fuel

Hope you're not planning on using the GDI pistons? They have a weird raised dome with recess where the injectors spray Plus the piston rings tend to gum up and cause compression and oil burning issues, though that is more of a result from the direct injection system I guess.

looks like Mookeeh still make/sell rear struts, though they are for widebody only (not sure what the difference is for the rears, for the fronts there is a different stub axle angle) http://www.mookeeh.com/gs123.html & https://dragtimes.com/parts/Mookeeh-MK1-Performance-Stiff-Shocks-Struts-Starion-Conquest-Widebody-GS2-3_141400623954.html can even get pre-threaded rear struts ready to accept SW20 MR2 front inserts - https://www.ebay.com/itm/255099126539

great thanks @cletus! I'm wondering maybe I could just hang onto it here in Canada until it's 20 years old. That would be 2025 which isn't too far away. I guess Evo IX wagon would also be classified as a SIV. The Clean car fee would probably be the killer though, but I'm sure that is the price to pay for having one of my wanted cars. If I bring over the C3 and/or RX-7 looks like I would skip the clean car fee there. How do they determine if a damage repair requires a repair cert? am wondering where they draw the line between regular body damage (like a dent) that has been repaired and painted through to a more serious repair like a quarter panel replacement

you're right about the rust, this Evo II was a total rust bucket. But it has been in Ontario (where they salt the roads in winter) without additional rust protection undercoating for almost 20 years so that would be the reason. It makes my (mostly surface) rusty 2010 VW Passat look pristine in comparison. The 2005 Evo IX wagon doesn't have rust and it's only been in the country (in BC too where they don't salt the roads) for less than a year - it's just the previous rear quarter repair that I am more worried about, also just wanted to make sure I would actually be able to bring it back to NZ in a year or two when the time comes.

so looks like getting insurance for a less than 25 year old JDM RHD car is near impossible in Onterrible, so instead I am looking at a '94 Evo II a bit closer to home. Can I register a '94 fine in NZ these days?

Long time lurker in this thread, but I am looking at purchasing a 2005 Lancer Evolution IX Wagon here in Canada, hanging onto it for a while here and then eventually bring it back to NZ with me in a few years time. It's fairly tidy but unfortunately it was auction grade R leaving Japan with a repair to the right rear quarter panel. Looking over the car it looks like the repair was done well and it's not overly obvious, but at the price that it's at (roughly a third of what an equiv one in NZ is listed for right now) I am seriously looking into it because it's one of my bucket list cars. One question is, when I eventually bring it from Canada to NZ would the prior Japanese auction history be visible to the NZ border despite the car coming via Canada? I would want to tidy up the repair to the point that it's not detectible at all. Another question is, would a 2005 Lancer Evo be eligible to import into the country these days? Being out of the country 11 years now, I'm not even up to date with the import restrictions and regulations. Thanks all!

I so want some of them too - I swear I saw a reproduction flare somewhere (trademe maybe?) which was really just a battery operated torch but looked like a flare on the outside.

can you use the Bluebird front suspension complete? like put the whole hubs/knuckles on? that way you get your 4x114, bigger brakes etc

Have you considered a UZ instead? Don't want to knock the V engine too much but even the 4L 5V is short of power, not very economical, and as you'll probably find out, hard to get a decent 4/5 speed trans for.

yep was just going to post.. you need at least 15's to clear the 276mm Evo1-3/6th & 7th gen Galant VR-4 brakes

Thankfully the original pistons cleaned up good with no pitting etc

has been a while - still have this (obvs). I only got around to chucking on the AMG grill and amber corner lamps - the HKS TB elbow had a temp sensor hole drilled into the underside and ideally it needed a proper bung welded in so it doesn't leak. Ran out of time to chuck in the Bilsteins but still need to figure out how to mount the ABS sensor cable and brake line bracket onto those struts as they don't have the same mounting brackets as the original struts. Did end up having to refurbish the brakes though, put it through a WOF and it failed on the rotors being below min thickness and pads low which I knew about so already had some EBC yellow stuff and new rotors all round sitting there waiting to do the job. Problem is once I compressed the pistons in on both the front calipers at least one of the pistons per caliper started to get stuck. There was some gross yuckyness inside the calipers (but not rust). I ended up rebuilding the calipers with new seals, and then when it came time to bleed them back up both of the front lower rubber hoses had blockages in them so ended up fitting braided lines. This thing was fighting me every step of the way basically haha.

As for the wagon I lowered it a smidge, chucked on the GTO 17s that used to be on the sedan, and fitted some paint matched sideskirts (yet to paint and fit the lower door cladding, think it looks fine without them for now)

long time no post. So I was in NZ last few weeks and did a little work to the Diamantes. For the sedan I chucked in the factory GTO struts (which have ECS) and it had the effect of slamming it somewhat. Had to put on some Evo X BBS's I had stashed away to get it out of the garage as it was a bit too low on the 17s.

(please don't laugh) NZ GTO club are doing a cruise from Hooton reserve up to Wellsford and back but as I'm heading up to Whangarei I'll be continuing on from Wellsford. Starting around 10:30 and anticipated being there for about 30-60min before departing, I let them know too and they may be keen to stick around a while to check out sweet old JDM tin

I'll be at Hooton reserve about 10:30 on Sunday for another meet but I think they will be sticking around there for about 30mins before heading north bound.

ah yeah whoops meant W5M51 there. You can always push further than what the manufacturer (Aisan) rates them for but yeah at some point you're going to be breaking something if the axles, diff, CV's aren't the weakest links. If you look at the size of a W5M33 compared to a W5M51 or even a contemporary Jap 4WD transverse box like a ST205 box you start to wonder how it even handles the power people throw at them.

Trouble with Mitsubishi gearbox codes is they don't depict what bellhousing they have to suit different families of engines. As you alluded to earlier, the pre-95/96ish engines orientated on the passenger side tended to share the same bellhousing pattern so the boxes are interchangeable and your clutch size is just determined by the biggest flywheel that particular box can fit. From the 95/96 onwards engines on the driver's side the bellhousing patterns tended to differ slightly so it's not so much like lego any more. A W5M41 will definitely be different from W5M33 because they are different orientations and also the W5M41 has the front diff (maybe even the centre diff too?) mounted in the transfer case while the W5M33 has the front diff within the box casing itself, with the centre diff living off the layshaft that exists in a W5M33 because the engine sits on the passenger side but spins clockwise still so the direction of motion needs to be reversed, whereas a W5M4 or W5M5 series have this. The last two numbers are the torque rating, so a W5M33 is good for approx 330Nm while the W5M41 and W5M41 are good for 400Nm and 500Nm respectively. You'll probably find a W5M41 will be fine for your needs, just find one that matches the engine it is going to be bolted up to. You could do a 4G69 SOHC Outlander/Grandis/Lancer engine and 4WD box for max cheap and swap on a Hyundai/Kia Sirius clone cylinder head, just find some Evo 4-8 cams and boom you have an almost Evo4-8 engine for cheap. You could even keep it tiptronic but swap in a W5A51 (again from Outlancer, Lancer Cedia etc) and you'll have a car that can launch quick and be a drag weapon with quicker shift times than a manual ever could give you.

Too new and too-non Galant/Sigma/Diamante for me sorry!

You found a N/A Starion GS? like actual GS with live axle, solid discs etc? If you are parting it out, I could be interested in some parts. What colour is the interior?

Not the worst thing that could follow you home! Hopefully pre-WOF goes ok. Loving the mushroom oil filler cap.

Is that an oil leak under it already?