How To Get Started

[muleunit]

I have a 1998 mitsubishi eclipse with the 420a right now. I was thinking about building a mild street GSX with my extra money over time. I was thinking of building the engine first from scratch and then buying a GSX shell to transplant it into. Would this be a good idea or should I buy the GSX first and then rebuild the engine?

 

[snowborder714]

Buy the GSX first. There's no point in building an engine for a car you don't have. And it would suck to build an engine and then not be able to find or afford a GSX to put it in.

Plus, the car you buy might not even need a new engine. No point in spending more money then you have to.

 

[oldman420]

Just make sure you get what you want for a shell. Sounds like you are aiming for something that is not already modded . If you're impartial to body style , i would suggest looking for a 90-92 with a 6-bolt 4g63t. They are getting rare but are def. still around.

 

[muleunit]

Thanks for the input, I looked at a 2g tsi awd talon today and the engine was supposedly rebuilt and had 20k on the engine. The car ran but it had an electrical problem and you could hear wires shorting out. The seller said it needed a new wiring harness. The car also needed a boost controller cause it had fuel cut and the car would "buck" around 4000 rpm. I think they wanted $4500 for it. Should i pursue this car or keep looking? I know its ultimately my decision i just wanted some input from people whove dealt with this kindof stuff before heres the add for the car 1996 Eagle Talon turbo

 

[snowborder714]

I would not pursue that any more. Electrical issues are not fun, especially if a new wiring harness does not fix it.

Plus the car might have a 6 bolt swap (at least based on the head) and they can be ugly if not done properly.

 

[oldman420]

No you don't even want to go there. Fuel cut means he was pushing way to much boost and that does damage to engine internals. Plus electrical problems on these cars are pretty much hell, i would keep looking. Don't get me wrong i love the sexyness of a 2g just as much as the next guy but this car sounds hurtin.

 

[muleunit]

Thanks you so much for the information. Ill keep looking for a smooth running car.

 

[TofastForU_99]

save your money use the gs as a DD and get an GSX and then mod from there.

 

[nyTalonTsi]

Yup go save some green and look for a gsx. Dont go after the first one you see, unless its clean. Take your time searching i rushed the first time and bought a headache 2g like in the link you posted.

 

[knochgoon24]

It will take some time to find a GSX or Tsi AWD in the Pittsburgh area. I spent 3 months searching before finally settling on my car. Looking back, if I knew everything I know now, I wouldn't have come near this car with a 10-foot stick. But I'm now at the point where almost all the maintenance has been done and the fun can begin.

Take your time and look for rust. My car and my sister's GS both have some rust forming. I fixed mine, she's just selling hers (wants a jeep Cherokee).

You might want to consider traveling to pick one up that's in good shape. Look on the classifieds on this site. There's some nice ones one there.

 

[oldman420]

Yah if penn. is a rust pit i would look else where. In alberta we don't by anything from down east. We actually have a name for cars from down east. "easter eggs" even if you have to travel, it's worth it to get a car in good shape.

 

[greentsiawd13]

keep looking and saving $ when the time is right you will find 1 and youll have extra $ for mods i have a 95 w/ 55000 orig miles they r out there.

 

[muleunit]

How hard would it be to replace the main bearings in a 1g awd?

 

[donswan]

I got lucky and got my 95 tsi awd for like $2000, took me over a year to find it though. There are a bunch in Texas for sale but I don't think you wanna travel that far . Keep looking you'll find what you as I did.

 

[Mizzat508]

Hey, I just found this forum last night but I know what you guys are getting at. I've had my 97 GS for 2-3 months now and its one problem after the other. After scouring craigslist, ebay, and even driving around to different auto auctions for a good 2-3 months i was sick of being without a car. i though i had found a good deal, having all the aftermarket parts already on it. Thought it just needed a paintjob and tires...i was wrong.

Look around and dont pounce. Look it over twice, then put it on a lift and look again. There are deals out there, a friend of mine got an Eagle TSi for $300. He said the guy said it had a major electrical problem, car completely shut off at times. Turns out a loose plug or fuse or something. Keep looking.