My '81 Scorpion

jwebb2876 · **Posted:** Fri Apr 02, 2010 9:58 am

Hi guys
I figured it's about time I showed off my car, so here it is.

One 1981 model Mitsubishi Scorpion. 4G54, 5-speed manual. Not exactly the cleanest example out there, but it's not too bad. Just needs some rust repairs and a spray job to look ok, plus some lowerage and decent 14's/15's and fender mirrors and I reckon it'll look great.
Future plans mechanically are to drop in a fuel injected narrowblock 4G54B along with my good 5-speed as the current drivetrain is getting fairly tired.
The car's going to be a daily/drift hack, so it'll be getting custom Starion front coilovers (8kg/mm springs, KYB AGX or similar inserts, otomoto coilover sleeve kit, spun standard strut tops), decent shocks and 5.5-6kg/mm springs in the rear, a 24mm front swaybar and a welded diff. Eventually I'll go with a 2-way equipped R31 Skyline diff.
I'm currently running 14x6 Cheviot rims around +18 offset, but I'm looking at getting a set of those 15x8 +-0 Sportmax meshies for some dish

anywho, there it is, my current daily driver/project. Hopefully it'll be done by the end of the year and I can get an AE86 Levin notchback to do up.

jwebb2876 · **Posted:** Fri Apr 02, 2010 10:17 am

More pics

it's actually a 5-speed but I'm a dopey bastard sometimes so I hooked up the reverse indicator in the dash so I don't forget lol

Engine bay, as you can see it's a little untidy and dirty

I don't have a cable for my phone, so the newer photos I've taken since I registered it will have to wait lol

edwallo1130 · **Posted:** Fri Apr 02, 2010 11:03 am

nice to see different types of sapporo/scorpions out there

city hunter · **Posted:** Fri Apr 02, 2010 11:19 am

nice car. A bit of cleanup work and she will be looking great. I scored a set of those tails off a rxcorp in australia. I love em, but I wanna find the later model ones that always break.

What are the plans for it?

75wagon · **Posted:** Fri Apr 02, 2010 3:24 pm

How long til you get this rego'd Webby?

You've got to make this cruise mate? I made it 3 months after the last one to hopefully get some more cars finished and turning up.

Earn some cash mate. Mow lawns if you have too. I wan to see you there...

Dave...

jwebb2876 · **Posted:** Fri Apr 02, 2010 3:32 pm

First post

Mainly a daily with some drifting and circuit work thrown in. Might take it down the quarter for a laugh, though I don't really expect much with bugger-all power and a 3.308 diff lol
For now plans are to get it running again (it spat a timing chain tensioner), take a grinder to the front springs so it matches the back (I could only afford a pair of proper springs lol), weld up a somewhat louder exhaust and drive it. When I can afford it I'm going to buy a couple tins of GMH black, rub it back and spray it so it looks like somewhat less of a bucket of shit lol
I'm pretty much destitute at the moment (sucks being on the dole lol) so all the stuff in the first post is going to wait until I get a job

jwebb2876 · **Posted:** Fri Apr 02, 2010 3:48 pm

75wagon wrote:

How long til you get this rego'd Webby?

You've got to make this cruise mate? I made it 3 months after the last one to hopefully get some more cars finished and turning up.

Earn some cash mate. Mow lawns if you have too. I wan to see you there...

Dave...

it's been registered for about a month, but it chucked a tanty about a week back and stopped. Turns out the timing chain tensioner shat itself, there's about 3mm too much slack in the chain :roll:

Hopefully that's all that's wrong, it was running like a bitch and now won't run at all so here's hoping there's nothing more serious lurking in the shadows
I wanna make this one, I've been trying to get to an s-g cruise for the past six months lol
Hopefully see ya there :tu:

B1500boy · **Posted:** Sat Apr 03, 2010 2:24 am

Welcome aboard mate, looks like a good old Scorpion

jwebb2876 · **Posted:** Sat Apr 03, 2010 7:36 pm

Thanks, it would be if it ran :evil:

Question: do the balance shaft eliminator kits you can get include everything ie timing chain, tensioner, seals, gaskets etc?

jwebb2876 · **Posted:** Mon Apr 26, 2010 2:40 am

No updates, as it's still killing the grass on my front lawn. Here's some more recent photo's though

New number plate, REGO!

And sitting in a lake while it's pissing down rain

I did this, but the rego man wouldn't pass it

I need 20mm spacers for the front and 25mm for the back, and some shanked wheel nuts so I can put my other pair of rims on, then I need to take 2 coils out of the front and a coil out of the rear and it'll look pretty much how I want it

jwebb2876 · **Posted:** Sun May 09, 2010 7:54 pm

Update, only a small one though
I broke the horn pad on the TR Magna steering wheel I was using, so I stripped the plastic bits off it and put a button on the console for the horn

I also made a shifter knob out of a Winchester 12ga shell, using a shitload of electrical tape

It actually looks pretty neat.
I'll put some pics up when I find my phone cord

jwebb2876 · **Posted:** Sat Jun 19, 2010 7:03 am

Here's that photo of the shifter I promised

Sorry about the shit photo, took it with my phone in the dark lol

I got around to properly measuring those Cheviot's on the front, the're actually 14x6.5 ~+10. They need a scrub and a paint job, but they should come up nice, with a bit of work.

jwebb2876 · **Posted:** Fri Sep 17, 2010 8:51 pm

It's been a while, so here's an update. Albeit a very small one.

The car's been moved out to my dad's farm, where the timing case was pulled off. Both chains, the upper balance shaft sprocket and the oil pump body where the tensioner piston goes are fuckeded, so new oil pump, chains and sprocket are coming. Slowly.

The TR Magna steering wheel was giving me the shits so I went out and bought this:

$10 from the local wreckers

It came out of a GE Sigma with the sports pack, looks alright for an OE Mitsubishi tiller

I also ditched the shotgun shell in favour of a factory GH Scorpion shifter.

Also, interior shot:

jwebb2876 · **Posted:** Sat Sep 18, 2010 6:35 am

Just went for a strap through the twisties in the 180B coupe I've been driving for the last week or so. It handles the bumps, lumps and gravel much better than the Scorpion does, I finished my loop, which is a mix of good and bad tar and gravel roads, a good 6 minutes faster than I can in the Scorpion.

Anyway, I really, really like this car. It goes, turns and stops much better than the Scorpion, plus it sounds better

It's absolutely horrible on fuel though. 50L will barely last 400km

It's got a slightly warmed over L20B with a mildly ported L18 head, 32/36, extractors and a 2.25" straight through exhaust, 910 TRX 5-speed, welded stock diff, 240K struts/brakes, custom wound 8kg 240mm front/6kg 230mm rear springs, Pedders shocks and kouki DR30 alloys. I'd LOVE to keep it, but it's a good mate of mine's daily

If I can get the Scorpion going anywhere near as good as this Datsun I'll be a happy man. Shouldn't be too hard, I've got over half a litre in displacement to make up for the lack of IRS

city hunter · **Posted:** Sat Sep 18, 2010 1:54 pm

Good to see you still working on it. I definately approve of the steering wheel upgrade. THat sigma wheel looks pretty good actually.

jwebb2876 · **Posted:** Sun Sep 19, 2010 9:31 am

Cheers mate

Anyway, turns out the tillers actually from a sport pack GE, not a GH SE

The only reason this car's being such a prick is because the dick who owned it before me didn't do the cam timing right, plus I ran it fairly advanced on 91 for a few weeks and burnt some valves :roll:

Funny thing is, it wasn't detonating at all. So I have no idea why they burnt in the first place

Anyway, that'll be fixed fairly soon, hopefully by Monday. Dad and I are doing a reco job on the oil pump and replacing all chains, sprockets, guides, gaskets, and seals. I've already done rings and bearings, and it's wearing a slightly corroded 2L head with good valves that I had lying around, so here's hoping it runs nicely.

I'm hoping to have it done in time for next month's sigma-galant.com cruise. I've been saying I'll go on one for the last 12 months, so it's about bloody time I made it to one :lol:

The prick of a thing about said cruise is that it's on the day before my pay goes in. I guess I'll have to curb my impulse buying for a couple of weeks

Speaking of GE sport packs, Mum had a red '77 model as her first car way back in '82. It was killed by a duck of all things in '89

jwebb2876 · **Posted:** Wed Sep 22, 2010 1:34 am

I'm buying another pair of wheels tomorrow.

Fortan Mesh, 14x6j +17.
They'll go nicely on the front with a pair of my 14x6.5 +10 Hotwires on the back

city hunter · **Posted:** Wed Sep 22, 2010 1:43 am

Great looking wheels man. They will look tops when refinished. Hows the project coming along? I'm about to toss the turbo engine back in my 81 scorp.

jwebb2876 · **Posted:** Wed Sep 22, 2010 1:48 am

Fecking slowly, I've got to get back out to my parents property where the car is stored and get some work done soon otherwise Dad's going to kick it out of the shed lol
I'm hoping it will be done by the 8th, otherwise I'll have to skip the next S-G cruise

city hunter · **Posted:** Wed Sep 22, 2010 2:08 am

better get cracking man! I know how it is working on a car that isnt at home. I use to have a garage that was a hour away. That was tough.

My '81 Scorpion

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