2G 1996 Eclipse Convertible, what's it worth.

[Ronnie3925]

Hey guys, I have a few questions here. One of my Neighbors is selling their Convertible 1996 Automatic Eclipse, I was trying to do research of what could be in it, it is completely stock , 130k miles, very good condition, he would drive it across country no problem. but he mentioned Turbo, I didn't think the automatics had a turbo? I'm not sure. Money is not an Issue, would it be worth it to buy it for $1500 or less then spend any amount in modding it perfectly how I want? Thank you guys

 

[steve]

I remember that there were two flavors of Spyders. The GS and the GS-T. The Eclipse Spyder GS came with a 2.4L 4G64 NA engine and the Eclipse Spyder GS-T came with the 2.0L 4G32 Turbocharged engine. Both were available with automatic or manual transmissions.

 

[Ronnie3925]

Oh the GST actually came in an automatic soft top as well? That's good news, I asked him exactly what trim it was, waiting for his reply.

 

[Ronnie3925]

So he did say is was the GST Spyder but it's Automatic. With it being in great condition do you think this could be a fun thing drop 10 grand in and make it perfect?

 

[pauleyman]

Dsms can be turbo or not, automatic or not convertible or any combination of those. The only exception is convertible is 2g only and the convertible non turbo is the only one that received an nt 2.4 sohc mitsu motor. Hardtop 2g nt got the chrysler motor in the US anyway. All turbo are 2.0 dohc mitsu powered. This is well documented. There are no factory convertible awd and if memory serves no 90 awd automatic.

 

[CKOPOCT]

I am currently rebuilding a 97 GS-T Spyder automatic. I've dropped probably about $10K (+ or -) on it thus far. It will be a fun car once you are done with it. I'm converting it to manual and am looking at running the HP up to around 400 or so. If you are not familiar with DSMs, read through the beginner's posts on power. This site has everything you'll need info-wise, and the folks on here are more than generous with advice and guidance. That said, almost anything and everything you can think of has already been asked and posted on here, so before you ask questions, read and research.

Happy to share what I've done thus far if you're interested. Mine is a frame-on resto (saved the car from the crusher).

 

[streetraceboi]

My gfs car is a Spyder. Basic bolt ons and auto. Its a fun car for sure. I don't know about spending 10k though to get that

 

[Ronnie3925]

Damn man. This one, 96 convertible gst, literally great condition. And for only 1500 it's a steal. 130k miles. Body is rust free. I feel as if I wouldn't need 10k to drop in it since it doesn't really need anything. I can drive it across country as is. But I still want to drop it just to get everything pristine and a beautiful car that rocks anything.

 

[streetraceboi]

Damn man. This one, 96 convertible gst, literally great condition. And for only 1500 it's a steal. 130k miles. Body is rust free. I feel as if I wouldn't need 10k to drop in it since it doesn't really need anything. I can drive it across country as is. But I still want to drop it just to get everything pristine and a beautiful car that rocks anything.

I see ZERO reasons to not get it

 

[CKOPOCT]

I agree - $1500 for a GST in excellent condition is a steal! You cold buy it and turn around and sell it for much more, or keep it and enjoy it. Either way, don't pass it up!

As to the $10K, as I said I saved mine from going to the crusher several years ago. I bought the car for $1500 from a 2-bit huckster dealer near DC. Dude wanted $5K for the car... until I pointed out that the side skirts were held on by rusted drywall screws, there were mushrooms growing under the seats, the convertible top didn't work and was torn, blue smoke pooted out of the head by the exhaust manifold on acceleration... he stopped me there and asked how much I'd be willing to pay for it.

I fixed the major issues and drove the car as a daily for 3 years. Then I tore it down to the body panels and began a full customization on it. Relocated the battery, fuses, and wiring to the trunk; engine being built by Jerry Jackson at Jackson Auto Machine (that's over half of the $10K); auto-to-manual conversion; full turbo upgrade to a Holset HX-35 (including all the necessary bits and mods to make it work - fuel system, air cooling, water/meth injection, ECM Link, etc.); custom gauge cluster; new sound system; body work; and more.

It's just a little bit more than was necessary. It could easily have been a daily driver for less than half of that (engine was tired and had been abused previously), but in for a penny, in for a pound. By the time I'm done the car should last longer than I will, as long as nobody crunches into me.

 

[Ronnie3925]

Well 10k is just a tossed out number, I got into a bad accident at work and am getting workers comp, a let's just say pretty hefty check, and I've always wanted one but could never afford it. So with this steal, I was just curious also on a number to get one up to perfect condition and a very comfortable HP number.

 

[CKOPOCT]

It really depends on what you want to do. When you say "perfect" - do you mean right-off-the-showroom-floor looking, with a flawless paint job and interior to match, plus a powerplant and drivetrain that reliably puts 350hp to the road? And it depends on how much of the work you will do yourself. A full (good) paint job will run you between $3K and $10K depending on where you are and what you are doing - assuming you're not going crazy.

I will tell you that when I started my project I figured less than $5K for everything. And THEN I started seeing the chain reaction where one thing leads to another. A lot of DSMers have no problem putting go-fast parts on the stock block and running their numbers up to 300-400hp (or so say a plethora of posts). However, with your engine having 130K on it, there are a LOT of factors that will determine stability and longevity, including:
- how faithful and well did the previous owner(s) perform routine maintenance
- how much slop was there in the rotating assembly from the factory
- what kind of life has the car had this far (ever been raced? never gotten above 2500rpm and 65mph? highway/city driving?)
- did the car remain stock or has a previous owner modified/hacked it (and then put it back to stock)
- where has the car lived geographically (deserts of Arizona, east coast and all that salt, rust belt)

I'd say get pretty clear and specific on what your goals are for the car first. New paint? Bodywork? AWD conversion? Ballpark engine output? New or used parts (if they can be found in either case)? Changes to the interior? How will you use the car (track time? daily driver only? cop magnet? sleeper?)

Once you list specifics then folks here can begin to throw some numbers around, as well as give you additional things to thing about and plan for.

 

[Ronnie3925]

I want it to be a sleeper, maybe just a wrap not sure, the paint is a bit sunburnt, the previous owner had it for nearly all of its life, he said he's never had it above 100, he has not abused it at all. I'm debating if I want to convert it to AWD and Manual. Undecided. I do know I want a 97-99 front bumper, I don't like the 96 one all that much. Other than that, I want anything new under the hood that it takes to put a bigger turbo, and add some safe high numbers of HP. I want people to be like, oh nice rice car, cause it's just a simple exterior. But then regret making fun of it cause they can't touch it yanno.

 

[CKOPOCT]

One of the main things I'd seriously consider is if you plan on running 400WHP or more, and if so will you USE that much power from time to time? There's a lot of good work that can be done to beef up the automatic tranny, but the manual FWD tranny cannot be guaranteed to reliably handle more than about 400HP. They used to put EVO 3 gears in the tranny to strengthen it, but they aren't available anymore, and the only place I've found that will work on the FWD DSM manuals is Jack's Transmissions. Even so the factory gears aren't able to withstand that much power and torque. Peening and coating the gears will help strengthen them, but the tranny still won't be as stout as the AWD tranny. So if you want to race (track or street), you should consider making it AWD. There are some good write-ups on here about doing it... but then you'll have to source the drivetrain. I'd say you should figure on between $1K and $4K for the conversion - depending on how much work you do yourself and if you have the tranny rebuilt and strengthened.

 

[Ronnie3925]

That sounds fair for an AWD conv, and I have a 2017 Mitsubishi Lancer for my Daily car. I would pretty much just use this when I want to go have fun. But I don't want to add too much horses like you said, and tear it up. Personally. I'm not much of a mechanic guy, I'm more of a computer tech savy guy, so I'd have to drop it off at a shop that would do any of this work and hope they don't overcharge me.

 

[CKOPOCT]

In that case, spend a lot of time and energy researching, asking questions, and planning. Also, I'd recommend finding someone that has built these cars before or specializes in them vs. taking it to just any wrench or shop. Just about any monkey can swap parts and bolt stuff up - but knowing what works, how, and why is vital to getting a good machine back from the shop. If you don't get specific about what you want - down to the numbers and specific parts - you'll be at the mercy of whoever is twisting the wrenches.

For example - when you put the bigger turbo on, what turbo do you want to use? 16G? Holset? it matters because of what else will fit and work and what won't. How do you want the computer to meter the air/fuel ratio? Do you want to go Speed Density? Blow-through MAF? It matters because of what sensors you'll need, what will need to be altered, and how the engine will be tuned. Do you want to use Ceddy Mods and a black box ECU? Fairly easy to obtain and cheap (they go for around $100-$150 - I have a black box ECU with Ceddy Mods on it that I'm going to sell). Or do you want to go with ECM Link (much harder to find and expensive because currently only '95 flashable ECUs can be used, and the setup will run you $500 minimum).

Lots of things to figure out. Done right and using the correct components - you'll get one hell of a beast from the East. Done with little thought and by someone who is just a parts monkey - you'll likely be out a lot of cash unnecessarily and will be very disappointed.

 

[Ronnie3925]

Wise words my man. I'm going to spend the next few weeks doing a ton of research and preparing a list of everything I want. I can't wait to have my dream car running and looking as perfectly as I want.

 

[pauleyman]

Plan the project. Not a list of parts.

https://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/project-management-and-building-a-dsm.421705/