Street Build bkrathwohl's Galant VR4 #1228/2000

[bkrathwohl]

I did look at the link you posted above (thanks by the way), I just wanted to clarify.

I ended up ordering the kit, so we will see how it turns out.

You mention using it for the wheel wells, i'm assuming that's what you ended up doing. How is it holding up? I was planning on using the Rubberized Rust Encapsulator like I had used on the undercarriage but if it is holding up for you I will likely apply this instead.

Did you just wire wheel the old undercoating from the wheel wells?

 

[bkrathwohl]

Haha my bad, I looked back and that was the first engine build that I found! The new engine sounds awesome though and your car is going to be a beast! BTW you are looking to sell it after your done the build because you want a new project, let me know! Lol... I'm pretty close to you! Lol But on all honestly your doing a hell of a job on this build and I really admire all of the attention to detail that you have!

Thanks man! I have no plans on selling it now. We will see in the future though.

 

[GST with PSI]

I did look at the link you posted above (thanks by the way), I just wanted to clarify.

View attachment 288690

I ended up ordering the kit, so we will see how it turns out.

You mention using it for the wheel wells, i'm assuming that's what you ended up doing. How is it holding up? I was planning on using the Rubberized Rust Encapsulator like I had used on the undercarriage but if it is holding up for you I will likely apply this instead.

Did you just wire wheel the old undercoating from the wheel wells?

Yep, that's the kit you need.

I pressure washed the wheels wells, then hit the crappy spots with a wire wheel. I didn't spend too much time removing paint and stuff. I just knocked all the loose crap off, and got rid of any dirt and grease. Then, I scrubbed them down with Simple Green and let the car dry for a few days. It's important everything is completely dry when you go to apply any paint.

So far, the wheel wells look as good as the day I painted them. When I wash the car, I usually give them a quick spray with the hose, which seems to keep them fairly clean.

Another tip, make sure you have a large nozzle if you apply the Rust Bullet with a paint gun. I'd recommend at least a 1.4mm, but a 1.7mm if you can find one. Rust Bullet is SUPER thick and hard to spray because you can't reduce it. Spraying Rust Bullet on is better than painting it on because you get better coverage, but if you don't have the proper equipment to spray, don't.

 

[92AWDHX40]

If you can save it do it I was gonna crush mine but I decided to fix some rust spots and repaint too much work into it

 

[bkrathwohl]

If you can save it do it I was gonna crush mine but I decided to fix some rust spots and repaint too much work into it

This VR4 is definitely savable, it is in awesome shape overall. The most disheartening rust has been the rocker panels and that is just surface rust. There are some rust areas here and there around the engine bay (battery tray area for example) but again, it's just surface rust and easily repairable.

Yep, that's the kit you need.

I pressure washed the wheels wells, then hit the crappy spots with a wire wheel. I didn't spend too much time removing paint and stuff. I just knocked all the loose crap off, and got rid of any dirt and grease. Then, I scrubbed them down with Simple Green and let the car dry for a few days. It's important everything is completely dry when you go to apply any paint.

So far, the wheel wells look as good as the day I painted them. When I wash the car, I usually give them a quick spray with the hose, which seems to keep them fairly clean.

Another tip, make sure you have a large nozzle if you apply the Rust Bullet with a paint gun. I'd recommend at least a 1.4mm, but a 1.7mm if you can find one. Rust Bullet is SUPER thick and hard to spray because you can't reduce it. Spraying Rust Bullet on is better than painting it on because you get better coverage, but if you don't have the proper equipment to spray, don't.

The Wagner MotoCoat that I used for the underbody should work well for the Rust Bullet, I will try it on a small area first just to make sure it will work before doing it on the rest of my rust areas.

If it doesn't work well I wll probably opt for a spray gun for my air compressor, I like the idea of spraying it on much more than painting it on.

 

[92AWDHX40]

Mines too working in my rocker panels not to bad just fabbing up some panels wire wheel rough spots fiber glass and paint nothing fancy.

 

[bkrathwohl]

I worked on the front subframe a bit tonight. I figured I would try my hand at removing the bushings, to my surprise it wasn't that difficult with the right socket and a hammer. There was one bushing/bore that was pretty rusty, that required a bit more...motivation.

Then I tried to remove the little plastic splash guards. I was able to get one side out but the heads on both screws on one side started to strip. Iw ill need to get some vice grips or something to try to remove them.

I also removed the sway bar and steering rack. I'm not sure if I want to rebuild the steering rack or just get a reman one.

It looks like the subframe is going to take some effort to clean up due to the shape.

 

[bkrathwohl]

I came up with the bright idea to take my subframe to a self wash bay. I was able to get a decent amount of gunk off of it. I'm interested to see how much a powder coater will charge to do it so I am going to get a quote.

I also started disassembly of the engine bay. I removed the brake lines from the prop valve, removed the prop valve, wiper motor, cowl (and found some more rusty bits), and most of the harness from the body.

I need to get the interior parts of the harness disconnected so I can pull them through to the outside.

I didn't get any "in progress" shots, just kind of a before and after.

 

[Nate355RS]

Thank for for detailing this process. It's amazing how much rust these cars can hide. Mine could benefit from this same treatment.

 

[bkrathwohl]

To start the evening off I had a nice box arrive! I can't wait to apply this to the rocker panel area. Hopefully ill have enough to finish the side skirts, wheel wells, and whatever needs to be fixed in the engine bay.

I did make some good progress tonight, and found some more things for me to sandblast!

I started with the center console...well let me back up. I started with the seats because there was only one nut holding each of the front seats on. Once those were removed from the cabin there was ample room to get to the rear portion of the center console. Removing that wasn't so bad until the last screw by the gas pedal started to strip. I ended up just drilling the head off and the center console popped loose.

Once removed, I was able to gain access to the shifter cables. I unbolted the plate that holds the cables on the firewall and the bracket under the radio that holds the cables to the chassis. From there I snaked the cables out through the engine bay.

Staring at the shifter assembly I realize how rusty and disgusting it looks...so I remove the four bolts that hold it to the chassis and throw it in a box for sandblasting!

After looking in the engine bay I decide to get the brake and clutch lines out. The clutch line was pretty much good to go, but I had to cut the fittings off the ends of the front brake lines as they were seized. I kept the shape in tact so I can make newer ones more easily.

Next I tackled the driver footwell area. After removing some of the plumbing for the heater I was able to see the tops of the clutch and brake pedal. Removing the cotter pins and pulling the fastener off allows the plungers in the brake booster and clutch master to move free. I unbolted the clutch master and brake master from the outside and remove them. I then unbolt the brake booster from the inside and wiggle it out from the strut tower area.

Next I tackled the sound deadening. I cut it in a few places to make snaking it out a bit more easy. I won't be putting this back on. To my surprise the paint in the engine bay area doesn't look too bad. There are spots that will need to be addressed so i'll decide if I want to repaint the whole thing at that point.

Here's everything that I removed.

My sandblasting bits.

Remaking these will be part of the brake project.

 

[GST with PSI]

Man, you're really chugging along on this project. Keep up the good work!

 

[bkrathwohl]

Thanks, I can't wait until she comes together a bit more!

I worked on cleaning up those parts over the last few days. They turned out VERY nice, it's the little things!

I looked into ordering the bushings to make the shifter good as new. It looks like JNZ still sells the VR4 shifter cables as well. I thought they were the same as DSM cables, which are discontinued, but they are still listed. I may have to get me a set before they are no longer available.

 

[Dsmkauai]

I just got a set for my gvr4 from them . Only diff is they are updated and only have one cable that adjust. Wasn't even a issue and fit perfect for me. I also got all the bushings to rebuild my shifter from them and man what a difference it made. Doing a really nice job on the restore bro! love it

 

[bkrathwohl]

After debating with myself on whether or not I wanted to do SS braided brake lines (instead of the hardlines) and pricing everything out I decided that I would go with SS hardlines.

Today's adventure was dropping the rear subframe so that I could pull the hardlines off in one piece. It is going to be easiest to just bring in my old lines and have new ones fabbed up for me.

After that I decided I would do an initial wipe down of my engine bay. To my surprise the paint is still in really good shape, aside from around the battery tray area. I may not even repaint the bay, I might just touch up the sections that need it.

 

[GST with PSI]

I'd just spray the whole bay. You can put trash bags around the wiring harnesses and tape them up instead of removing them. That's what I did, and it worked great.

 

[bkrathwohl]

I know, I really need to just do it now. I just don't want to wait for it to get warm enough to paint!

 

[bkrathwohl]

Today I tackled the front subframe. I've really been dreading doing this because of all the grease/oil thats caked on. I used some simple green and kerosine to get most of the crap off of it.

I hit the rusty areas with a wire brush, but there were still a lot of places I couldn't get to, due to the awkward shape of the subframe. I had some rust converter so I decided I'd spray some of that on the areas that I couldn't get to, I did the same for the hardline on the fuel tank and it turned out nicely.

This is what it looked like before applying the rust converter.

Once the rust converter cured I hit it with three coats of primer.

Finally I finished up with some acrylic enamel. I believe I did three coats of this as well. It turned out great!

 

[92AWDHX40]

Nice I'm gonna sand blast mine and paint or powder coat mines.

 

[bkrathwohl]

I would have sandblasted this if I had a big enough booth. The one I use could probably fit this in it but not be able to get all of the angles I would need.

I may acquire another subframe to have it powder coated down the road.

 

[livedsm4g63]

Coming along well. Any new updates with the warm weather? PS. Im taking a look at this Thursday before we leave for sno-drift.

 

[bkrathwohl]

So it looks like i'll have to move in the next few months. With that in mind I need to get this thing rolling again.

Ill be ordering some materials to make new brake hardlines. Ill need those to go on before I install the front subframe.

I need to get the front re-assembled enough to get this on a trailer and moved. I figured I would order a reman steering rack from Detroit Axle. I saw a few reviews on Amazon and people seemed to think they were alright. It was only $125, and the quality looks pretty bad, so I really doubt it is going to be anything spectacular.

Given the quality (or lack there of) of this rack I will be keeping my old steering rack and probably doing a rebuild down the road.

I also ordered some Mevotech tie rod ends to go along with it.

 

[livedsm4g63]

I would send that crap back. That steering rack looks awful.

 

[bkrathwohl]

Some more goodies arrived in the mail last night.

Brought these bad boys into work to get some work done. I already bought Moog ball joints for the front so I will be putting those in instead of the ebay ones that were on them already. I also have some Energy Suspension bushings that I will be replacing on them as well.

We were only able to get one control arm done. When trying to push out the stock bushing on the other one it took the outer race with it. We are in the process of finding something of similar size, or fabbing up a new outer race, so that we can finish up that control arm.

Here's the original bushing that came out of the first control arm.

 

[Dsmkauai]

Try buyautoparts.com for a great quality front steering rack. That's where I got mine and am super happy with it. Zero issues so far and steering is great and most importantly doesn't leak . really nice work bro coming along, gvr4's going to be sick when your done.

 

[GST with PSI]

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Given the quality (or lack there of) of this rack I will be keeping my old steering rack and probably doing a rebuild down the road.

Holy shit. Is that for real?