AlchEm1st's Evo IV Coupe conversion project
Is there any reason you are going to swap the floor out, you really don't need to at all. I just did the conversion on a Mirage 3dr hatchback which is much shorter, but with the coupe it's only the front edge of the boot floor that needs to be modded, change the shock towers over and done.
When i was researching this, everyone was changing the whole floor pan over, but when i had both cars apart and next to each other, i could see there is no reason at all to do that, which saved so much time, and hassle.
When i was researching this, everyone was changing the whole floor pan over, but when i had both cars apart and next to each other, i could see there is no reason at all to do that, which saved so much time, and hassle.
A bit more progress! Got the windows chipboarded to keep them safe from welding slag. Brakes are undone now and I got the rear suspension almost completely off!
Only got the two bolts that the trailing arms pivot on left, but they're stuck good! We have a 3/4in drive impact at the shop that's used for removing the lug nuts on
school buses that I've had to use before on rear suspension bolts and Dad's gonna bring it home for us to remove these. Also I finished removing the ebrake and cut the
majority of the rear subframe off! No going back now! This car will either be awd or never run again mwahaha...ha....ha......hmm...
Well anyway, here's a pic!
Give's you an idea of the scale of the rust I'll have to deal with! Thankfully the front is undercoated and that really helped to protect it. Still has some rust I'll have to
deal with, but I think it'll be fine until this car gets stripped, acid dipped, fully caged (tying in the strut towers), and finally painted again after all the engine, drivetrain,
and bodywork is done.
Only got the two bolts that the trailing arms pivot on left, but they're stuck good! We have a 3/4in drive impact at the shop that's used for removing the lug nuts on
school buses that I've had to use before on rear suspension bolts and Dad's gonna bring it home for us to remove these. Also I finished removing the ebrake and cut the
majority of the rear subframe off! No going back now! This car will either be awd or never run again mwahaha...ha....ha......hmm...
Well anyway, here's a pic!
Give's you an idea of the scale of the rust I'll have to deal with! Thankfully the front is undercoated and that really helped to protect it. Still has some rust I'll have to
deal with, but I think it'll be fine until this car gets stripped, acid dipped, fully caged (tying in the strut towers), and finally painted again after all the engine, drivetrain,
and bodywork is done.
Bu the time your done running all that extra crap you may as well just have gotten a lithium battery mounted in the stock location.
Nice! Looks good! More or less the same spot I plan to mount mine. (Maybe on the other side depending) NHRA rules require the battery to be in a sealed box vented to atmosphere
with an externally mounted cutoff switch or they won't let you run. (even in street legals drags) Summit has plenty of boxes to pick from; so that's easy but finding a good place to mount
the cutoff switch is gonna be difficult. I was hoping a sealed Optima would eliminate the requirement for a box; but it doesn't. I would love to mount the switch on the trunk lid adjacent to
the keyhole; but that would mean running a whole lot of extra wiring. (weight...) Well, Ill figure it out. Haven't even got the floor done yet so one thing at a time!
with an externally mounted cutoff switch or they won't let you run. (even in street legals drags) Summit has plenty of boxes to pick from; so that's easy but finding a good place to mount
the cutoff switch is gonna be difficult. I was hoping a sealed Optima would eliminate the requirement for a box; but it doesn't. I would love to mount the switch on the trunk lid adjacent to
the keyhole; but that would mean running a whole lot of extra wiring. (weight...) Well, Ill figure it out. Haven't even got the floor done yet so one thing at a time!
Nah, I can't do the stock location as that's where the intake will run once the 4G63 is in place. I have a PC680 mounted in a custom tray in the bay atm. I like it, but a small battery just isn't enough as it dies if not driven for more than two or three days. The alarm sucks it dry. I figure mounting an Optima in the trunk is my best option for freeing up room in the bay and it will help weight distribution. Also, with my custom fuel system, having the battery right there means I won't have to run dedicated wiring all the way back from the bay for the fuel pumps. Pretty much have to run wires either way.
Figure I may as well go all out the first time so I don't have to redo it again down the road.
Some pics of the current progress. I think tomorrow I'll be able to get a few hours in on it instead of 30min to an hour a day
like I have been through the week. It'd be incredible if I could get it completely removed tomorrow; but that's pushing it lol.
like I have been through the week. It'd be incredible if I could get it completely removed tomorrow; but that's pushing it lol.
Yeah, a bit LOL. That sort of rust is pretty common if the car was daily driven here and wasn't washed enough. The salt they put down on the roads sandblasts the bottom of the car and once the metal is exposed it causes corrosion to form. Not washing the car lets the salt stick to the underside of the car and rot it out like it did on this car. Not really any way to prevent it, but you can slow it down. This car won't see the road during the Winter any more so I don't have to worry about it on the new floor. On my WRX, I got it undercoated and rust treated in the doors and rocker panels so it should stay nice for a long time. This video is from when I was still daily driving the car.
Welp, managed to get one side pretty much done today and got started on the other side. You can see there is some rust repair required; but it's pretty minor really. Just a single layer of sheetmetal near the edge
where the welds will be; so it'll be easy to fix. It's becoming more and more clear why I had water in the passenger side footwell LOL. There's a rust hole all the way through the body in the passenger side wheel well!
(You can see it in the last pic) I'll do some more work on the drivers side tomorrow afternoon probably.
where the welds will be; so it'll be easy to fix. It's becoming more and more clear why I had water in the passenger side footwell LOL. There's a rust hole all the way through the body in the passenger side wheel well!
(You can see it in the last pic) I'll do some more work on the drivers side tomorrow afternoon probably.
