I got the original Colt motor mounts off, finished removing the stock core support, and got the new lower radiator support and lower subframe bolted in. I am in the middle of cutting the Evo driver and passenger side motor mounts cut off of the chunks of Evo frame I have sitting here. After they are both free I'll have the engine in.

Driver engine mount off. I later ground off the remnants from the spot weld cutter and sprayed the area with the first rattle can I grabbed off the shelf to prevent any rust (Can be seen in later pictures). It has me thinking that a flat black engine bay with a white car may be the way to go on this one.



Core support out and old subframe in. The subframe was originally made to hold a DSM 4G63 so I will be creating new front and rear mounts. They will be solid mounts.



Frame rails cleaned up









And with the lower support in and the original front mount chopped off of the subframe



Also I got my JDM bumper from Malaysia. I've never gotten anything from overseas so quickly... 8 days from the day I paid for it and 4 from the day it shipped.

 

love the progress! That must look quite unique with 17"s on it! I'd love to see this at christmas!

 

this is going to be one wicked colt. are you going to use a stock evo 9 turbo on it ?

 

i personally think 8 wheels > 9 wheels and would look badass on your car. nice build. keep it up

 

This is gonna be awesome.

 

Let's hope I make it by then. When I say things like "the end of the year" I tend to forget that it is only 2 months away.

Yep, stock 9 turbo for now. I'm going to be running e85 and pushing the stocker to it's limits. Even at 300 whp this thing is going to be a handfull, with closer to 400 it's going to be scary

We'll see what ends up on there... likely nothing stock but I got these so cheap that they were worth picking up to roll the chassis around and use to mock up everything.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks so

 

looks like a death trap in a good way lol. power to weight ratio is gonna be insane. so 450hp in a 2000lb car is gonna be sick. that thing is gonna haul some nuts for sure
g/l and keeps the updates coming

 

Deff in to see this!!

 

Subscribed

 

What that guy said x2

 

I'm sorry this project isn't moving as quickly as any of want it to but I'm getting ready to put the rear end in. Nothing major so far but I've at least touched it in the last 2 months

From this:





To this:





The frame rails are completely clean too and ready for me to fab up the mounting brackets.

 

Wow, so I have been super delinquent on updating this thread. I've blown way past my December goal. In fact - the stupid thing is still up on stands. I got sidetracked organizing and updating the garage... a project that will hopefully be done or 95% done this weekend.

I've done a little work on the Colt. I've made my templates for the rear spherical mounts on the front lower control arms. I've also got the engine mount templates done. I need to decide which of 3 ways I've considered modifying the strut towers and then I can cut all of my templates and get everything welded in. That way I'll at least have the major components of the front end together.

Some quick notes on the engine fitment:
-It is by no means even close to a bolt-in affair.
-It is a TIGHT fit. Only ~1/2" clearance between the accessory belts/pulleys and the passenger frame rails and I have to notch the driver side rail for the transmission.
-It looks BADASS and makes my pants tight.

I started mocking up the rear subframe and it looks like the rear is going to be a LOT more work than I originally anticipated. Nothing difficult... just time consuming and it is going to require me to re-fab the rear X brace of my cage because the strut towers have to move inboard ~2" on each side to keep the same Evo geometry.

Stay tuned... I promise I won't disappear for 6 months again.

 

I will still be moving slowly so don't expect daily progress. I am taking my time and planning everything out so that I only do it once and have no regrets about how the car was put together and don't back myself into corners that force non-ideal solutions.

BTW I am ditching the lower radiator support and subframe that came with the car. They are both very heavy and over built since this was originally a rally car. I will fab my own as soon as the driver/passenger engine mounts are secured. I will incorporate the front and rear engine mounts into the new subframe that will also tie the lower control arms together.

Teaser pics:

There is a lot of tire under this thing





Not much space here



Or here

 

Fantastic! Looking forward to further updates. Best of luck with the project!

 

Going to be 1 quick car. you going to use the SAS? looks like a Evo 7 engine.