1998 Eclipse Spyder GS-T

[98MaroonSpyder]

This is the Build Thread for 1998 Eclipse Spyder GS-T. Reply below.

 

[IHeartMyHonda]

Sweet! I have a near-identical car. Is this your first Spyder?

 

[98MaroonSpyder]

Sweet! I have a near-identical car. Is this your first Spyder?

Nope, 2nd. My '97 was damaged last April (some repair parts no longer available) when a woman in a Chevy pickup blew through a red light and I t-boned her. Funny thing, my car would still run (damage was in front of the radiator, taking-out the headlights, bumper, one fender, and hood), but her big pickup wouldn't start when the cops wanted us to move out of the intersection. GM must build 'em wimpy, snicker! I have the car in my driveway under a car cover as I pick the bones for spare parts for the '98. Have already grabbed the Evo IX blow-off valve, the ScanGaugeII trip computer, the 3rd gen Eclipse steering wheel, and the flatscreen double-din stereo/GPS out of the wrecked car.

 

[DogWhistle]

Any updates?

 

[DogWhistle]

Nope, 2nd. My '97 was damaged last April (some repair parts no longer available) when a woman in a Chevy pickup blew through a red light and I t-boned her. Funny thing, my car would still run (damage was in front of the radiator, taking-out the headlights, bumper, one fender, and hood), but her big pickup wouldn't start when the cops wanted us to move out of the intersection. GM must build 'em wimpy, snicker! I have the car in my driveway under a car cover as I pick the bones for spare parts for the '98. Have already grabbed the Evo IX blow-off valve, the ScanGaugeII trip computer, the 3rd gen Eclipse steering wheel, and the flatscreen double-din stereo/GPS out of the wrecked car.

Any updates?

 

[98MaroonSpyder]

No updates other than that all components that i salvaged from the '97 are installed and operative on the '98. I must say that installing a flatscreen w/ GPS in the Double-Din radio opening in a manual transmission 2nd gen Eclipse is a bad idea. The manual shifter gets in the way of using the GPS screen effectively, which was not an issue with my '97, which was an automatic. Also, the Mitsubishi manual transmission is poor in comparison to the manuals in the four Honda CRX's (two DX's and two SI's) that I owned and drove over the course of 30 years. Honda definitely builds a smoother-shifting manual.

 

[98MaroonSpyder]

Forgot about one other thing. The powered radio antenna on the '98 would not retract fully, so I bought and installed an all-black (no chrome) powered replacement that I procured from Rock Auto. While I had the trunk apart, I also swapped in a right side trunk trim panel from the wrecked '97. The original panel in the '98 had a hole cut in it, presumably for the cable to a CD-changer, which was NOT included with the car when I bought it. Oh, and in the process of installing the 3rd-gen steering wheel, I completely disabled the airbag system. As a retired Senior Mechanical Engineer for Siemens, I know what a freaking disaster it could be to allow an explosive device (now over 25 years old) to be in front of my chest. How many people have DIED from impalement from TAKATA airbag shrapnel? And because my '97 also had the asinine airbag system disabled, nothing went "bang" when I hit the pickup. My seatbelt worked as intended, and I suffered no injuries, other than being pissed at the woman who ran the red light.