Crankcase Pressure Testing

dannyboyau · Post by **dannyboyau** » Sun Jan 22, 2006 2:46 am

having considered this myself, i believe it is possible and looked at the FTO chassis with this in mind. you would need to enlarge the tansmission tunnel or in the FTO's case it is currently used for the exhaust. Remove the fuel tank to fit the rear diff and then fit a drop tank. Your best bet would to contact a importer that has the facilities in Japan to dismantle a VR4 and bring it in for you in parts so you could take the drive line from that and then fit it to the FTO. It wont be a direct fit but i believe with the assistance of a good boiler maker welder you could get it to fit then get it checked by an automotive engineer. If i had a big shed i would be doing something like this. You should be able to land a VR4 here in parts for around 10 grand, an evo would be a bit more, they have to strip it down and send the drive line seperate from the body.

dannyboyau · Post by **dannyboyau** » Sun Jan 22, 2006 2:48 am

good luck you want any questions answered just post

Nacho · Post by **Nacho** » Sun Jan 22, 2006 12:39 pm

Cool will let you know as soon as I get this 6A12 out of the engine bay.

Just wondering, I know you suggested I get a half cut, but is there anything in the actual engine bay I need apart from the gearbox, transmission and engine?

Does the Legnum have stronger brakes? I suppose the wiring for the Active Yaw Control and other stuff?

I know a pretty good auto electrician to help me rewire all that stuff. I will start by rewiring the battery to the boot and the fuse box to the glove box. The great thing with starting off with an empty shell is being able to relocate things like aircon and power steering with no problems. Maybe the brake servo as well?

Coz I got a compressor and gun, it would also be give the engine bay a nice coat of paint and possibly upgrade all of the wires, or at least give them a clean or a paint.

dannyboyau · Post by **dannyboyau** » Sun Jan 22, 2006 1:33 pm

VR4 has slightly bigger brakes and there is quite a few switches and bits and pieces that could come in handy. Wiring harness.
you need to have matching front and rear diff if the ratios are differant then the wheels will try to make the gears turn at differant speeds or vice versa. This is most important and it helps to have the chassis number on file for future ordering of parts

Nacho · Post by **Nacho** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 8:47 am

I see. I've been in touch with the NZ Mitsubishi Motor Club and there's a guy currently undertaking a 4WD conversion to a lancer and posted up a few pics. Looks really interesting!

From what they told me, the suspension is really important and from what they've found, everywhere it says the FTO has a rear 'Multilink' suspension but when you look under the car they're not.........

Fact of fiction?

It looks like they cut through the floor and added another brace in the boot.

http://forums.nzmmc.co.nz/viewtopic.php?t=40206

Can anyone vouch for what these guys are telling me?

dannyboyau · Post by **dannyboyau** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 10:01 am

it is a huge Job and when they realise that you don't know much about cars they could stich you up.

Good luck.

It can be done, From what i have picked up off the net the EVO 3 is the closest.

The only people who will really be good for you to talk to are the ones that have done it. When you find them let me know i might need there knowledge in the future.

GPXXX · Post by **GPXXX** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 2:12 pm

i really gotta ask though, how much time, research and consideration have you given towards this project?

more importantly, how were your estimates of associated costs and amount of labour calculated? (ie: written quotes or guesswork? experience or hearsay?)

for what it's worth - if it's anything you should really pay attention to, it's Danny's advice... if he says it's a 'huge job', i suggest you take his words for it (if you won't take ours). He built his own 6A13 monster and considering the amount of time it took to get him there, he would prob tell you straight up that work in itself would probably amount to nothing compared to what you wanna achieve...

dannyboyau · Post by **dannyboyau** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 7:55 pm

mikey is right

He has spent a lot time effort and money on his FTO too.

You really are looking at a very large project, this type of project is normally under taken by people in the industry who have there own workshops or are working in or around the field.

I hope you succeed, but do a lot of research first.

Nacho · Post by **Nacho** » Tue Jan 24, 2006 7:42 am

I perfectly understand what you guys are saying and it does make a lot of sense.

The main factor involved in this thing is time and $$$ and as I have said in a previous post, I have dedicated the next 3-5 years working on this project where there's no deadlines. You may think that I'm pretty irresponsible just going out there and spending all this money in one big hit but that's definitely not the case. Coz I work 2 jobs, the other job just leaves me with quite a bit of leftover money that I just put aside to buy stuff I want in the future. For example, I really wanted another FTO that was cheap that I could strip down for this project, one came up for sale and SOLD. I haven't spent any more money on that FTO for the last 3 months I've had it. All I've been doing is getting quotes and info on what I need to do to the chassis which is the next stage. The fact is that I need relevant information on what is going in here, and here, and here before I take it down to the panel beater for the automotive engineer to look over. Don't get me wrong you guys have been really helpful with all your info because I have been doing as much research as I can on the net, but you guys would know that there really are a lot of things you can't find on the net, which is why I'm asking you guys questions in the first place.

If you're interested I have planned every single stage of what I'm going to do over the next 5 years and yes I have some hard figures from Magazines and quotes from suppliers/workshops. I can even tell you where I got the figure from if you like.

I'm trying to create a website at the moment where I can document all the work I've done and work I'll be doing including the photos. So far I have been logging every hour I've done and exactly what I've done. As you can imagine all I'm working on at the moment is taking the engine and transmission out, which is definitely a great learning experience. Who better to teach me than my dad and my gf's dad who just happen to be mechanics.

I actually contacted Lee (SL Motorsports) from Melbourne and got a quote of how much it costs to remove the engine from the car and he quoted $300. I KNOW this is a VERY reasonable cost but the fact is I want to LEARN how to do it as suppose to pay someone to do it. So if I can successfully complete at least the AWD conversion part of my project, then you guys (Mikey and Danny) will definitely benefit as well coz I will have every single price of everything that was done to make it happen, and exactly what work was done to make it happen.

dannyboyau · Post by **dannyboyau** » Tue Jan 24, 2006 11:39 am

i am happy to hear that you got a couple of mechanics involved that are family members, I will be very happy to answer any questions i can. You have answered all the things i pointed out and I can see you are serious and doing your best to do this properly

Could you make any questions direct and to the point as it will be much easier to answer them.

Cheers

Nacho · Post by **Nacho** » Tue Jan 24, 2006 1:30 pm

Cool.....

OK the main thing at this point in time is sourcing the parts I need for the AWD conversion.

OK my knowledge is based on engines and how to get more power output of of them. My knowledge however lacks in the transmission department.

I know this will sound really stupid but what is the difference between a drivetrain and a running gear?

According to Steve (smorison) the EVO IV drivetrain slots straight into our chassis. If that is the case then I would happy to buy that.

I would much prefer the Legnum drivetrain with Active Yaw Control but I can't get any info on all this info I'm being told about trailing arms and all that sort of stuff. It might as well be gibberish to me.

So the main question is, which drivetrain should I buy to make this AWD conversion happen, and will it mate with the 6A13?

Please bear in mind that I don't know anything about driveshafts and whether they can be altered or not.

GPXXX · Post by **GPXXX** » Tue Jan 24, 2006 11:53 pm

make it easy for yourself - if you want a 6A13 engine, run the AWD running gear from the Galant/Legnum - at least you can be assured that the 4WD gearbox and transfer case were made to suit the engine from the factory (although there may be chassis / subframe modifications required for the trans tunnel / diff / tailshaft etc)

again, GOOD LUCK.

dannyboyau · Post by **dannyboyau** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 1:05 am

It is difficult to say which drive train/running gear will fit best. Either way i think you will need to make changes to the subframe/chassis.

If you i going with the 6A13 because you can get the motor cheap, think again. You should get all the running gear in one hit from the same car.

Drive train and running gear are essentially the same thing. There are some differances on 2wd cars, but on 4wd they are essentially the same.

Drive train = engine to drive wheels and everything in between.
Any part that is put under load to move the car is part of the drive train

Running gear = drive train + non drive wheels, suspension, brakes, steering etc
Any part that moves whilst the car is in motion

Nacho · Post by **Nacho** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 8:08 am

That's what I thought it meant but I wasn't sure. The reason I chose the 6A13 is just like yourself I'm guessing.........power output.

I just found something really interesting though....check this out

http://www.v6lancer.com/main.htm

Look at the AWD conversion page...........would these be the steps to follow to do the conversion?

Can't believe the size of the engine he got in there!

dannyboyau · Post by **dannyboyau** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 10:20 am

Nervis gets on here sometimes

he would be good to talk to

he started his project around the same time as me.

he used the 6A12 tt out of the Galant

Nacho · Post by **Nacho** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 4:58 pm

Appears that he's done all the welding himself too. I guess my main problem if I were to do it is sourcing a new floor like he's done.

Vicroads would hang me if I did all the welding myself.......

Actually my other FTO doesn't have a radiator! How did you go fabricating those aluminium radiators? How much was it?

dannyboyau · Post by **dannyboyau** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 9:38 pm

got it from PWR in Queensland, They cost about 800,

dannyboyau · Post by **dannyboyau** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 9:43 pm

Was looking at a 94 VR4 galant half cut today with the 6A12 twin turbo manual with the rear diff, suspension,. It had all the running gear, he wants 3 grand for it. I can put you in touch with him if you want. I asked about a 6A13 VR4 and he said that would be a lot more expensive. Problem is if you special order it in the price goes up.

Nacho · Post by **Nacho** » Fri Jan 27, 2006 11:49 am

Thanks for looking for me Danny! I've just heard the best news today! I found a half cut 6A13 including the running gear, drivetrain, diffs etc. and putting a deposit on it today. I have to call the guy back and check if it has AYC but I'm not really fussed about it.

He's selling for $3000 which I think is a bargain!

Can you give me the details for the aluminium radiator? I would like to buy one coz I need one.