Granny Spec Galant Goes Bosozoku

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Gormzz
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Granny Spec Galant Goes Bosozoku

Post by Gormzz »

Hey Guys,

I thought it was about time i made my own build thread on my recently acquired 1975 GC Galant.
Picked this old girl up for a bargain! Originally resided in the Brisbane area also!
Now once the galant had arrived to my place i had to inspect it in person for my self.
Had a good old look around the car and found its colour to be Gingerbread.
Then i noticed all the panels were meant to be of the same colour but varied slightly!
Seat covers look of a grandma decent and instantly made me think this thing might've had a good life.
Popped the hood and was astonished at such a simplistic engine bay, i was in love.
Firstly it had a auto transmission fluid leak, spotted it instantly from the lines near the radiator support.
Removed hose and cut it shorter slightly as the end of the hose was basically destroyed.
Reconnected up and then there was no more leak! Stoked.
Gave the engine bay a really good degrease.. and oh my i haven't seen that much silver in a while.
Engine was spotless underneath the dirt and gunk. Was so happy with my pickup.
Next i kicked her in the guts and she fired to life fairly quickly, no real noises except maybe tappets..
Went to give her a decent drive around the block.. but found it was slipping in the gears....
Talked to a local galant fanatic lennon who's on this website and bam i adjusted the rear bands.
Once adjusted checked if issue was resolved and it was! This car is just falling into place nicely.
Clean engine which runs smooth, transmission seems to be ok now and overall not a bad car!
Previous work from possibly a friend to try touch up panels maybe have worked.. but in somes not.
Found the worst bit of rust in the drivers front guard at the bottom (the norm)
Only other bit of bad rust is around the left hand rear door seal.. bit of a pain but oh well.
Now with my other projects i wasn't sure how long this was going to sit, however things changed.
My mx32 cressida is nearing its final stages of body/paint work completion.
Few more panels to go on it and its finished! Then engine issue and hopefully rego.
So i felt in awesome mood recently.. and wanted to get started on the galant!
Found the rare spares lower's for our galants so insisted on buying one.
Week or two later it has arrived, time for the old piece to come out!
Measured with the new piece on and drilled out spot welds and cut the top where needed.
Old piece was out and just the inner skin hanging there. Clamped up the new metal lower.
Tac welded new piece into place, first time i had a slight warp in the middle... cut and redo.
This brings me up to tonight as i type, it has now been fully welded in with the inner skin.
Just need to grind down the welds, very light skim of bog to shape and finished.
Sorry about the no pictures of the car yet but here is some of the guard until i get daylight.

Behind the guard with the inner skin tac welded into place.
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Front shot of it all tac welded, i only use a cheap gasless ebay mig.. but heck its not to bad for the job.
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Now this photo is where the indicator bolts to the front of the guard.. previous owner has dodgied it up with silicone or something to hold the nuts behind it in place.. i question why? We'll never know.
Image

Anyway that brings you up to date with where i am at the moment.
I will be doing work on this slowly until both my cressida and starion are finished.
Also yes i basically do it all myself as i've learnt from certain people in trades.
Hopefully more bosozoku inspired progress will be made in the future also.

Cheers!
Daniel.
Toyota Cressida 77,79'
Mitsubishi Starion Track Car 84'
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geezer101
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Re: Granny Spec Galant Goes Bosozoku

Post by geezer101 »

Always good to see someone taking the hands on approach. And it's running! Awesome stuff Gormzz :thumpsup:
hengagc75
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Re: Granny Spec Galant Goes Bosozoku

Post by hengagc75 »

To what extent will you go to with the bozo style? I have seen some pretty wild things but I think it looks cool to an extent.. Not 10 Meter high exhausts!
Gormzz
Posts: 148
Joined: Sun Sep 08, 2013 7:42 pm
Location: Queensland, Australia

Re: Granny Spec Galant Goes Bosozoku

Post by Gormzz »

thanks guys! yeah is certainly a plus it runs and starts so quick.. very happy with the pickup.

and i'm not going the extreme boso you see on a few cars in the motherland..
simply going for heaps of low, hang ring, deep dish 14" wheels, small boso pipes etc.
with the current laws in this country it would be hard to avoid them with this styling.

If anyone can lead me in the right direction to say bolt on gto flares or fibreglass ones, that would be sweet?!
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Gormzz
Posts: 148
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Location: Queensland, Australia

Re: Granny Spec Galant Goes Bosozoku

Post by Gormzz »

Managed to get the lowers completely welded in, skim of bog applied and just need to get it flat as possible after Christmas..
Then time to high fill prime, block, repeat until good and spray the guard finally. Then its time for a roadworthy!

Oh one other thing i have to fix is the drivers side window won't wind up properly, seems to be catching or something.
Suspect the regulator is buggered, got to get my hands on one of them also!
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Gormzz
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Re: Granny Spec Galant Goes Bosozoku

Post by Gormzz »

Here are some more photos of the old girl and its current condition.

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Now after a bit of persistance and trial and error i've found out the panels should come up nicely after a good cut n polish.. Done the bonnet, rhf fender and passenger front door.. just need to do the remaining of the car.

Image

Image

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Lastly basically have got the drivers fender/guard all sanded down and rust repaired ready to be highfilled this weekend coming..

Image

Plenty of progress coming!
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A112H
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Re: Granny Spec Galant Goes Bosozoku

Post by A112H »

That has polished up really well and the guard looks great :thumpsup: :thumpsup: :thumpsup:
Gormzz
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Re: Granny Spec Galant Goes Bosozoku

Post by Gormzz »

thanks jason. so keen to get this beast on the road and enjoy driving it! Then the fun will begin after rego with some nice little goodies for it. (H)
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VGJONO
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Re: Granny Spec Galant Goes Bosozoku

Post by VGJONO »

That paint is coming up awesome, keen to see it when its done
Gormzz
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Re: Granny Spec Galant Goes Bosozoku

Post by Gormzz »

Yeah i was very suprised with how its coming up. Certainly has been resprayed on a few panels at some point in acrylic or enamel without a clear over base spray...
If only it wasn't becoming my daily i would just respray it in something wicked.. Nonetheless i'm so keen to get into this old girl!
Toyota Cressida 77,79'
Mitsubishi Starion Track Car 84'
Mitsubishi Starion Widebody 89'

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Gormzz
Posts: 148
Joined: Sun Sep 08, 2013 7:42 pm
Location: Queensland, Australia

Re: Granny Spec Galant Goes Bosozoku

Post by Gormzz »

Image

Image

Guard highfilled today and guide coated. Ready to be blocked and then painted. Might be getting a roady/rego without the guard painted though.. tossing up whether or not.. Trying to get car on road this week.
Toyota Cressida 77,79'
Mitsubishi Starion Track Car 84'
Mitsubishi Starion Widebody 89'

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Gormzz
Posts: 148
Joined: Sun Sep 08, 2013 7:42 pm
Location: Queensland, Australia

Re: Granny Spec Galant Goes Bosozoku

Post by Gormzz »

Image

This is basically the look i will eventually go for. Subtle but effective.
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Mitsubishi Starion Track Car 84'
Mitsubishi Starion Widebody 89'

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Gormzz
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Joined: Sun Sep 08, 2013 7:42 pm
Location: Queensland, Australia

Re: Granny Spec Galant Goes Bosozoku

Post by Gormzz »

Good news everyone! I put the guard back on with highfill and guide coat just for time being.. Got a roadworthy this morning and passed which means it got registered today!
So stoked..
Now....
On the bad side of things.. i have a collapsed drivers seat and a buggered steering box (thing just wonders over the road like crazy).
So i will probably make another thread in the wanted section or update my current one as i need that steering box and the drivers seat (might as well replace passengers as well) asap!

Other bad news was when driving home from transport... noticed i had a leak from the back of the head.. Instantly thought it must be a headgasket issue.
Me and a mate got stuck into it! Enjoying my holidays so i thought i'd put it to good use. Pulled the head off and little to my amazement found the welsh plug to be corroded with a hole in it!
That explained my leak.. Anyway long story short.. managed to get the head into a engineering shop today to get the head skimmed and checked for straightness..
Give it a clean up and a new stainless steel welsh plug in the rear. Then new gaskets and reassemble it all and happy days... well nearly.
Radiator hose is from thermostat to radiator has a pin hole and is leaking.. If unable to cut shorter and reclamp will need to buy another one.

So thats where i'm up to at the moment and basically hope to have it all back together this saturday when the parts will have arrived and driving back to work on monday!

So now to source that steering box and front seats....
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VGJONO
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Re: Granny Spec Galant Goes Bosozoku

Post by VGJONO »

Sweet as man, must be stoked, will have to have a pre-meet for the classic jap day if you come down for it
Gormzz
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Re: Granny Spec Galant Goes Bosozoku

Post by Gormzz »

yeah certainly am man.. i nearly thought it wouldn't pass with the steering box and seats.. but got told firmly to get them sorted asap which i definitely will as it affects the cars comfort and drive ability enormously..

yeah thats the plan man.. will be certainly aiming to come down for it as long as the last little few things are sorted and hopefully have the guard painted and a few little goodies ready before it!
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bruggz351
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Re: Granny Spec Galant Goes Bosozoku

Post by bruggz351 »

:thumpsup:
'82 GJ GSR Silver (family heirloom):)
Image
Gormzz
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Re: Granny Spec Galant Goes Bosozoku

Post by Gormzz »

Well.. managed to get the head back yesterday with the new gaskets ready for reassemble.
Reassembled today and all seemed to be going well until... It didn't want to start.
Worked out there wasn't much fuel getting through. In the end we got the fuel going through
by covering the top of the carb briefly while under load.. Got the car once warm to idle ok.
Only issue left now is that upon putting the throttle down it will half stall as its starving for fuel it seems..
Suspect possibly issue with the accelerator pump as we did remove the four screws and unsure if we
reassembled it properly... Can anyone explain on what should be inside when you pull the four screw's out?
Just a spring or more?
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VGJONO
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Re: Granny Spec Galant Goes Bosozoku

Post by VGJONO »

Hopefully this poorly photographed diagram is of help to you :P i dont know much about the original solex carbies other than i always had trouble with them, not saying they are bad, just im useless when it comes to them haha
Image
Image

also ignore the choke portion of the diagram, ive noticed there is atleast three variants of choke styles on Galants, this diagram show only one i believe

Cheers
VGJONO :thumpsup:
geezer101
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Re: Granny Spec Galant Goes Bosozoku

Post by geezer101 »

Gormzz wrote:Can anyone explain on what should be inside when you pull the four screw's out?
Just a spring or more?
There is a rubber diaphragm and a gasket as well. With the engine off you, look down into the primary throat of the carby and push the accelerator enrichment pump lever in. You should be able to see a small squirt of fuel. If it doesn't pump any fuel out there is one of 2 problems - a blockage in the enrichment jet or the pump diaphragm is stretched/perished (or all of the above :| ). Well, there could be more if the body of the carby is badly corroded but it's not as common as the first 2 issues I pointed out...Find another carby and swap it over. Best place to look for a newer carby that will work on the Saturn 1600? A Mitsubishi Colt (RB to RD series) They should be easy to find and in way better condition than any Solex Carbies from Galants but they are set up to run a return line to the fuel tank.
Gormzz
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Re: Granny Spec Galant Goes Bosozoku

Post by Gormzz »

* Jon - Ah thanks heaps mate! Appreciate it. Will try have a look at that for reference.

* Geezer - I will check for those things and ensure its all properly there. Ah yep i see where your coming from.. Bear in mind the carby was cleaned down with aluminium cleaner and washed off with water.. (yes stupid choice after doing it)
As mentioned earlier we have managed to get fuel throughout the carby hence it idling ok. But obviously now under load it will starve.. which comes back to this accelerator pump issue. Also with the lever coming out of the carby going down
and what looks like it attach's to a spring, the spring isn't exactly straight and i thought maybe its meant to be or could be half of the issue? Otherwise whats the easiest way to determine if its the enrichment jet or the pump diaphragm is perished?
Would prefer to try fix/repair as this carby was working perfectly fine until it was pulled down and reassembled with new gaskets/cleaned out etc. appreciate it guys, kind of sucks having a registered car which i can't drive.
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geezer101
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Re: Granny Spec Galant Goes Bosozoku

Post by geezer101 »

You shouldn't have any enrichment pump issues if the gasket and diaphragm are fresh. If you're still getting a healthy squirt of fuel from the pump it means it's o.k. (it will be like one of those cheap mini water pistols) The spring is there to make sure the pump arm returns back to its full extension (and they do normally look like they're a bit twisted up around the pump arm rod). The enrichment jet doesn't have a big impact on the overall running of the carby so this is pointing to some other issue like the secondary vac can has failed or there's a blockage somewhere else. If you pulled it down and put a kit through it have you changed any of the factory screw settings? And is the auto choke still working properly?
Gormzz
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Re: Granny Spec Galant Goes Bosozoku

Post by Gormzz »

All that was simply done was i needed to do a headgasket on the old girl. So removed the manifold and while it was off the engine we decided to clean it down..
Then we found there was a bit of muck in the fuel window so we decided to remove the pump diaphragm etc as we thought it was the closest thing to blow air into.
That didn't work so we just used a new gasket for it and reassembled.. so its technically still original but with a new gasket/sealant.
Oh well thats ok then, puts my mind to ease about that distorted spring then lol.
Oh it doesn't? Secondary Van Can located at? Nah it hasn't been pulled down so its still all original seals/gaskets but its had water etc through it...
As far as i'm aware the auto choke is still working, how can i check this? Sorry for the newby questions, little new to the carby side of things..
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geezer101
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Re: Granny Spec Galant Goes Bosozoku

Post by geezer101 »

Your noobness is welcome 8-) . If the auto choke is working it will be almost completely closed when the engine's cold (the top butterfly on the throat of the carby - if you tap it with your finger is should feel like it's lightly spring loaded) and should open fully when the engine has reached operating temp. It sounds like when you removed the accel pump diaphragm and blew compressed air into it, you pushed all the garbage from the fuel bowl into the main pick up galleries. It's going to need a tear down to clean the debris from those pick ups (in the bottom of the fuel bowl there's 2 brass inserts that lead into the primary and secondary venturis - you could get away with a squirt of carby cleaner into them, followed by compressed air but I can't guarantee that'll solve it) I'd recommend getting another carby that you think is serviceable and swap it over. That way if you pull yours apart you can take your time getting to know what goes where, and you're not stranded without a running car if your noobness slows you down. And get a tray to disassemble it over - first noob mistake is losing the ball bearing and brass plug that lurks down the side of the fuel bowl (you got a manual to work from, but make sure when you take the top cover off it the first time that you keep it upright so you can see where the little brass plug is located before turning it over and dropping it out with the ball bearing) :thumpsup:
Gormzz
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Re: Granny Spec Galant Goes Bosozoku

Post by Gormzz »

So far i managed to get it started.. it idles fine when warmed up.. drove it earlier and seems to be driving ok and under load also.. Stalled once and had to get jump started due to dodgy battery etc.

You still reckon its worth pulling the four screws (from what i can see) from the top of the carby and remove it and blow some compressed air down it? I do have some carby cleaner here to i spose i could try out.

Might have someone local i could get a carby off and try that i spose.. Last thing i want to do is have the headgasket and everything replaced and still have a underpeforming motor lol.
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geezer101
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Re: Granny Spec Galant Goes Bosozoku

Post by geezer101 »

If it's running 'o.k.' I wouldn't mess with it unless you are prepared to go the whole hog and rebuild the carby. There's no point to only doing part of the job as you won't know what the overall condition of the carby is really like.
Gormzz
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Re: Granny Spec Galant Goes Bosozoku

Post by Gormzz »

Yeah its running alot better now after a few jets were cleaned out and use of carby cleaner and compressed air, works wonders! redid the timing, dwell angle, points and idle mixture etc etc..
Seems to be running alot better now, has a very minor flat spot on a quarter throttle.. half or full throttle it just powers on.. Nothing major to worry about at the moment! Just going to enjoy driving it for the meantime.
Hopefully a bit of driving might clean it out a bit... But otherwise its time to get onto new parts and tidy the old girl up!
Toyota Cressida 77,79'
Mitsubishi Starion Track Car 84'
Mitsubishi Starion Widebody 89'

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geezer101
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Re: Granny Spec Galant Goes Bosozoku

Post by geezer101 »

Nice work Gormzz, sometimes you get a win :thumpsup:
Gormzz
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Re: Granny Spec Galant Goes Bosozoku

Post by Gormzz »

Thanks Geezer, appreciate the help mate. Will see how it goes over the next few weeks. Needs to make at least a 4 hour trip down and back in the next month or so for all japan classic day.. so trying to make it reliable for that!

Otherwise time to get the guard painted and buy some cool boso stickers and maybe try get some low from this thing.
Toyota Cressida 77,79'
Mitsubishi Starion Track Car 84'
Mitsubishi Starion Widebody 89'

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Gormzz
Posts: 148
Joined: Sun Sep 08, 2013 7:42 pm
Location: Queensland, Australia

Re: Granny Spec Galant Goes Bosozoku

Post by Gormzz »

After its first proper drive to the petrol station tonight i noticed a few things...

Still hesitates a bit throughout the throttle range at different points.. being random. So i assume possibly gunk has got into one of the main jets? When the foot is fully applied to the floor it drives smoothly? So the fuel issue is very minorly there.

Second thing i noticed to was after going for a drive and turning the galant off at the servo it wouldn't start back up?! lucky i had my jump pack on me.. jumped it and drove home after getting new fuel. So suspect alternator isn't charging the battery or a combination of it and the battery is buggered also...

My question is for the people who know about "rockauto parts" in the states.. would any of the two alternators listed under "Dodge Colt 1975" and under electrical > alternators, will fit my gc galant properly? Links below..

http://www.rockauto.com/

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinf ... cc=1080212

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinf ... cc=1080212

Otherwise is there anyone local who can get me a refurbished one or decent one?

Also looks like i could be up for new wheel bearings in the rear so i figured i might as well do them all anyway.
Toyota Cressida 77,79'
Mitsubishi Starion Track Car 84'
Mitsubishi Starion Widebody 89'

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Gormzz
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Re: Granny Spec Galant Goes Bosozoku

Post by Gormzz »

Alright got no help there lol.. so talked to lchilds and his lent me a alternator and a carby he had from his 4g32 sitting in the shed. Going to give them a clean up and fit them and if all is good.. then buy them off him to keep.

So yeah definitely confirmed the alternator isn't charging at all and the battery is not holding charge.. Replace the alternator and replace the battery as a minimum at this point. Clean up original carby or throw on the newly acquired carb to see if it runs better. Then i also found out today while the old girl was on the hoist today at work it needing new rear drums and shoes in the near future due to scoring and being worn. Thinking about doing all four wheel bearings also as i figured if im going to do the rear i might as well do the fronts. I'm really getting this old girl reliable so i can drive her for many years to come hopefully and drive her further then town k's.

Anyway will get more photos soon of some of the stuff i've been up to.. Going back to work sort've slows down progress a bit unfortunately lol.
Toyota Cressida 77,79'
Mitsubishi Starion Track Car 84'
Mitsubishi Starion Widebody 89'

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