In the 6 years i had owned 8 different dsms; i never have a problem with unreliability, why? Because the key is maintenance.
I say do the maintenance first and then mod it or get an AWD if you are serious about big upgrades.

For the most part.... Cheap Fast or Reliable and You can only pick two.....

knieghtz said:

I purchased a 96' GS-T a few months back, have done some minor work on it. I am planning on a mojor over haul including new paint, engine swap for a better condition and lower miles engine, re-finish the whole interior, etc. I am waiting to see how my situation with my house plays out. My questions is, before i invest any money into it, is it worth it at all? i read some of the threads on here and some people are not to fond of the habitual problems their cars have. Is the platform really that weak. I would like some honest opinions, perhaps my best option is selling it and purchasing another project car with a more reliable platform? Thanks in advance!

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let me share my point of view on this subject with you... if you picked it up as a "project car" then obviously you have every intention of doing some work to it... that said it is a 96 that means that it is on the better part of 14 going on 15 years old. things are going to need to be replaced ad will go bad with it. unless you plan on doing a complete restoration on this car and replace everything you possibly could that moves or has electricity flowing trough it with a brand new out of the box factory part then you can expect to have problems... this becomes more evident when you start modifying and doing things to the car that the factory never intended it to do. this concept applies to anything that you mess with car, truck, motorcycle, airplane... ect. ect. just because you purchased a Mitsubishi doesn’t mean that you can expect to have to do more work to it compared to someone else with a different make/model "project". just ask the guy i work with that has an older FC rx7 with a 5.0L mustang engine in it. any way it all comes down to how the car was treated before you got your hands on it, if it was abused then expect to have a mild headache on your hands.

It's all about maintenance, id you saty on top of the maintenance, you wont have problems. I say do it. Bring another DSm back from the grave. IMHO the best option is to get a DD and keep the DSM for a nice weather driver/ weekend warrior.

TofastForU_99 said:

For the most part.... Cheap Fast or Reliable and You can only pick two.....

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You can have all three.....just get a bike ol

What so you want out of the car? A GST stock has 210 hp it is a fun car. It can be a reliable Daily driver with good maintenance.

If you want to take to the next step . You "can" build it to 400 hp and still be reliable but it will take more money and more work.

Like someone else said it is a 14 year old car, how comfortable do you feel working on it and what do you want out of it?

I feel very comfortable working on the car. I also have lots of patience and will not drive it until it is completely finished. I am looking for maybe 300 HP and i will be driving it maybe twice a week for work and back. My DD is my 09 silverado.

300hp is really easy goal to get to also a fairly inexpensive goal as well.. and with that "small" of a number... you still have reliability.. but as other people have already said... maintenance is really important, keeps the thing running.

99BoostedRS said:

You can have all three.....just get a bike ol

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+1... And that is what I did 6 years ago.. Still ridin'!!!

Its a fun car to drive! expect problems even after you fix up the motor.I know alot of people have Electrical problems including myself. There is usually always something that needs to be replaced.

motor swap is good .i think interior is a waste of money unless u want looks then is good

Im redoing my interior, Im not painting anything. It your choice to paint, but I think it looks like total shit. Im replacing the carpet, headliner. And finally going 99GSX black interior. I just picked up the seats for a smoking deal.

Ive had alot of DSMs 3 2Gs and youre going to have problems with them here and there. I would say one of the biggest problems with WWD cars is that they wheel hop with alot of power. I owned 1 WWD and after 3 trannys I leaned my lesson. Wheel hop kills transmissions.

Honestly ive owned my Laser for 4 years and after 4 years to day...Ive enjoyed restoring this car tastefully since the day i drug it from u pull it. And if I could show you a pick of what shes become dude by all means do it all. This is and has always been my dream car even though Im a muscle head. What ever you do...DO IT SMART !!!