1998 GS-T | 2017-Present | (Cheston Engineering)

[joshc]

joshc submitted a new DSM Profile :

Bakunawa


Read more about this vehicle here...

 

[joshc]

Hey guys,

I guess it's time to really pour into my journey and this wonderful forum. I am grateful to have discovered it for the first time in 2017 and has led me to meeting many of you all at the shootout throughout the years, and countless conversations during the rest of the year too. Thanks to every one of you.

From the beginning, I got this 1998 Eclipse GS-T on November 4 2017 in North Carolina for $3400. Mainly bolt on modifications, DSMlink Lite, FMIC, Ebay Turbo, etc. My coworker let me borrow his truck and I rented a uhaul trailer to get it back to my apartment at the time.

The engine unfortunately blew the next day. I had it sent home to Ohio on a trailer a month later (which was a whole debacle, the driver called me because Highway Patrol pulled him over in Virginia and searched the car and ripped apart the trunk panels).

December 2017 I got in touch with a local DSMer and got a long block. This was the first time I ever swapped an engine and only had hand tools and that was one of the best learning experiences I have had. I spent about 2 weeks before I got it started in January 2018.

Here are some more photos between January 2018 and November 2018:

Summer 2018 - I took the time to give it a clean look, and switched to a Holset HX35 and FIC 1200cc injectors.

I spent most of 2018 tweaking and driving it just a little but couldn't get the oiling and knock sensor under control, and ended up spinning a bearing toward the end of the year 2018. This was also the first year I went to the Shootout, but without the car (as every year since)

The last time I made significant progress with this car was in 2019 when I made this video (engine pull)

Then it sat more

Afterwards, spent many years in a cheap storage place, up until I had a dedicated space to bring it home in 2023 where I kept it under a cover in the yard.

July 3 2025 (below photo) marked the end of the 6+ year pause working on this car. I scrapped my Mazdaspeed3 that morning and immediately put this in dedicated garage space.

This started my first real "shootout scramble" to see if I could get the car completed in 2 months (and on a semi-budget) and that progress is where I will start here. I also have a lot of video too from the build which I will make into at least some form of log or instructional.

Stay tuned!
Joshua (Cheston Engineering)

 

[Mahreeoh17]

Excited to see this come along man. Looks like a clean example to work with.

 

[joshc]

Excited to see this come along man. Looks like a clean example to work with.

Thank you brother
I have to admit I was not storing it in the most optimal conditions at times, and am very grateful for how little rust there is.

~2021

~2022 (needed to use my trailer for other cars, and had to swap good wheels out to other cars, the struggle was real)

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After getting it in the garage, I knew I had the intention of taking almost every part off (and it helped the engine/transmission were long out) so I started with the suspension.

First things first, I had to elevate the car to it's proper throne:

Harbor Freight Jack Stands

I spent some time thinking (at least an hour of straight staring) and decided I would drop out the subframes in their entirety.

I did have one of the front subframe bolts break (I will come back to that, it is still not fixed )

July 8 2025 1AM - dragging my rear subframe out (at some point you forget about shoes)

Once these were both out, the car was starting to look pretty bare. There were some cables and wiring left to take care of on the firewall still too.

I am very grateful for how little of a fight these guys put up to come out.