G'day Mate! You can call me Steve! I was a Pizza Hut Delivery Driver! Not earning the best of money, I saved my dough and worked my ass off for 6 weeks to buy myself a reliable car! So.. I bought this Defected Cordia Turbo for $1400 in September of 2005, it was canary'd for Oil Leaks, Blow-Off Valve, and Excessive Noise! It had 167,667km on the clock, practically no rust, and in need of paint and some engine work!
"PERFECT FOR THE RELIABLE CAR TITLE!"

So... I looked at the car and thought it should be reasonably straight forward to rebuild! But I would be wrong in many respects! The previous owner said it was fast, Real Fast! He only owned it for a total of 3 weeks before being pinched by the law!

So I'd done the deed and had the Cordia delivered to my house on a trailer that very night! This is the second Cordia I've owned now, the first was a 1985 Cordia GSL that I had in 2004, it was faster than my old Sigma but not really anything impressive with its power of 69.9kw... Well I was easily beat by a Turbo Nissan EXA at the traffic lights! Since buying that car I have had a hard one for Cordia's, always wanting a Turbo car, this was an excellent opportunity to get something with a bit of a kick!

It was soo cool to see my new baby rolling down the ramps onto the road, I could feel the electricity in the air, knowing that I would have my arms knee deep in shit over the next few months... OH YEH! The engine was out of the car, the sump was off, the head was off, and so was everything else! I had 4 new tyres fitted for an extra $526 Trade Price by the previous owner, who had pre-ordered them to the Tyre Centre in which he worked.

This would be a new learning curve for me and my father as we began the adventure of starting with hundreds of car parts and not knowing where anything goes, to rebuilding an entire engine bay from the bottom up! The many days of degreasing everything was tough and frustrating, everything was covered in oil, it was discusting... Alternator, power steering pump, the engine block, the head, bla bla bla! Days went by and as we did different things to the Cordia; I took photographs of each step! BUT... My dads computer stuffed up and all the photographs of the rebuild were lost! I was soo pissed that day! Now the only proof of the rebuild is the $3000 worth of reciepts and my girlfriends word!

The Cordia did have a custom-made intercooler fitted with a 'Turbosmart - Vee Port' blow-off valve, but to get the defect off, I'm going back as original as possible. So I purchased a stock cross-over pipe, and removed the intercooler for the time being... But I do intend to replace the intercooler with a bigger custom one, but more of that later in the project. I have also removed the turbo timer, and aftermarket boost guage!

Well, here's what we've done to the engine... Right, well we cleaned it right up, fitted the pistons with new chrome rings, new gaskets and seals throughout! This took about a month to have the engine ready to install into the Cordia! When the exhaust manifold was being tightened on, one of the studs decided to tear the threat out of the alloy head... So dad tapped in a new thread and I went out and bought the next size up stud to go in! Luckily the bolt hole in the manifold was big enough already, so we didn't have to drill it any bigger!

So... there was a little rust poking through under the passenger side of the spoiler, it was my mission one day to remove the spoiler and treat the rust. Well! As I removed the rubbery wing from the tailgate it was clear to me that it was a welding job! There was a hole the size of a cricket ball! I cut the rust out and then welded a piece of body into the hole, I grinded it, welded it and grinded it several times to shape it properly, it was a hassle but I got there in the end! There were a few holes smaller than a pea, it was too delicate to weld with what I was using... so I bought some fibreglass body filler and filled the holes smooth, I then had to sand it to hell and get the curve of the tailgate smooth and ready for the undercoat. Finally I resprayed the entire tailgate and stuck the wing back on with this damn expensive panel glue stuff! My beautiful girlfriend helped me with some of the tailgate preparation and it really turned out quite well!

BEFORE & AFTER PHOTOS

The previous owner told me that Reverse gear was virtually impossible to get in, and 5th gear wasn't working either! So I took the Gearbox into a mechanic to check it out, he took the cover off and told me the bad news! The 2nd Gear Selector had broken off and was jamming Reverse, 5th Gear was a vacuum problem, apparently very common with Cordia's! To replace the selector I was looking at waiting several weeks to have one imported from Japan, and the Transmission needing a full bearing replacement, I'd be looking for atleast $600 just for parts! So I thought I'd just get a good secondhand Gearbox from Mitsubishi Spares in Adelaide for $680.
I bought a pair of electric mirrors from Ebay for $40, because the drivers side mirror was missing!

We borrowed a frame to put the engine back in the car, and it took us an entire day, and yes I should have worn sunscreen and maybe more than a singlet and shorts, but NO I didn't!

Before we even got to start the engine there were already leaks, COOLANT... Yes it turns out we should have spent an extra $70 and bought a new Water Pump! So I got one and I tell you it's much easier to change the pump when the engine is out of the car! Please note that when changing the water pump, the access hole in the wheel-arch comes in very handy!

On the first start of the engine it was as we expected... SMOKEY! The smoke subsided a little bit but kept on coming... We weren't entirely sure of where all the vacuum lines were supposed to go so we simply guessed our way through it! I wasn't comfortable knowing that they may be wrong! So I went on the Internet in search for a Vacuum Line Diagram, and on a forum was one perfect for my needs! The next day I disconnected nearly all the vacuum lines and started from scratch, following the diagram it was good to see that when I started the engine again the smoke was next to none, but was still billowing!

I got a permit ($46) to drive the Cordia so we could look for any problems... Yes we found some!

The replacement gearbox feels pretty good, Reverse works well, but 5th is not engaging... But I wasn't gonna pull the gearbox out to get another to replace it, so I'll get it repaired once I've got her on the road and registered!

On letting the clutch out so the car begins to move, there's a very noticable creaking/twisting sound in the front right section of the body, I also noticed this particular area of the car was lower than the opposite side, dad and I thought that it may be a dead strut.

I asked my sister's boyfriend's dad to come over and help me figure out why there was no movement on the boost guage at all, and there was also a leak of coolant under the inlet manifold!

We could feel a kind of rubber nipple feeling thing under the inlet manifold which was dripping coolant, but we couldn't think of what it could be, so we had to remove the manifold! This same day, I discovered that the compressor wheel in the turbo wasn't spinning when the revs were up, so there was a definate problem! Oh yeh, the turbo was wet with oil inside too!

A few days later we removed the Turbo from the exhaust manifold and sent it off to 'Adelaide Turbo Services', Bill (Turbo Tech.) said my turbo was on it's way out and it would be good to repair or even replace the turbo. Turns out the housing in my turbo was f**ked, so he got ahold of a good secondhand one for me, and rebuilt it with bits and pieces he had in his workshop. When he'd finished the job of $860 he said, this should be a "Pretty Sweet Turbo". And when it arrived the next day it was so clean and just looked awsome! Hence the pictures in the gallery! Bill explained to me how these TC06 turbo's are designed to work and incase you don't know... I'll tell you!

The TC06 Turbo charger is much bigger than the TC05 (used in the AC Unleaded Cordias). Big turbo's are designed to work at higher engine RPM, the Cordia's TC06 turbo should begin boosting at around 4000 RPM and will continue boosting to redline, and pulling harder as the RPM increases. The smaller TC05 turbo is designed for lower RPM, lets say 3000 it begins to take effect... BUT there will be a significant power drop at around 5500 RPM. So for drag racing it is better to have a bigger turbo, so you have MORE PUSH and no drop-off high in the revs! And when the turbo starts boosting it's a much harder PUSH than it would be from a smaller turbo. Bill from ATS gave me the option of the smaller turbo, or the bigger turbo... I chose the bigger option, for obvious reasons!

OK... We took off the inlet manifold and the reason it was leaking??? Well... Some complete idiot thought that if it blows a hole through the bottom of the manifold you simply screw in a screw and cover it in silicone. Well we thought we'd replace it instead. So, City Dismantlers sent me a manifold, but it had a piece broken off it! So I sent it back! Then they sent me another one, it was marked Turbo, but I'm not so sure, it was missing the water supply for the turbo, so we replumbed one off of the heater hose.

On the last occasion that I drove the Cordia, the speedo wasn't working, but I sort of had a feeling it wouldn't, because there was no cable inside the outer when we screwed the speedo in. So yeh, City Dismantlers got me a good one and no I didn't send this one back either!

The Cordia was missing a front right mudflap too, so I bought one for $22 from... City Dismantlers! AGAIN!

The CV seal in the passenger side of the gearbox was dripping fluid! So we disconnected the suspension on the passenger side and removed the long CV shaft... I also discovered that the 2 bolts connecting the stabiliser bar were indeed bent and stripped of thread, so we got some replacement bolts! I got under the car, persisted with pushing the new seal in, it was a pain but once it went in a little, it pushed in evenly without too much trouble. Adding a smear of oil around the inner lip for the CV to rotate in, to prevent damaging the seal. We pushed the shaft into place, re-assembled the suspension and put the wheel back on. Killed 2 birds with one stone! Wicked!

I had a bit of extra money, and really wanted to drive the car... So I payed for a permit and took it for another drive, and more leaks I found. A bolt on the oil filter housing was leaking, the clutch line, and the turbo oil return line too!

It has been a few weeks since something has been done to the car, I am tight for money now having quit my job at Pizza Slut and having paid off only $200 on my car's sound system in nearly 4 months! I need to get this layby paid off soon or I may risk losing the equipment... So to get some extra cash I put the Cordia's old blow off valve on Ebay, it's a Turbosmart Vee Port, I sold it for $181.00 on Ebay. So once I get that money in my account I will probably go and pay $150 off the sound gear.

Anyway, I went into Auto Pro and tried to get ahold of a new seatbelt for the drivers seat, they don't list seatbelts for Cordia's, so I had to get a custom one made and sent down from Melbourne, took a whole week to get here. So when I took the new belt home and went to fit it, but the damn thing has a really short bracket to bolt the locking mechanism in, so I went back into Auto Pro and told them it wasn't going to fit without a longer mounting bracket... Luckily, the manufacturer stocks an extension for an additional $10.00, so hopefully this works.

The big 4 inch Canon muffler was blasting 96 dB, and to get this defect off I need to make it legal and below 90 dB! I booked the Cordia into the local muffler shop and had an ordinary looking free-flow type rear muffler with a smaller pipe diameter installed. Only $110 including labour, this worked a treat, now she's only purring 87 dB. Still loud, but legal!

Well... Good News! The seatbelt assembly cost me $132.00 and took me about 2 hours to install, and is working perfectly! I only paid off $67.00 on the Sound System, and now I only owe $350.

Okay... I finally had a vehicle inspector ring me to book a time, I was like "YEH WICKED!!!" So I went for the inspection in the rain. He said it was the neatest looking Cordia he'd seen in a long time, and everything was a pass! Except for one thing... He spotted a crack in the chassis above the front right strut tower... right behind the engine mount! (From an earlier accident, wasn't repaired properly and the weld cracked open). So I have to get it plated and welded... And to do that I had to remove the engine!

So the engine came out in about 3 hours without too much hassle, I had the Cordia taken on a trailer to get repaired, they quoted me around $300.

So I waited a week, and still no news of the Cordia... So I went in to see the repairers, they said that the chassis needs to be straightened, it had been in a bad crash at some stage and whoever repaired it didn't do it properly, even one of the vital chassis bolts on the lower front left corner was missing! This could have caused a deadly accident if the driver was required to brake suddenly at high speed, the front end is mainly replacement panels. The chassis was never straightened and was welded back together badly, the welds are cracking apart! The front right corner of the car is about 2 inches too low! Now I have to get another trailer and take it to the local crash repairer to get the chassis squared!

Okay, now it gets really interesting! I hired the trailer again, and relocated the Cordia. The panel-beaters attempted to straighten the chassis... But the cracks only got worse! So... the front right chassis rail is being replaced, as is the one securing the radiator and bumper, they also ordered a second-hand apron too, which is the panel below the front bumper incase you were wondering.

Finally, I have done alot of thinking and come up with a theory of the how this accident occurred, taking into account different parts that have been replaced, and panels around the engine bay with red paint flaking beneath.

"An earlier owner of this Cordia GSR was involved in an accident, possibly running into another vehicle, crushing the drivers side in about 2 feet. Pushing the bonnet back into the firewall, forcing the bonnet catch out of alignment, and tearing the exhaust manifold from the head. The radiator and cooling fans were destroyed, the chassis rails were bent beyond repair. Smashing the entire front end and destroying the right-hand driveshaft, while warping the disc brake on the drivers side. Most panels and parts were replaced and were the answer of someone's 'quick fix', they tidy'd the car up and sold it for someone elses problem."

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extra added: 30/11/2007

So finally the Cordia was finished and able to be taken home, I hired another trailer and we were in business. The new sections of the engine bay were all sprayed silver to match the car, and everything was looking fabulous, I was very impressed with the work they had done, but not so happy with the $1260.00 bill from the repairer, but luckily my dad leant me the money to get the job done, and within a couple of years my debt to him would finally be paid off after many instalments.

I had recently been medically discharged from the Australian Army in 2005, and was due for surgery on one of my knees, so this would put me out of service for approximately 6 weeks. So being unable to walk I was still very determined to get my Cordia running, but it didn’t have an engine in the bay, so I required some help to achieve this. I couldn’t very well work on my car while on crutches and in constant pain, so my dad and sisters boyfriend kindly offered their hands for a day.

So it was pretty much a straight forward job to drop the engine back into the bay, as we’d already done it once before. I was so very proud of myself for persisting with this machine, there were people who said I was crazy for buying it in the first place; so I may have been crazy, but at least I knew what I wanted.

So we got the engine bay all back together, and we started her up… But there was some ugly roughness going on inside the engine, we couldn’t pin-point the cause at all, we checked the ignition system over and over again and it seemed that all cylinders were firing, but there was something funny going on.

I purchased a permit to drive the car to the exhaust shop to have a silent muffler installed, it only cost me around $80 and it was nice and quiet just so she’d pass the roadworthy inspection.

It soon came time to book the Cordia back in for the second inspection, to try and get this defect sticker off of the car, I was nervous it would fail again; but it was a simple check, the inspector was happy to see the work was done to the chassis and she was looking like new again. Needn’t he know that the engine was running on only 3 cylinders most of the time, but neither did we. The defect was cleared that day, and I drove away from the garage carefully, not to hint that she wasn’t running well at all.

It took several months of diagnosing problems before I decided to replace the distributor cap and rotor button, after installed these new parts I thought I should give the spark plugs a bit of clean, again. The next thing I knew, I fired the engine up and she ran so smooth it almost brought a tear to my eye! I just had to drive it like this now; my dad and I were so excited to finally have the engine running on all 4 cylinders and smoothly at that.

I said to dad “I’m going to take it up the road and back to see if it feels any better”, I reversed out of the driveway, stuck the shifter into 1st gear and eased on the accelerator. The engine wasn’t shunting like it did previously, the revs increased easily and evenly too. I was happy that the exhaust also had a nice note to it, and then at around 4000 rpm the turbo began to pull…… and oh my goodness! I clenched onto the wheel while pressing harder and harder on the accelerator, changing gears, the turbo regained momentum. This was my first ever experience of driving a turbocharged car and I was in love. Before I could change into 3rd gear I was approaching 80km/h in the backstreets, I couldn’t believe that my fortune had finally turned to reveal this success to our efforts.

I turned around, boosted again while listening to that addictive rhythm of the engine, as I pulled in my driveway, my dad was standing there smiling, and I couldn’t help but grin back and say that it was an awesome improvement! I jumped out the car and gave the seat to my dad. He drove off in a similar manner as I did, it sounded even better hearing her rev away into the distance, I stood there with my arms crossed over and very thrilled to finally have the Cordia running well after 18 months of owning it.