TheBrownMike
5+ Year Contributor
- 54
- 61
- Apr 9, 2018
-
SAN DIEGO,
California
1991 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX
5 Speed, 6/3 Bolt Combo
69k when purchased, 72k Currently
ECMlink
FIC 950cc
Walbro 255
Speed Density
Mishimoto Radiator
VRSF FMIC
MAF Delete
Apexi 3" Turbo-back
Aeromotive FPR
BC 272 Cams
Evo 3 16G
FEAL 441
5 Speed, 6/3 Bolt Combo
69k when purchased, 72k Currently
ECMlink
FIC 950cc
Walbro 255
Speed Density
Mishimoto Radiator
VRSF FMIC
MAF Delete
Apexi 3" Turbo-back
Aeromotive FPR
BC 272 Cams
Evo 3 16G
FEAL 441
Background:
I've been into DSM's since the early 2000's when my brother had a converted GS-T. I bought my first one in the 03-04 timeframe, a 90 Talon TSi FWD. Sold that a little while later for a 91 GSX that I had for a year or so, blew it up and rebuilt it, eventually sold it. I came back a few years later to buy a built rolling shell, and built a motor for that to compete with a buddies 67 Mustang, had it for a few years before parting it out. Fast forward a decade and wishing I had a GSX again, I started my search...
The Car: 1991 GSX, 5 Speed, 6/3 Bolt Combo.
I bought this GSX in March 2018, after months searching for clean 1Ga somewhere on the west coast. I drove over 1,000 miles to Denver, Colorado to pick it up from the original owner "Dave" with 69k miles on it. The car had been sitting in his garage for 8+ years, and finally decided to part ways with it due to him moving across the country. The car was unmolested, and 100% stock (with the exception of the rims), and seemingly very well cared for. It also came with the original fan wheels. Aside from minor chips on the hood and windshield, assumingely from the Colorado roads, the car was one of the cleanest 1G's I've seen. The bra and wool seat covers had been on the vehicle since the early years according to Dave. After a beer and some paperwork, we loaded the GSX onto the trailer for its ride home.
Craigslist Ad pic
Smells like a DSM...
Ready to go
Welcome home
Part 1: Clean, Investigate, and Begin Maintenance
First task was to clean her up and take a more in depth look into things. After a good wash and vacuuming, I was surprised that when I removed both the seat covers, and bra, underneath was just as nice. The hood and bumper cleaned up easily, and the seats were immaculate. I was astounded to see that everything worked, lights, radio, wipers, HVAC, etc. Even the fact that it had al the interior plastics, carpet, spare and jack, cargo cover. The only thing it didn't have was the sunroof glass storage bag and wind deflector. Under the hood revealed good things as well, aside from some rat poop, leaves, and road grime. Lots of scrubbing and simple green later, she was looking freshened up.
CLEAN!
Dat Booty
Always gotta take her bra off...
Almost completely dent free
Headliner and visors all taught
Back seats are super clean
Interior looks brand new
Full interior plastics, cargo cover and more!
Paint chips from Colorado roads and some gunk from the bra
Not too bad for a 27 year old car
The biggest task was the first one, the gas tank. It had been sitting with about 3/4 of gas in it for close to a decade and cleaning it was my first testament of love to this car. After siphoning and draining the tank, I went about vacuuming, rinsing, and scraping everything I could out of the tank. The fuel pump and hanger was useless, so I sourced a better one from a guy on a FB group. I used electrolysis to removing the rust and corrosion on both the hanger and tank itself, which worked very well. I replaced the pump with a stock equivalent for the time being.
Mmmm Yummy...
The gunk left behind
About 1/3 of what I pulled out of the tank
Freshened up hanger and Walbro 255
Next up was, you guessed it, TIMING BELT. It's been a minute since I did one of these jobs, so I took my time and did it right. New belts, water pump, and tensioner and everything went back together after a triple check. I also pulled the plugs and injectors, cleaning those up as well making sure they weren't clogged, as well as a new fuel filter. I flushed the coolant, brake, and clutch lines, did an oil/filter change. Replaced the transmission, and transfer case fluids as well. (Still need to do the diff fluid..) After all that, she got a new battery and it was time to see if she runs...
Most DSM owner have probably never seen the wire keepers
Looked good for 70k (old belt)
After a few cranks and a sputter or too she fired up and maintained a decent idle. Finally breathing again after almost a decade of storage. At this point the next big hurdle was passing smog. Remarkably after failing the first time (255 + stock FPR = rich), I swapped in a stock size fuel pump and it passed with flying colors. At this point I was making my plan of what I wanted to do with the car. I decided based on the condition of it, I would stick to a mostly stock appearing setup with some go fast goodies, doing my best to be as minimally invasive as possible and keeping all the stock parts that came off the car as well.
At this point the car was relatively road worthy, I started with some minor test drives and function checks, it seemed to do well. I did notice an exhaust leak which turned out to be broken studs, so I replaced all of manifold studs and bolts. Broke one manifold-turbo bolt in the process, which took forever to drill out. Anti-seize went on to all replaced hardware. Anything that comes off the car, gets thoroughly cleaned and degreased before being replaced.
Broken stud finally drilled out
New manifold hardware
Read more about this vehicle here...
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