1984 Mitsubishi Sigma Galant Turbo review from Australia and New Zealand

Turbo broke making car slower.

Rust.

Blown head gasket at 135K.

Japanese sludge-oil crapped up the sink holes.

Brakes.

Suspension.

Power-Steering rack.

Air-con.

Murphy's Law.

This was my dad's car. He would write a review for it but then it would be a novel.

For the Export this particular model would be the 1985 New Shape square and wedge body of the front-wheel-drive Galant or Sigma or Magna, depending on which country it went to.

In this case the Sigma Galant Turbo fwd was built side-by-side with old-reliable until that one got discontinued.

For the the first few few years this was an excellent motor as a family car and also a head turner as the turbo gave the car a much needed boost when overtaking.

Dad used the car on holidays when family came over from Holland. The suspension received the heavier duty L200 springs jacking the rear of the car up and making it look like a hot-rod.

One problem was that the rust came in the pillars and also the edge of the rear fenders. That was an on-going battle.

As a mechanic Dad would do all the work himself in his spare time. With all these spare Mitsubishi's around (pet project Galant, my Chariot and Mum's Galant) he still had ample choice to go to work unheeded. The Turbo broke and the car ended up at home for an overhaul when it reached approx 250K. Not a bad run for a Turbo driven car. Dad bought a non-turbo 2.0L '86er for a $100 bargain price and proceeded to swap most of the non-turbo parts in a bit to convert it to a standard non-turbo car. The mechanical genius that he is he succeeded and the car drove its remaining years as a standard Galant with power-steering and Air-conditioning.

Sadly Dad's pride and joy (borrowed money from Gran) had too much rust in it that would require panel replacement. He sold it on to a young apprentice mechanic who would modify it further and restore it to its former glory.

Ironically its still driving around. It now sports 17" chrome mags low-profile tires. It appears rust-free. Its still white and Dad's red racing stripes still adorn the car. It has a new rego plate. And all the windows are tinted. The car looks absolutely mean. I noticed an inter-cooler mounted just behind the fascia of the car so the young mechanic had reincarnated the car into a boy-racers dream.

I'll better stop here else this will become a novel.