4g61t.org

Moved to Builds Section because .... it really is mostly a build;

For Life!






Ahem....

I should probably start a members section thread, with some good pictures and a mod list.

Got the fuel pump in place.

Gasket surface on the tank was dented from rust bloat created in between the sandwich effect of the sending unit top and the tank itself.

Used some RTV to build up that surface, hope it holds or the tank will come down again. It was a minor variation, but it will be fully dried by the time it gets fuel put back in.

Gave up on working in the cold, just no motivation when tire season is back in full swing.

Teetering on whether or not to finish the project this fall, but I may get back to it soon.

Snow fell on the ground this morning.

Have to think about winter tires for the 'Baru.




There are more photos now in the gas tank resto album, showing what I did to make the Walbro fit where the OEM (READ wider) pump had been.

I did use the original turbo style fuel sender unit, because, well it just working properly and with no modification required; just a little ingenuity to get it done right.

Car is back together and made an appearance on the internet this past weekend.

Made a video for Youtube, and a new career.

Either way, car will be running with the 255 in the tank, god only knows if the FPR will fit somewhere accessible in my engine bay.

Now parked for the winter; salt hitting the streets every other day now.

Had it out after the fuel pump went in, wideband says things are great at idle.

not overrunning yet.

Got into it with the lathe today ...

I mean, I figured out that just because the tire machine doesn't have a constant spin function, doesn't mean I can't spin my wheels ... so to speak.

I've been stripping and restoring these rims for the nearly a year or so.

They started out silver, then were painted black, completely black.
They spent lots of life on salted roads, got corrosion on the bead lock area and green slime in the one that I suppose would not hold air.
Price was right and they are pretty straight.
All four center caps present and ready for duty sir!

Moving forward to today and I got them on the brake lathe to speed up the lip polishing and bead lock surface restoration process.

IE, hold sandpaper in various grits, to the metal surface. Finally ended with wet sanding on the polished outer lip for each rim.

There is some spot filler putty in the one rim on the spoke sections and some minor bobos here and there, and if it were not for the red bondo,

I would likely be rocking the raw aluminum finish and a polished lip ... if not also because of the plastic (grey) center caps, not looking like raw aluminum.

PICS!!!!

Starting point:


Glass bead 40-80 or 80-120 grit? Free dings, get yer dings .... and don't use Walnut for this process. Just saying ...


I have a lot of work ahead of me.


8 months later, and 2 blast cabinets later, I return for more punishment.

Mounted.


40 grit on the back side.


Getting there .....


Dry 180 emery cloth, 240,
Wet 400, 600, 1000, 1500, 2000
Mother's Mag and Aluminum Polish in a small white plastic oinment container. Looks like the stuff you put on poison ivy. Memories .....

Better.

Buschur/SX FPR regulator assembly stuck at customs. Making the FPR a bolt on affair, no room for hoses or crazy positions because EMISSION racecar.

How well did the larger dents and deeper scratches come out on the rims? I have some bbs I been thinking about doing this process to.

_________________
92 Colt GT 4G63t
92 Summit TSI AWD 4G63t Auto
92 Eagle Talon TSI AWD Auto DRag CaR
5 X 90 Talon TSI
90 GSX
99 GSX..........31 Dodge 4dr Rat Rod, 67 Catalina, 92 3kgt vr4, 83 Civic,4 00 F-350, 01 Chevy 2500HD
3 KIDS, FUTURE FIANCE, AND CAR ADDICTION

The dings come out decent but spot putty will inevtably sit lower than the parent material unless you are really good with blending. Shaping the aluminum went went where the outer lip gets folded inwards slightly. Three of those folds were present. I took my time with a long skinny carbide bit on a small air tool. That got it really close and then it was off to the races with 180 grit emery cloth.
I spent a bunch of time usin various methods to get the putting out, but suffice it to say, you want a larger area to concentrate the stress of material removal upon, otherwise the "divot" will look like a puck-mark versus a slow long dip as the surface spins on by, or what I would say is rather visible to the naked eye.
For any one portion that is pitted, take your time because that will be where people notice the effect of polishing/cutting out material or not. Most won't know you did it, unless surveying the product up close when purchasing.

I don't know if different type of aluminum are different to work with or not, but these GVR4 rims are pretty skinny compared to others we see made with cheap metal.
You get a good harmonic when you hit the rim with something = good grain structure.

For the big hits, and there were a few, it was grind, cut, sand and putty over it multiple times. I am no paint pro, but I was thinking about fully prepping these and taking then for a powder coat estimate. I want a main body color, polished lip, maybe red on the outer most edge that meets the tire. Not sure yet. Maybe no outer most lip red, just one single color and a polished lip.

Great Job Tim! I've done several sets by hand (well with the help of my wife) so the lathe looks like a great idea. One of my wheels had some curb rash too and I had thought about looking for one replacement but after working on the rash and blending it over a large area like you mentioned I really have to look for it now. I was amazed and how well it actually turned out and saved that $50 or so on a replacement.

I remember Mr. Hyde did a set a few years ago with a red lip and they looked decent. I think just a polished lip looks better but to each their own. Not sure what tire you're going with but a 195-55 looks really good on there IMO.

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

Thanks for the kind words Chris. I know you have a bunch of experience with this sort of detailing.

Thinking 205/50 R15 because 195/65 R14 is way too soft and bouncy. Sidewall folds over. Haha. Um on ramp experience ....

I loved the look with my old 15" rims and a set of Hercules G3000V in that size, when viewed from all angles. My car was sitting higher then, but the look at the rear is really made with a wide tire. No faking it, because we have such short and slim rear bumper covers.

Was looking at some Hankook Ventus H437's in place of Dirrezza DZ102's only because I was offered the Hankooks at $89 per tire locally. Cost on DZ102's is $93 plus 30% (taxes/markup), so a major savings if I ever decide to go with another tire set down the road. Suspension should get reworked second after engine management. I have yet to be able to hold full throttle due to chip tune, so now that every thing will be there for the first time since I bought and swapped the 4g63t, I'm rather stoked. Engine should be set, trans is now LSD ATB equipped, shocks are now newer with proper bump stops, and I can always wait to install the big brakes. Exchange is terrible right now, so I will be driving over the border to pick things up.

Well, found a local supplier that discounted tires for us, and Dunlop Direzza DZ102's in 205/50 R15 are now waiting to be installed onto the GVR4 rims.
They look wide and meaty. I'm stoked.
$85 CDN per tire. $408.74 with 13% tax.
DZ102 19 lb per tire. 7.1" tread width or 184mm.

What I am currently rolling on, with stock turbo aluminum rims.
The profile should be 195 60 R14 to maintain stock tire size/height and speedometer accuracy.
From this ....



To this ....



I found this after the fact. Nice little inhouse comparison of the DZ101 and DZ102 tires in slalom, braking and noise testing scenarios.

Dunlop Direzza DZ101 versus Dunlop Direzza DZ102

Tire information about economy and again, the DZ101 to DZ102 comparisons.

Direzza DZ102 Technical Information page

Okay, so I spent a shi-ton of time restoring my Galant VR4/Eagle 2000 rims (center caps have no Mitsu symbol ... so), and they now have rubber mounted and balanced.
I even lined up the \yellow dot with the brand new valve stems!

I have one more choice to make after realizing that there are no Toyota lug nuts available in this city or for order locally for anything other than OEM and Canadian Tire/H. Paulin fastener supply. Flat style washer nut setup for the loss in that regard. BUT .... I have leads ...

Black nuts that no one else carries or has even seen, because the aftermarket does not use flat style retainers, they all pretty much use a ball or tapered seat.

Here is the Mitsu/Toyota variety: M12X1.5 Black Black 20 pack

Can you say bloat is your new best friend? That's how these capped styles will end up if driven in inclement weather. Click for crimped cap covered flat washer nuts

I'm thinking of ordering the 24pc package, because I then have 8 nuts left over. You can never have too many spare nuts.
24 pack with shipping and duty calculated for no surprises

Rim pictures to follow.

My postings on GVR4.org for those that have login access. Those that don't, just sign yourself up! Tons of great info from those guys. We all Be Mitsumaniacs!
Page 4 of What Have you done to your VR4 today" Thread - rim restoration

Starting point.





Scratch and dent sale:



Taping with vinyl model paint tape:



Check out the specs for the vinyl tape, it will save you major hassle to seal the lips they way I did. Start with the outer lip, then follow through with the main lip on the face side.





Baking the plastic center caps may have released some gases, well yeah, tons of gas. Don't do this in your house unless your stove vent goes out of the house. Mine vents above the stove .... don't know why it's even got a fan because it doesn't vent above the microwave, and there is no tube leading out of my house. Kept the doors open and turned on the furnace/fan. FTL.





If you can't get your primer, paint and then clear down (cleared within an hour of last color coat), then bake your goods. I can't say that it will work correctly, but I put on the oven to 175 or so, let it heat up for 5-6 mins then popped the temp control off, put the rims in for 10 mins each. Then baked them at 350 preheat or less, after another color coat and in between the final clear. I cleared the rims with the vinyl tape removed, so the lips are covered and will not get dirty, and can be washed and will have UV protection. Did my best and did not chip any while mounting my tires. I did chip the lip paint a bit when cutting and removing the vinyl but with careful control of a hobby knife, you only have to cut the painted edge where it meets the tape, and just peel the outer lip tape right off at an angle almost like you are folding the tape back on itself. No chipping this way. Great results overall, but I have yet to completely strip the caps by hand sanding again. Sigh. So close, I will settle for rims without caps like I have been rolling for the last 10+ years now. Sooonnnnnn.

Product: duplicolor rim paint "High Performance Graphite",
duplicolor self etching primer
duplicolor rim clear coat

I used gosh knows how many cans of color (3+ to 5?), 3 cans of clear and 2 cans of primer IIRC.

As noted above, if color goes down and you clear, then decide OH I need more color on that, bake your stuff or you will have a reaction as soon as the color hits again. Trust me. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Those turned out awesome Tim! That would have been my color choice too if I owned anything but a white csm. I had to do the color matched wheels to keep the 80's-90's theme going.

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

Thank Chris!
Over a year of dealing with those rims meant I was spending money to make them go away. Haha.
After hearing that CT had OEM style lug nuts at $9 CDN each, and they would come to $160ish CDN, I laughed told the guy that was more than I paid for the rims before the overpriced paints on his stores shelves were even factored in. I kinda left that last part out, but mentioned the paints worked well.
Wink wink.
$55.72 US errr $75ish CDN, and that will be with shipping and duty included, no extra fees. Cheapest option was to point and click. Lug nuts ahoy!!!!!