Hotwires GD Coupe

[Hotwire]

Well the car is due for delivery this weekend, so I figured I'd start a build thread.
The build will take me a good few years I would say, simply due to having a young family and building a new house at present BUT I thought it worthy of a thread none the less.
I guess my overall plan for the car will be weekend cruiser but also capable of track work so I don’t bend my daily. Would look primarily to take part in hill climbs, timed track days (time attack style events) and maybe some motorkhana.

So here is the car as it stands right now ready for dropping off to my dad's garage this Sunday:



Worst rust appears to be the driver and passenger doors which are a little more detailed here:


And there is some surface rust around the rear window and boot areas



The car comes with GH front struts, and this brake master cylinder, can anyone help identify it?


I have also purchased this vehicle to donate a number of parts & pieces:

Primarily I will be stripping:
4G32 Engine
4sp Gearbox
Dash /Tacho Gauge Set
Front & Rear Bumpers
Glove Box
Steering Wheel
Carpet
Boot Mat
Tail Lights
The rest will be sold off/scrapped.

Initial plans for the car are to get it running with the 4G32 & 4sp out of the sedan. Brakes, well I need some front callipers, so will probably look to perform the MrBishi upgrade with VT callipers and Mitsi 380 discs straight up as I can source both the VT callipers and brackets on the cheap, and so I just need to then source rotors & lines.

Once its running/driveable state, I will probably look to prep for paint myself. I won’t be doing a full bare metal respray, as I won’t have the time and I’m not looking for a show car. It will be taken back to the original coat underneath. I’ll then need to employ the help of a panel beater to fix the two doors for me, and potentially the rear guards (will see, maybe body filler if only minor when stripped back)

Once this is done, it will then be transplant time, and this is where I’m unsure. I don’t want to go down the injected path, as I really like the thought of a twin weber fed engine for simplicity and that old school noise. Should give enough poke for hill climb/motorkhana fun

[ISKA8]

this sounds and looks like a good project buds,if it looks anything like your avatar its gonna be a sexy gd coupe.good luck with all those rust repairs and with the build ...keep us posted!

[GLANT]

LOOKS LIKE A GJ SIGMA MASTER!

[kenvv]

this will be sweet when done. the donor car looks like one that i keep seeing around brighton. saw a yellow GD sedan at the mechanics next to my house today

[Hotwire]

this sounds and looks like a good project buds,if it looks anything like your avatar its gonna be a sexy gd coupe.good luck with all those rust repairs and with the build ...keep us posted!

Yeah the avatar was my first idea, and basically sticking with the same but thinking of gonig platinum centre on the wheels, not black, like this;

this will be sweet when done. the donor car looks like one that i keep seeing around brighton. saw a yellow GD sedan at the mechanics next to my house today

The car has been sitting @ flagstaff Hill for the last couple of months but is now back at Grange, so not likely the same car.

LOOKS LIKE A GJ SIGMA MASTER!

Thanks for that - so would that be suitable enough for pushing VT twin piston callipers or am I likely to need to upgrade the booster/master still?

[GC75]

^^ Miss my ole Coupe pictured above

Hope you do me proud with this new one mate!

[Hotwire]

Will do
Was the grill on your coupe painted black or is it simply in shaddow?
Thinking of painting the grill either gunmetal grey or black, rather than the faded grey it is now....

[GC75]

My grill in the pic above is painted black, ill upload original photos after.

[75wagon]

GD grills look better painted the original way IMO. 2 tone grey/silver.
http://www.sigma-galant.com/viewtopic.p ... ill#p33601

Dave...

[Hotwire]

Car is now "home" at my fathers place till my new house is built. Here are some pics of it arriving:

















First thing to sort out will be the body. The paint is rather badly crazed (crows feet) so will be taken the panels back to at least the factory coat if not bare metal. My only concern with taking it back to bare metal is I wont have the facility to prime the panels straight away. Any tips on what I can do? I dont think rattle can primer will cut the mustard as a good base....

[kenvv]

any chance the drivers seat in the donor car is untorn..... and your not wanting it

using a passenger seat on the drivers side isnt working out well for my galant.....

[A112H]

You managed to get all those pics of the car and not one of the fat prick delivering it, lol, I was sure to stay out of range
In all seriousness this is a very good shell that I am sure hotwire will make into a sweet car. There were only two things stopping me from keeping this shell and replacing mine and they are the fact that it is a GD and mine is factory auto. I actually think the shell itself is better than mine
Good luck with the build, I am sure it will all come up trumps

[kenvv]

i met a dude the other day who's old houemate used to have 3 coupes. he swears this used to be one of them. small world. one of the other ones is owned by another member here interstate now. start making some progress man!

[Hotwire]

Interestingly, my Dad had a plumber round to his place to fix an issue, and he saw the coupe sitting in dad's shed. He said he knew the previous owner (Jamie) and hoped the coupe would be back on the road soon too.

Reality is, it will be another 8-10 weeks before I even have a hope of getting it to my house to start work on it BUT when i do, i've decided I just want to get it running now... Body, well I'll have to work that out later (to some extent). I just wanna get the thing driveable, so that'll mean a few trips to U-Pull it to get some front rotors & calipers, brake lines etc, then I need to get the donor car up to my Dad's place so we can swap out the engine/gearbox/driveshaft....

I honestly think i've bitten off more than i can chew here, simply through lack of time

[kenvv]

it will be a long process. i certainly couldnt do a ground up resto. depends how clean ya want it if ya wana do the engine bay before you put he engine in. but if your planning to race it maybe thats not a priority.

[Hotwire]

OK been thinking about this...
I need to get the engine/driveline changed over in a single day (if possible) from the donor car to the coupe. Is there any SA members with plenty of experience in the 4G32 that could help me get this done? It's been about 13 years since i owned my last galant, and know it would take me far longer than this to do myself.

SO anyone have an engine crane, 1 spare (long) day for a weekend in August that has plenty of mechanical knowledge that can give me a hand? Payment will be in the form of BBQ lunch, Beers and many pats on the back. I'm looking to learn plenty while making the swap and do as much as I can with assistance to get it all done quickly and smoothly.

Cheers

[Hotwire]

Engine bay i couldn't be bothered with - its white, and not *too* bad condition. The car will be a track/cruiser not a show car, so as far as paint and body work is concerned, I only want a neat job. Paint prep will be done by me, and get a workshop to do the final paint for me. I really want it presentable, not show winning. If I make it too good, i'd be too scared to take it out on the track - which is its primary purpose for me.

[kenvv]

i know a qualified painter that does painting on the weekends in his private booth for mates etc. he does cash jobs but he wont do tonnes of prep work coz to time consuming and pain in the ass. if you prep it he would be able to quote you up for it. ive got some training for work in august that will cross over one weekend but id be happy to come down and lend a hand if ive got nothing on. maybe post up a thread about borrowing an engine stand to increase chances. my mate has one but just modified it to make a rotisserie now so no longer available.

[geezer101]

Man, I did an engine, transmission and full suspension/steering swap in two and a half hours on my wagon. Don't waste time with hoists and stuff, undo the entire front end with the drive train and struts in one piece and lift the body clear of it. It will be moving a wheel barrow afterwards. The coupe would feel like a canoe!

[A112H]

Hey hotwire, give me two weeks notice and I will chuck the toolbox in the back of the 4x4 and help out.
Give me a call.

[geezer101]

Going to put my own head on the block- I'll offer a pair of hands too if you need them.... send a pm, I'll let you know if I can help out.

[Hotwire]

Thanks for the offers guys, much appreciated.

I'll work on getting the donor car to my Dad's shed, and arranging a leave pass with the Mrs so there is minimal and get back to you all soon

[geezer101]

..I had to apply for parole too. Got some spares from my GD (front end suspen/steering) can do a deal if they're any good to you.

[A112H]

Lee, did I give you the new pair of pillar vent badge cover things? I was just hunting around the shed and can't find them

[Hotwire]

OK so August came and went, and obviously the car got nothign done on it

BUT I'm now planning early October to move the car. Will need to get the donor sedan to my dad's place (he'll tow it using his 4x4) and then i'll work on stripping interior etc. Then I would like help getting the driveline changed over.

So who would be free early october to give me a hand?
Thanks guys

[kenvv]

if im in adelaide im happy to help man. have to play it by ear. hit me a text when your closer to date

[A112H]

I heard this car was sold to a member of S-G, any idea who and if it is getting rebuilt of for spares?

[Hotwire]

It was sold to Clint / L200Works. He was going to get it road worthy after a nice new paintjob... no idea on the progress though!

[A112H]

Cool, I got a PM from him last night, progress is slow but it is under-way. He hopes to have it ready for Christmas.
How are you Lee?

[Hotwire]

The knees are a little worse off
Sold the VR4 and bought a BA XR6t - which goes for a new fmic and tune tomorrow ;)

How's the coupe? Got a set of front guards yet?