Period correct 1998 Eclipse GSX

[Jacob5se]

Jacob5se submitted a new DSM Profile :

1998 Eclipse GSX „Evil GSX”


Read more about this vehicle here...

 

[Jacob5se]

So I finally decided to post sth about my build.
Backstory first.
Me and my dad bought this car in March 2017 after selling our first dsm, rust bucket 97 GST. We were looking for a turbo Eclipse/Talon for like 6 or so months as turbo DSM's are very common here in Europe and they're super expensive. We managed to found this car on our local Eclipse/DSM forum. It was imported here in 2003 with salvage title because of vandalism, repaired and in mainly same form had few owners during this time. It came with few mods from USA: Injen intake, Forge DV, Trust muffler, Eibach Sportline springs and Outlander front brakes.

First mods after we bought it and did maintance were OG Rays Volk TE37 (18x8), fmic, Greddy bov, HKS Hi-Power muffler, clear corner lights, usdm taillights and few stickers . Car ran good for 2.5 years and in the mean time it receive few other mods as A'Pexi N1 cat-back, short route piping with HKS bov and HKS turbo timer.

On September 1st 2019 car spun a rod bearing. Tbh I didn't know what to do, build forged bottom end, just rebuild it stock or sell the whole car. I decided to go full send with it as I always wanted to respray it (it was painted pretty shitty when it was imported) and along with new paint (including engine bay) I decided to forge bottom end, throw in cams, bigger turbo, fuel system and all other supporting mods, respray whole car and upgrade suspension. List of mods is pretty long and can be found in my profile.
What is goal for this car? I want it to recreate 2000's era tuning and vibe without bodyshits, that's why I'm using so many old school parts. If you have any suggestions or old school parts which I'm missing feel free to hmu in private massage.

 

[NitroNomad6969]

Have you had the car on a dyno? I’m putting together a very similar setup. What cams are you running? Anything you would do differently?

 

[autronicDSM]

DSM w Polsce??

 

[Jacob5se]

Almost 2 years. This is how much time it took to build this car the way I want. Past weekend I participated in biggest JDM/japanese car show in Europe - @japfest.pl . Car has won TOP 3 Performance Freaks award (because of amount of real, period correct parts and attention to details), and was very well received by both visitors and other car owners. I’m super pumped, because I was able to show people, that 2000’s style is not only about crazy body kits and rice, but also about OG tuner companies parts and attention to details. However, this wouldn’t be possible without my dad and two close friends, that to my every crazy idea and deadline always said „yes, we’ll make it happen”. Hope you guys like the car. Will try to post more often since there are more things to come.

 

[Elbromas]

Very Nice Build, I just started building mine. I have a question. Those Volk 18x8, what offset did you had?? I am looking for ones for my 98 GST. Any issues with rubbing or something??

 

[Jacob5se]

Very Nice Build, I just started building mine. I have a question. Those Volk 18x8, what offset did you had?? I am looking for ones for my 98 GST. Any issues with rubbing or something??

+38 square
Car is really low (little less than 1 finger gap between rear tire and arches. It’s on BC coilovers with camber kit and it rubs sometimes. Will have to roll fenders, especially I want to put spacers to achieve flush fitment.

 

[chrisman287]

Beautiful build. Love how clean this car is.

 

[Jacob5se]

Thanks for the kind words guys!
Below are two more photos from the event that my friend made.

Can't wait to tune the car and see what it will put out on the dyno. We'll be tuning on Ceddy with SD and A'PEXi AVC-R.

 

[603DSM]

Wow, super clean! I love the old school style, it really suits these cars.

Is it really a 2000's era tuner look without euro tail lights though (please don't do that)

 

[Jacob5se]

Is it really a 2000's era tuner look without euro tail lights though (please don't do that)

I won’t put euro tail lights, they look awful
But I’m thinking about clears.

 

[Jacob5se]

Thought that I'll post an update.
After break in period (~600 miles) during final oil change we noticed some metallic flakes and decided to drop the oil pan and check bearings. It turned out that all of them were scratched by something. We decided to tear engine apart, clean everything again, have crank checked and micropolished by machine shop and then put everything back together with new bearings and gaskets. Since then car has been doing good, we were able to initially tune it so I can get rid of a few problems that's left.
I'm super happy with how the car turned out and can't wait for the spring to have the final tune.
Aestheticallywise I was able to source clear tail for 50$ . I'll also be getting a carbon OEM style hood and will have my Volk GT-C's refinished in original gold color.
Some more pictures as I love how the car looks.

 

[Jacob5se]

Always something after 2 year building period.
Car sat with clutch assembly completely disassembled during most of that time and some parts must have corroded on the inside as well as some dirt, because clutch fluid turned almost black. We need to flush the whole system because after adjustment pedal just "fell into the floor" during test ride.

Besides this little f*** up car starts to feel really good and I'm starting to feel really good behind the wheel. We are also still adjusting the suspension - we raised a car about 0.6-0.7 inches front and rear (will be raising it additional 0.2 inch probably) and we're still playing with springs preloads, stiffness etc.

At the beginning everything felt kinda clumsy, but now it's starting to be a completely different car and I'm again falling in love with it. Can't wait for the final tune and alignment.

Oh and my 50$ clear tail lights should be here next week so I'm really stoked since I love black 2Gb with them.

Cheers guys.

 

[Jacob5se]

Weather was shitty (because it's a f***ing eastern europe), but throw my 50$ clears on and did some shots.
I love how the car looks now.

 

[Paintballaa5]

Awesome to see some more period correct builds with authentic parts! Also cool to see it in Central Europe. Na zdraví

 

[97egl]

Weather was shitty (because it's a f***ing eastern europe), but throw my 50$ clears on and did some shots.
I love how the car looks now.

View attachment 654025

Never seen a custom plate on a European car before. Probably because I haven't been to Europe before but very cool touch. That is a beautiful car man. I wish I had the patience that you had to have to do all that paint!

 

[Jacob5se]

Never seen a custom plate on a European car before. Probably because I haven't been to Europe before but very cool touch. That is a beautiful car man. I wish I had the patience that you had to have to do all that paint!

Thanks! Some European countries don't allow custom plates at all, and some have some limitations to it - f.e. first letter on mine had to be D (it indicates region) and then digit from 0 to 9, and then there are only 5 characters left for your imagination.
I wish we had regional graphic plates like you guys have in USA.

 

[Jacob5se]

Time for an update
I haven't got a chance to drive the car much this year. I was chasing some issues with clutch, idle and some oil leaks. Car is still not on the final tune, but I love it. Purchased some more parts that I'm waiting for - carbon fiber OEM style hood and Volk Rays LE37T's! Can't wait to put those parts on, work on the fenders and then lower the car a bit. I also designed a T51R mod for my 20G and I'm currently waiting for it to be done.

Two cool shots from this year Japfest to top off the post.

 

[Jacob5se]

It't TE tuesday so I test fitted my new set of wheels. I've ditched Volk GT-C’s for Volk LE37T’s (limited edition TE37 OG) and I couldn’t be more happy. They go stupid hard in person. Can’t wait to put the tires on. I've seen couple 2G's from back in the day running this wheel, production date is 2001 so they're period correct.

Specs are 18x8.5 +30 square

 

[chrisman287]

GT-Cs hold a special place in my heart but the LEs look great on there.

 

[JGL122]

Great build. Do you have an instagram account?

 

[Jacob5se]

Great build. Do you have an instagram account?

Yessir, @jacob_dsm.

I got to test fit two LE's with tires and new suspension settings and I'm beyond happy with the result - they sit perfectly flush with the fender at the height I wanted. I was a bit worried about fitment since they're 18x8.5 +30 square, but with Federal 595 RS-Pro in 225/40 the fitment is perfect.
Here's a little teaser, full photo coming next week when all four will be mounted.

 

[Jacob5se]

A bit later, but finally mounted all 4 tires and adjusted ride height.
Fitment is absolutely perfect, super flush, nothing pokes out. I believe this to be the best fitment for stock body 2G.
Unfortunately I have some fender rolling ahead of me, but my body shop will take care of it in January along with carbon hood.

 

[Jacob5se]

Time for a long needed update.
I got my fenders cut and rolled, now the fitment is super tight but it doesn't rub. Also lowered front a bit more.
CF hood has been resprayed with fresh clear coat, and whilst still not perfect it's good enough for my liking.
Got myself some new ebay headlights, because mine OEM ones had broken tabs, were reglued and in general in very rough shape.
Car attended Ultrace - the best and the biggest car show in Poland and probably one of the better ones in whole Europe. Initially stance focused event, but it's been reorienting to add some old race cars, drift cars and in general more performance oriented builds. It was a blast and car was very well received there.
Few shots to top off the post. Gotta love that NFS Underground 2 vibe of those night shots!

 

[Jacob5se]

New parts came in yesterday.
Decided to ditch my A'PEXi EL gauges setup. Bought them used without sensors and harnesses, and it turned out that only oil pressure worked.
Had my eye on A'PEXi DIN3 Meter to match my AVC-R and decided to pull the trigger. Things like this are not everyone's cup of tea, but I couldn't be more happy with it.
Now to nicely loom and lay whole harness, rip the old one out, and install everything. I also have to wire my new slim fans, so quite a bit wiring ahead of me.