jahjahSQC
10+ Year Contributor
- 101
- 1
- Jul 17, 2008
-
Winder,
Georgia
So for the last... 4 or 5 years, I've always had a beater car and a "race/project" car. Let me explain you have a better perspective.
The beater car first. A 1993 Eclipse(yay!) with a 1.8 4G37(boo!) with 275,000 miles(super boo!). Manual trans, manual locks, manual windows, manual steering, no a/c, no radio. Car looks rough. Rough doesn't explain how rough it looks. When i aquired it, it had a nice(read:awful) 12" tall black metal spoiler sticking out the top and some 16" Pontiac ABS wheels. But, it gets 30 mpg and has more or less, never given me a problem in the time of my ownership.
The race(read
roject) car next. Its a 1986 Starion. This was actually my second starion. But this one i went all out. Bigger turbo, Megasquirt, built motor, rewired the engine bay, Multi-port, on and on. But i could never settle on a solid direction with the car. I went from wanting to make it a total sleeper, to a track only car, to a mix between, and i kept flopping back and forth. I'd take a step forward for a track car, move the battery, re-wire everything. Then I'd change my mind and wanna re-install interior. then i'd change my mind and wanna take the interior back out and install some fixed back buckets... My goal kept changing. I also lost my job during this time, where i had to sell a bunch of tools and spare parts to get by.
So there i was with a eternal project car, and starting to get kinda tired of driving the 93. A friend of mine says he'll trade me a 1997 Eclipse GST for my 86. He definitely came out on top, but i remember his eclipse being pretty nice and stock, so we agree. He just rebuilt the motor with OE components(supposedly) and then had a balance shaft lock up on him. He then did a BSE and cleaned all the oil pathways and everything, few hundred miles later he thought he heard an intermitent knock. He lives a couple hours away so he agreed to tow the vehicle to me. So i start tearing into it and find some alarming things...
-Ebay 16g Turbo is blown, big surprse right?
-Power Steering Resevior was empty
-Oil everywhere from blown out dipstick
-Might need bearings
-Driver's side floor is wet
He's gonna give me another turbo and bearings, and the rest is up to me. I kinda feel like our trade took a turn for the worse, but the car is pretty nice, decent mileage, and interior is in good shape. Once i get it running again i'll check the pcv system and troubleshoot the power steering. I also plan on pulling the carpet out and see if it can be cleaned in some way.
After i get it running again, it'll be my daily driver for a little while. Once i get my wife's car payed off we'll get her something else and the eclipse will get a built motor and setup for street/drag. until then i plan on replacing worn out components and doing simple upgrades like 2 piston front rotors and stainless lines,etc.
The beater car first. A 1993 Eclipse(yay!) with a 1.8 4G37(boo!) with 275,000 miles(super boo!). Manual trans, manual locks, manual windows, manual steering, no a/c, no radio. Car looks rough. Rough doesn't explain how rough it looks. When i aquired it, it had a nice(read:awful) 12" tall black metal spoiler sticking out the top and some 16" Pontiac ABS wheels. But, it gets 30 mpg and has more or less, never given me a problem in the time of my ownership.
The race(read
roject) car next. Its a 1986 Starion. This was actually my second starion. But this one i went all out. Bigger turbo, Megasquirt, built motor, rewired the engine bay, Multi-port, on and on. But i could never settle on a solid direction with the car. I went from wanting to make it a total sleeper, to a track only car, to a mix between, and i kept flopping back and forth. I'd take a step forward for a track car, move the battery, re-wire everything. Then I'd change my mind and wanna re-install interior. then i'd change my mind and wanna take the interior back out and install some fixed back buckets... My goal kept changing. I also lost my job during this time, where i had to sell a bunch of tools and spare parts to get by.So there i was with a eternal project car, and starting to get kinda tired of driving the 93. A friend of mine says he'll trade me a 1997 Eclipse GST for my 86. He definitely came out on top, but i remember his eclipse being pretty nice and stock, so we agree. He just rebuilt the motor with OE components(supposedly) and then had a balance shaft lock up on him. He then did a BSE and cleaned all the oil pathways and everything, few hundred miles later he thought he heard an intermitent knock. He lives a couple hours away so he agreed to tow the vehicle to me. So i start tearing into it and find some alarming things...
-Ebay 16g Turbo is blown, big surprse right?
-Power Steering Resevior was empty
-Oil everywhere from blown out dipstick
-Might need bearings
-Driver's side floor is wet
He's gonna give me another turbo and bearings, and the rest is up to me. I kinda feel like our trade took a turn for the worse, but the car is pretty nice, decent mileage, and interior is in good shape. Once i get it running again i'll check the pcv system and troubleshoot the power steering. I also plan on pulling the carpet out and see if it can be cleaned in some way.
After i get it running again, it'll be my daily driver for a little while. Once i get my wife's car payed off we'll get her something else and the eclipse will get a built motor and setup for street/drag. until then i plan on replacing worn out components and doing simple upgrades like 2 piston front rotors and stainless lines,etc.
