4g61t.org

Ahah! I'm learning. This is the donor car. Here is the donor bay after major extraction.

Was the donor a factory turbo car or not?

No. Bare minimum. Looked good outside, but lots of body rust AFTER the bay. So, I was able to hack it up, as you will see. No good parts left.

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Age is a number; attitude counts.

While I'm at it, here are two shots of the dash before the wreck. (I am learning to get decent sized prints, too.)

I had an EGT gauge on the left, but I am not going to use it on the remake.

(I tried before, but I screwed up. I hope this makes it. If not, I am not going to try again. Go to the Gallery. YEAH, SILKY!!

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Age is a number; attitude counts.

Bill,
You shifter is freaky and at exactly the right placement for rally driving (aka the only fun driving there is!) and general use, so I ask this:
What did you do to mount it that way? Is it simple to duplicate or is it one off, and quite in depth? I love it by the way.

This was the idea of my BIG bud Charles (Customthecoltgt). He had shortened the shifter rod to give a short throw. It worked, but with more effort and a little "notchy". Not bad for the way we drive. The problem was that the shifter was then a little low. Answer: Raise the shifter platform. You can just hold it in the air to figure exactly where you want it. Fabricate two large U brackets with holes on the top for connection with the shifter platform. My forward one is a little higher to angle the shifter a little higher fore to aft. The sides are set to bracket the middle "hump". Drill a couple of pilot holes and secure the brackets with power screws. You can then make fine adjustments on the platform position using some type of washers and/or bushings for spacers. For the frame brackets, we used small half-round steel aprox. 1/16 thick. It wasn't hard to flaten and bend for the bracket shape, and to completely flatten on the edges for screw connections.
Two problems: one, the old console cover will no longer fit. (I am creating a new modified one.) Two, and more important, this makes the tranny cables very difficult to connect. If you make the position too extreme, they may not reach at all. I am thinking of using Eclipse cables (a little longer) on the awd conversion.
Here is a shot that shows what I was talking about:

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Age is a number; attitude counts.

Bill I can measure a set of 91 Talon AWD shifter cables as I have them sitting in the basement collecting dust. This may give you an idea of how much "more" room you have to play with.

Thanks, but not needed. I also have a set. I still wont know til I am ready to hook up. I also intend to modify the shifter base possibly to use the Eclipse shifter, which does have a short shifter availability. But that will be a long time off.

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Age is a number; attitude counts.

Alright, this thread has really been about "restoring" the Colt. After this, I will be moving to the actual conversion. I'll start a new thread for that. Before I quit this, though, here are a bunch of "go pretty" parts to be installed: Eclipse booster with a Punisher air brush pic, pwdr coated Eclipse brk. master cyl, and clutch cyl, Eclipse 5lug conversion hubs, pwdr coated struts and control arms with urethane bushings and pwdr coated holders, revalved Koni Yellows with GC coilovers, pwdr coated sway bar and fuel rail, SS fuel lines with AN fittings, and fuel filter, pwdr coated Wilwood brakes (new rotors to come), pwdr coated pwr steering pmp and reservoir, a new grill, pwdr coated shock retainers (which I won't use because I got camber adjuster plates), and pwdr coated strut tower control plates for the Whiteline bar with quick release clips(not shown). You can tell that I am going for something special. More to come later.
Bill

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Age is a number; attitude counts.

New knickname - "King of Bling, Bill Blass Edition errrr SILKY Edition"

Bill you continue to outdue yourself, yet again.

Bill, how did you plan on doing the 5 lug conversion?

-Jason

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1989 Dodge Colt Turbo w/ 4g63t swap
1999 Ford Contour SVT

He's going AWD remember.

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93 Mitsubishi Expo LRV 1.8/manual
95 Eagle Summit DL Coupe 1.5/manual
01 Mitsubishi Mirage ES Sedan 1.8/manual

I should have been more specific, but I was wondering about the fronts.

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1989 Dodge Colt Turbo w/ 4g63t swap
1999 Ford Contour SVT

With an AWD conversion, you have to change either a front 4lug or the installed 5lug rear. I had a hard time getting GVR4 rear hubs (the preferred way) so I changed the front. I had extra power so the extra weight was a trade-off for a little more strength and slightly wider spread (wider is better). This also gives a wider choice in wheels. I got a good set of 5lug hubs from wishihadatalon. Refinished them and changed the bearings. Good to go. The extra space on the inside will help on a wider tire. The outside is not of concern because I intend to use fender flares anyway.
I thought I was through with this thread, but here is another view of the motor (after the crash when I was in removal). This shows the relocated turbo and custom designed and fabricated downpipe and header. They are coated inside an out and were done to correct an extreme heat problem.

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Age is a number; attitude counts.