Showcar Build RS to GS Restoration Build

[Bland-Biscuit]

The car is officially in storage, and has been for more than a month.

I am trying something different this year. I bought Race Ramps Flatstoppers on a Black Friday sale and today I rolled the car up onto them. They are supposed to eliminate flat spots for long-term storage, and I'm excited to see how well they work out.

Now I just need to put the car on a trickle charge and reset the trip odometer, which I plan to do on New Years Day.

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

Looking clean as always. Hope it gets some wear next summer, just not too much

It's extremely tough to find a well finished DSM these days. Of any trim level. I can respect those who keep them going. I've enjoyed looking into your build since you joined the forums. Hopefully it continues to bring joy for years to come.

If you ever consider selling the car, ring my inbox. Regardless, keep enjoying this gem.

 

[Bland-Biscuit]

Looking clean as always. Hope it gets some wear next summer, just not too much

It's extremely tough to find a well finished DSM these days. Of any trim level. I can respect those who keep them going. I've enjoyed looking into your build since you joined the forums. Hopefully it continues to bring joy for years to come.

If you ever consider selling the car, ring my inbox. Regardless, keep enjoying this gem.

Thanks, man. Your build, knowledge, and willingness to help others have always been inspiring. The more people I meet through this platform, the more I believe it attracts truly amazing individuals. I was sad to see you sold your Eclipse, but I totally get it. I have little doubt you'll have another one someday. I had an Eagle Talon years ago, and I’ve always missed that car. There’s just something special about these DSMs, and now I can’t imagine not having one in my garage.

Looking back, this particular Eclipse probably should have been parted out... But weirdly, I’m grateful it needed so much work and that I haven’t had the budget for a complete restoration. It’s taught me patience and given me a love for the process itself, not just the finished product.

I don’t think I’ll ever sell it. It’s not that its intrinsic value is through the roof—at least not as it sits today—but year by year, it gets closer to being my dream car (and yeah, I’m a simple man who just loves the standard GS trim. ).

What really makes this car special, though, is my son. I bought it a few months after he was born, and it’s been incredible watching him grow up in the back seat. He loves this car. You should see how much joy he gets from our little car shows at the local Culver’s and the big smile he has when I pick him up from school in it.

That’s the real magic behind this build for me, and I’m so excited to keep moving toward the destination—while sharing each mile of the journey with him.

 

[Bland-Biscuit]

Yesterday I went to the International Auto Show in Detroit and saw this:

It was a pleasant surprise--I didn't expect to see my dream car there. This was actually the first time I've seen one of these in person, and I really liked it.

This car ignited my passion for the Eclipse, and while I don't intend to convert my RS into a replica, I would love to own one of these some day.

 

[Bland-Biscuit]

Well, I decided to stop dreaming and start doing. I just had a birthday a few days ago, and it hit me—I'm getting old.

The past few years haven’t been easy. I’ve lost some people who were close to me, and I’ve learned the hard way that you never really know what’s around the next bend. But lately, my young son has taken a real interest in both my Eclipse and the Fast and Furious car. That’s what finally pushed me over the edge… so I bought myself a present.

A brand-new set of Lenso S7 18" wheels are officially on order.
They are, as far as I can tell, nearly identical to the original Axis Se7ens used on the Fast and Furious Eclipse.

So after 24 years, it’s finally happening: I’m going to build my dream car.
And the best part? My son is just as excited as I am.

I don’t know exactly when it’ll come together — the wheels haven’t even arrived yet () — but with those in hand, the dream feels real.

---

As for the car, I don’t plan to use my RS for this project. It would technically work — solid roof and all — but I’ve already poured too much into that car. It deserves to be finished as the OEM+ GS-trim restoration I’ve always envisioned. And honestly, I want to see it through.

Once that project is mechanically solid and mostly wrapped up, I’ll start hunting for a second Eclipse. Ideally, I’d like a GS-T, preferably black so I don’t have to repaint the engine bay. But I’d consider a GS or RS as long as it’s not clapped out. After restoring one pretty neglected RS, I really don’t want to go through that again — and with part scarcity being what it is, I’m not sure I could even if I wanted to.

Besides, I think it would be awesome to have both cars side by side at a show — one full OEM+ resto, the other a movie replica. A sort of “before and after” to show just how far the transformation went. That would be wild.

---

Anyway, no progress on the RS this year — and now that I’ve blown my budget on the wheels, there won’t be.

So for now, the plan is just to enjoy it. I want to add some miles this season, and if all goes well, tackle the piston slap and finish overhauling the suspension next spring or summer.

There was one small but amazing change this year, though:
I bought myself a period-correct blue and white Michigan license plate for my birthday — the iconic “Old Blue.” Michigan discontinued them in the early 2000s but just brought them back this year. It’s my all-time favorite plate and looks incredible on the car.

I wasn’t sure how the blue would work with the red paint… but I actually kind of love it. Can’t wait to see what it looks like on the Kawasaki green car someday — I think it’ll pop beautifully against the blue graphics.

Here’s to hoping they don’t discontinue it again before I finish.

 

[jesse12345]

I can't wait to follow the next build!

 

[GsEvoVIIITSpyderMan]

You gotta just love driving in a nice clean car. Is that little arrow at the top of the license plate opening telling you

...... THIS SIDE UP.......

Indication of direct center of the car me as a painter helps divide the car in half equally there is another on the front end

 

[Bland-Biscuit]

Well, actually, after giving it more thought, I am going to convert this RS into a Fast and Furious tribute car.
I'll go back and update the initial post with the new project scope at some point soon.

This decision didn't come lightly. At all. But I was thinking about all the work I would have to do to rewire the car, install the side skirts, repaint it—all that work—and in the end, it would still be an RS with an abysmal KBB value... And it would have a solid roof, which would have been better suited to the Fast and Furious tribute build. I know they can be problematic, but I really want an Eclipse with a sunroof. It's nice to have those open on the types of summer drives I do with the car.

Originally I decided to take this trim level upgrade project on because I felt like I would never find a GS or better in low miles at a price I could afford. I literally believed this was the best I was going to get. But lately I've been seeing low miles cars coming up for sale, and I've become optimistic that someday, I'll find a nice Northstar White or Saronno Red survivor I can just get in and enjoy. That is really what I want. A bone-stock survivor. But if it does need parts? Well, I have a bunch left over from this project, so that's cool.

That said, nobody should shed a tear over this RS becoming a tribute project. It was far from a survivor and wasn't preserved by any stretch. It was a low-cost, underappreciated and mechanically neglected car with hidden damage, missing bits, and bad paint. It was more dent than car at this point, I think.
Its condition, plus its solid roof, makes this 'Charlie Brown Christmas Tree' car the perfect platform to become my dream car.

AND so it's on...

---

This Project is Rolling, Rolling, Rolling...
I got my Lenso S7 wheels—but that wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be.
I had a fun little misadventure that taught me an expensive lesson about wheel offsets: I initially ordered the +35, not realizing it would poke past the fender. What I really needed was the +42, which tucks back just like the movie car.
So... one costly return later and another set shipped across the country—and we’re good now.

---

No Cap? No. Cap.
I also ended up ordering the fake fuel cap detail that mounts to the fuel door. France was the only place I could find it. I’ve noticed a lot of tribute builds skip this piece entirely and opt for something like a Sparco-style round door instead. But if you pause the shot of the Eclipse in front of the San Diego skyline, you’ll see what looks like a machined piece of metal mounted to what appears to be the stock fuel door, painted flat black.

This is the one I bought:

It was a pricey little pickup, but I wanted to get it before the tariffs increased and made it even harder on my wallet.

The scope of the project may have changed, but my passion for the little details sure hasn't.
I'll outline some specific differentiators I plan to implement once I update the first post with the new project scope.

---

It Slaps, yo!
In the meantime, the plan is to pull the engine next and fix the piston slap. I'm not completely sure what I want to do there yet, but I definitely want to make sure this never happens again.

In the end, I'm not trying to build the engine for power or speed, but rather for stress-free longevity. So to help with that, and because I don't ever want to have to pull the engine again, I am going to replace the freeze plugs with a set of DNJ brass ones, which will hopefully keep things buttoned up for the rest of the car's life.

When the engine is out to be rebuilt, I plan to haul the car over to a body shop to restore the stock geometry of the front end, repair the hidden damage that changed it, and paint the engine bay black. I'm thinking Kalapana Black (X13) because it honors its Mitsubishi/DSM heritage. Love those little details...

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Seeing Green
Doing all this at the body shop would make for an excellent time to spray some test panels in Kawasaki Green. What that color is exactly seems to be a source of confusion. I want to learn more about that whole process—especially how different primer colors affect the final look.

Anyway, I'm already nerding out about little details, so, yeah, I'm having fun so far. I'm going to be saving money and sourcing parts for the next several months.

I hope you will continue to follow along as this new road unfolds. Let's Goooo!

 

[jesse12345]

I'm also making my rs into a show car and since it's just an "rs" like you said its the perfect canvas. Granted I'm not doing the fast and the furious build (to rich for my blood) it'll still be something you'd see from the early 2000s. I'll be for sure following along.

 

[Bland-Biscuit]

I'm also making my rs into a show car and since it's just an "rs" like you said its the perfect canvas. Granted I'm not doing the fast and the furious build (to rich for my blood) it'll still be something you'd see from the early 2000s. I'll be for sure following along.

Dude, that sounds amazing. I'm following your build and can't wait to watch it evolve!

 

[dsmnagi]

I'm new here, but happy to come across this RS upgrade. My first car was a 2nd gen RS, and I'm happy to still see some driving around! Looking forward to more updates!

 

[jesse12345]

I'm pretty excited! I've got everything ready to be bolted on or put in the car except I have to fix any rust or dents first, which is kind of boring to most. I wish I could have started with a clean one but for 1500 I couldn't say no. I'm super pumped for you!

 

[Bland-Biscuit]

Small Update – Pivoting the Build Plan (Again )

So, I was talking to my mechanic the other day and he suggested leaving the current engine as-is for now—minor piston slap and all—and just rebuilding another block to swap in later. Honestly, I don’t think that’s a bad idea. If I don’t find a spare, I can always have this one machined and rebuilt when the time comes.

Right now, doing a full rebuild would be a very expensive overhaul without a whole lot of practical gain, and it would cannibalize the budget for the rest of the project (which is already… uh… not cheap). Plus, I’d lose a lot of time—and my son is excited now, so I’d rather keep the momentum going.

And so, I’m pivoting the plan (again, ) and prioritizing suspension and brakes first, then moving on to the exterior.

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New Goodies

Speaking of the exterior, I picked up a few inexpensive pieces recently:

Carbon Fiber Wrapped Fuel Door
This one’s pretty cool—it’s actually a stock metal door with real carbon fiber overlayed on top, so it should work great for mounting the fake metal cap. I think it looks sharp sitting on there.

This is one spot where I’m intentionally diverging from the movie car. As far as I know, the screen-used car had a solid black door as the base. Honestly, it’s a bit of a corny detail that some other builders skip altogether—you can see the example I spotted at an auto show earlier this year went a totally different route.

For me, though, I don’t mind sprinkling in a little here and there on this build. One thing I really like about my carbon fiber door is that it was made using a silver door underneath, which actually complements the fake cap nicely on the backside. Sure, 99% of people will never see that, but I love those little details.

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Wheeling and Dealing
I also grabbed a set of plastic Konig hub-centric rings and a full set of stubby lug nuts for the wheels. I won’t know for sure if I got the right stuff until installation, but I didn’t want to wait—prices for the lugs are already getting ridiculous, and I got a great deal on a full set.

Assuming I didn't screw up, the wheels are almost ready: just need the Axis center caps and a set of tires, and that part of the project is ready to roll (pun intended).

---

My little guy is hyped. I am too. But I keep thinking how much I want a bone-stock survivor next, . I’m a huge fan of the factory look and I will miss it on this car. This build is bittersweet for me, but it makes sense given how that car ignited my passion and my little guy's level of excitement makes me feel young again too.

I’ll make sure to keep all the OEM parts safe as they come off. I'm not done with that stock Eclipse dream by any means... I just need a better car to achieve it.

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

Piston slap? I thought your mileage was fairly low. I know that's a common problem with the 420A, but not at what I assumed your mileage was. Less than 100k? I see it alot at 200k-300k.

Either way. Looking forward to the build. You're getting in the same boat as me where your ride becomes more of a personal preference with less originality. I'm following either way.

 

[Bland-Biscuit]

Piston slap? I thought your mileage was fairly low. I know that's a common problem with the 420A, but not at what I assumed your mileage was. Less than 100k? I see it alot at 200k-300k.

Either way. Looking forward to the build. You're getting in the same boat as me where your ride becomes more of a personal preference with less originality. I'm following either way.

Thanks man!
Yeah, it’s got less than 100k miles on it. The head gasket was already shot when I bought it (apparently another common 420A “feature”), so I had the engine pulled, head gasket replaced, everything resealed, and the noise diagnosed while it was out. Mechanic said it was clean overall, but confirmed it was slapping. He also said that’s not unusual on the 420A.

Between the head gasket, the slap, and a cracked exhaust manifold all before 100k miles… let’s just say I’m not super impressed with Chrysler's contribution to the DSM drivetrain.

At this point, I’m starting to think that scene where Paul Walker drives the Eclipse flat-out after frying the piston rings was pure Hollywood fiction.

 

[Bland-Biscuit]

Ok, I know I’ve been flip-flopping more than a fish out of water—and that makes sense, because this whole Tribute car was a turn I didn’t originally plan on taking. But I’ve made my final decision for the year: I’m going to tackle the piston slap.

I reached out to Borderline Builds in El Paso, Texas, and they agreed to build me a short block. Yeah, I went way over budget this year between the wheels and now the block, but finding this builder felt like a huge stroke of luck. I wasn’t about to let the chance for a clean block slip away. I’ve worked too hard and spent too much to let this be the thing that keeps me from finally having a solid car.

Borderline Builds can build to your preference, and mine is being done with DNJ internals to stock spec, overbored .020. I know that’s boring (pun intended), but the goal here is longevity and looks—not performance or speed. This will be a weekend cruiser with some show appearances, not a track car.

It’ll be powder-coated black for that OEM look with a durable finish that should last. For now, it’s staying crated until after winter—then the rebuild begins.

Since my engine is still under 100k miles and the head is super clean, I’ll be reusing it and just replacing the lifters and rockers. The seals, springs, and valve keepers were already refreshed a few years back. Finally, it’ll get topped with a clean valve cover—I haven’t decided which way to go yet, but I’ve got options.

So the new plan is set: rebuild the engine and finish overhauling the suspension next year. Once all the maintenance is behind me, I’ll push hard to gather the rest of the parts and complete the build.

I’ll share more pictures as the short block comes together.

Let’s goooo!

 

[Bland-Biscuit]

Borderline Builds has been fantastic to work with! They have had excellent communication and are very friendly, patient, and professional. I've found them to be a true gem in the DSM world.

Check out this short block! It's assembled and ready to ship out this week. It looks amazing!

The final assembly includes:
OEM Crank
Eagle Connecting Rods
ARP 2000 Rod Bolts
DNJ Pistons/Rings
+0.020 over bore

It was powder coated by SandCity Powdercoat & design and machined by Mike & Son's Machine Shop. All coordinated and handled by Borderline Builds. All I had to do was pay the invoices and he did all the work. It was such a good experience.

I can't wait to actually see it in person.

And, Eagle rods! I couldn't be happier with that! He surprised me with that upgrade (which is very much appreciated). I can't say enough great things about this company, really. They were amazing from initial conversation to final invoice. The owner really has a passion for this type of work, and it shows. And Michael, if you are reading this, thank you again, not just for my build, but for your broader support for the DSM community.

I'm hoping to get the engine installed this coming spring/summer and will be buttoning it up with ARP head studs. I feel like this engine will be one I can rely on for decades, passing it along to my son someday... In the distant future... Maybe when I'm dead, . Until then he can enjoy the ride from his car seat in the back... And boy, he really does.

It's hard to believe how fast time flies though, isn't it? I bought the car six years ago, shortly after he was born, and he's grown up with it. It is definitely something special for both of us, and it feels pretty incredible thinking about passing the keys to him someday, knowing it will be a solid car and a journey we shared together the entire way.

With the engine headache soon to be resolved, I'm looking forward to overhauling the suspension and moving toward the fun part of the build: the audio and aesthetics. As much as I love the blown speaker rattle and total lack of midrange and bass, it's probably just about time for an upgrade.

My little guy is really excited to get that green paint on the car too... It'll be a while yet, but we're inching closer. So let's goooo!

 

[jesse12345]

This is awesome! I had a quick question how did they fit eagle rods on a set of pistons? I'd like to use a set of eagle rods with the pistons I bought awhile ago that are supposed to be an upgrade. The pistons I have are a for a press fit I'm assuming I could get a machine shop to make them work?

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

I pressed mine in at home. They aren't as tight as you'd imagine. I do have a hydraulic press but I'm betting a rubber mallot would get then in as it took absolutely minimal effort to do it.

 

[jesse12345]

I'm guessing you used the stock rods though or am I missing something? If I used eagle rods on stock pistons wouldn't I need some kind of groove made in the pistons? Or am I over thinking this?

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

I used Eagle rods but JE pistons. I guess I missed what you were asking. The JE pistons have circlips to retain the wrist pins. You're pressing the pin into the rod rather than the pistons. You're saying that the pistons you bought don't use circlips?

 

[jesse12345]

Oh yeah my bad I should have been more specific. Yeah the pistons I bought were like a factory upgrade but they don't use the circlips. I'd like to use eagle rods but I wasn't going to get to crazy with wiseco or je pistons. If a guy could get them to work with a factory style piston that would be a game changer.

 

[Borderline_Builds]

This is awesome! I had a quick question how did they fit eagle rods on a set of pistons? I'd like to use a set of eagle rods with the pistons I bought awhile ago that are supposed to be an upgrade. The pistons I have are a for a press fit I'm assuming I could get a machine shop to make them work?

The wrist pin should slide in smoothly; if you have to press it, something isn’t right. The stock wrist pin diameter on the 420A is 22 mm, so verify that your connecting rod matches that size. During assembly, make sure the piston is installed on the rod in the correct orientation, and that the oil notch faces the front of the engine on both the rod and rod cap. Proper alignment and fitment here are critical to ensure smooth rotation and prevent premature wear or binding once the engine is running.

 

[Borderline_Builds]

This is awesome! I had a quick question how did they fit eagle rods on a set of pistons? I'd like to use a set of eagle rods with the pistons I bought awhile ago that are supposed to be an upgrade. The pistons I have are a for a press fit I'm assuming I could get a machine shop to make them work?

The wrist pin should slide in smoothly; if you have to press it, something isn’t right. The stock wrist pin diameter on the 420A is 22 mm, so verify that your connecting rod matches that size. During assembly, make sure the piston is installed on the rod in the correct orientation, and that the oil notch faces the front of the engine on both the rod and rod cap.

 

[jesse12345]

Okay thats where I'm guessing you used pistons that use a floating style wrist pin. I wanted to use eagle rods on pistons that use a press fit rod like the stock rods so they don't use a c clip. I made my question super confusing. I was told a machine shop could grind out a groove for a c clip to hold the wrist pin in but I'm not sure how much that would cost a guy.