Two Galants, both alike in dignity,
In fair Phoenix, where we lay our scene,
From ancient sloth break to new irresponsibility,
Where texting fingers make drivers’ hands unclean.
From forth the fatal lanes of these Phoenix roads
A pair of star-cross’d Galants are totaled out;
Whole misadventured piteous overthrows
Do with their death make racing possible.
The fearful passage of their death-marked titles,
And continuance of their owner’s rage,
Which, but his Mitsus’ end, nought could remove,
Is now the two minutes’ traffic of this page;
The which if you with patient ears attend,
Where here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.
1992 Mitsubishi Galant VR4 464/1000 has been totaled out.
464 is one of less than 300 Kensington Grey GVR4s imported to North America back in 1992. It passed emissions testing with flying colors on Friday. Then the title was branded salvaged because the cost of repairs would be more than the cost of the car (only after a $1000 salvage bid was taken off the top). Monday, the fax went to the insurance carrier. Wednesday, I got a check for $2600 and change. We’ve been down this road before.
So now I am the proud owner of TWO Galant VR4s, BOTH of which are salvage cars.
Yay me, right? Right. There is a silver lining to this situation, just as there was last time. Funds from the Kia Incident, where 195/2000 was totaled, were used towards the purchase of 464/1000. And so it is today. No, I am not buying a third Galant VR4, but I am putting the funds towards the roll cage in 195/2000. Maybe the title of this post should have had more to do with the Lion King and “circle of life” than Romeo and Juliet, but whatever.
The mad blood stirring.
I pray thee, good Mercutio, let’s retire;
The day is hot, the Capulets abroad,
And, if we meet, we shall not escape a brawl;
For now, these hot days, is the mad blood stirring.
Behold! My new radiator! It seems like radiators wait just until summer arrives to spring leaks and make life a living hell. Last week Friday, prior to emissions testing and salvage branding, I stopped at Performance Radiator here in Phoenix to pick up a replacement radiator. I had been doing a little shopping, but the night before, I saw a Performance Radiator unit in a local DSM. It had metal end tanks and looked very well put together. Combined with the immediacy of getting the part I needed locally on-the-spot, I didn’t mind paying almost double the Rock Auto price online.
Oh that’s just lovely.
I was happy to pay $180 for an immediately available, all-metal-construction, direct-fit, locally manufactured radiator. What I actually got was the same, made-in-Indonesia, plastic-end-tank-having, off-by-half-an-inch radiator I could have bought for $80 any number of places online. Thou art a villain.
What am I supposed to do at 10pm on a Saturday night, once I’ve already got the fan bolted up and have greasy finger prints all over the thing? Pack it back up and try to return it after work on Monday? Fuck it. I made it work. Pulled it back out and took the Dremel to the lower mounting tabs. I opened up the holes in them to increase the lateral slop in the assembly and then torqued the entire unit over towards the passenger side to be bolted in. Meh.
Progress on 195/2000!
Prior to installing the radiator in 464/1000, I spent a little more time emptying out the interior of 195/2000 in preparation for the roll cage getting installed within a month’s time. Still a bit left to do – pull the carpet, remove the rear door cards, remove the front and rear windshields, and take the roof off – but it’s all manageable. I’m looking forward to this… a lot.
Oops!
So the radiator in 464 was replaced on Saturday night. Car ran beautifully all day Sunday, well, almost all day. A stop at home to pick up some car parts late in the afternoon revealed coolant weeping from behind the timing belt cover and the sound of boiling coolant in the water pump and thermostat housing. The water pump shit the bed.
Tomorrow begins water pump replacement. What better time to also replace the timing belt, pullies, tensioners, valve cover gasket, cam seals, and oil pan gasket? A solid bunch of maintenance and repairs in one fell swoop. Hope I can get drag my ass out of bed early enough to get it done before it gets too hot outside!