @ Tuners Nation
Momo Steering wheel and hub
Cusco Strut Tower Bars front and rear

Fuel System:
Bosch 044
Modified sending unit to fit the 044 in-tank
New OEM fuel level sender
-8AN feed line
-8AN fuel filter
FIC Fuel Rail
FIC 2150cc Injectors
-6AN to the regulator
SX FPR
-6AN push-lock to stock return

Gauges + Electronics:
Zeitronix ZT2 Wideband w/LCD display
Klavico 3.5bar MAP sensor (for boost on display and SD setup)
GM AIT sensor
Greddy turbo timer and harness
ECMLink V3 Full on Speed Density inc. boost control
HKS 60mm peak/hold/warning fuel pressure gauge

Bolt-On Stuff:
ETS 4" FMIC Kit, anodized black, polished piping for SMIM w/AIT bung
ETS 3" SS V-Band Exhaust
GoFastBits Stealth FX blow off valve
Driven Innovations SMIM
63mm N/T throttle body
New ISC
JSC (Calan) Catch Can

Drive Train:
New Shepherd Stage 3+ transmission with Quaife Front LSD and 4 spider center
New T-Case from Shep
ACT Streetlight Flywheel
ACT 2900 w/Sprung 6 puck
OEM fork/ball/throw out bearing
Redline Fluids throughout
Motul Fluid for the hydraulics

Turbo Kit:
FP Race Manifold w/thermal coating (no longer offered)
FP3052 w/polished exhaust housing
FP 3" SS V-Band o2 housing with recirculating wastegate dump, also polished
Tial 41mm External Gate
SS Oil Feed line
FP Black inline filter
SS Oil Return Line
OEM hardware for manifold to head and manifold to turbo
4 layer gasket/7cm thick ss gaskets from RRE
ETS SS 4" Intake with 9" K&N filter

Misc:
Optima Red Top
Battery Re-located to trunk
Silicone vacuum hoses
Large B&M oil cooler
Koyo Radiator from an Evo 3 (R-Core)
Spal 12" fan
Drop Engineering SS Engine Mounts
Powdercoated Valve Cover with fittings for catch can
Catch can lines
Buschur COP
NGK Spark Plugs
Rebuild the OEM alternator (90amp) and painted it black
OEM harmonic dampener
Koyo Radiator Cap
ETS SS upper radiator pipe, OEM lower
OEM thermostat

Head:
AMS ported/polished 1g head w/1mm oversize ss valves
JAM dual springs w/titanium retainers
HKS 272 cams
Bronze guides
OEM shorty seals
Unorthodox Racing Adjustable Cam Gears
3g Lifters

Engine:
Virgin 6 bolt 100mm crank (micropolished)
Virgin 6 bolt block (bored it .020" over)
Kiggly Girdle
Wiseco 8.8:1 pistons
Eagle Rods
ARP main studs
ARP L19 head studs
FelPro MLS head gasket
ACL race bearings
OEM BSE Kit
OEM front case
OEM Oil Pan
OEM drive/driven gears
OEM aluminum half moon
OEM gaskets/o-rings/dowel pins everything...
OEM hydraulic tensioner and pulleys
OEM timing belt
OEM timing covers
1990 Oil filter housing
OEM water pump
New dip stick and tube

This setup yielded me 554awhp/494awtq @ 28psi. The clutch was slipping so I didn't reach my goal of 500awtq but it was darn close and the car is a blast to drive. I've uploaded 7 pages of pictures to my photobucket album so you guys can see how this build evolved. Currently, I'm in the process of changing things up just a bit, I didn't like that slipping clutch Next time I hit the dyno, I expect to hit my goal of 550/550 and maybe even tip past the 600awhp mark on this same bolt-on FP3052 (GT3076R) turbo. If I don't make it there I'll get a little HTA lovin' from FP and that should do the trick

http://s925.photobucket.com/user/4g63builder/library/GVR4 build?page=1

 

[pyro719]

Sounds close to my build man badass for sure. I'm getting dyno tuned tomorrow. Hoping to crack 500awhp.

 

[DSMnoobsause]

nice build man. do you ever go to Cars and Coffee up in Portland? if so let me know and i will bring my Vr4 out. you will put mine to shame but i will still rock it haha.

 

[J_HEATH]

Awesome build. I love the nostalgia of GVR4's.

When do we get to see some pics?

 

[RvlutionMtrsprt]

I don't make it up to Portland much but I might have some time this summer if work is slow. I posted about 150 pictures in a photobucket folder and there's a link in my first post. Is it working for you guys?

 

[buhay6]

Worked good for me, great looking vr4 that's for sure. Keep up the good work man!

 

[J_HEATH]

I don't make it up to Portland much but I might have some time this summer if work is slow. I posted about 150 pictures in a photobucket folder and there's a link in my first post. Is it working for you guys?

Apologies, didn't see the link. Looks great!

 

[RvlutionMtrsprt]

No worries man, just glad the link is working for you guys

Right now, in an attempt to make the car even more responsive than it already is while at the same time making it more durable and more powerful I have a few changes that I'm working on...

1) Upping the compression from 8.8:1 to 10.5:1 with a new set of Wiseco HD's
2) Ditched the Eagle rods for R&R billet I-Beam rods
3) Swapped from the JAM dual springs to Kiggly beehive springs
4) Switched from HKS 272's to Kelford 280's
5) Got a Magnus V3 intake manifold to test vs the Driven Innovations
6) Stiffen up the wastegate spring from .9 bar to the stiffest combination they have
7) Changed out the clutch to a QM gear drive twin-disc setup that will allow me to put all the torque the car makes to the ground. It laid down 494ft/lbs with a slipping ACT 2900/sprung 6 puck combo.

My setup was pretty efficient as it was, making 554awhp with a 52lb/min turbo. With the changes above, I'm looking to refine things just a bit further and squeeze out just a bit more. Ultimately I'd like to break the 600whp mark with this turbo. I might need to have FP convert it to an HTA and I might also need to spend the money on a better flowing exhaust manifold/turbine housing setup (something like a twin scroll T4 setup or a Tial). I didn't want to make too many changes at once though so I'm just going to finish up with the parts I already have. Just need to find the time to get it all put back together and hit the dyno!!

 

[Michael@FP]

554WHP out of a 3052 is serious business good work and thanks for running FP on your car.

-Michael

 

[J_HEATH]

The only thing I hate is its hard to find interior pieces for GVR4's. Most you see the interiors look like shit. I'd love to build one for a DD with a FP3065.

 

[92AWDHX40]

Nice build parts are hard to find for our old cars i tried to find parts years ago for my talon to no avail.

 

[RvlutionMtrsprt]

Thanks Michael! I know Brian made 562/484 with the 3052 on his 2.0L GVR4 so I've got something to chase after. As far as I can tell, these are the 2 highest #'s produced out of this turbo (but I thought way back in the day I saw one over 600 using NO2, actually the advertisement graph you guys had posted for this turbo a long time ago). Either way, it's up there but there's room for improvement.

I got really lucky with my GVR4, interior and exterior. For a car of it's age, it's as good as you can really ask for. I stocked up a pile of commonly broken or cracked pieces in the event I need them in the future. The leather is even comfortable still

 

[RvlutionMtrsprt]

Well everything is finally at the machine shop. Just needs to get balanced and put back together. The Kelford cams were on backorder for the longest time and they just keep pushing the date back so I bought some GSC S3 cams instead. Tad more lift and duration, should do the trick nicely. If I can find the time, everything should be back together by the end of next week! Getting the boost itch!!

 

[rvaughn]

Can't wait to see results! Make sure and keep us updated. If you come through Portland please let me know!

 

[RvlutionMtrsprt]

One step closer...

 

[RvlutionMtrsprt]

Finally time to start building!

 

[RvlutionMtrsprt]

Didn't get as far as I wanted to get yesterday. Just too much other stuff to get done on my only day off so I didn't get started until after dinner. At least I put the block on the engine stand and got the crank, mains and girdle installed.

 

[RvlutionMtrsprt]

Wow, how do things end up taking so much time!?!
Almost done...

 

[94awdcoupe]

interested to see the new numbers. compression change is huge. should be able to reduce boost by 8-9psi and get same numbers.

 

[RvlutionMtrsprt]

It should be fun. I'll be pretty surprised if it makes 550 @ 20lbs though.

 

[92AWDHX40]

You have a black ss clutch line?

 

[94awdcoupe]

I dropped compression last year from 8.75 to 8.35. and it took an addition 3 psi to get back to same HP before the swap. 460whp on 2.3 HTA green. 21psi on 8.75 and 24psi with 8.35 compression. .4 compression change is actually quite substaintial.

 

[RvlutionMtrsprt]

You have a black ss clutch line?

Yes sir! Black ss brake lines too
Yea I realize how much 2 full points is gonna do for it but I'm trying to keep my expectations low.

 

[1slowhatch]

Love galant VR4s...

 

[RvlutionMtrsprt]

1,000,000 years later I finally have my pile all put back together!!! Added a few more goodies along the way... ARC2 CDI, Three Speed 360* scatter shield, Jay Racing alt relocation, new COP setup, filled the driveshaft carrier bearings and added the solid mount bushings. I probably did some other small stuff that I'm forgetting at the moment but here she sits...

Still need to put fluid in the transfer case and fill the radiator. I'll fire it up on Sunday when I have the time to mess with it.