Street Build bkrathwohl's Galant VR4 #1228/2000

[bkrathwohl]

Oh man, the final steps!

I started out prying this airlock off the top of the base paint can. Use a flathead to get it off, I tried prying it with my hands and that was pretty ineffective.

Mixing! There are lots of flakes in this paint, it looks good wet. It seems darker than the paint on my car. I've never seen my car washed though so that doesn't help.

I applied two coats of this. It is CRAZY how much better this sprays. I used a 1.4mm nozzle for this. It was done within a few minutes. I waited about 10 minutes between coats.

The nice part about the base and clear is that they can be applied relatively quickly. The clear needed a minimum of 15 minutes before applying it, which gave me plenty of time to clean my gun and get the clear gun set up.

The clear gets applied in a 4:1 ratio. 4 parts clearcoat and 1 part hardener. I'm not sure what I was thinking when I marked that mixing cup because it's wrong. I had proper ratios when I was mixing.

I applied two coats of clearcoat with a 1.4mm nozzle. Applying this was quite interesting. It was quite foggy looking in my booth and everything was sticking to everything.

After I let it sit for a few minutes I popped my head in again to see if it was still dense in there, which it was. I decided to get a little creative with my air outlet, assuming it was clogged.

This is how it's been sitting for the last 8 hours. I haven't yet seen it now that it should be dried.

Some notes:
Rust bullet - Use a 2.0mm nozzle for this, application was pretty easy.

Blackshell - Something like a 2.3mm nozzle may be better for this, it was difficult to apply with the 2.0mm nozzle.

Basecoat - Use a 1.4mm nozzle, application was a breeze.

Clearcoat - Use a 1.4mm nozzle, application was easy but everything gets very sticky. Make sure you do your ground spraying before it gets too bad.

 

[buddahboost]

This is intense!! looks awesome so far!!

 

[Derail20T]

Awesome work!

 

[bkrathwohl]

I took down the booth day, I wanted to make sure it had sufficient time to dry/harden for both the blackshell and clearcoat.

I tried to snap some pictures of the paint. I popped my head in last night with a flashlight and you could see tons of flakes, it looked really good.

It's hard to see any flakes in the normal light. I can't wait to get the subframe back in and wheel it outside to see it in the sunlight! Until then you will have to live with these pictures.

Next is the blackshell. It turned out really good. It's a lot shinier than I thought it would be, I figured it would end up being a dull black.

Here I tried to show where the paint and clear were vs the blackshell. I'm still happy that I did it this way, knowing that the bottom half of the car is much more protected!

I'm kind of bummed I didn't get any progress shots of this like GSTwithPSI did for 820. This was the area right behind the wheels under the fenders.

I also want to thank GSTwithPSI for guilting me into doing the entire bay. I definitely would have regretted it down the road, I can't believe I even though about half assing it!

 

[bkrathwohl]

Here are some before and after pictures:

 

[bkrathwohl]

Continued:

 

[faqinshiet]

You sir are amazing! Excellent work!

 

[GST with PSI]

Awesome work.

Did you clear coat the engine bay?

 

[92AWDHX40]

Looks great .

 

[bkrathwohl]

Thanks guys!

Yes I did clear coat the engine bay. The upper portion of the engine bay is paint and clearcoat+hardener, the lower portion of the car (wheel wells, lower radiator support, bottom of frame rails) are blackshell.

 

[bkrathwohl]

It's about time I get started on the motor. I have new front case gaskets and seals that I will need to put on, plus it looks like the previous owner went a little crazy with RTV. I would like to take it off, clean the mating surfaces, and torque everything to spec (for my own peace of mind).

I'm already not liking this oil filter housing, I will end up replacing it I think.

Some poorly maintained hoses and clamps.

Don't forget the oil pickup bolts under the oil pan!

Hmm....

Some heat marks on the rods.

RTV everywhere!

I find it hard to believe that if this motor did eat a bearing this was all the carnage in the engine. There really weren't many flakes in the oil pan, I didn't see any in the engine itself (although its not easy to look in there with all the stuff in the way). The oil looked old as well, I don't believe it was drained recently to hide any shavings.

I decided I would just cut open the oil filter and see for myself.

Midway through two patrol cars showed up for the neighbors...weird. They did stop in front of my driveway a few days ago peering in, i'm guessing they weren't sure what to make of the paint booth.

Running my fingers along these ridges I didn't see any chunks of anything. I did notice some very minute silver specks looking closely at the oil.

I remember the previous owner mentioned that the motor didn't have many miles on it. This was part of the description:

"I parted my car out so that's why I pulled it. It has about 3k on the rods, bearings, crank the pistons and bores have about 8k or so on them.

It spun a rod along time ago and also had a timing belt skip a tooth which is why the mileage varies between the parts."

Being that this motor only has around 3k on it I believe the little specks are just break in material. I'm guessing the previous owner did a bad job of cleaning when he spun a bearing, which would make sense as to why there are such few pieces of bigger bearing material.

I may take the caps off and take a peek just to err on the side of caution.

 

[Dsmkauai]

Bro you are doing a fantastic job with this restore!! Hats off to you my friend, engine bay looks cherry! The car looks amazing with all you've done . Can't wait to see it done and cruzin again. Oh man how many tubes of rtv you think they used haha. Probably spent more on that crap than it would have cost for the new gaskets. Lol you know what works really good to remove all that mess. Get a thin metal wire wheel for a die grinder or drill. It will take it off in no time and not damage or scratch your surfaces. That or a lite-med scotch bright pad for a die grinder also works really good.

 

[95eclipser]

This was a great update. I look forward to more. Get cracking on that motor man!

 

[bkrathwohl]

I'm not going to put in the motor looking like this. Queue the cleaning!

I used mineral spirits, air, and a screwdriver for scraping up loose areas. It worked pretty well.

I didn't snap any other pictures after this. Both sides look pretty clean other than by the head/headgasket. I didn't take too much time on those areas as ill be using a Dremel for that area.

 

[GST with PSI]

80% of the time I spend "working" on my cars is spent cleaning. But, when the build is said and done, that time is well spent.

Great work, and looking forward to more updates.

 

[95eclipser]

What are you motor plans? Stock motor lightly mods street car? or are you going built motor big turbo?

I vote for the latter!

 

[bkrathwohl]

80% of the time I spend "working" on my cars is spent cleaning. But, when the build is said and done, that time is well spent.

Great work, and looking forward to more updates.

It is crazy how dirty this car is for how "clean" it appeared when I picked it up. I will feel better driving this around knowing that there is no rust or questionable areas on the car anymore! I still need to pull the sideskirts and Rust Bullet/Blackshell that area and the rear wheel wells. That won't take much and can be done whenever though!

What are you motor plans? Stock motor lightly mods street car? or are you going built motor big turbo?

I vote for the latter!

I believe it says it elsewhere in the thread:

1g Bully Performance Cylinder Head
Race port and polish
1mm over intake and exhaust valves
Bowls have been opened up
Bronze valve guides
5 angle valve job
Brian Crower springs/retainers

6 Bolt Shortblock
Bored .020 over
Crank is .010 under
Ross 8.5:1 pistons
Eagle rods
Balance shaft eliminator kit
ARP headstuds

The turbo will be the FP Red pictured earlier. I may throw on a 14b or 16g or something until I get my transmission sent out for a rebuild. There is no way it is going to take FP Red power in its current old/worn state.

I have not had much time over the weekend to work on painting the engine and replacing gaskets/seals as i've been helping a friend redo his roof. I did order some goodies and they will be delivered over the next few days! Ill post some pictures as they start coming in. I may need to revise some of the setup as I had another idea after I placed the order!

 

[bkrathwohl]

Received some parts yesterday.

Avid Racing "Tuner Series" Motor Mount Kit (75A)
Jay Racing Alternator Relocation Kit
OEM Mitsubishi Front Case to Block Bolts
OEM Mitsubishi Crankshaft Rear Oil Seal Case Bolts
OEM Mitsubishi Oil Filter Housing Bolts
OEM Mitsubishi Oil Strainer Bolt Kit
OEM Mitsubishi Water Pump Bolts
OEM Oil Strainer (Oil Pick Up) Gasket

 

[bkrathwohl]

More parts!

I didn't realize how big the GM flex fuel sensor was. It's gigantic!

I debated whether or not I wanted to make new hardlines or just replace them with something else. After seeing some reviews of people posting about Russell Twist-Lok hose I decided to go that route. Its easier to work with than stainless steel braided lines, and a hell of a lot cheaper too. It was about $80 on eBay for a 25 foot roll.

http://www.russellperformance.com/mc/hose/twist-lok.shtml

I'll post my list of parts at the end of this post, in case people are interested. Basically what I did was convert everything to -6an fittings.

From the fuel sending unit I used ExtremePSI's hardline to -6an fitting
-6an fittings up to the filter and rail
-6an fittings from the rail to AFPR and AFPR to flex fuel sensor

For the sensor I found these nifty little contraptions.
GM LT1 -6AN Male to 3/8" Clip Rail

They will go onto the inlet and outlet of the flex fuel sensor to convert it to -6an fittings.

Running back to the fuel return on the gas tank I will run Earl's AT165064 -6AN Male to 1/4" Tube fitting.

This is the bulk of the other fittings I ordered. I have a couple 45 and 90's coming as well, just to make things line up nicely.

I had a thought after I had ordered all of these fittings. A couple months back, watching Mighty Car Mods, I remember seeing quick disconnect fittings for their fuel lines. It helped to easily switch between fuels for tuning. If you haven't, follow these guys on youtube. They are highly entertaining and do great work (when they try)!



I figured I could place quick disconnects before and after my Aeromotive fuel filter (to pop it out and change the filter element easily) as well as before the AFPR to easily disconnect fuel to the engine in case I need to pull it. It definitely is not a requirement but I may end up ordering these fittings just because it's something different to do.

As I don't know the condition of parts that were on this car, I ordered an Aeromotive fuel filter element replacement along with an Aeromotive A1000 AFPR rebuild kit. I also ordered the tie rod and sway bar endlinks to finish up the front end.

Parts
Fuel Filter/AFPR Quick Disconnect

• Jiffy-tite 31306J -6AN Straight Female Fitting Valved FKM Black - $42.35 (3)
• Jiffy-tite 32506P -6AN Straight Push Lock Hose End Valved FKM Black - $19.84 (3)

Fuel Line Replacement Parts

• Jegs Hose and Fitting Lube 28010 - $8.99
• Jegs Hose and Cable Cutters 80576 - $42.99
• Russell Twist-Lok Hose Black -6an 25ft 634163 - $79.27
• Russell Twist-Lok Hose End Fittings Straight 624013 -6an Black - $9.87 (7)
• Russell Twist-Lok Hose End Fittings 45deg 624083 -6an Black - $16.43
• Russell Twist-Lok Hose End Fittings 90deg 624163 -6an Black - $16.23 (2)
• Earls Ano-Tuff Hard-Line to AN Adapter Fitting AT165064 - $10.53
• Fuel Injection Fitting GM LT1 -6AN Male to 3/8" - $12.99 (2)
• Russell Adapter Fitting -6an Union 660353 - $5.66
• Aeromotive -6an Plug 15626 - $8.90
• ExtremePSI 6AN Male to M14x1.5 Female Inverted Flare - $19.95

GM Flex Fuel Sensor 13577394 - $84.35
Fuel Pump Strainer MB621891 SUP MB890047 - $17.62
Aeromotive Fuel Pressure Regulator Rebuild 13001 - $23.31
Aeromotive 10 Micron Fabric Element (12601) - $15.72
Moog ES2347RL Steering Tie Rod End - $25
Whiteline Front Sway Bar Endlink W23185 - $52.89

 

[bkrathwohl]

Today I was able to borrow my buddies truck. I took the rear brake hardlines in to Tuffy to get a quote on how much they would cost to fab up. I was just curious to see whether or not they could do it for a reasonable price, if so I would go with them; otherwise I would do them myself.

The lower ones are the rear brake lines, the others are fuel and rear power steering.

They said it would take a whole role and around an hours labor to do, $120-130. I pick them up tomorrow!

The rest of my fuel supplies came in the mail also. I will need to figure out what I am doing for a fuel/brake line bracket as these fuel lines will not fit in the original brackets.

The Aeromotive plug arrived along with my AFPR rebuild kit. The zip ties I ordered to replace the factory harness zip ties. These ones pop into the hole in the body to hold the harness in place.

Once the brake and fuel lines are on the car I can mount the subframes. Then I can finish up the sway bar endlinks and tie rod ends! The Moog tie rod ends should be here soon.

 

[GST with PSI]

Your build is giving me déjà vu.

Looking great man.

 

[bkrathwohl]

Your build is giving me déjà vu.

Looking great man.

That's a good thing, right?


As I had the AFPR rebuild kit, I figured I would just get it out of the way.

Aeromotive 13001 rebuild kit

Disassembly is extremely easy, I started by taking the bracket off the back. Here you can see how dirty it is.

Next comes the bottom fitting that was left on by the previous owner and the pressure gauge.

Then I loosened the top nut and backed out the stud. Once those are out you can take the four bolts along the outside of the body.

While in here I may as well clean everything! It's amazing how much better the Aeromotive logo looks, it's no longer dark and oily.

Assembly time! Take the body and put the diaphragm on top of the seat, make sure the ball side is pointing down.

Next comes the spring and upper seat.

Finally the top cover can go back on. Aeromotive supplies you with new bolts to secure it.

I put the bracket and gauge back on. I may replace the gauge, it looks to be a bit damaged on the face. The bracket will probably come off at a later time for paint.

Finished product.

 

[95eclipser]

Cant wait to see the rest of this build.

 

[tsi617]

Bad ass. I never thought of rebuilding a afpr.

 

[bkrathwohl]

I finally had some time to work on the Galant. I was able to pick up my brake lines a couple of days ago. They weren't quite as great as what I was picturing in my head, at least it gave me a starting point.

I ran to Harbor Freight to see if they had a brake line forming tool...success.

Forming the lines similar to the stock ones wasn't difficult, it was just tedious. I didn't want to be under the car to find out that the bends are completely wrong so I took my time.

I didn't really get pictures of the second line. This was the finished product.

To my surprise they were pretty darn close to factory bends. I had to do some slight adjusting but I was able to get them mounted up from rear to front and then work out the tough spots.

The rear area where the lines go above the rear subframe was a bit difficult. The subframe didn't end up being close to the lines, but I spent a good amount of time bending these lines trying to get them to take the factory route.

I had to do some slight adjusting in the engine bay where the subframe gets close to the body, but that was about it.

I spent a couple days trying to locate "3/16 brake line clamps/brackets/holders" with no success. I even tried looking through ASA but couldn't find the correct brackets for the brake lines, if Mitsubishi even makes them anymore. The auto parts stores didn't even have some kind of generic bracket. I ended up using my stock ones.

Rear subframe and suspension mounted and torqued to spec, hopefully for the final time!

My replacement Aeromotive filter element came in, along with my OEM fuel pump sock.

I took my rear tow hooks off and am going to take them to work to clean up. They are disgustingly rusty in comparison to the rest of the underbody, that won't do!