DSM Galant?

[marcmsj]

I was at the junk yard yesterday and I came across something pretty interesting.

It was a nt fwd sohc galant with dsm badging (on the firewall and door jams).

it my dsm knowledge that bad that i didn't know that there was a dsm galant like this? my friend has the vin if anyone is interested.

 

[DSMturbo11]

Can you find out the year and model of the Galant? Better yet, send the VIN and I'll do some research.

 

[DSMturbo11]

The credit for the design of the cars is still debated today. Both companies claim credit for different design areas. It is a fact that the DSM line is based on a shortened version of the front wheel drive Mitsubishi Galant.

Incorporated into the Diamond Star Motor cars are Galant engines, gearboxes, and suspension pieces. Mitsubishi handled virtually all of the engineering and was also responsible for the cars' interior design. It is hard to say for certain who created the sporty design of the 2+2 seater. Designers from both Chrysler and Mitsubishi were involved in all phases of the styling process, but the two companies disagree about the amount each contributed. It has been pointed out that the original, full-size clay model was produced by Chrysler's West Coast Pacifica design studio. The front bumper and air dam were created from a model submitted by Mitsubishi's California design firm.

Nevertheless, all three cars are mechanically identical. The famous All Wheel Drive Viscous Coupling System was not incorporated until late Spring. The partners agreed that it would be more beneficial to the company not to rush an advanced system of this nature into a new car assembly plant. ABS would also be introduced with the AWD systems. The first AWD cars were to be released under Chrysler's Eagle division

Production began in August of 1989*. There were four models to choose from. There was the base model (SOHC 1.8L, 4G37)*, the 2.0L engine (4G63)*, the turbocharged 2.0L (4G63T), as well as the awesome turbocharged, All Wheel Drive model. Sales rose drastically.

The naturally aspirated 2.0(4G63) and 1.8(4G37) liter engines were built by Mitsubishi. At the time of its production, the Laser, Eclipse, and Talon were some of the fastest four cylinders on the planet. Aftermarket parts for the trio began to make their appearance, which heavily increased the performance of the cars -- giving Mustangs, Camaros, and even Corvettes a run for their money. Manufacturing increased yearly. The demand for the cars was so great production could hardly keep up. Originally, the AWD Talon was to be the only Eagle car produced. Later, a front wheel drive model was added.

In 1991, Chrysler sold its equity of the plant in Normal, IL to Mitsubishi. This may, or may not account for the slight redesign of the cars for the 1992 year. The pop up head lights were removed and replaced with a more ergonomic design. The body of the car received some slight modifications. 1992 also marked the appearance of the AWD Plymouth Laser.

Side Panels were smoothed out to give the car a more aerodynamic look and feel. The interior received subtle modifications as well. New styling options were available, with new colors for the cloth surfaces. Mechanical changes were subtle as well. In May of 1992, the six bolt motor was replaced with a seven bolt design. The engine rods were a bit smaller than those of the pre May of 92 cars. The three bolt rear end was swapped for a stronger four bolt."Don't fix it if it ain't broke, right?"

By 1993, the public was well aware of the DSM's presence. As C. Van Tune of Car Craft Magazine wrote:**

"As a non-turbocharged front-driver, the Diamond Star is nice. As a turbocharged front-driver, it's fast. As a turbocharged all-wheel-driver, it's spectacular. No two-wheel-drive vehicle on earth can launch as hard as an AWD of comparable power, and the Diamond Star is among the hardest launching AWD vehicles around. Rev it to seven grand, drop the clutch, and all four wheels claw the pavement with a violence usually reserved for Wes Craven movies. In an across-the-intersection face-off, only a superbike, Syclone, or seriously-built street machine stands a chance against an AWD Diamond Star. The Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX tested this time wasn't the quickest in quarter-mile, but it was quicker than any other car - including the Corvette, RX7, and 300ZX - to 30 mph. And it'll achieve a 142mph terminal velocity that will let you hunt down, and pass Mustang Cobras."

If that isn't enough to pump up all of you DSM owners, I don't know what will. It may be interesting to note that the cars listed below were also released nearly the same time as the 1993 DSM's.

Camaro IROC Z 15.7 @ 91
Daytona Shelby Z 16.2 @ 86
Mustang LX 15.1 @ 94
Probe GT 16.2 @ 86
Trans Am GTA 15.9 @ 90
Thunderbird SC 15.3 @ 93
Eagle Talon TSi AWD 14.8 @ 91
-Information Provided by Car Craft 1993

The end of 1994 brought yet another change for the DSM company. The Plymouth Laser was dropped from production due to its lack of appeal that its other siblings offered. For the 1995 lineup, a new, more aggressive, comfortable, and luxurious design was chosen to replace the older Talon and Eclipse models. The design was smoothed out and given an aerodynamic feel. The ride was lowered 2 inches and given a wider, longer stance. As far as the mechanical aspects are concerned, the new design featured slightly altered variation of the 2.0L turbocharged engine with an additional 15hp. The new engine included higher compression, a smaller (T-25) garret turbo, upgraded "non-ticking" lifters, as well as a host of other improvements. The 420a was used as the non-turbo engine. This particular motor was chosen to satisfy Mitsubishi's domestic content clause. The U.S. Government reportedly did not allow the 420A to be used as domestic content due to the fact that the engine is built in Mexico. Chrysler does get to claim it as being domestic.*

Many argue which car is the greatest of the DSM family. In my opinion, the 1G is still top dog due to its cheap upgradeability. Others disagree

__________________________________________________________________________

The top piece is all I could find per your request. From what it looks like, the original Galant was a DSM as well................(??????)

I found this info here: http://www.geocities.com/seegs_82/Index.html

I'll still take the VIN to find out. Later.

 

[marcmsj]

i thought i had the vin with me but i don't, my friend rob has it and i'll contact him and post it on here.

i pulled off the dsm badge on the firewall but it's faded badly so i can't tell what engine it has, but it didn't look like the 4g37, but i could be wrong.

but i'll post the vin when i get it..

i was just confused as hell at the junkyard... WTF

 

[marcmsj]

here's the vin: 4A3AJ56G6SE026379

production date: 06/94

that's all the info i could gather up right now...

 

[marcmsj]

according to the vin, it's the 2.4 sohc....

 

[Defiant]

Mitsubishi handled virtually all of the engineering and was also responsible for the cars' interior design.

I don't believe that part. The Japanese would never hide a CD player behind the shift knob, making it impossible to change CDs in fifth.

In 1991, Chrysler sold its equity of the plant in Normal, IL to Mitsubishi. This may, or may not account for the slight redesign of the cars for the 1992 year. The pop up head lights were removed and replaced with a more ergonomic design.

Well, aerodynamic, perhaps, but I don't think they add much to driver operability ease. You'll note pop-up headlights finally disappeared from this continent about this time- when the NHTSA and DOT finally pulled their heads out of their asses and allowed the type of aerodynamic headlight housings that Europe and the rest of the civilized world (such as, for instance, India) have allowed since the early sixties.
American headlights became crippled in the thirties because tarnishing silvered reflectors on early bulb-and-reflector lights (and a lack of owner maintenance) corroded down to candle-level light output. Sealed-beam lamps were brought in, and required here well into the rest of the century. Also illegal here were headlight covers such as the bubbles on the Ferrari Dino, Alfa-Romeo Duetto, and the Datsun 240Z, all available either in their home markets or the grey market here if you met the right people. Some may recall the dreadful Dodge Magnum and its laughable clear headlight covers which in order to comply with Federal regulations were powered and folded up. Also, doing away with all the jimcrackery needed to operate flip-up headlights and going to "aero" lights is much cheaper to produce. And as DSM owners, we know only too-well how much saving production costs mattered to DSM.
I don't fear the dark. Just the things that live in the dark.

 

[marcmsj]

thanks for all that info defiant...

but it still doesn't answer the mysterious dsm galant issue...


if there was dsm badging on this galant, so was the galant also a dsm?

 

[Defiant]

thanks for all that info defiant...

but it still doesn't answer the mysterious dsm galant issue...


if there was dsm badging on this galant, so was the galant also a dsm?

Diamond Star Motors was the company that built it. It is a "DSM", as are a number of vans, Avengers, and other stuff.
In terms of DSMtuners, they "aren't" DSMs. Much in the way that 2Gs, all built after Diamond Star Motors ceased to be, still are DSMs.

It only gets complicated if you try to think about it. It's not supposed to be a logic problem. It's just a convenient handle.

 

[marcmsj]

ok, i understand what you're saying... but was the eclipse, talon, and laser the only cars that were designed jointly or is the same true about all cars produced at the dsm plant?