Saving An Eclipse!

[BLACK'98DSM]

This is the Build Thread for Saving The Eclipse!. Reply below.

 

[MyTalonTSi1991]

Good luck with your build! These are definitely worth saving as there will never be any more of them!

 

[Dericsh]

Looking forward to seeing it cleaned up. That poor hood, wonder what happened there.

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

I guess it had been sitting for a little while . Got it pulled out and towed home. First goal is to get it running and that will reveal any drivetrain issues I need to address. Once it's driving decent I can get a game plan of cleaning up the interior and exterior. Definitely not an overnight project but I think I'll get some enjoyment out of the process. I can't wait to get this thing back in commission.

Looking forward to seeing it cleaned up. That poor hood, wonder what happened there.

That rust on the hood seems like the only rust on the whole car. The undercarriage is damn near spotless. I think the sun just ate through the paint and rain did the rest. Plus 31 years on original paint is already a bit much for a car parked outside.

 

[Dericsh]

Yeah that’s true. The paint on my 93 was trashed when it was only 10 years old.

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

Installed a new battery today and it fires. The gas in the tank smells awful so I'll need fresh fuel before it can idle. I'll be relieved when it fires and runs smoothly.

 

[MyTalonTSi1991]

Nice!!! Is this the 1.8 or 2.0? Just saw GS on the rear bumper and could be either!

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

It is the 1.8

Nothing too special but I like it and it's still rare!

 

[MyTalonTSi1991]

Agreed!!! Doesn’t matter which motor, it’s still incredible! I catch heat because mine is a turbo automatic….but my response is the same…..it’s still cool!

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

Got the car running for a few minutes and then lost power to the fuel pump. I'll hopefully diagnose this tomorrow. MPI relay is the current suspect.

I made some discoveries while it was running though. It sounded and ran great. Super quiet and super smooth until it got warmer. Once it got warmer the headgasket started running oil and coolant everywhere. That explains why it only had 30k miles put on it since 2007. And why it hasn't been started at all this year.

Need to order a gasket and seal set and contact the machine shop soon. But before I do that I'll double check the bottom end to make sure the whole engine doesn't need a rebuild. Looks like it'll be a little longer than I thought before the car is fixed right, but I'm up for the challenge!

Might as well get both Eclipse heads built at the same time

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

None of the tires on the car were holding air, so I swapped over to my factory 2G RS wheels. They've been sitting around for a few years so I'm glad to get some use out of them. Just needed to get the car rolling so I can drive it in the garage for a teardown.

This car might get put on the back burner for a couple weeks before I tear it down. I really need to get the 2G up and running again.

Oh and you might notice the lack of rust on the hood. 220 grit on the orbital sander helped a bit there. And spray cans to temporarily touch it up until a full paint job.

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

Replaced the fuel pump and MPI relay. It starts easily and idles. I drove around the neighborhood to see how it handles and I'm impressed. I expected it to completely fall apart but everything is tight. Someone kept the steering and suspension maintained.

Here's some pics of the fuel pump replacement. Looks like the original pump. I had to do some working with a wire wheel, there was no way I'd put that rusty bracket in a gas tank. The new pump I bought didn't include a strainer so I bought a universal strainer sock and held it on with a stainless steel wire tie.

It now has it's own garage space, so I can go ahead and start on the interior/exterior/engine. As far as I'm concerned the transmission can be left alone. It shifts like a new car. Maybe do some axle seals though.

 

[Linuxcnc69]

Thats a great find. Looking forward to its revival.

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

 

[Dericsh]

I’m no 1.8 expert but I would assume they still prefer ngk/denso plugs. Looks like that definitely needed doing.

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

Yes I'm putting NGK in it. Those were Champion plugs.

Cylinder 2 is burning some oil. Hopefully it's just a valve seal or the headgasket so it goes away after I freshen up the top end.

 

[Linuxcnc69]

A quick test from an old schooler would be a bit of Atf in the cylinder, disable the ignition and let the starter spin over a bit. Atf has the ability to clean up sticking rings. Plus if mosquitos are bad in your area you will clear them for the afternoon when your finished and start it.
It sounds silly but actually cleans the ring pockets a bit which makes it easier cleanup for the rebuild. And it narrows the question of where the oil may be coming from. Compression test before and after will reinforce your findings. Spark plug in but loose or you'll have a red fountain.

 

[Linuxcnc69]

Honestly this method would be good to do since the car had been sitting, a few cap fulls in each after checking compression the first time for all cylinders. Could save you building the lower end if you didnt intend on going full build on your 1.8l. You already have the champions to use for stoppers so you don't paint the ceiling.

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

I was able to find an OEM mirror on Ebay. I'm pretty sure that was all I needed to complete the exterior besides a paintjob and tires.

The head rebuild and headgasket are still underway. But moving slowly since I'm rewiring my garage at the same time.

For the interior, the only piece I'm missing is the driver side window crank handle. And I could use a driver seat since mine is torn but finding a red driver seat for a 1g will be difficult. I'll look into recovering options but I'll probably have to recover all of them to get a good match.

 

[MyTalonTSi1991]

Nice! Progress for sure! Red interiors are super cool but perhaps the hardest one to find! Car-part.com would probably be the best source.

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

Here's where we sit right now. My hopes of doing a top end only are down the drain. Cylinder 3 has been catching water for quite some time based on the condition of the cylinder wall. I'll be pulling the engine and trans for a full overhaul. I'm not really bummed at all though. I typically prefer to do full overhauls on older vehicles like this. It's a longer amount of time but in the end I can be assured it will be in great shape.

I haven't taken any measurements yet so I won't order a thing until I do. I'll probably need at least .020" over on the cylinders, if those are stock pistons and never been bored before.

There's no way it had that much water in the cylinder when I drove it. I guess I finished off the HG.

 

[blktalon3]

I like these out of the ordinary resto’s. I’ll be following

 

[Linuxcnc69]

Yikes! Well its a crash course in dsm now. We feel your pain.

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

I started to think this car sat for a little longer than I originally did, perhaps "not for too long"

I'm currently wrapping up the bottom end. Waiting on some new balance shaft seals to come in and an oil pan gasket (unsuprisingly I can't find those locally). After that I'm waiting on the machine shop to finish the head so I can torque everything and get it timed up. They're just a little backed up

While I'm waiting for parts I'll probably pull the headlights and restore them. And see what's up with the driver window falling down.

 

[Dericsh]

I know they make aftermarket oil pan gaskets, but from the factory isn’t it just silicone?

That’s a big pile of heads! I wonder how do they keep up with all that