The Top DSM Community on the Web

For 1990-1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse, Eagle Talon, Plymouth Laser, and Galant VR-4 Owners. Log in to remove most ads.

Please Support ExtremePSI
Please Support STM Tuned

1991 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX resto-mod

This site may earn a commission from merchant
affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Piranhaman33

Supporting VIP
149
12
Jun 16, 2003
Firestone, Colorado
Been on the site for a long time and I've been meaning to do a build journal for awhile now. Here's what I've done over the course of the last 5 years. This is my second DSM, I had been laid off so I parted out my first one. Here's the rundown on my current GSX. Bought the car for $800 dollars running. I had originally planned to just do a mild street build but over the course of time things changed. So sit back, relax, and enjoy your read.

Here's the day I went to pick the car up.
This is the view from the rear, the body seemed pretty straight.
Misc025.jpg
Misc039.jpg

I guess at one point a power steering leak may have caused a fire. The paint was chipping away and some stuff under the hood appeared to be melted.
Misc032.jpg
Misc033.jpg

The interior looked to be okay other than the front seats. The rear seats were perfect though.
Misc028.jpg
Misc029.jpg

So I get the car home put the stuff back on the car that the previous owner removed, topped off the oil and fired it up. The car started right up and ran perfectly. The radiator had a hole and it needed a clutch adjustment but other than that it was able to be driven. 2 days go by and I decided I wanted to start rebuilding it so I took the engine out.

DSC00971.jpg

The Dirty Hole shot
DSC00973.jpg

Now that I have the engine out of the car I'm putting together a list of things to start buying for the build. Just before I start buying all kinds of goodies I get the notice that I'll no longer have a job in 2 weeks. The branch I was working at was being shutdown and operations are being taken over by some company in India. Well, that put a halt on the project and I'll be damned if I let this car go.
Now that I'm on a super tight budget I'm doing little things to the car here and there.

I cleaned and got most of the stains out of the carpet.
DSC01038.jpg

I also removed that dash to get the heater core replaced since I didn't want to do it after I got the car running again
DSC01044.jpg

Found a non abs car at the local junkyard and cleaned/painted the engine bay.
DSC01051.jpg

A few months went by and I finally found a job. After paying all the money I had borrowed and payments I had to defer, I was finally able to start focusing on the Eclipse again. I was working nights and had access to some shop tools. Next item I decided to work on was pulling the front sub frame.
6ad11e51.jpg

Here's how it looked after getting some serious power washing time.
bc60755c.jpg

And here's how it turned out with some fresh paint and new bushings.
98ad8c64.jpg

So the front sub frame is checked off the list. Next up buying parts! First on the list, something I have to look at everyday was the destroyed hood. I found some shop outside LA that had a carbon fiber hood for the 1ga so I picked it up.
254a713e.jpg

Next to be acquired were the new radiator and bearings.
4411dbbe.jpg

Got some new control arms so I can finish the front end.
99fe421a.jpg

Now for some ARP Mains and a balance shaft elimination kit.
e7018064.jpg
f15abc7b.jpg

Picked up an Evo Steering wheel
7f5359f0.jpg
 
4 bolt rear, got the axles and cups as well.
8b76a72e.jpg

Also got together some revised lifters, eagle rods and an eagle crank.
9c410803.jpg
3b094e1b.jpg
fa079442.jpg

BJ ended up in town with some shop after disappearing from the face of the earth. He literally gave me an intake manifold that I started polishing.
80f373bd.jpg

Decided to go with a sc6262
55478f86.jpg

JNZ came through with a big box of goodies. All new oem lights, front case gasket and shift cables.
1ce912a5.jpg
c1c07240.jpg
ae2d2665.jpg
3025cab0.jpg

Decided to put more work in on the car instead of ordering parts. Did the rear sub frame bushings.
e0ba348e.jpg

More goodies came...
20111213_175616.jpg

Got my pistons so now it was time to take a ride to the machine shop.
8800f9fa.jpg
20111215_143720.jpg

Now that the short block is done I can focus on the top end....starting with the cams.
20120105_184624.jpg

Let's get to some more hands on stuff. Here I stripped a valve cover.
20111222_191552.jpg

I then painted the letters with high temp red paint, and masked them off for the next step in the process.
20120105_190525.jpg

Sprayed some VHT Wrinkle Plus Black paint and baked it in one of my test chambers at work.
20120105_204958.jpg

The end result
20120105_235637.jpg
 
ARP Cam bolts came so I could put the gears on the cams.
20120109_140208.jpg
20120109_140733.jpg

Bought some EDM Tails from a user on here.
20120827_124521.jpg

Headgasket, Valves, MAP Behives, retainers, guides and locks
20120907_181935.jpg
20120920_182018.jpg
20120918_182852.jpg
20121002_234422.jpg

While the head was at the machine shop I found a non power steering rack at the junkyard.
20120923_191456.jpg

Cleaned it up and rebuilt it.
20121006_190414.jpg
20121006_193842.jpg

Top end gaskets are ready and waiting.
20121005_182641.jpg

While waiting for the head to be done I decided on what brake setup I wanted to do. I ended up choosing the RTM 3000gt brake kit. Found some calipers in the classifieds and tidy'd them up.
20121012_182457.jpg
20121016_021457.jpg

I also installed the evo steering wheel
20121013_195946.jpg

Along with getting the call that my head was done I got the brakes mounted.
20121022_132020.jpg
20121020_203939.jpg

Now it was time to assemble!
20121020_234945.jpg

After getting the head done, I needed to put the car back down on the ground so I got a set of evo rims off the evolutionm classifieds.
20121103_210831.jpg

Time to join the two halves of the engine! Lets start by installing MAP H11 studs.
20121022_153454.jpg

The magic is starting to happen!
20121023_143017.jpg
 
She's timed and ready for the factory timing cover and jays racing alternator relocation kit.
20121119_141026.jpg

Now thats purty!
20121215_143654.jpg

Got the motor mounts, now it's time to drop the engine!
20121221_152129.jpg
20121223_152020.jpg

The motor is finally home!!
20121223_152814.jpg

So all this takes place over the course of 3 years. Don't think I have an endless supply of money to throw at the car. I'll update the rest of the story in a little bit to the point of where the car is today. Stay tuned.
 
So now the motor is in the car. It's so much closer to running it hard to not be excited. My next purchase for the car was an exhaust manifold I found in the classifieds.
Took the manifold and turbo to work to find some hardware, slapped some nuclear grade anti-sieze and it was time to
utilize my ARP Exhaust manifold studs.
20130109_214731.jpg
20130109_222841.jpg

Here's some pics of the setup mounted on the engine.
20130110_065836.jpg
20130110_065856.jpg

The Full Blown Dual pump hanger is finally in and ready to install the 2 Walbro 255's and new factory fuel float I've been sitting on.
20130216_185933_zps02cfea49.jpg

Next on the agenda which I wasn't going to do in the first place until my buddy talked me into doing it were the gauges. I figured this would give the car a more modern feel with the EVO wheel. I purchased 6 Autometer cobalt gauges; a 10,000rpm tach, 0-160mph speedometer, a water temp gauge, fuel level gauge, 0-60psi boost gauge and an oil pressure gauge. Since I didn't want any hoses or pressure lines going into the car I opted to get the electronic stepper motor gauges. So now I needed to come up with a way to mount them into the cluster so I took mine apart and cut out the center section.
20130214_214649_zps66a6ea5d.jpg
20130214_214714_zps5d3ae02a.jpg

I then took a trip to Home Depot and got a sheet of lexan. Using the center section I cut out as a template I then cut out my basic shape in the lexan.
20130214_220728_zps014639ec.jpg

Once I had the lexan insert cut out and trimmed I used some sandable epoxy to kind of mold the insert into the original housing. I also had to trim the stand offs in the back plate of the cluster so the back side of the gauges would fit.
20130214_214643_zpsb8414032.jpg

Using the appropriate hole saw size i then cut out the 2 spots for the tach and speedometer.
20130226_021738_zpsa3264c3c.jpg

Since the cluster is kind of weird shaped, the layout for the rest of the gauges were kind of tricky.
20130227_003538_zps25cc3855.jpg

I decided to remove my fuel pump setup to wire in the float for the fuel level just to make sure it was accurate. Hooked the gauge into a 12vdc power supply and ran through the instructions for the gauge and it ended up being almost perfect.
Screenshot_2013-02-26-02-27-10_zpsd091c416.png

Found some duplicolor trim paint and painted the insert.
20130301_011007_zpsa9ef30b1.jpg

I then wired it to a 12vdc power supply to make sure everything was wired up right.
20130301_233213_zpsf6b59c58.jpg

As expected, it wasn't a perfect fit but a few minutes with a dremel and a couple tries later it was mounted.
20130302_104720_zps1b9abb1a.jpg
20130302_133218_zpsc9d9da40.jpg

The car wasn't running in the last picture, I just had it hooked to a power supply at the battery terminal and that's what the gauge displayed. I was also able to splice and solder into the existing harness so if I ever needed or wanted to I could return the cluster back to stock.
 
holy !@#$% i have so much respect for your patience and build direction...! wow
 
That was all for the cluster at the moment. I wanted to install my -8 fuel feed line and my -6 return along with wiring to the fuel pumps so that's what I did next.
20130414_212228_zps077d7dd9.jpg
20130323_200524_zpsce365684.jpg

ACT is literally 15 minutes away from where I live so I called them up and asked if I could pick up a clutch kit directly from them. The guy on the phone said since I was local they'd sell directly to me so I got myself a clutch and flywheel.
20130326_130851_zps7647c3fa.jpg
20130408_131704_zpsa2b78d33.jpg
20130420_191402_zps5b5e945a.jpg

I also installed the oil cooler.
20130403_110021_zps04f75f42.jpg

Installed the S90 Throttle body
20130514_133149_zps49c06933.jpg

Factory clutch master cylinder intalled
20130525_141640_zps363efbef.jpg

I also got 2 blank keys from JNZ
20130514_075818_zps80ea46d9.jpg

Now was the time to send a garbage bag to Jack's Transmissions!
20130521_124620_zps6e4c875d.jpg

While the transmission is being built I got my hands on Canadian seat belts so I installed them.
20130422_134615_zpse0339b6f.jpg

I got a welding cable from work, a moroso battery box, some breakers and a cut off switch installed.
20130608_163500_zps7816a056.jpg
20130608_105734_zps92b0e0a1.jpg
20130608_120907_zpsf32aa398.jpg
20130612_023714_zps1c2c5581.jpg

Received the ETS Intercooler kit!!
20130704_222952_zps7ac4425c.jpg
 
Got the transmission back from Jack's and I'm pleased with the quality of work! Ended up with the stage before going dogbox.
20130702_132227_zps3dcaaf12.jpg
20130704_193920_zpsa68d8f95.jpg

Here's where converting the car to an electronic speedo happens. I removed the cable that runs into behind the dash and bought a 2g awd speed sensor off ebay. It's a snug fit but it fits with a little effort.
20130704_194123_zpse59e78b7.jpg

Ran a power wire and a ground to the pigtail that came with the speed sensor. The last wire is the signal that runs to the back of speedometer.
Here's the trans installed into the car.
20130704_211045_zpsbe8bb9fe.jpg

Picked up some EVO Recaros of the Evo forums. Modified the 1g sliders to mount up to the seats.
20130915_200729_zpsf73643a6.jpg

I also got Megan Racing Coilovers.
20130921_112625_zps502696aa.jpg

Got them installed as well
20130923_134857_zps9805df5f.jpg
 
one of the final pieces to finally get the car started showed up.
20130605_180235_zps10eeb079.jpg

After running all the sensors for the gauges and buttoning up the harness I was finally able to try to start the engine with speed density.


At this point it was time for me to sit down and learn some stuff about dsm link and speed density.
Here's a start up shot with the gauges.


So after a few days I was able to dial in the idle and get the car rolling so I could break in the engine. Once the car was rolling I had a magnaflow exhaust put on with 3"piping. I also had to calibrate the speedometer and it ended up being accurate to ±2mph with GPS. All together it took me about three weeks to get a thousand miles on the car and to start getting into some boost.


I ran into an issue trying to setup the launch control feature in link. The factory speedometer got its input from a cable that went into the back of the speedometer itself. There's a reed switch inside that then sends a signal to the ecu.
I only had signal from the trans to the speedo. Just by luck, the reed switch sent out a 5v square wave to the ecu via pin #18. The Autometer speedometer has an output connector that just so happens to send out the same signal the ecu was looking for. All I had to do was bridge the connection between the two and ecm link could now register my speed. I was finally able to launch the car.


So now the car has 1500 miles on it and I started following ErikTande's build diary. After seeing what his car looked like after paint I was convinced that I should do some work on mine.
I got some Aerocatch latches for the hood.
20131007_135830_zpsf49d2c9a.jpg

I also followed the write up for the SharpHID LED interior lights.
20140122_024807_zpsusnlnk6d.jpg

I ordered some paint from where ErikTande got his at. AutomotiveTouchup.com. I've never painted a car before nor have I ever done any type of bodywork. I ended up getting a quart of Belize Green Metallic for my year car, a quart of sandable primer and a quart of clear. I had bought a DeVilbiss FLG3 sometime back but chickened out and never used it so I figure I'd have to learn sometime. The drivers side door had a pretty bad dent that I had popped out of it but the metal ended up being creased. Rather then spend a ton of time fixing it I went to the local junkyard on a half off day and got a door and 2 fenders for just under $50.
20140330_154827_zps9bqdnjl9.jpg
20140331_211004_zpszscz1bgi.jpg

I wanted to start small so I grabbed a fender and started sanding the original white paint and clear coat off.
I wasn't sure how far i was going to take things but I ended up buying a DA Sander about half way through.
20140331_214259_zpsoll2ufsj.jpg

I was still working second shift at the time so I was able to get a lot done at work. We have a house nitrogen line so I used that to shoot primer, paint and clear. It worked out pretty well....nitrogen is dry so I wouldn't get condensation or water in the paint. Here's a fender after I primed it.
20140403_195811_zps6hzmc3ku.jpg

After it was sanded down
20140403_195826_zpsovom9bmn.jpg

I then sanded, primed then sanded again the door.
20140411_233428_zpsqc2dkotv.jpg

I was really getting nervous about shooting the base coat but here's the door and one of the fenders just about ready for the base.
20140411_233457_zpslhhdbqcc.jpg

While waiting for a non windy day to shoot the base coat my buddy and I went to work on a Saturday to fab up my wastegate dump tube.
20140412_182551_zpsdtfx9tsh.jpg
20140412_180724_zpsytqvj3so.jpg
 
Nice job I love the gauge cluster, good work on the paint, ive learned painting is a lot of work but fun when you take the chance to get out there and do it.
 
Here's the write up http://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/upgrading-a-1g-interior-lighting-to-led-using-sharphid-kit.429154/

Well.....It's base coat time. I was nervous because of the flat finish but after the clear coat went on it ended up being amazing. The paint matches the door jambs beautifully.
20140415_013624_zpsciruna60.jpg

Now add some clear coat
20140414_221821_zpsfs3tx4bb.jpg

Here's one of the fenders after I sanded and buffed the orange peel out of the clear.
20140417_000909_zpswzcvrxv8.jpg

Same with the door
20140418_233432_zpsjpamxjve.jpg

Here's a shot of the painted passenger side fender.
20140422_140514_zpsyssglh5b.jpg

Here's what the driver's side looked like just before removing the fender and door.
20140426_114750_zpsxdecjjzm.jpg

What it looks like without the fender and door.
20140426_142542_zpssyjxj6iz.jpg

And after the installation:
20140426_162620_zpsnatykef1.jpg
20140426_162554_zpspmjwol4t.jpg

Primered the carbon fiber hood and front bumper to completed the front half of the car.
20140504_024545_4_bestshot_zps9oaxuxmj.jpg
20140504_024629_zpsg5fqe06m.jpg

I didn't do too well with the hood but it looks better to me than just the carbon fiber look.
20140504_042917_zpssouef1wv.jpg
20140504_042955_zpswpfsmjmg.jpg

Working the trim pieces
20140504_043029_zpsidiy42fx.jpg
20140504_235112_zpsucuqbpep.jpg

Here's the front end painted.
20140505_141208_zpskrbwmx6z.jpg
 
Thanks guys. So next I worked on the passenger side door so I could put my trim on. In some of the pictures you can see my passenger sideskirt was in poor condition. I found one on ebay in Pennsylvania but the seller didn't want to ship. Talked to Paul over at JNZ and he got me the last passenger oem door handle he could find. I told him about the side skirt and he said if the sell wants to drop it off he'll ship it to me for the cost of shipping. I asked the seller if he was willing to drop it off and he told me he drives by JNZ every weekend so it worked out and thanks to JNZ going above and beyond I now had a decent side skirt for the passenger side.

I sanded the side skirt down and went through the normal routine for paint along with the wing.
20140523_195340_zpsik1l8oeo.jpg
20140523_202606_zpsjpngng6f.jpg
20140528_230437_zpskgzwbhjr.jpg

Next up was the passenger side door.
20140512_212723_zps4ocsti7v.jpg
20140514_212601_zps8dfdjcec.jpg
20140517_162026_zpsaq8gqele.jpg

Now on to the rear bumper...
20140614_111616_zpssgzzhrbg.jpg
20140614_120743_zpszjoow3ul.jpg
20140624_194702_zpsxcqj2yva.jpg

At this time I was getting anxious to get the quarter panels done before MOD2014 but I didn't make it in time. During MOD I was painting the quarter panels.
20140622_201359_zpsnbokm2ic.jpg
20140712_181151_zpsfuildcam.jpg

Now to wet sand and reassemble
20140712_191415_zpsgggbnajb.jpg
20140714_183851_zpsls0vdant.jpg
20140714_195936_zpse0hxsx4h.jpg

And the finished product!!
20140719_132708_zps9j4auk9p.jpg
20140719_132801_zpsvphw6wxz.jpg

After a few months I washed her up and she looks great.
20150116_165614_zps6xqisgfw.jpg
20150116_165538_zpscozchod3.jpg

That's how she sits right now in the driveway. This weekend she's getting a bigger oil cooler so I'll post the install up.
 
Nice paint job, really, I like the carbon fiber hood match with all
 
I just stumbled across this thread, and all I can say is wow. Your attention to detail is astonishing! I cant wait to see more on this car.
 
Support Vendors who Support the DSM Community
Boosted Fabrication ECM Tuning ExtremePSI Fuel Injector Clinic Innovation Products Jacks Transmissions JNZ Tuning Kiggly Racing Morrison Fabrications MyMitsubishiStore.com RixRacing RockAuto RTM Racing STM Tuned

Latest posts

Build Thread Updates

Vendor Updates

Latest Classifieds

Back
Top