1998 Evolution V GSR: Classroom

[Solar]

Wow, just wow ! That head looks gorgeous 8000 rpms ! awesome just awesome.

Is that liverwurst ? ? ?

[Tim_M]

Brian: not sure what is in the can - the shop owner spoke highly of it and was special. Admittedly, 8000 is my self imposed redline, the turbo will give up prior to that. We will see how this works out before making any furthure changes - likely we will be closer to 350 HP from more research.

[Solar]

Geez, 350hp from a 4 pot, if you said that back in the day, when that number for big block V8s was respectable, you would get laughed at. Are you going to get it bench dynoed when it’s done ?

[Tim_M]

Brian: Our goal is 400 though! We will chassis dyno the car to ensure the tuning piece. Will be a nice comparison to our Chevy V8 application as it will be the same place.

Not much this weekend as school work and Scouts dominates...

Final cleaning pass of the seats:



Even on stands, it looks good in our opinion.

[Native]

Nice progress!
What are you using to clean the upholstery?

[Tim_M]

Steve: Thanks! Both are enjoying the project...keeps us busy with something other than showing disappointment with the host countries restrictions. Carpet cleaner - unfortunately, we tossed the cans before your question - but I've got another container at work (doing our own spring cleaning!) and will pass. I was told the Resolve is better, but this one being a bit milder was a bit safer to use on the 23 year old upholstery...and the only other choice with Army post shopping.

In preparation for another visit to the machine shop to verify our bearing clearances we prep'd the rods and block with installed bearings and torqued fasteners.

Had to rig up a makeshift vise for the rod clamping - cardboard and large c-clamp worked. The new ARP 2000 bolts required 25 foot/pound setting...plus 42 degrees angle. Did that three times with ARP assembly lube...:



The 'most-expensive-tool-in-the-garage' made it piece of cake - worked on keeping that pulling arm straight and using the entire body to make the number.

Next was the block...4G63 employs a seemingly robust 'girdle' main cap design - popped the OEM Mitsubishi standard bearings in place - careful not to shed the backing as they snap into place:



And the block:



Lubing the new OEM main bolt hardware with engine oil as per the manual:





And going thru the motions of 25 NM setting plus 90 degrees:



And putting her (light) weight to use...but I had to take over when going for the 90 degree twist - fun to watch her try though!



Loaded and back to the machine shop...to find out that our mains are 0.00276 in and rods are 0.0035...both are too much! (0.0020-0.0025 is preferred). So another set of full bearings are required and associated 2-3 week delay - but at least we confirmed our concern!

[Solar]

Wow, just wow

[Native]

25 foot/pound setting...plus 42 degrees angle

mains are 0.00276 in and rods are 0.0035...both are too much! (0.0020-0.0025 is preferred)

The precision...oh, my head...

[Tim_M]

Agreed seems a bit excessive, but it is the fun of engines.

Some new inner liner hardware...because it was inexpensive and it was crusty...:



And things are getting serious...



A generous German friend was dropped of one of the last logistics issues. Glad we didn't have to purchase one!

[Tim_M]

Additional assistance on the Evo specific forums pointed us to ACL who makes an oversize rod bearing that is just right for our application! Bringing the spec to 0.0025 for the rods and with the larger OEM size on the mains - 0.0023. Orders placed...another 2 weeks.

We did take advantage of the warmest day we have had (supposed to hit 65!)...headed to the car wash to blast the original carpeting with Simple Green, car wash soap, and a bit of pressure:



Emptied the bottle and soaked it a bit with light soap:



Then struggled a bit to rinse so the Jazz came to the rescue with the sloped front end/windshield...made for the perfect angled draining platform. The covering gets quite heavy when fully ladden of moisture!

Home with 10 hours of drying in the sun/breeze:



Success!:

[Solar]

Wow, that’s some serious sound deadening on the carpet, looks like it’s in good shape too, the “hose spraying the fitted carpet” pic made me laugh, been there.

[Tim_M]

Brian: I think that is the only sound deadener in the car! It is known to be a tingy/lightweight model...it is in good shape, luckily. Nothing compares to a BMW though. For our M3 project it was a similar activity, but the carpet had this massively thick foam molded to it. It weight like 75 pounds! Apparently, I was the cause of the great fish kill as after cleaning the heck out of the BMW carpet and foam underside...it was taking forever to dry. So I elected to bring it inside with the dehumidified air and put a fan or two on it. Well the 55 gallon fish tank invicinity experienced 2/3 of the fish floating after a couple of days. Luckily they were worth about $.23, but a sad result...



Speaking of car parts in the house...we got a call yesterday from our landlord for a visit. Hmm. I never trust a fellow that has car parts in the house...so we made a hasty install of our Evo interior to the garage. Looks surprisingly good and smells none!

Final vacuum:



New floor mats:

[Tim_M]

The car is famous! Just got my issue in the mail...bought 4 from GRM as our subscription never arrived... Pretty awesome!



Close up:



Made a little lady smile in disbelief! She mentioned autographs will cost $5. j/k...

Andrew - thanks for the tip!

[Native]

That's really cool. I saw that...didn't say anything - figured you knew! Oops.

[Tim_M]

Steve: I see how it is...don't show the carpet cleaner...no magazine for you! Interesting, this was the first issue of GRM that I did not get in recent memory. USPS finally failed me! Pretty rare actually for how it gets to Stuttgart...

Nonetheless - finally got the can home - just for kicks:

[Native]

Thanks, Tim! Just the carpet, or use that stuff on the seats, too?

[Solar]

You can use that 409 Carpet cleaner on just about any type fabric, so I'd say it would work fine for seats too, unless they're leather I've had good luck with Resolve Fabric Cleaner you can get at Publix. Mothers makes a car seat cleaner, I know it smells nice but not sure how well it works.

[Tim_M]

We used only on the seats. We used Simple Green on the carpet at the car wash...

We'd heard Resolve is stronger/more effective, but was concerned over 23 year old seat/color. Additionally, we only had 2 choices at the time. It took out several stains and didn't seem to damage anything.

Just spray it on, let the foam disappear, throw some terry cloths over it, and Tim gets to sit on it for 30 minutes...let dry a day and repeat. Think we did the front seats 4 times before the 'extracted' gunk lessened.

[Tim_M]

Finally got a bit of time on the car this weekend...but first few part arrivals:

Fresh dipstick:



Evo 9 oil filter adapter - because it is clean and will support larger oil cooler lines (compared to the V which used one size smaller):



Also, because we can temporarily eliminate the oil cooler for initial start/break in...an oil related failure on this engine will foul the pan/cooler again (we don't trust our engine building skills that much!):



A battery relocation kit - will swap the engine air intake with the battery position front to back - common for Evos as the battery will be behind the air cleaner allowing wind blast to feed the air filter instead of the battery:



Finally the engine bearings arrived (rod and mains). Will give us much closer to optimum for long life:



Some rear mud guard replacement...let her figure it out:



And install - easy with those guns! Bolts into plastic are a bit finicky:



Love those calipers...

We are ready to paint the block...just need 60 degree temps to get there...then clean and assemble! Easier said that done...

[Native]