MY 72 GA G-LANT BUILD :)

[72GalantGirl]

So the restoration of my 72 Ga Galant begins!!!

This little thing has been sitting around the corner from the house that I now live in for about 11years.... My partner being the car fanatic he is and into hillclimbs, motorkharnas and bitumen sprints here has been staring at this car sitting up the side of the older couples house everytime we drive past (It's a good thing he doesn't have a license because that street is PACKED always!!! Anyway he had dreams of it being a 2 door coupe and having myself use it for these race events against his R33 Skyline... I think he was afraid to lose to a girl!!

He went around the corner for a 'walk' one afternoon but I knew better... So he comes home with a grin on his face and takes off with the ute and car trailer plus our housemate and he arrives back home with this!!



It has been raining here in 'Sunny" North Queensland for weeks now and as they are pulling into the driveway it starts again... So I only get a small look see at my new toy even though I heard it load onto the trailer around the corner thanks to the busted diff :l But I don't even know what I am dealing with, All I know is it was driven into the yard on CRC its a 70's something Galant that has been sitting up the side of this person's house for ages in the weather and everytime he mowed it was getting beaten by the mower :O

Upon closer inspection 5 days after it arrived (free of charge mind you, but the parts are gonna cost me from him ) I discovered I am dealing with a 72 Ga Galant with a 4G31 Engine standard pretty much everything except he has had the engine rebuilt and bored to make it a 1600 which made me quite happy even if it had been done quite a while ago
Child was at daycare so we decided to get our hands a little dirty with the extra cash we had and see if we could sort this starting problem!


We went down to our favourite shop CHEAPA AUTO SPARES and aquired a fuel pump off the shelf , engine flush, oil, spark plugs and various filters to begin with.
Arriving home we quickly jumped in and decided that a bit of premium fuel to bring the octane up in the tank so off we went again. So back home for the last time that day and got stuck in!!! New fuel filter even though the other one looked ok wanted to be safe rather than sorry.. and new pump attached, engine flush and new oil and filters and air filter and she fired up with the help of carby cleaner But now she starts after a little warm up not a problem!!



With another sunny day and nothing much else to do we decide to start looking her over to get a better look at how much work we have ahead and what she needs! WE GOT STUCK IN!!!!!!! A full days worth of work got the rear into pieces and front right-hand guard off for inspection, grill and bumpers in pieces....

[gaPhil]

Welcome to the site!

Looks like you've got a bit of work ahead of you, but it's nice to see another GA out there.

Are you keeping the Saturn motor in it? You might struggle against the skyline lol

[75wagon]

Welcome,
I saw you joined up a little while ago, and was wondering when you were going to post up pics of what you had. Looks like I don't have to wait any longer?

So what are the plans for it, are you going to race it?
Did you get all 4 mag wheels with it?

I imagine you're respraying it by your pics, are you going Blue again?

Dave...

[72GalantGirl]

Thanks for the comments...
Yeah I have been trying to figure out how to post pictures :l ha ha

Yes keeping the old engine as it is in great condition despite sitting for ages, and its going to be registered *fingers crossed*. When this one dies thinking about putting a CA18T into it with a bigger diff will help me keep up with him on the track ;) Lots of work ahead but gives me something to do while the child is at day care 2 days a week and the partner is at work and I dont have a time frame unless you call finishing when its done...
Yes all 4 mags are there but not sure I like them as the brakes would get rather hot I would imagine with the mags being solid. Thank god my partner is into skylines otherwise it wouldn't have moved, thanks to him we had 4 14inch steelies just sitting up the side of the house off his old R31. I know I will blow him away on the road because the 33 isn't allowed any more and is his new race car since he sold the 31 and they burnt it, long story cut short they were bored!! lol
Yes she is in definitely in need of tonnes of body work but the plan is to strip everything out and back to original primer for now until I have enough cash to get it resprayed... Going for a colour I have seen on a few fords but can't find the paint code so looks like I am going to the dealership this week but it's a Teal colour just thought it would look so nice. I want to keep it kinda original but bring a bit of new into it.
My partner is a car audio technician so of course its going to have a nice custom sound system. Before it goes back together after being spray as it will be just a shell going to the paint shop up the road from home will be sound deadening the whole thing. Enignes coming out and apart but not fully so I can clean it really well and maybe a few splashes of paint..

The seat need to be reupholstered and probably going for a non cloth so its easy to clean floor will be rubber as well. But going to pipe the edging of the seat with flex neon cord that hopefully will be connected to the sound system but we will see if I can first get the colour I want and secondly wire everything up.
Link if for the neon cord.
http://www.aerpro.com.au/list.php?pcode ... ++&cat_sno

Better get off the computer lots of work to do more sanding, sanding and some more sanding!! Will it ever end?!?!?!

[tandanus]

Yay - Another GA
So cool.
T.

[DVSGAL]

YAY Another girl!! welcome
That GA looks like it needs a lot of TLC!
Can't wait to see it finished!!!

[72GalantGirl]

Haha thanks DVSGRL!! I am usually the only one at home with a house full of revheads including my 8month old.. lol

Thanks Tandanus I didn't even know they existed until I got this one and now I really like it.. Had a 2001 lancer and loved it to bits then a triton and now my falcon (only coz of family) lol. But she will get treated right!

[74GalantGB]

She'll come up great, I reckon. Galants always do!

So what are the plans for it? ... Daily car, or race car?

Welcome to the site... great to have another girl =D Lol. I think this makes 4, or 5 of us now? =)

[72GalantGirl]

Yeah she will eventually... Another full day of sanding and body work tomorrow while the little one is at daycare
Plans are it will be a show and shine and a few of the odd bitumen sprints, and motorkharnas
Thanks for the welcome!! Always good to know there are other chicks out there too

[72GalantGirl]

After a few weeks worth of a break and taking some stress out on the burnout pad (taking out best female ) Work has resumed on the Galant temporarily... Finally got some more sanding pads and a sandblaster to play with!!
Got the boot completely stripped prepped it and then left for the burnout comp completely forgetting about it. Started work on it friday only to find my boot leaning up the front resting on the stack of tyres rusting away :O
So metal prep and sand paper cleaned it up washed it dried and primer filler has now been layed to protect it.. Thank God!! Now I just need to take the doors off strip them and primer and repeat until the whole car is done minus the roof. That's getting a sunroof since there is already a big hole in it may as well make it bigger
Hopefully saturday I should be getting a few galants (money pending) and that should mean a new diff xD
Which also means apart from stripping the interior down for primer and figuring out the integra bucket seat mounts for it I say its gonna be done by the end of this year. *fingers crossed*
Had some recent pics but can't find them and it's getting late.
Looks like I won't be working on it for a little while though as the work on the replacement patio and garage are going to start next week and my falcon is getting a new bodykit since a bimbo reversed into me and smashed the whole thing (panel beaters reckon they can't match the paint code which is only metallic black :l) So painting her up as well. God I love having a panel beater for a partner
Will load some pictures when I take some more coz it seems they have vanished :O

[72GalantGirl]

I gave up looking for my other pics and took some new ones. Only got a little done coz we decided to build a 'shed' where she usually sits so the rain doesn't get in anymore :O

But here are some piccies

Sealing off some of the rust just incase I need to repair this bonnet... :l


my boot with the 1st coat of primer filler and not sanded


bit of overspray on the roof but haven't even started on the roof. Every panel is going back to bare metal getting a coat of primer filler and next is filler for the dimples
One thing I want to know is.. has anyone removed the weatherstrip/guttering ?? Trying to get a replacement but seems impossible. This one is rusted out :l


lots of work ahead of me but lots done already


bits and pieces sitting around the car wanting to jump in... But had to move everything around to make way for the 'shed'

Will post another pic as soo as I have finished. I am creating custom led taillights. Using the metal surround and lenses to keep the original look!

[72GalantGirl]

Just a small up-date... Decided I wanted to get rid of the rubbish from the boot and found some water in the top of the fuel tank so out she had to come as well (full tank of premium too mind you) :O But one thing I am noticing is the amount of rust... Honestly apart from the obvious surface rust and a few holes here and there the chassis and interior of the body seems really great. Only thing I am not sure of is the silastic in the seams of the boot, going to inspect more over the weekend and get my step dad to come do some of his awesome welding on the rear seams and hopefully the boot seams too
But Decided to buy a cheapy turbo au falcon to tear apart for my car so hopefully in the next few months maybe 6months she will be on the road *fingers crossed*


I can see the concrete

I need a new console internal.. Anyone know anything about these?!?!?! And don't ask I have no idea why it is green (my nice shiny metal polished vents are the same :l)

[Nat881]

Good project there! Keep it up and keep us posted! Goodluck!

[72GalantGirl]

thanks nat long and slow process but it will get there. Maybe by the time my 9months old can get his license

[75wagon]

Do yourself a favour and save yourself a lot of time and money. See if gaPhil still has his orange GA for sale and buy it. I have seen this car with my own eyes, rust is near non existent, and all of the parts are in good condition. Build one car form the 2 (but I don't think you will be using much from this blue one by the look of it).
The other positive of gaPhil's orange GA is that it is auto. So the chassis mounting points are in the right place for a 5 speed to bolt straight in. All you will need is to convert to a manual set up, bolt in the pedal set, and fit a pipe (for want of a better word) to the firewall for the clutch cable. Then move the wiring for the reverse lights from the shifter wiring to the reverse light switch on the manual gearbox. The only thing left to do then would be to line up the shifter hole, and that would depend on what gearbox you are using.

Dave...

[72GalantGirl]

75wagon I love your idea and I have seen that car. My only problem is being in north qld. :l And phil is using most of the parts for his blue one. Like the doors, bonnet and guards. I could get it shipped for a few hundred but needs to be complete othwise pointless. This ga is in pretty goon nice. Inside is mint except the bottoms of the front seats (good use). Mechanically other than a diff it is a1.
Picking up a gd wagon on friday that I am going to pillage since no one wants it
Thats why I am taking so much effort and I dont mind doing body work coz it gives me something to do while I am home alone and helps me to learn

[75wagon]

Picking up a gd wagon on friday that I am going to pillage since no one wants it

Just so you know, All wagons are the same bodies from the windscreen back (not including the dash obviously). And the wagons are based on GA/GB's. so the doors should fit from the GD wagon on your GA.

75wagon I love your idea and I have seen that car. My only problem is being in north qld.

I knew you were in Qld but I didn't realise it was Nth Qld.

I dont mind doing body work coz it gives me something to do while I am home alone and helps me to learn

All good. That's how I learnt, from getting in and having a go.

I actually started doing up my push bikes, and progressed from there. I used to spray paint them as well.

Dave...

[72GalantGirl]

so do you think the bonnet and front guards will fit from the GD???

Yeah pain in the butt being in NTH QLD not alot up here. And is yours a gd? Or do you happen to have a pic of a gd dash?? Thinking about swapping the dash out of mine since its stuffed

[75wagon]

so do you think the bonnet and front guards will fit from the GD???

I can confirm 100% that they wont fit. Sorry.

Yeah pain in the butt being in NTH QLD not alot up here.

Yeah Bummer

And is yours a gd?

GC but basically the same.

Or do you happen to have a pic of a gd dash?? Thinking about swapping the dash out of mine since its stuffed

Here is the GC/D dash out of my wagon.


And best of all about GC/D dashes, is you can get factory tachos for them. Here is my how to fit one thread.
http://www.sigma-galant.com/viewtopic.php?f=69&t=3280

Dave...

[72GalantGirl]

awesome. yeah mine is completely busted. Might be a bit of a headache to put a non ga one in but I like the new ones. If not a custom one will have to be done and I dont have time at the moment with my soon to be turbo falcon

[davetrees]

Putting a GC/GD dash into a GA/GB is near impossible ... would require major metal surgery.

The glovebox inners have a tendency to do that ..... top edge fails due to sun exposure. I had a spare one in reasonable nick, but sold it to someone on here about 3 weeks ago !

If you now someone with fibreglassing skills, I reckon it wouldn't be hard to make a replica one ?

[75wagon]

Putting a GC/GD dash into a GA/GB is near impossible ... would require major metal surgery.

Wouldn't it just require removing the dashboard support panel and transplanting it? The obviously adapting the wiring?

Dave...

[7thsin]

looking at all the rust , makes me think this car might of went 4 a swim in a passed life or something ,
big rebuild good luck coming alone good so far

[astronturbo77]

no panels from a GD will fit a GA/GB, everything is different. IF its a GD wagon then the doors MIGHT fit. the bonnets, rear doors bootlids, bumpers, guards, interior is completely different. dont forget GC/GD is the update model from the GA/GB series.

[davetrees]

Wouldn't it just require removing the dashboard support panel and transplanting it? The obviously adapting the wiring?

In theory I suppose ..... but that's a fair bit of cutting & welding. It's not like they are a bolt-in thing. I looked at it some years ago (with a GB & a GD side by side, with dashes removed) and it took me all of 5 minutes to decide it was WAY to much work ! I'm sure it's do-able if you were keen & had the skills, but it's a lot of effort for not much gain.

(The wiring side would be easy ... the looms are pretty basic.)

[GB_BB4C]

I know its not a GC/D dash but will give you some idea. I removed the dash from the GB and installed one from an LC Lancer.

[72GalantGirl]

GB_BB4C that is awesome. Thats exactly what I was thinking just change the support panels out.

[gaz914]

Missed this before - GL with the project.

I had a 1300 GA rally car a loooong time ago.
The diff in that was a 4.1 ratio - which was really cool with the 1600 in it - until one-to-many clutch dumps broke it.

If it still has the 4.1 in it, it will go really well, just don't 'abuse' it

cheers
Gaz

[davetrees]

I think the very early (ie. A51 rather than GA) diff was actually a 4.3 rather than 4.1 ?

In any case, they are by all accounts a seriously weak diff .... much smaller & less robust than the 3.9 (which is why no-one even bothers trying to find one to put in rally cars !)

[72GalantGirl]

Would love to keepn the standard diff but it is seriously busted. :l So picking up my GD wagon on friday and stealing the diff out of that!!! And a GC sedan next week or after tax time depending on if he can keep it at his property so my landloard doesn't freak Gotta focus on my falcon at the moment brakes and suspension to be fixed but after that galant gets some more lovin