I suspect that a lot of Galant VR4 owners actually own more than one of ‘em. These cars grow on you. They’re more classy and presentable than your average, turbocharged, all wheel drive Mitsubishi saloon, yet they still provide the sort of limitless potential for power and shenanigans that appeals to the kid inside who never had any interest in eating that nasty cereal, Kix. GVR4 ownership is demanding, taxing both resources and emotions, but those who manage to walk the line (read: aren’t as prone to crying and thoughts of suicide) invariably end up with more than one.

Meet 1991 Mitsubishi Galant VR4 Number 1082/1000.

I think. I know I checked the badge on the dash and tweeted it last week one afternoon, but I can’t be sure right now at 1AM on a Monday morning. This is one of three GVR4s that Keith owns. One is his current PGT rally car, the other is the black car up on the lift at the shop awaiting the installation of its engine and transmission. So Keith’s got three of these things, and I’ve got two. (Why don’t you have one yet?)

What’s the situation?

The car was abused by a hack with 400hp dreams. Shoddy electrical connections, lack of forethought, general half-assery. “Crazy” Ray Peters of twincharged Talon fame spent some time sweet talking this old girl before he moved last winter, so I’m fortunate that the car has already been gone over, but it refuses to start. Cranks strong, has spark, ECU is good, but not a drop of fuel was reaching the rail.

Not getting any fuel at the rail.

Tracing a poorly thought out fuel pump rewire front to back, I discovered the inline fuse was blown. After replacing the fuse, it was apparent that the relay was shot as well. After replacing them both, I was able to confirm signal and voltage at both ends of the rewire. Despite this, cranking produced no fuel at the rail and the inline fuse blew again. Any guesses?

Gee, Wally, what the hell?

Wally drowned in a tank of rust-colored shellac. Crud in the fuel tank (rust?) had come loose, clogged the Wally (“wally” is a nickname for a Walbro fuel pump, for those unfamiliar), resulting in the current spike which blew the inline fuse.

How do you fix a dead fuel pump?

Fortunately, Keith has a 93 Plymouth Laser AWD parts car which had a wally in it, so I fixed it by pretty much throwing it in the trash and using a “new” pump. I swapped the pigtail connector from one assembly to the other, taking my time to carefully make my first solder connections in something like a decade, before attempting to drop the good pump assembly into the Galant. When it didn’t quite fit, I had to consult the following picture I took to show the difference between a healthy fuel pump and a dead one.

Oops.

I was so distracted by how awful the pump from the Galant looked, that I didn’t even notice the assembly being a good inch shorter. No amount of finesse would have that pump in the tank, so it was back to the shop, where the Crypt Keeper of Mitsubishi fuel pump assemblies was stripped down and treated to some quality time in the media blaster.

A complete fuel system cleaning is required.

It would be stupid to spend this much time refurbishing the fuel pump assembly, only to drop a working wally into a tank of rust colored death solvent, so the assembly has been cleaned and lightly oiled (to prevent rust) until I get the fuel tank drained, cleaned, resealed, and can ensure the fuel lines and filter are clear. Once the rest of the fuel system is confirmed clean (let’s hope the filter did it’s job and spared the injectors), it will be time to complete assembly of the fuel pump, install it, and get that Galant cleaned up and sold to someone with an addiction.