finally got a Sigma

[89mitsuman]

After looking for a sigma for nearly 3 years; I finally found one last week.
Spotted this on a trailer at a servo; on its way to the wreckers. Spoke to the owner and $50 later, I owned a sigma; delivered to my door.

This is the old beast
1986 GN Wagon
141,000 KMs
2.6L 5spd
In Manilla Cream






its completely granny spec; right down to the stickers, radio, roof racks, spoiler and 14" hubcaps.




As the story goes; it was parked up 12 years ago with a blown head gasket.
Obviously; being parked up hasnt done it many favors; but now, armed with a car that I've always wanted; i get the chance to do one of the builds I've wanted to do for a long time: build a sleeper.

As we all know; when it comes to sigmas, the go to engine swaps are either; small block ford, V6 commy, Astron EFI (or turbo) and 4g63.

I've decided to try something just a little bit different....
Converting to a TURBO DIESEL WAGON!
Using a Mitsi 4d56t 2.5 diesel from a Pajero.
This whole theory is based on the fact that old Pajero's used wide block 2.6 engines as well as 2.5 diesels.
When I previously did the same swap in my old petrol Paj, I realised that the petrol and diesels shared the same engine mounts, clutch dimensions, sump gaskets and bellhousing pattern. This gave me the idea to whack a dirty turbo diesel into a sigma to replace a worn out 2.6.

Didnt waste any time ripping the old astron out.




And in with the dummy engine (spare cracked block) for a test fit.




And,as suspected, its a direct fit.
I will need to swap to the petrol (shallow) sump and modify the diesel oil pickup tube; as the deeper pan fouls on the steering components.

obviously, being a mitsi diesel, this wont really be a powerhouse; but with roughly the same power and a bit more torque than a 2.6L.
The real win is in the smooth power delivery of the diesel; as opposed to the hopeless carby which usually suffers from infinitely variable tuning; copious vacuum leaks; and a flat spot between idle and the redline

Of course; the obvious reason for building something like this, is to watch people reaction as the see nanna's old sigma wagon rolling coal at the traffic lights; sounding like a mack truck.

I will endeavour to keep this thread up to date as more progress occurs.

Feels great to finally be part of the sigma crowd. I look forward to any comments or questions about this setup.
cheers

[89mitsuman]

Test fitted all the accessories and pulleys.
alt fits fine on the opposite side
starter fits ok

Only issue is Harmonic balancer.
Balancer itself is 7 diameter compared to 6 inch petrol one.
this doesnt leave a whole lot of clearance against the front swaybar.




Anyone got any ideas as to maybe a skinnier swaybar, modified mounts, or similar.

Using the petrol pulley is out of the question as the offset is different as is the weight, which would no doubt lead to balance issues and damaged front seals.


Also chasing ideas on a single DIN fascia to try and avoid butchering the original stereo housing.


Cheers

[bigfoot]

Have you got room to put 10mm spacers under swaybar mounts? Or even a plate under the engine mounts

[leoca64]

interesting conversion.
got your fascia yet?

[89mitsuman]

Finally some more progress on the old bus.

Used an old MH-MJ triton oil pickup (sump faces the right way) and had the neck shortened to match the height of the petrol sigma pickup. Then just welded up some wings for the pickup to mount it to the block.





Had to notch the crossmember in the sump just a tad to clear the pickup.



Also welded in a -8 AN bung for the oil drain off the vacuum pump. Then just bought a speedflow -8 female to barb fitting from the local Autobarn to make the oil hose fit.





For anyone else attempting this: to avoid all the welding and mods: the sump and oil pickup from a 2wd L200 express ute (MA-MD) with the 4d55 (2.3 diesel) will fit perfectly, with all the mountings and pickup height correct, as well as already having a pipe for the vacuum pump drain.
Unfortunately, here in QLD, the chances of finding a diesel l200 at the wreckers is nearly impossible.

[dodgeychallanger]

Just had a custom sway bar, (GJ Scorpion), built by Whiteline to clear an engine transplant, the center section 360mm was moved forward by 100mm also increased the diameter in size. Rest of bar shape stays the same.

Check their website for custom built bars, they list Sigmas.

[Shifta]

Nice, very cool build!

[barana]

Looking very very exciting here. Now if you were chasing some power....

From wiki
Intercooled Turbo (3rd Generation DI-D with variable geometry turbo)Edit

With manual transmission

Power - 131 kW (178 PS) at 4,000 rpm
Torque - 400 N⋅m (295 lb⋅ft) at 2,000 rpm
Engine type - Inline 4-cylinder
Fuel system - 2nd Generation Common Rail Direct Injection (CRDi)
Compression ratio - 16.5:1[19]

With automatic transmission

Power - 131 kW (178 PS) at 4,000 rpm
Torque - 350 N⋅m (258 lb⋅ft) at 1,800 rpm
Engine type - Inline 4-cylinder
Fuel system - 2nd Generation Common Rail Direct Injection (CRDi)
Compression ratio - 16.5:1[19]
application: Mitsubishi Challenger, Mitsubishi Triton

Its tue dohc 4d56 btw

[Scorpma82]

This Is a classic build!!!! I'm loving it!!!!!

[89mitsuman]

Even more progress recently.

good motor is now in. Did a basic refresh with gaskets, seals, timing belt, water pump, glow plugs and a lick of paint.
Decided to use the earlier model non intercooled manifold to simplify the plumbing and make the bay a bit neater.


Had to modify the fuel filler neck to suit a diesel bowser nozzle.
removed the tank
replaced all the soft lines and fitted a cut down neck from a Mazda Bravo trayback ute.
It was a bit fiddly to get everything to fit in roughly the same spot, but itll work.





Also modified the original charcoal canister mount to now hold the Pajero fuel filter and primer.



Next step now that fuel is plumbed is to tackle all the vacuum lines and oil lines.

Stay tuned for further updates.

[barana]

That we will be doing!

[75wagon]

Now this is an interesting build.
I've always thought a turbo diesel in an early Commodore would be a good swap also.

[Williamalemi]

no fe here, its a 429. i looked at the internals and was rebuilt , everthing looks real nice, but the heads were off the car and without the hood scoop water got in the engine and is frozen solid. nothings broke either.