THE BEAST

This is "The Beast:"...it's my hand-me-down 1977 LB Lancer...the car I learned to drive on, and one that I'll continue to drive until I can no longer repair her.

The car had one previous owner before my family bought it, and for the 11 years that we've had her, she's never once broken down, or stopped any of us from getting to where we were going.I have never found anything I couldn't squeeze in the boot, or put on the roof rack, and it has no problems going up dirt tracks. Even a full wallaby strike halfway from Melbourne to Sydney didn't stop it from completing the return journey of around 1000kms before it went in for repairs!

These pics are from a trip my sister took with her 3 uni friends back in 2003, around Tasmania,

"The Beast" is as stock standard as the day she was made, but after travelling almost 500,000kms, while there's no signs of stopping...she is looking and feeling a little worn out.

This summer I'm giving her a full workover, returning her as good as new, with a few changes...all within the bounds of keepeing her original (for a Lancer)...this will include work on:

Engine:Being the standard 4G33, (1400) she will be bored out to 1.6L, reconditioned and twin downdraught carbies fitted.

Brakes: A whole new set of brakes will be fitted out, as they are no longer serviceablle.

Suspension: Stiffer springs will be fit, and badly needed shock absorbers refit.

Drivetrain: a 5 Speed gearbox will be fit to the car, (with a matching diff centre)

Wheels: I've already got some oldschool Alloys for her, I just need rubber for them and then she'll have 6" and 7" rims front and back respectively.

Exterior: All developing rust spots will be surgically removed and covered up, and the entire vehicle will be sprayed in rally "Works" team colours. 

Interior: Dash and Trim will be reupholstered and changed from that wonderful 70's poo brown to a much more stylish Black and Chrome.