My Evo 8 restoration joys in a winter time...

It's been long time since I've posted here last time... Never mind, still with mitsubishi ownership, enjoying multiple Evo 8 surprises... :). Here is the one of them...
Well, story begins in 2016 when whilst MOT time Ben from Eurospec pointed out to me that my side panels (floor sills) need attention in the future as rust begun to eat in quite badly. Another year gone, aware of the issue, still handling Evo quite cowboy manner with jacking up for quick jobs underneath. Then in spring/summer 2018 noticed that I couldn't wait longer and all floor sealing, side sills and other underneath issues need quite drastic and rapid attention.
So I've contacted with my old pals in Poland who actually do restore classic cars (mostly for German market), and their craftsmanship is well known in community. Exchange of emails, pictures, phone calls, etc, and decision is made:
- if I want to keep Evo for very long term (and I want!) then general and some structural repair must be done. No short cuts, just full underneath body restoration.
So, agreed to leave my E8 for minimum several months for recovery, I went for search of side sills structural panels etc. In the end got one from Ross Sport and Amayama, but 6-9 weeks waiting time imported from Japan, and then shipping to Poland. Anyway logistic was stressful.
In August I drove to Poland, being again on annual Mitsubishi meeting, having fun with some novice rallying stages whilts there etc, then visiting my parents and on 12th September last year Evo was left for major surgery. Since then I got multiple images of work progress, just till 25th January when I went back to Poland to pick up my finished and ready E8. Yay!
So I thought I would share some of those images... :)
Enjoy!!

General check of floorpan cndition:
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And now truth and horror been revelead after proper jet wash:

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More horror stories after jet wash...

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And more...

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And few more...

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As you can see, all Mitsubishi vehicles rot quite badly. Rust gets in well hidden areas. What's most annoying, structural panels, vital for vehicle, are very very poorly protected from factory. Well, it was obvious to me that it was the very last moment to save my E8, but how many other Evo's are around, looking fine from outside and in general, but already beyond structural repair??

More pictures to follow :)

Not a good sight, but if your tame restorers are confident of a full structural and cosmetic repair then that will be a worthy steed for many years. Looking forward to seeing the transformation!

I'm considering sending my Galant away for a full survey and repair with rust protection applied in the future as well.

If I didn't buy a Galant then a 3000GT/GTO or Evo would be my alternative routes to scratching the Mitsubishi itch.

Swinks mate didn't you not get the underside sorted when you bought it those year's ago...?? Thought you had buddy...Then again I could have dreamt it...

Yes, indeed, it's been treated in 2013, as you can see not lasting long if done "just about" :(

So, side sills repair, then. In short... no spot welding (only continues threads), no putty etc, only tin surface. And so on... Plenty of bashing and hammering but we got there...

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And more repair...

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And more

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Still working...

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Getting there...

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Thats some awesome work going on there, i keep my eyes closed when i jack up my leggie but i know in the future i will need to embrace the horror and get it done. Problem is i dont have the skills for bodywork.... I bet that work is costing a pretty fortune?

What I've found was that door sills and floor pan vital panels were not reinforced in Evo, at least in E7-9 generation. Just typical structures and profiles. I guess due to weight saving, but mixture with British salty roads and result wasn't good. There were even cracked welds which supposed to hold panels together. That's actually sign of poor manufacturing process.
So to got everything right I had to source body panels from warehouses across Japan, and not let them purchases to bankrupt me :)
As for the costs... just wait till I finish uploading all photo story :)
BTW, I reckon that Legnums and Galants were better built, better quality. Just from my experience.

Silly question time: are the rails and new underside bits made for the Evo 8 or are they generic steel extrusions made to fit? Are they supplied by Mitsubishi or another company?

What is the likelihood of such material being available for a Galant when the time comes? Is it identical punched/slotted rails like this, or is it simple steel plate?

I'm afraid not generic panels, original Mitsubishi replacement parts. Here is example of one I got from Ross Sport (they imported one from their warehouse in Japan):
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So, time for more piccys.
After repair of both sides, came the time for general rust removal and sandblasting. Quite interesting power tools you can get nowadays or hire one. We hired very sofisticated portable sandblaster with massive range of extensions and nozzles, even tiny miny ones etc, so no need for stripping everything. For better effect was used mixture of corundum... Expensive stuff though...
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More rust removal...

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And miserable state of the floorpan...

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