1990 GSR-4 Track Build (JDM 1G)

[getto822000]

Okay, I've been part of this community for a long time but haven't posted that much. For the past 8 years I've been working on two Evo X's but I just happened to come across another 1G (I've owned 3) and I couldn't pass it by. I recently moved from California to Minnesota and decided to get this car as a project for the winter. I sold my most recent Evo X and started with a 1G as a platform to build from. Here's what I found:

1990 Eclipse GSR-4 (JDM Eclipse)
60k miles
100% stock, clean, very little wear and tear (engine and trans internals looked nearly new)
faded paint, but no wrecks

I started by tearing it down to the frame. I've been building it up piece by piece to prepare it for BIR this summer.

Here's the build list at a high level:

Engine:
-6 bolt, rebuild by MAPER
-Wiseco HD pistons
-MAPER Ultimate Duty rods
-Stock crank turned
-ARP studs throughout
-GSC cams
-lot of little goodies
-FP Black (long straight at BIR)
-Mishimoto huge front intercooler and custom piping
-injectors TBD, fuel system TBD
-E85

Trans:
-1990 weird trans, home rebuild, all the goodies that I can still source
-center diff upgrade from TMZ
-KAAZ front LSD
-oil cooler TBD

Rear End:
-Evo 3 rear LSD with upgraded clutches
-1G 4-bolt axles
-all new bearings and ball joints

Suspension:
-Evo 8 Ohlins coilovers
-SCE adapter kit for Evo 8 suspension
-Polyurethane (everything front and rear)
-Whiteline rear sway bar
-K772 extended lower ball joint upgrade
-Mustang bump steer kit (works perfectly!)
-Rear toe eliminator

Brakes:
-Evo 8 front brakes
-3G brake booster
-rear rotor upgrade
-cooling ducts TBD
-Castrol SRF
-Greenstuff pads (for street)
-ST43 pads (for track)

On top of this there are a lot of little things, like all new wheel bearings, seals, new axle boots, shifter bushings, brake/clutch pedal assembly rebuild, extreme weight loss. There will also be a custom cage made and new seats at some point

Something really cool that I found, was that Bump Steer Kits for 2005-2010 Ford Mustangs fit!! The taper appears to be correct and the threads are M14x1.5. You just have to shorten the inner tie rod by 1" to make it work. Then it is a bolt-on affair.

Here are a few pics of the custom suspension work. Also you can see the torn down transmission and the initial FMIC mounting. That intercooler is 4" thick. There's a lot more to come with this car. I need to take many more photos for you!!

 

[keltalon]

Very nice I am looking forward to following this build!

 

[Slavonic]

Waiting for more photos.

 

[92AWDHX40]

Nice find love the custom things on your build list. And a gsr 4.

 

[Sp1kE]

Awesome. Did you just go with a standard 772 balljoint length?

 

[getto822000]

I really should have taken more pictures. This project just keeps getting more involved and I've borrowed so much from the community in terms of knowledge, etc, that I'm gonna share whatever stuff I've figured out along the way.

BTW - the intercooler is a Mishimoto Universal R-line one:

Overall Size
31" x 12" x 4"
Core Size
24" x 12" x 4"
Inlet/Outlet
3"

I used two "Cobrahead" silicone couplers from Integrated Engineering to reduce the 3" intercooler connections to 2.5" and make the tight bends that fit between the frame and radiator (with some cutouts like for normal kits). It works perfectly. I'm on a trip now but when I get home I'll snap some pics and do a little write up of the intercooler. I just flipped it upside-down and squeezed it in behind the bumper cover. And, the price is pretty affordable for this. Just had to do a little fab work on the brackets.

 

[getto822000]

Nope it is 1" longer than standard. I'm trying to drop the car as much as possible. If it ends up being too much then I'll swap out the studs for .75" and try that.

Awesome. Did you just go with a standard 772 balljoint length?

 

[getto822000]

If anyone out there is in the Evo X community, my handle there was getto822000.

 

[Sp1kE]

Nope it is 1" longer than standard. I'm trying to drop the car as much as possible. If it ends up being to much then I'll swap out the studs for .75" and try that.

Ok great. I have my car dropped to the max for track use.
I was JUST looking into buying parts to make my own bump steer fix tie rods, but I just ordered up a set of mustang pre-fabbed ones thanks to you!

Did you buy the QA1 balljoints?

 

[getto822000]

Yep I bought the QA1 ball joints too. I like to support local companies and they are 30 min from my house. Make sure to get a "tool kit" too so you can properly pre-load them. And, you need a huge wrench to tighten them. The outer diameter is around 1.9". I used a big adjustable wrench. It was a little too small, but my bench grinder did the trick and opened the jaws a bit.

Yeah, the Mustang bump steer kit was a huge find for me. I spent hours researching it and decided to get one and try modifying.. and ended up not needing too! That's rare. Cutting the inner tie rods took all of ... 10 min maybe.

 

[getto822000]

I should also add that the QA1 tie rod kit for the Mustang has a beefy heim joint. Other kits out there had smaller ones. You can to go McMasterCarr.com and look at the different load ratings and heim joint/spherical bearing designs.

 

[Sp1kE]

Ok, I ordered up the Drake kit.
The shaft looked quite shorter, I was hoping to avoid shortening the inner tie rod.
I'll post up how I make out. Thanks again, and nice setup.