iaintmaci
10+ Year Contributor
- 181
- 2
- Aug 22, 2010
-
Washington,
Pennsylvania
I first got into DSMs in 2006. I had a friend convince me into going to the DSM Shootout with him. After that weekend, I was hooked. I wanted me a 4G63. I looked at a few cars over the years, but things never worked out right. I figure it just wasnt the right time.
In October of 2012, I decided to sell my motorcycle and find my DSM. I was torn between a 1g and a 2g. I figured I would know the right car when I found it. Nearly every car that I have owned has been some form of gold or brown. My wife informed me that I will not buy another gold car. I figured that would be fine. No gold cars. Within the next week, my friend sent me a Craigslist ad. As soon as I opened it, I knew I wanted the car. It was a 1990 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX 5spd. The body was in beautiful shape, besides the hood and some faded paint. What made me know instantly? It was GOLD.
I showed the picture to my wife, and she gave me the look. Oh dear lord. Its gold. Thats your car.
I got into contact with the seller and scheduled a time to look at it. I was ready. Supposedly the car had a rebuilt engine and a 91+ wiring conversion. They told me that it wasnt idling or running right. It was running way too rich. After some more information exchange, my friend and I loaded up some borrowed parts from his car and set out.
When we got there, we both loved to look of the car. The paint showed its age, but the car still showed a lot of spirit. Out came the datalogger and away we went. After seeing a vented Greddy knock off blow off valve and determining that the car had a bad MAF, we decided to go for it. I bought the car, and decided to try and drive it home. We swapped out the MAF with the one borrowed from my friends Talon, topped off the fluids, pumped the tires, and went for broke.
On the trip home, I discovered that I had no operational boost gauge. Not even the factory one. Definitely tried to stay out of boost. The shifter was sloppy. The clutch engaged right at the floor. The exhaust leaked like crazy. The headlights didnt lift up. Just a bunch of stuff to tinker on I guess. About halfway to our destination, there was an emergency stop to save my dragging muffler. Not bad for the only problem on an 80+ mile trip.
We made it to my friends garage were the car would stay for the next month or so. Then began the tear down. There were many discoveries that made me cringe. Bare wires. Poor connection jobs (twist and tape). It seemed that if a shortcut could be taken, it was. the Ebay tubular manifold leaked at both flanges. The O2 housing leaked at both flanges. The BOV leaked. Seeing a pattern here?
All in all, a lot needed replaced. I did what I could at the time to get the car on the road. New exhaust manifold, stock BOV, and fixed up the wiring problems. Installed a boost gauge. Replaced the shifter assembly. Did some work on the pedal assembly. The car was driving. I could not have been happier.
Now to current day.
Over the winter, the water pump decided to take a dump .so the car got parked. Supposedly it was changed with the timing belt. I guess not. I decided everything was going to wait until tax season came around. I figured a few other things needed to be done as well.
The car will be receiving a new water pump and timing set. Clutch hydraulic system. Shep rebuilt pedals. ECMLink V3 with speed density. New exhaust system from the O2 housing back. A front mount intercooler. A set of injectors.
Its not determined what all parts I am going with yet, but I will update as the build continues. Currently the car is at my brothers garage, torn down and waiting for upgrades. Here are a few pics to let you see what shes like.
The engine before we touched it.
Intake Plug? Yes.....It was a sharpie.
New Exhaust Manifold.
I will update some more pictures once photobucket starts working right again.
In October of 2012, I decided to sell my motorcycle and find my DSM. I was torn between a 1g and a 2g. I figured I would know the right car when I found it. Nearly every car that I have owned has been some form of gold or brown. My wife informed me that I will not buy another gold car. I figured that would be fine. No gold cars. Within the next week, my friend sent me a Craigslist ad. As soon as I opened it, I knew I wanted the car. It was a 1990 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX 5spd. The body was in beautiful shape, besides the hood and some faded paint. What made me know instantly? It was GOLD.
I showed the picture to my wife, and she gave me the look. Oh dear lord. Its gold. Thats your car.
I got into contact with the seller and scheduled a time to look at it. I was ready. Supposedly the car had a rebuilt engine and a 91+ wiring conversion. They told me that it wasnt idling or running right. It was running way too rich. After some more information exchange, my friend and I loaded up some borrowed parts from his car and set out.
When we got there, we both loved to look of the car. The paint showed its age, but the car still showed a lot of spirit. Out came the datalogger and away we went. After seeing a vented Greddy knock off blow off valve and determining that the car had a bad MAF, we decided to go for it. I bought the car, and decided to try and drive it home. We swapped out the MAF with the one borrowed from my friends Talon, topped off the fluids, pumped the tires, and went for broke.
On the trip home, I discovered that I had no operational boost gauge. Not even the factory one. Definitely tried to stay out of boost. The shifter was sloppy. The clutch engaged right at the floor. The exhaust leaked like crazy. The headlights didnt lift up. Just a bunch of stuff to tinker on I guess. About halfway to our destination, there was an emergency stop to save my dragging muffler. Not bad for the only problem on an 80+ mile trip.
We made it to my friends garage were the car would stay for the next month or so. Then began the tear down. There were many discoveries that made me cringe. Bare wires. Poor connection jobs (twist and tape). It seemed that if a shortcut could be taken, it was. the Ebay tubular manifold leaked at both flanges. The O2 housing leaked at both flanges. The BOV leaked. Seeing a pattern here?
All in all, a lot needed replaced. I did what I could at the time to get the car on the road. New exhaust manifold, stock BOV, and fixed up the wiring problems. Installed a boost gauge. Replaced the shifter assembly. Did some work on the pedal assembly. The car was driving. I could not have been happier.
Now to current day.
Over the winter, the water pump decided to take a dump .so the car got parked. Supposedly it was changed with the timing belt. I guess not. I decided everything was going to wait until tax season came around. I figured a few other things needed to be done as well.
The car will be receiving a new water pump and timing set. Clutch hydraulic system. Shep rebuilt pedals. ECMLink V3 with speed density. New exhaust system from the O2 housing back. A front mount intercooler. A set of injectors.
Its not determined what all parts I am going with yet, but I will update as the build continues. Currently the car is at my brothers garage, torn down and waiting for upgrades. Here are a few pics to let you see what shes like.
The engine before we touched it.
Intake Plug? Yes.....It was a sharpie.
New Exhaust Manifold.
I will update some more pictures once photobucket starts working right again.
, the sharpie is awesome. You have to wonder what are people thinking sometimes 
. 
