new member from malta
new member from malta
hey everyone - my name is greg, the proud owner of a 4 door '74 colt lancer from malta...and dare i say it, one of the precious few flag bearers of the mark 1 lancers in malta. i've had it for about 6 months and bought it for 400 euros from an elderly gentleman. it originally had a 4G42 (1.2), though because it had busted rings i couldn't get it passed an emissions test. with some incredibly good fortune i managed to come across a 4G32 (1.6) inside a hyundai stellar (hyundai used to have all the engines supplied to them by mitsubishi in their early days) for another 400 euros (quite a bargain, considering it had only done 65000 km, around 40000 miles). anyway, i've been having some mighty good fun with it before i embark on a painstaking restoration process, for which i'm sure this forum can be a valuable resource. in turn i hope to be a useful source of info myself to users here as I immerse myself in this first-time process and establish some contacts in malta, which has quite a broad cottage industry that serves malta's many classic car owners.. looking forward to conversing with fellow old school colt/chrysler owners. peace to you all..
Re: new member from malta
Welcome to the site, Greg!
From your avatar, your Lancer appears to be a lilac colour, is this the factory paint? I haven't seen that colour on any Mitsus before.
Anyway we're always hungry for pics here on S-G, put some up when you get the chance!
From your avatar, your Lancer appears to be a lilac colour, is this the factory paint? I haven't seen that colour on any Mitsus before.
Anyway we're always hungry for pics here on S-G, put some up when you get the chance!
Re: new member from malta
haha yeah well spotted the colour is not original. in fact the poor girl has been drowned in regular paint - a quick fix solution to hide some serious rust issues. bar the wing mirror, (which I had to put on for the VRT) this is as she was when I bought her. this is meant to be both a restoration project and eventually a necessary means of transport.
the first phase involved getting her prepped for the VRT to get her road worthy. I had to do it by December 31 2012 so that I could benefit from a 2 year gap before the next VRT (which should give me some time to carry out some major restoration), as from January 1 2013 VRTs are now conducted every year. here it goes:
1: had to put a side mirror for the VRT
2: back profile (inexplicably the gentleman i bought it from decided to raise the reverse lights from below the bumper...that's something I will address when restoration is fully underway).
3: engine bay. she originally had a 4G42 neptune 1.2, but that was replaced by a Datsun 120Y (seen here). anyway, it had busted rings which would have been arduous and costly to replace. so i thought i might as well find an original and replace the whole thing.
4, 5 & 6: with a bit of luck, i managed to find an 87 hyundai stellar with a mitsubishi 4G32 engine. extremely good condition, and I got it for a knockdown price of 400 euros. I tried to sell the rest of the car piecemeal (which i thought would be do-able as i knew 2 people in my village with an identical car) but amazingly got no interest. sadly lack of space meant i had to scrap her
7. to cut a long story short (including making original mounts and laborious cleaning), she's been upgraded from a 4G42 1.2 to a 4G32 1.6
8. interior front as was bought
9. ripped front seats
10. well...disgusting...
11. sun-kissed
12. after having been at it for an hour with dicarbonate of soda and a toothbrush...
13. quick fix for the ripped seats in order to get it through the VRT...i eventually plan for a leather-suede mix interior, long way to go before that happens..
will post some pics of the body work up close to show the rust issues, i've already been quoted a figure of 4000 euros for sandblasting, a primer and non-metallic paint spray. i'll probably take on the daunting task of getting rid of all that thick house paint myself in an effort to save me a few dimes. but the most important thing for now is that she passed the VRT at the end of November 2012
now for phase two...!
the first phase involved getting her prepped for the VRT to get her road worthy. I had to do it by December 31 2012 so that I could benefit from a 2 year gap before the next VRT (which should give me some time to carry out some major restoration), as from January 1 2013 VRTs are now conducted every year. here it goes:
1: had to put a side mirror for the VRT
2: back profile (inexplicably the gentleman i bought it from decided to raise the reverse lights from below the bumper...that's something I will address when restoration is fully underway).
3: engine bay. she originally had a 4G42 neptune 1.2, but that was replaced by a Datsun 120Y (seen here). anyway, it had busted rings which would have been arduous and costly to replace. so i thought i might as well find an original and replace the whole thing.
4, 5 & 6: with a bit of luck, i managed to find an 87 hyundai stellar with a mitsubishi 4G32 engine. extremely good condition, and I got it for a knockdown price of 400 euros. I tried to sell the rest of the car piecemeal (which i thought would be do-able as i knew 2 people in my village with an identical car) but amazingly got no interest. sadly lack of space meant i had to scrap her
7. to cut a long story short (including making original mounts and laborious cleaning), she's been upgraded from a 4G42 1.2 to a 4G32 1.6
8. interior front as was bought
9. ripped front seats
10. well...disgusting...
11. sun-kissed
12. after having been at it for an hour with dicarbonate of soda and a toothbrush...
13. quick fix for the ripped seats in order to get it through the VRT...i eventually plan for a leather-suede mix interior, long way to go before that happens..
will post some pics of the body work up close to show the rust issues, i've already been quoted a figure of 4000 euros for sandblasting, a primer and non-metallic paint spray. i'll probably take on the daunting task of getting rid of all that thick house paint myself in an effort to save me a few dimes. but the most important thing for now is that she passed the VRT at the end of November 2012
now for phase two...!Re: new member from malta
Wow your 'quick fix' on your front seats is pretty impressive.
Well done on sourcing a 4G32 from a Hyundai! We never got any early RWD Hyundais in Australia.
Well done on sourcing a 4G32 from a Hyundai! We never got any early RWD Hyundais in Australia.
Re: new member from malta
^What he saidddt wrote:Wow your 'quick fix' on your front seats is pretty impressive.
Never seen a roof lining shred itself that badly - EVER. Good to see you took pity on a Lancer that would otherwise ended up being scrapped, and it's amazing what a good clean can do for an unloved car. Keep up the good work girgor.
Re: new member from malta
That is crazy, I've never seen a roof lining like that before...
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Re: new member from malta
OMG just saw this now! I'm wrapped we have another Maltese member in our little family 
Re: new member from malta
haha sweeeet!DVSGAL wrote:OMG just saw this now! I'm wrapped we have another Maltese member in our little family