RallyEclipse98
15+ Year Contributor
- 967
- 28
- Jul 31, 2007
-
Dallas,
Texas
Foreward:
First off, I'm a huge Anniversary Edition fanboy. Reason being, I get the similar gorgeous styling of a GSX but the fuel mileage (better mpg and no need for premium) of a GS. The AE's are unique and I've always liked cars that are set apart from others.
There isn't much info. out there about these cars. What I'm writing right now is the most conclusive/informative piece of information out there as far as I know:
History of the 1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS 10th Anniversary Special Edition (aka OZ Rally Edition):
History:
Built in May of 1999, this DSM was created to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Mitsubishi Eclipse (was this also the final month of 2g production?). It was an appearance upgrade package given to the 'GS' trim level. No other trim level received the designation.
About half were badged with decals saying '10th anniversary special edition.' The decal is found on each front fender. A few years ago I found AE's for sale and got their VINs. I would then call the dealerships and get the production date of each car. I did this for about 20-25 cars. I found no correlation between the production date and whether or not the particular AE car would receive decals. It seems as though dealerships would just put the decals on if they chose to.
Very few AE's came with a manual transmission. It makes me think they rolled out of the factory with all the options and you had to special order the car if you wanted a manual.
Features:
Interior:
Black/grey interior with black leather or tan/black interior with tan leather
Silver gauge faces (yes, they are silver not white)
Leather wrapped steering wheel and shift knob (not sure if this was standard on non-AE '99 GS's)
Sunroof
All the power options normally found on 1999 GS's.
Exterior:
-'turbo' spoiler
-Chrome accented exhaust tip
-16" OZ Racing F-1 Cup wheels (also found on EVO IV's (width may be different and also they were made by Enkei but badged as OZ Racing (no idea why)
-Often, but not always, they featured tire splash guards and "10th Anniversary
-Special Edition" fender decals
That's the background on the Anniversary Edition Eclipses. I hope you enjoyed!
Here's my AE:
-Bought on 8/29/12 from 52 year-old lady
-All maintenance records since bought from 2nd owner in 2005 @ 80,000 miles
-Spoke with both her mechanics and both liked the car and called it by name
-All OEM except Pioneer Premier Component Speakers (PO enjoyed classical music)
-175,500 original miles
-PO had 70-mile roundtrip highway commute per day
-No past problems with car except minor repairs (a gasket and a bushing that's about it), maintenance, ball joint recall, and door fixed exterior door handles
-Garage Kept
-Born on May 5th (Cinco de Mayo), 1999
My goal with this car is to return it to factory fresh condition while still being a daily driver I'm not afraid to get a little dirty. I don't plan on doing any modifications. I just want a clean example of how beautiful a 2gb Eclipse is in factory form. Kind of refreshing, don't you think?
Pictures and What I've Done:
Bought in Wichita, KS with a blown head gasket. I drove it home 200 miles that night not stopping once (the car overheated like crazy if not on highway). I got home late and backed her into the garage. There was so much sweet-smelling smoke coming from the exhaust, the garage filled with smoke instantly.
Let the work begin:
Loaded her up to take her to the shop. I didn't want to dump anymore coolant into the crankcase.
Dad's '53 F100 389 with heads from the '68 GTO he wrecked when he was in high school.
Changing a head gasket is a lot more involved than most people think.
Although Chrysler supposedly fixed the head gasket leak sometime in '97, mine had the leak from the usual corner. It did hold on until 165k instead of 100k at least like most.
The hardest parts of this job:
1. Pulling off crank pulley
2. Getting passenger motor mount plate out
3. Undoing intake manifold bracket from the head
4. Aligning timing marks
I don't feel I'm a fantastic mechanic so this job is doable for someone as long as they have desire, a place to work, and a few basic tools. I mean really, basically the only tools needed were 10 and 12mm sockets haha.
Also something that may help you out.. the coolant sits in the cat and muffler for a long time before it gets burned out with exhaust fumes. My car was still smoking 300 miles after I changed the head gasket.
Finished! Here's a list of what all I did when it was in the shop:
January 2013 Head Gasket Job
Changed head gasket
Decked, pressure checked, head inspected
Changed brake fluid
Changed clutch fluid
Changed water pump and o-ring
Changed timing belt, hydraulic tensioner, tensioner pulley, idler pulley
Changed upper and lower radiator hoses
Flushed and changed coolant
Changed thermostat, both gaskets
Changed EGR line gaskets
Changed fuel line to fuel rail gasket
Changed engine air filter
Changed AC/PS belt
Changed drive belt
Changed PCV valve and hose
Changed spark plugs and wires
Changed both intake manifold gaskets
Changed exhaust manifold to head gasket
Change down pipe gasket
Changed valve cover gasket
Changed head bolts
Changed engine oil
Changed engine oil filter
Changed EGR valve gasket
Changed front rotors
Changed front brake pads
Changed coolant temperature sensor
Changed radiator fan switch sensor
Changed throttle body to vacuum line hose
Changed spark plug well gaskets
Washed and waxed wheels
Cleaned dirt build up from behind passenger side wheel well
Fixed mud guard on passenger side bumper
Cleaned coolant jug w/ color, CLR, etc.
Cleaned top of engine block and piston heads
Cleaned air intake pipe and ram air inlet
Cleaned throttle body
That Thunderbird Turbo Coupe on the lift only has 40k on the clock.
Now for some of you perfectionists, you've probably noticed my skirts and front bumper cover are tweaked. This is of course when the balljoints failed. They failed on the previous owner and the drivers side apparently blew out at 20ish mph. Was very scary for her. As a result, the balljoints damaged, even if slightly, these body parts:
Drivers side door cap, drivers side fender cap, driver's side wheel well splash guard, drivers side fender (tweaked just a bit), front bumper cover, passenger headlamp, passenger side fender cap.
Stupid Mitsubishi! Gahh. Oh well, I'll be replacing these items in the future. Again, most people can't tell but I can.
What I do love about this car is how ridiculously honest it is. I have been all over this car and I have found zero evidence of PO abuse. There are no hack jobs, no half-eaten cheeseburgers under the backseats, no mad tyte APC modifications... no evidence of a boy-racer heritage. Thank you, Lord!
I can post more pictures of what makes this car an AE. I have yet to do a decent photoshoot. All these pictures were taken with cell phones.
I hope you enjoyed! I still have a lot on my to-do list!!!
I've been on DSMTuners since 2006 and this is the first time I've posted pictures of any car I've ever owned. Perhaps I should change my avatar next. Gettin' crazy here.
First off, I'm a huge Anniversary Edition fanboy. Reason being, I get the similar gorgeous styling of a GSX but the fuel mileage (better mpg and no need for premium) of a GS. The AE's are unique and I've always liked cars that are set apart from others.
There isn't much info. out there about these cars. What I'm writing right now is the most conclusive/informative piece of information out there as far as I know:
History of the 1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS 10th Anniversary Special Edition (aka OZ Rally Edition):
History:
Built in May of 1999, this DSM was created to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Mitsubishi Eclipse (was this also the final month of 2g production?). It was an appearance upgrade package given to the 'GS' trim level. No other trim level received the designation.
About half were badged with decals saying '10th anniversary special edition.' The decal is found on each front fender. A few years ago I found AE's for sale and got their VINs. I would then call the dealerships and get the production date of each car. I did this for about 20-25 cars. I found no correlation between the production date and whether or not the particular AE car would receive decals. It seems as though dealerships would just put the decals on if they chose to.
Very few AE's came with a manual transmission. It makes me think they rolled out of the factory with all the options and you had to special order the car if you wanted a manual.
Features:
Interior:
Black/grey interior with black leather or tan/black interior with tan leather
Silver gauge faces (yes, they are silver not white)
Leather wrapped steering wheel and shift knob (not sure if this was standard on non-AE '99 GS's)
Sunroof
All the power options normally found on 1999 GS's.
Exterior:
-'turbo' spoiler
-Chrome accented exhaust tip
-16" OZ Racing F-1 Cup wheels (also found on EVO IV's (width may be different and also they were made by Enkei but badged as OZ Racing (no idea why)
-Often, but not always, they featured tire splash guards and "10th Anniversary
-Special Edition" fender decals
That's the background on the Anniversary Edition Eclipses. I hope you enjoyed!
Here's my AE:
-Bought on 8/29/12 from 52 year-old lady
-All maintenance records since bought from 2nd owner in 2005 @ 80,000 miles
-Spoke with both her mechanics and both liked the car and called it by name
-All OEM except Pioneer Premier Component Speakers (PO enjoyed classical music)
-175,500 original miles
-PO had 70-mile roundtrip highway commute per day
-No past problems with car except minor repairs (a gasket and a bushing that's about it), maintenance, ball joint recall, and door fixed exterior door handles
-Garage Kept
-Born on May 5th (Cinco de Mayo), 1999
My goal with this car is to return it to factory fresh condition while still being a daily driver I'm not afraid to get a little dirty. I don't plan on doing any modifications. I just want a clean example of how beautiful a 2gb Eclipse is in factory form. Kind of refreshing, don't you think?
Pictures and What I've Done:
Bought in Wichita, KS with a blown head gasket. I drove it home 200 miles that night not stopping once (the car overheated like crazy if not on highway). I got home late and backed her into the garage. There was so much sweet-smelling smoke coming from the exhaust, the garage filled with smoke instantly.
Let the work begin:
Loaded her up to take her to the shop. I didn't want to dump anymore coolant into the crankcase.
Dad's '53 F100 389 with heads from the '68 GTO he wrecked when he was in high school.
Changing a head gasket is a lot more involved than most people think.
Although Chrysler supposedly fixed the head gasket leak sometime in '97, mine had the leak from the usual corner. It did hold on until 165k instead of 100k at least like most.
The hardest parts of this job:
1. Pulling off crank pulley
2. Getting passenger motor mount plate out
3. Undoing intake manifold bracket from the head
4. Aligning timing marks
I don't feel I'm a fantastic mechanic so this job is doable for someone as long as they have desire, a place to work, and a few basic tools. I mean really, basically the only tools needed were 10 and 12mm sockets haha.
Also something that may help you out.. the coolant sits in the cat and muffler for a long time before it gets burned out with exhaust fumes. My car was still smoking 300 miles after I changed the head gasket.
Finished! Here's a list of what all I did when it was in the shop:
January 2013 Head Gasket Job
Changed head gasket
Decked, pressure checked, head inspected
Changed brake fluid
Changed clutch fluid
Changed water pump and o-ring
Changed timing belt, hydraulic tensioner, tensioner pulley, idler pulley
Changed upper and lower radiator hoses
Flushed and changed coolant
Changed thermostat, both gaskets
Changed EGR line gaskets
Changed fuel line to fuel rail gasket
Changed engine air filter
Changed AC/PS belt
Changed drive belt
Changed PCV valve and hose
Changed spark plugs and wires
Changed both intake manifold gaskets
Changed exhaust manifold to head gasket
Change down pipe gasket
Changed valve cover gasket
Changed head bolts
Changed engine oil
Changed engine oil filter
Changed EGR valve gasket
Changed front rotors
Changed front brake pads
Changed coolant temperature sensor
Changed radiator fan switch sensor
Changed throttle body to vacuum line hose
Changed spark plug well gaskets
Washed and waxed wheels
Cleaned dirt build up from behind passenger side wheel well
Fixed mud guard on passenger side bumper
Cleaned coolant jug w/ color, CLR, etc.
Cleaned top of engine block and piston heads
Cleaned air intake pipe and ram air inlet
Cleaned throttle body
That Thunderbird Turbo Coupe on the lift only has 40k on the clock.
Now for some of you perfectionists, you've probably noticed my skirts and front bumper cover are tweaked. This is of course when the balljoints failed. They failed on the previous owner and the drivers side apparently blew out at 20ish mph. Was very scary for her. As a result, the balljoints damaged, even if slightly, these body parts:
Drivers side door cap, drivers side fender cap, driver's side wheel well splash guard, drivers side fender (tweaked just a bit), front bumper cover, passenger headlamp, passenger side fender cap.
Stupid Mitsubishi! Gahh. Oh well, I'll be replacing these items in the future. Again, most people can't tell but I can.
What I do love about this car is how ridiculously honest it is. I have been all over this car and I have found zero evidence of PO abuse. There are no hack jobs, no half-eaten cheeseburgers under the backseats, no mad tyte APC modifications... no evidence of a boy-racer heritage. Thank you, Lord!
I can post more pictures of what makes this car an AE. I have yet to do a decent photoshoot. All these pictures were taken with cell phones.
I hope you enjoyed! I still have a lot on my to-do list!!!
I've been on DSMTuners since 2006 and this is the first time I've posted pictures of any car I've ever owned. Perhaps I should change my avatar next. Gettin' crazy here.
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