I aquired a totaled 97 GST, engine is mint, tranny is mint, wheels all good, interior all good, all of the body is good... suspension is totaled. It has a salvaged title because of the suspension damage. My GS doesn't, and my GS has lower insurance rates. What part do I need to pull off of the GST to convert my GS?

I will be pulling body parts and wheel and interior to swap over to my GS... But what besides the engine and ECU do I need? Do I need to pull the dash to get the harness out? Tell me everything!

InfiniteGSX said:

I aquired a totaled 97 GST, engine is mint, tranny is mint, wheels all good, interior all good, all of the body is good... suspension is totaled. It has a salvaged title because of the suspension damage. My GS doesn't, and my GS has lower insurance rates. What part do I need to pull off of the GST to convert my GS?

I will be pulling body parts and wheel and interior to swap over to my GS... But what besides the engine and ECU do I need? Do I need to pull the dash to get the harness out? Tell me everything!

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Don't. If anything, I would see if you can repair the GS-T suspension with your GS components... don't try to swap the motors and tranny's, the only person that I have seen successfully swap it had it running for 10 miles before it broke.

You can't use much from the GS-T. You can sell the transmission and engine, although, who would really want a 7 bolt.

You can use the turbo, sidemount, oil feed line and coolant lines, but that's about it from under the hood. GS-T/X motor/tranny set-up is flip flopped compared to a RS/GS so swapping motors would take more time and money than you would want to contribute.

Aside from that, any body parts that you would like will fit as well as the rims, if they're still in ok condition.

I don't see how a suspension can be totaled and none of the body be messed up though.

More than anything, if you don't want to mess with the suspension, you've got a nice parts car you can hopefully profit from.

keep the gst don't touch your gs, find a gst shell with out a salvage title and then perform a swap, with the gst parts. you'll come out way cheaper and save alot of time and frustration.

beating4g63s said:

don't touch your gs.

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Don't talk like that here, this is the 2gnt bolt on tech forum

Well he does have the whole front clip, ecu and wiring harness etc., this would allow a full 420a to 4g63 conversion. He would need a welder to get the motor and tranny mounts in place. It sounds like the unibody has been damaged beyond repair, so what does he have to loose?

I think the old saying If you have to ask, your not ready to do it applies. I wouldn't even attempt it if I were you.

WMD said:

Well he does have the whole front clip, ecu and wiring harness etc., this would allow a full 420a to 4g63 conversion. He would need a welder to get the motor and tranny mounts in place. It sounds like the unibody has been damaged beyond repair, so what does he have to loose?

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I woudn't even bother, personally.

DSMcrazy3 said:

I woudn't even bother, personally.

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meh, ya it would'nt be easy but he would be able to do it properly. Theres a reason theres not to many 420a's to 4g63's rolling around.

WMD said:

meh, ya it would'nt be easy but he would be able to do it properly. Theres a reason theres not to many 420a's to 4g63's rolling around.

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Are there any rolling around? I know there are probably some sitting on jackstands

GSGoinFast said:

Are there any rolling around? I know there are probably some sitting on jackstands

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WMD said:

Well he does have the whole front clip, ecu and wiring harness etc., this would allow a full 420a to 4g63 conversion. He would need a welder to get the motor and tranny mounts in place. It sounds like the unibody has been damaged beyond repair, so what does he have to loose?

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Easier said than done.

You would have to do a lot of measuring and to keep the front clip and the rest of the body in spec for it to even be drivable. Too much work imo. I'm doing a full rear sectioning of a vehicle in a collision repair school and that is a tough project. I don't even have to worry about an engine for the rear, but the measuring and the cutting and the welding is a lot of work and if you don't have a lot of experience, you will do a horrible job. If anyone is attempting that kind of work, stop . Take it to a proffessional body shop and have them do it. It's not a sunday project to chop a car in have and put another half on.

would you be willing on selling your rear brakes and sway bar off the GST???

Here's a good reference for the swap composed by moi (that's french for me, )

http://www.team-2g.com/mitsubishi-eclipse/showthread.php?t=6620

totaleclipse_05 said:

Easier said than done.

You would have to do a lot of measuring and to keep the front clip and the rest of the body in spec for it to even be drivable. Too much work imo. I'm doing a full rear sectioning of a vehicle in a collision repair school and that is a tough project. I don't even have to worry about an engine for the rear, but the measuring and the cutting and the welding is a lot of work and if you don't have a lot of experience, you will do a horrible job. If anyone is attempting that kind of work, stop . Take it to a proffessional body shop and have them do it. It's not a sunday project to chop a car in have and put another half on.

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You took my quote out of context. I said he has all of the parts to do a full swap, even the mounts, hence the

WMD said:

He would need a welder to get the motor and tranny mounts in place

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which he would cut off, and reweld them onto his chasie.

BTW, I personaly own a car that has been cut in half and frankensteined from two cars (tempos, btw) to fix severe front end damage. And guess what, it drives straight and you cant even tell!!
There are many people who are fully competent to do this work themselves and dont need to take it to a body shop. You would want them to take it to a body shop regardless, so you could get payed, right?

WMD said:

You took my quote out of context. I said he has all of the parts to do a full swap, even the mounts, hence the

which he would cut off, and reweld them onto his chasie.

BTW, I personaly own a car that has been cut in half and frankensteined from two cars (tempos, btw) to fix severe front end damage. And guess what, it drives straight and you cant even tell!!
There are many people who are fully competent to do this work themselves and dont need to take it to a body shop. You would want them to take it to a body shop regardless, so you could get payed, right?

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Are you seriously encourageing him to attempt this swap?

GSGoinFast said:

Are you seriously encourageing him to attempt this swap?

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yep. Everyone tells him to shy away from it because of all the work and how hard it will be blah blah blah. And ya, it will be probably be the most challenging mechanical thing he will ever do, and yes it will take a lot of time and money etc. But its about being one of the few who have actually done the swap and being able to say he did it. Then he can throw it in everybody's face when they say its not possible, or its stupid or whatever.

Wow, I'm sorry I'm just trying to support someones dream.

Ive seen it done and it drives. It took alot of measuring work but it can be done. It helps if you know someone or can weld yourself. You better have alot of free time on your hands as well.

WMD said:

yep. Everyone tells him to shy away from it because of all the work and how hard it will be blah blah blah. And ya, it will be probably be the most challenging mechanical thing he will ever do, and yes it will take a lot of time and money etc. But its about being one of the few who have actually done the swap and being able to say he did it. Then he can throw it in everybody’s face when they say its not possible, or its stupid or whatever.

Wow, I'm sorry I'm just trying to support someones dream.

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NO, thats not what its about at all. He didn't say any of that, it seems like its more of your dream then his. It appears that he thinks he can do it for cheap and easy because he has a salvaged GS-T. Don't encourage him to do something he obviously isn't capable of if he has to ask what needs to be done. It is a waste of time, and money, when after all of it you have the performance of a stock car.

no its not my dream, and I'm encouraging him to do it because he does have a trashed gst and all of the parts, just sitting at his feet.

GSGOINGFAST said:

It is a waste of time, and money, when after all of it you have the performance of a stock car.

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I guess your just not interested in pushing the limits of your abilities then. Maybe he is and wants to take on the task. If he can weld, take measurements, and see, then this project is possible since he has every part and every measurement from the gst engine bay.

Its pointless to argue it anyway because the decision is ultimately his. Its is possible, its just a matter of how much effort he is willing to put into it, which you obviously would not have in this case. Where not asking you to do the swap, he wants to know what he will need, and the answer was already given, front clip, ecu, instrament cluster, and the whole wiring harness.

WMD said:

no its not my dream, and I'm encouraging him to do it because he does have a trashed gst and all of the parts, just sitting at his feet.

I guess your just not interested in pushing the limits of your abilities then. Maybe he is and wants to take on the task. If he can weld, take measurements, and see, then this project is possible since he has every part and every measurement from the gst engine bay.

Its pointless to argue it anyway because the decision is ultimately his. Its is possible, its just a matter of how much effort he is willing to put into it, which you obviously would not have in this case. Where not asking you to do the swap, he wants to know what he will need, and the answer was already given, front clip, ecu, instrament cluster, and the whole wiring harness.

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... You're arguement is uh.. noble and all... But rediculous.

Re-read the first post. This isn't a, I know how hard this is to do, but I REALLY want to do it question... The poster is assuming that they are the same basic chassis and all he has to do is modify some things. Heck he asked if you had to pull the dash out to remove the wiring harness. Just understand where the poster is coming from, and don't have them start a project that there is no way they'll be able to finish.

There is a difference between doing something that no-one else has done and it being cool, and doing something that no one else has done, because it is entirely pointless and a waste of time. In the end, he'll have several hundred hours of his time into a car that is no better than a stock GSX... how much do you value your time? with that same time he could pick up an extra job and afford a stock GSX. Maybe even get a job at a shop and learn about cars at the same time.

I'm going to re-iterate. The project is physically possible. The end result is not worth the money and effort that it would require.

drivemusicnow said:

I'm going to re-iterate. The project is physically possible. The end result is not worth the money and effort that it would require.

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Exactly. Even if he attempted it, there's no certainty that it will run right, nor drive right.

WMD said:

You would want them to take it to a body shop regardless, so you could get payed, right?

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Yeah, because you know I'm buddy buddy with every body shop tech in the country

Or maybe it's because if you find a competant body shop with trained techs, it has a POSSIBILITY of running alright.

OP, if you have the money and this is something you really REALLY want to do, please take it to a professional shop where they know what they are doing. If you attempt it on your own and it doesn't line up, run, or any of the above, then what are you going to do with it? You will have 2 cars that don't run instead of 1 that runs and 1 parts car. If you are set on having a GS-T, I would say sell both of the cars and find a good, reliable one that has been built that way from the factory.

I cant believe what im hearing. I helped my friend do his swap it took alot of time and headaches, I only advise it if you have the proper equipment. I live in an area with more machine shops and custom fab places than McDonalds. If you want to learn a good amount about cars this is a good way to do it. In the country we don't worry to much about someone else saying it cant be done. It is better to try. My neighbor runs a small business swaping cummins desiels out of rams and puts them in to late 80's early-mid 90's silverado's because of the stock engines poor performance. He started with no template to go off of. No he didn't go school for it he learned it on his own. Everything i know about engines i learned from making mistakes and the people around me. With the wrecked eclipse he already has a live, known to work template to go off of. All its really going to take is the measuring of the existing motor mount locations in the old car, then cutting them out and welding them in the same place in the new one. Of course all the wires are a headache but, guess what he has every wire he needs in the old car. It makes me kind of sick to my stomach that some of you are that afraid of accomplishing this.

No one's afraid of doing it; they just all know it isn't worth the time and effort. Besides, it isn't just a matter of making new engine mounts and connecting wires. The accessories will need to be retrofitted, along with the cooling system and complete drivetrain. Other than the interior, suspension, and a few universal electrical components, the two cars have nothing in common.

If he happens to have a welder, a custom fabricator and a full service machine shop at his disposal, then I suppose there would be no harm done. Otherwise, he'd be much better off spending his time and money on either a working order GS-T or building up the 420A. The 420A is a very competent motor that can take quite a beating after being rebuilt, mind you...

Thats all im saying if you have the tools to do it, it can be done. It has been done. You just have want to do it. And yes we ghetto rigged some stuff but the car still works and its been 3 years now. And yes i would have taken pictures of it but stuck in Iraq