1992 Eclipse GSX

[92GSX_Josh]

This is the Build Thread for 1992 Eclipse GSX. Reply below.

 

[92GSX_Josh]

I bought this car in May of 2024. The previous owner of this car owned it for the past 20 years. In Chicago in the early 2000s he used to street race it. He blew up the original engine at some point and installed a replacement with a bigger turbo, bad oil pressure issues which caused that one to blow up and installed a JDM 4G63 with a big 16G turbo which is what’s currently in it, had transmission troubles at one point and had some work done to that as well.

I first saw this exact car about 18 years ago and fell in love with it, it looked cool, sounded awesome and as a kid I thought it was so cool that it was turbocharged. I found out the owner of this car lived just a block away from my friend at the time and I would ride my bike past his house just to look at this car. The car broke at some point and sat for years. I became friends with the owner in 2009-2010 and in 2011 convinced the previous owner to get the car back on the road. The previous owner thought the car spun a bearing and was knocking, but he found the noise was coming from a loose oil pump pulley due to the nut coming off. He replaced the timing belt, got the car back together and running. I was fortunate enough to drive this car after it was fixed and it was the first turbo car I ever drove. I instantly fell in love with the feeling and sounds this car made. While driving this car it was apparent there was some sort of transmission issue that showed it’s face while I was driving it last which caused the owner to park it once again.

Life went on as it goes the owner and I fell out of touch. As I found out the car got fixed in about 2015-2016 and was driven for a short time until the bell housing broke which caused the car to get parked again. I would visit the owner from time to time and he would always show me the car parked in the back of his warehouse but anytime it was brought up about selling it, he said he never would.

Fast forward to May of 2024 and I was cruising marketplace and saw this car posted. I went to see who was selling it and saw it was a friend of the guy who I knew used to own it. I messaged him and found out the previous owner finally decided to sell it. The person who bought it got it back running but really didn’t have any interest in keeping the car. This car had a lot of sentimental value to me and I literally dreamed of buying this car so I bought it.

The car does run, but needs going through. The transmission Bell housing is cracked, the turbo drain leaks, there are missing and wrongly placed bolts everywhere. I already have a transmission case and am speaking with a shop to get the cases swapped and the transmission rebuilt at the same time just so I can be sure I won’t have any trouble when I get it back together.

After letting it sit for months under my ownership, mostly working with the previous owner, (not the guy I bought it from but the guy before him), to get a replacement title for it I finally have a title and pulled the engine and trans. I’m hoping to get the trans sent out soon and I’ll start buying parts to reseal the engine and clean everything up before it goes back in.

If anyone that reads my long winded story this far has any suggestions on what clutch or fuel pump to use I’d appreciate the input. I also need to find the driver’s side engine mount bracket that bolts to the engine as well as the plate that goes between the engine and transmission.