EXDCs 83 Sigma Wagon Build

[EXDC]

Hey all

Posting up my project/daily car. Instead of putting up a link to the build thread from another forum, ill put it here post by post.

Brought myself a new work hack.
1983 Mitsubishi Sigma Stationwagon. Pretty damn straight. Rust free!







At the moment im in the middle of installing central locking to all 5 doors. A pretty grimey greasey job as the wagon has been rust protected with that tectyl shiz and it is EVERYWHERE!



Whoever carried out the rust protection (Todd motors probably) went all out! To the extent of cutting holes in the sills and pretty much filling them with tectyl.



It took ages to feed wires down the rear hatch coz its chocka full of crap!
Not mad tho. Reason why its so mint I guess.

[EXDC]

Pic of the diff


Its had larger springs fitted in the back. I guess for towing maybe.

Future plans for the wagon is to bring the centre of gravity down and slap on some 14" rims of some sort. Been stuck to yahoo japan looking at wheels to buy. 14x8 and 14x7 pref but doubtful they will fit.
When I finish the Turbo Lancer (10years +) this car may become my next project.

[EXDC]

Nothing much exciting going on.
Finished the central locking. Works pretty good.
Took it for a WOF last week and passed first time.

Went to pick a part today to get a 1 piece driveshaft. Don't really like 2 piece driveshafts and my one had a slight vibration. Swapped em over and works well.



Still tryn to find shocks and springs that'l fit the rear.

[EXDC]

Have been mucking around with the suspension in this car.

Brought some Starion front springs to get compressed and slap in the front struts. They looked like they would fit the rears so gave it a try. Instant slammage! The arse was low but the front was high. Constant launching!

Walked up and down the isles at Pick a Part to find a car with similar springs.
Found a VW Golf that looked very close.....but shit knows how you get them struts out!

So a quick look on trademe found a complete set of VW Golf springs for $1.00 reserve. My kinda price! Ended up wining them for $1.50.
Put the front Golf springs in the Sigma struts to see how they sit. They were almost perfect but I decided to get them compressed by 50mm. Now the front was lower then the rear.

Found another set of Golf springs, again for $1.00 reserve. They were aftermarket lowering springs. Ended up winning them for $10.50. Chucked the front Golf springs in the rear of the Sigma and looks very good. Bumps need to be cut/replaced though.

Anyway, pics.

From this:


To this:










It rides extremely smooth and comfortable. And its all done proper like (for once!) Big thanks to Wijnhoud for getting my struts shortened! Springs were compressed by Archers springs. $100 a pair.

Next - Wheels.

[EXDC]

A LITTLE SNEEK PEAK....







Hopefully will get my 7" rims back tomorrow.
I need help with tyre sizes I should use.
Im thinking 175/60/14 for the 8" and 165/60/14 for the 7".

Or are there better sizes to suit these widths?
CHUR

[EXDC]

Decided to try and paint these suckers.
Went to Supercheap to get a Silver/grey colour. The guy said it would be the colour on the cap but it was like a crappy chrome colour. URGH!
Went to Repco and got a can of Dupli color mag wheel re-coating thingee. Exactly what I want! Looks choice IRL!

Prep


Prime


Colour


Didnt get the call I was hoping for today so will get the front rims next week sometime. Will also get tyres for these at the same time. Probably will go for the 185/55/14 rears and 165/60/14 fronts.

[EXDC]

BIG PHOTO UPDATE

Got all me rims back from being widened. Cheers to the Steel Surgeon (Carlos)
Zipped down to Drury Tires to get the tyres fitted.

Decided to run with:
7" fronts - 175/60/14
8" Rears - 185/55/14

Was hoping to put 165/60 to the fronts but they didnt have any.
Any, pics.

Before with standard rims


On the ground with widened steelies


My puppy is so photogenic




Took it out for a little shoot.










Had a coupla fattys in the wags






Very happy with the way it looks aside from the height up front. I will be making adjustable struts for the fronts to even it out.
Decided against the wheel trims as I dont have a matching set. Just realised that I had 4 different wheel trims.

So yeah......

[EXDC]

NISSAN PARTS HAULER







You can count on a Mitsubishi to deliver!

[EXDC]

Mucked around on the wagon today.
Sick of it scraping every time I back out my drive so decided to hack the tail pipe off.



Out comes my buddy Angle Grinder


Looks much cleaner now. Gonna keep it like that too. Just hope it doesn't fill the cabin up with gases!

Ive been thinking about my wheels and have come to the conclusion that they are not wide enough.
Thought i'd try putting the 8" on the front and see if it'l fit.

[EXDC]

Nothing really exciting going on.
Motor is starting to get tired and sad. Been on the lookout for a suitable replacement. Something with minimal effort to instal or just rebuild the current donk.
Have collected a few parts for the wagon but im probably going to concentrate on the Lancer this Spring/Summer. Need to get that other sake of shit running and sold. With baby on the way (in 5 days!) it wont give me much time for anything.

Cleaned the wagon and took the dog out for a cruise to Clark's beach.




Hes a happy bloke.

Still on the lookout for more parts, mainly a clock (hint hint) and other assorted bits so if you know anyone with a Sigma wagon please let me know.

Cherio

[EXDC]

So I picked up a twin carb setup to suit SOHC 4G63. Big thanks to oldrx.


Plans are to re kit these if possible. They have also made me think about doing a rebuild and see if I can build a lightly modded SOHC 4G63. Will weigh up my options whether I should do this our just get an injected 4G63.

Took a couple of pics today.

[EXDC]

So...Ive ditched the idea of trying to run the twin carbs. Fuel talked some sense into me.

I managed to score a GSR Sapporo instrument cluster a while back. Thanks to Damian for sourcing it for me.



Ive had it in the Sigma for a bit and have never connect the oil pressure and amp meter gauges. So, over the holidays I tried my best to sort this out.
I managed to get the amp gauge going sweet but the oil pressure gauge is crap. I brought a sender off a guy on trademe which he said came off a G63B engine. Sadly, it doesnt work. :doubt:

Me mucking around with ride height





I had a set of Sigma steel centre caps on my trademe watchlist for almost a year. the guy first listed them for $80! I knew they wernt gonna sell for that amount so kept saving them to my watchlist waiting for him to lower the price. It took a bloody long time but managed to score them for $21. A big thanks to Daniel (DJZ) for pick'n them up and sending them up to Auckland.

Got them today.
Old caps.




New caps




So now I can ceremoniously DESTROY this cap


I like the look of these centre caps. Makes it look complete.

[EXDC]

Legal for another 6 months 8)
Managed to get a WOF yet again.

Final got a clock for my wagon. With the addition of the Sapporo cluster, ive been without a clock. As little as it seems, it sux without one. A BIG thanks to 'all round GC' Fuel for donating and delivering the parts!

Any way, before and after pics





Yawn...

[EXDC]

Bit of a stink update.

Finally fixed the oil psi gauge issue with a brand new sender.
The gauge use to sky rocket to the max when the engine's not running.



Now with the sender unit fitted the gauge remains at the bottom untill the engine is started. Not sure if its reading high or not but its working. Now its actually dependable.



So now all the gauges are working as they should. Happy.

Also picked up some extractors off trademe. Dont really need em but may use them if I decide to rebuild.
Would look sweet if I was running the twin carb setup.



Rebuild is looking more and more necessary every day. BLUE SMOKE! :doubt:

Parting picture by Taryn

[EXDC]

Acquired a 4G63 with twin carbs.





I sold my last set of twin carbs as they were incomplete and didnt really have a plan for them.
These carbs are ready to go. May try to slap them on my current engine for shits 'n' gigs for a bit.

I have other plans in the mix and will show the world shortly.

[EXDC]

So, I noticed my car was getting harder and harder to shift gears the last few weeks.
I had maxed the adjustment on the cable, then i made a spacer to get even more travel, till something collapsed and then I had no clutch at all. My poor synchros.

Pulled the gearbox off expecting to find a poked pressure plate. Pplate was good.
Pulled the pplate off to check clutch plate. Clutch plate good.
Looked at the clutch fork and release bearing face. Good.
By this stage I enlisted some help from my cousin (brake and clutch man)
He looked at the pedal box, clutch and pressure plate, cable, etc. Good.

Wasnt till he pulled the release bearing off the box when we found this.



The clutch fork faces had collapsed. My cousin had never seen this happen.
Luckily I brought a brand new replacement a month ago for no real reason. Reassembled the car and I now has clutch.

Parting Pic

Its sad when the two cars you own are both sitting on axle stands!

[EXDC]

So, continuing on from my last post I fixed the clutch issue.
The post before that I mentioned that I had other plans for the wagon. Get ready for the anti climax.....

***TWIN CAM***

I picked up a 4G63 DOHC from Christchurch thanks to DJZ. Came with almost everything to make it run. It was looking pretty weathered externally so I bolted the engine to an engine stand (thanks Chaos) and started wire brushing the block ready for paint.





I also removed a few parts that I would be re using and sandblasted them ready for paint.





I had a set of RWD extractors lying around and thought if I got some FWD extractors I could make a FWD/RWD set.
Difference between the two extractors.



Chop chop



Not pretty but functional (hopefully)



For the inlet manifold mod, I got DJZ (lovely bloke) to do the cut and shut thing.



Decided to replace the timing belt and tensioners. Also replaced the water pump. The seller had written on the rocker cover "Engine gets hot. Headgasket?" but as I removed the old water pump the issue was the pump had rusted out and broke most of the fins/blades off.
Doing the cam belt.



All done



The hardest, longest job doing this conversion (so far) were the water pipes. I still want to use the heater so I made some new water pipes that should do the job. Relocated the thermostat housing to the side.







Took this week off work to test fit the engine in the wagon. I wont be fitting the DOHC permanently yet. Just wanting to see what the issues are going to be and then pull it out again. A lot of work for bugger all but meh.
So, old engine out.





New engine in.









Ive got the ol man coming over tomorrow to help me figure out the wiring side of things.
Still have a bit to do to get this going. Ill list them for my sake.

• Fuel pump
• Ignition leads
• Accelerator cable
• Fan
• Other bits that ill forget

[EXDC]

First major issue.



Nothing Mr Hammer cant fix.

Been shopping at Pick a Part the lats few days. Man they've jacked their prices up.
Brought a pretty sweet external fuel pump setup with mount.



Modified my AFM box thing. Never liked how massive they were and thought I could fit the unit inside an air filter.
This is the AFM chopped up.



This is it in its new home.



Got a 45 degree silicon joiner yesterday. Had to cut it shorter to work but works fine. Had to stretch the joiner on the AFM side as its just over 3"



The ol man came over and had a look at the wiring.
Its a bit of a mess but im trying to get some order with it at the moment.



I dont think I could cut it as an auto sparky

[EXDC]

So, the powerhouse SOHC is back in the hole and running.
I started on a new exhaust system and have almost completed it but will wait for my muffler to arrive from Chch.

I have a few things to sort out for the engine swap.

• Fuel Pressure Reg (aftermarket)
• Smash firewall
• Make accelerator cable
• Tidy up wiring
• Finish exhaust
• Source radiator hose
• Fan
• Do skid

If I dont have to do family stuff during the easter weekend I think thats when the swap will commence.

All right, im up to date.
Comments are welcome

[geezer101]

Your work is like your posting - manic! Always good to see some wagon love. Looks like you've got a solid ride with an equally solid vision of the direction you're taking and what you want out of it. The original ride height was huge, it looked like it should've been a commercial vehicle. Keep up the good work, loving it

[75wagon]

I've seen a lot of this build on oldskool.co.nz before.
I love the rims, they're perfect for the wags.

[EXDC]

Started the engine swap last weekend.
Pulled the SOHCa out of the car. Poor lil engine had done some work. (370,000+ kms)
Tidied up the wiring on the DOHC (believe it or not) ready to be slammed in the hole



Made a shroud out of ally for my radiator fan.


Didnt really get much done last weekend but bolt the engine in. Sunday was a complete mess due to the weather as was most of the week.
Was able to get some help yesterday with putting the car together. Had my father on electrical duties and a cousin finishing the exhaust as I pretty much supervised.

Mounted my fuel pump and filter in the only possible position under the car.


Exhaust sorta done.


2 1/2" pipe, 2x resonators, 1x flowmaster muffler.

Engine in the hole




Radiator shoud worked out well


Stiil need to sort out a top radiator pipe so cant fill with coolant yet.

Scored an A/C unit from a Starion with the help of Prozac.


I brought a FPR to run on the engine as the factory reg no longer fit in the rail with the throttle body at the other end. The FPR I got was a chinese copy of a Sard type. I made a last minute decision not to use it as I didnt really trust it. The finish was shit.

So, I made a remote housing for the factory reg to fit in.


The ol man finished most of the wiring so I made a 5pm dash to Repco last night to get some oil and a oil filter and tried to see if the engine would make an attempt to start.
Had a slight hick-up with the fuel pump wiring. One bridge wire later.....VROOOOM!
She runs....Loud! Louder than I hoped.

We are very impressed at how easy the engine started, no smoke and how quiet the engine ran (Mitsi tick) bar the cambelt whine. The cambelt whine is loud. No need for gilmore drive. Sadly I havent got a vid of it running as I cant run it for long with no coolant.

Should have it on the ground running by next weekend. Skid vid then.

[IncorpoRatedX]

Good to see another 4G63 wagon!

[Sufferes]

Looks really sweet, keep it up Can't wait for a vid

[EXDC]

Worked hard to get the car running but ran into an issue with my alternator.

Bolted a replacement alternator on and took the car for its maiden voyage.....a short maiden voyage.

Took the car up to the gas station, grabbed some go juice, drove out of the station and the car started backfiring and generally running like shit. Pulled to the side of the road and decided to journey back home. Turned around and coughed and farted some more and pulled over again.

It was dark time so I couldnt see much but smelt fuel. Popped the bonnet and felt my fuel lines.......split hose

It drove ok in the short distance I traveled. A whole lot more torque than the SOHC but I dont think its running at its maximum. Im suspicious of the FPR and the fuel pump as theyre not factory items.

Replaced the fuel pump for a higher flowing pump (Bosch 950 to a Bosch 910) and a FPR suited for this engine. Not sure if its made an improvement but I can sort of rest at ease that the engine wont be running lean.




It is back to being my daily driver now and im pretty happy with how its going. A bonus with this engine swap is that it seems to be almost twice as economical as the old motor (if that makes sense)

As promised, skid vid.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aukiEJ5BM0

All thats left to do now is get it certified. I may be looking at selling in the near future. Weighing up the pros and cons






Happy.

[EXDC]

Couple pics from that drag day

[A112H]

Don't feel like making another one of these by chance?

[Scorpma82]

tops looking car mate...always had a thing for the wagon (even had one the same colour as yours)

What sort of time we're u running on the drag day?

[ddt]

[Merv]

Cleanest and fattest looking wagon out there keep it up mate