Since Peter and I began the blog, it’s been a fascinating process getting to understand the builds and the stories behind each feature or enthusiast we’ve come across.
Each build has a story, even if there doesn’t seem to be much that meets the eye, we’ve made a concerted effort to learn about the owners’ backgrounds, inspirations and motivations that pushed them to create through their vehicle.
Having completed doing a small restoration on this VR4, it got me thinking about my actual kickstarters into the love of all things automotive, and although my taste in builds and genre of projects are much more varied than they were years ago, the early seeds were perhaps a little more inconspicuous compared to what I consume today.
My relationship with this white car is indicative of this.
For those unaware of what it is, the Mitsubishi Galant VR4 was the precursor to the Lancer Evolution models that took the WRC and tuning world by storm in the late nineties and early noughties. It was the Three Diamonds’ early entrant into the championship, and although it didn’t win the same number of accolades as its successors, the ingredients were similar: 4G63 Turbo, AWD in a sedan shape.
This particular example has been owned by my extended family since new. Purchased in 1991 by my uncle in Canberra, the car was moved from home to home up and down the east coast of the nation when his family immigrated to the United States in the mid-nineties. My family migrated to Australia from Hong Kong in 2000, and with a spare space at our house the Galant served as the school bus for my formative years in primary.
It was a thrill to have dad drive us around the streets, hitting boost and there was a sense of occasion every time we were able to take the VR4 out, rather than the new, shiny, blue GX Impreza.
The memories aren’t specific to an event or place, but rather remembered through the senses I experienced…
The sound of the blow-off valve coming off throttle.
The violent shove as the turbo began to work its magic and propel us down the road.
Watching the boost gauge “load” with a sense of anticipation of what was to come.
The sight of the car sitting aggressively with black wheels.
My family moved back to Hong Kong for a few years, but once we made Australia our permanent home, my uncle had returned to Australia and took back possession of the Mitsubishi. I’d see it each time we visited Canberra, and on my Learners I took the car for a spin, managing to stall four times at the same set of lights… during peak hour.
Almost a decade later, my involvement with cars has grown exponentially but when my uncle asked if I wanted to take the VR4 on board as a restoration project, it was a no brainer. Unfortunately it had become a victim of an attempted theft in Canberra, and he had lost all motivation to rectify its issues so I was tasked with picking up the pieces.
Getting it back up and running was more straightforward than most projects of the same ilk thanks to a couple of key parts providers, and the services of FE Motorsports and Infinite Detailing, but I’d be lying if I said that driving it for the first time was a mundane event.
Since those early experiences in the passenger seat, the thrill of those rides had since been replaced by my own seat time behind numerous vehicles of varying performance, many with superior handling, more power, insane sounds, and increased proficiency for any specific task.
However, I don’t think I’ve smiled as hard with a car as much as I did the first time I was able to enjoy this car from the workshop back home, cleaned up and running properly.
The nostalgia of my childhood, watching the boost gauge load up and awaiting the kick up the arse, the whistle when I let off the gas. Plus, the surprise that it rode and drove better than all my other cars!
There are certain things that I find important in any of my projects: an aftermarket look, good fitment and an aesthetic that attracts attention from enthusiasts and general bystanders alike. I require those things, just like how I dress and behave, because it’s what I think best represents me to other people. I wouldn’t say it’s to impress others, to me it’s personality and self-expression.
Even so, not once since I’ve taken this VR4 back have I felt anything like that when it comes to taking photos, driving it around or showing it off to friends. Not because it’s classy and tasteful to drive around in a vintage car. Not because it’s fashionable to collect JDM right now. Not because “I’m a real enthusiast that knows old Mitsubishis”. It’s simple with the Galant, it represents pure unadulterated joy.
It doesn’t win Instagram likes, nor particularly turn heads and will never be renowned as a performance beast. It’s a running joke with the missus that it’s really just a refrigerator on wheels.
I find myself preferring it over the M3 and the EK though…
It serves as a potent reminder that a lot of the time, the raw, innocent dreams, joys and aspirations of our childhood are still what makes us happiest as adults. The period of our lives that weren’t disrupted or damaged by experiences and the never-ending tree branch of emotions, reasons, excuses.
We saw things for what they were, loved things not because of how they’re perceived, or thought of by strangers, and participated in activities because it would make US happy. Perhaps it’s a shame that in some ways, the complexity of the adult mind can dilute our positive emotions and compound the negative!
I loved the VR4 as a kid because it was fast, exciting, an occasion. That’s why I love it even more so now, it delivers the same reasons, without the bullshit that we take into account as adults!