Popsi

Discussion: 

Hey oldschoolers, a very brief history on my car and then hopefully some meaningful progress 

This is my Mitsubishi Express (NZ assembled Sigma??) that I've owned for about a year. There's a short thread on here by the previous owner detailing him getting it as a rolling body and putting a SOHC 4G63 out of an L200 in it and basically just getting it warrant worthy. I got it off him minus wheels and on the 90 minute drive home immediately after picking it up, one of the bolts holding this plate that contains the gear stick came loose and a piece evidently broke off:

Car wouldn't go into any gear and I had to get a mate to tow me the last 20km home at about 11 o'clock at night. Beers were definitely owed for that favour! I couldn't find a replacement plate so I welded the chip back in and fettled the edges and that's worked since.

About 2 months later I was driving home yet again and heard a horrendous screeching from the motor, pulled over to discover oil everywhere. Tracing the source to an oil seal I found I'd run a balance shaft bearing:

A couple of months of new car being broken twice depression and one Evo balance shaft delete kit later and I was back on the road.

Haven't done much actual work to the car since other than doing a UJ and wheel bearing needed for a warrant. I've just been driving it, getting groceries in it, towing my race bike around the South Island etc etc

But I don't feel like I can make a project post without some work!

Which brings me to the current day. The old girl flew through a warrant about a week ago but with the stipulation that the rust that is on the valance is growing and needs dealing with. Which I had on my list of things to do but was loathe to start due to my near zero knowledge of panel work:

I had a good read through the forums and watched endless videos of people with all sorts of different takes and went into the job with supreme confidence.

Turns out it's much harder than it looks!

Post patch welding:

After the flap disc, die grinder, sand and a prime:

Is it amazing? Not even close. Will it suffice for my first time and the panel it's on? Absolutely. 

That one side took me long enough after work last night so I still have the other side to go but I've learned a lot from the mistakes I made doing that first patch and second side should go smoother.

Following that I need to redo the seam sealant in the drip rails (I'm not sure if that's what they're called but google returned results with that?) above the doors. The PO got some roof rust done at a panel beater but the seam sealant is lifting on both sides and you can see brown staining from the rust causing it. We have plenty of Wurth KD Bond (Bond+Seal I think it's called now), will that work as a seam sealer or should I get something specific to the task?

I want to keep this car on the road so a full strip down rebuild is not on the cards at the moment but I would like to keep ticking away with bits and pieces to prevent it from returning to the earth.

Any and all advice welcomed and appreciated!

Thanks for looking.

Name (first is sweet): Luke

Location: Glenorchy/Queenstown

Cars you own: 1980 Mitsubishi Express (Todd Motors assembled Sigma wagon)

Mods to them (can be brief or detailed): Springs, SSR F3's redrilled to 114.3, 4G63, noisy exhaust that the locals hate. It's on the list to be quietened down 

How you found out about oldschool: Known about it for years since doing research for a KE70 wagon I had fresh out of high school

Anything else you want to add: Love my bikes. Have a couple of 90's Suzuki 4 cylinder road bikes, a KLR650 for exploring the countryside and an SV650 track bike for giving it the herbs