RallyEagle's 82 SX4 Rally car rebuild

[RallyEagle]

Cleaned out gas tank with a cleaner and 5 pounds of bolts. Lots of crud came out. Rinsed, dried, primed and painted. Pressed in bushings on upper control arms. This rally car uses one long 1/2" bolt that goes through both bushings. There is a sleeve between them that stiffness up the connection plus allows the nut to be tightened against.  Very strong mount.

[Blip Downshift]

Is the middle front coilover custom made or is that an off the shelf part?

[RallyEagle]

It had a sticker but illegible,  so I'd say they bought them. I rebuilt them and now installed them!  I still have line them up and tighten them down. I'll set spring tension when it's on all 4 tires.  Previous owner bought the shocks, Hydro 7052.

[Dan Pfeiffer]

Excellent project and photos.  Super lucky find.  It looks like the front diff on your ralley eagle mounts to the cross member rather than the engine?  And the cross member itself looks quite a bit beefier than OEM.  Do you have more pics of that?   Is the diff mounted at the same height as oem or is there some lift there?  Are the spindles same as stock?  And what is the tire size?

Thanks,  Dan Pfeiffer

[RallyEagle]

Work on fuel sending unit. Since no AMC gauges in this rally car, I'm installing a sending unit with matching gauge.  I modified the pick up tube assembly. Drilled out old broken sending unit and modified the Sunpro unit to correspond with fuel level. New ground wire soldered on using prestolite military wire.

Yes, happy I found this car. It needed saving for many reasons. The top part of the cross member has been modified and yes the axle mounts a 1/2" plate that's welded to cross member.  I don't believe the axle is lower than stock since pinion bracket and disco area bracket are in the factory location.  No real good pictures of the upper mount since a 1970 390 engine is sitting really close to it along with the lincoln log manifold. But this one shows a little more.

[RallyEagle]

Forgot to add, spindles are stock and it has 215/70R15. Ill up them to 225 and use the coilovers to raise it some.  Inner fender plastic has already been trimmed...problably from articulation during racing.

[Dan Pfeiffer]

Thanks for info.   I also see that at the outboard edges of the crossmember there is a vertcal plate that fits up on the outside of the frame rail and is thru-bolted there.  And the bottom the cross member has a much thicker plate welded all around.   And two large reinforced passages that are maybe for transmission cooling lines?  Do you think this is a stock cross member that's been modified or is it a custom fabrication?

I also see a bar (like a monte carlo bar you see in 60's mustangs) running across just fwd of the firewall.  Though it seems to me that would do more futher forward - like ahead of the shock towers (as in the mustang).

Have you discovered other reinforcing mods to the frame and unibody?

Thanks,  Dan Pfeiffer

[RallyEagle]

It is definitely beefed up.  The trans lines are run on drivers side of engine.  Holes in a double plate allow extra reinforcement, there is also a thick welded bar on top of member.  I would bet that it is stock that has been modified.  Even the front supports from member to front have additional metal.  The bar behind engine is part of the full roll cage (ROPS) setup.  I have found no other structural mods to the body, just suspension.  Rear is stock though.

[RallyEagle]

Most of the front end is installed. Hubs done. Just need to set tie rods and halfshafts and tighten the upper and lower a-arm bushings. Repositioned the fuel tank primary filter in a safer area and need to relocate fuel pump then run new AN fuel lines. Fun!

[RallyEagle]

Installed new rear springs with extra arch, set rear axle and mounted fuel pump. When my AN hose fittings arrive, I'll plumb it all in. Installed rear shocks as well.  The upper shock mounts are reinforced with plate steel.  Nice and stout..  Exhaust system is very rusty but newer mufflers. I'll get them changed out for a better fit and kick exhaust out the sides in front of tires.  Once I set it down on tires, I'll start the rewiring and revamp the cooling system. Fun!

[Taylor]

Great rebuild. The rear brake conversion looks good. But when it was done was a parking brake added somehow?
Thanks for posting the build.

[RallyEagle]

There is no provision for a rear parking brake.  There is a manual "balancing/proportioning" valve near the shifter for the rear brakes.  I will be investigating using this valve or installing a micro-brake lock on the rear line.  If there was room, I would install hmmwv (humvee) rear brake calipers (they use the same mounting setup) that has a mechanical locking feature.  I am not a fan of rear propeller/pinion braking systems.

[mo.eagles]

Nice project!!   Great work!!

[RallyEagle]

Thank you mo.eagles.  It is a fun project.  I have built and restored many vehicles and this little sx4 is a blast.  It will be funner when spring arrives and I put it through its paces in northern lower Michigan.

Did more work, front cv joints, etc. Set tires to get it on ground but have not cranked up coilovers yet.. Still have fuel tank/lines to install, exhaust systems, cooling system and ALL electrical.

[RallyEagle]

Was working on fuel system and waiting on a part.  So off comes the front end.  Cowling/facia was really loose. Was not fully bolted in and some cracked metal.  Also welded studs to hold radiator, was bolted and 2 were not installed!  Removed radiator, transmission cooler, oil cooler and power steering cooler, then degreased, ruffed up metal and etched primed it.  Also, including a motor mount picture and top of cross member for reference.