'87 Mitsubishi Starion Racecar

[Bjkadron]

Hello Everyone,

Welcome to my '87 Mitsubishi Starion Racecar build page. I know this isn't the normal fare for this site. However, I am also aware that many of you enjoy High performance no matter the wrapper it happens to come in. So please enjoy following along on this Major budget build.

Car: 1987 Mitsubishi Starion GSI-R, 5-speed.

Goal: To improve the Autocross performance, The quarter mile performance, And the appearance, all while staying under budget.

Budget: $2010

Plan: K.I.S.S.! With a budget this size you need to keep things simple. I plan to lighten it (a LOT), then tune the suspension, get better tires, make a little more power, And a few other things that I am keeping up my sleeves at this time.

The Story: I found this car on craigslist. It had a good sized mod list already and I plan to add to it.

Mods so far:
Rebuilt bottom end, new(er) steering box, new (better) head w/new valves and ported and polished, new (ported)exhaust manifold, Hks exhaust with Hi-flow Cat, ported and polished intake and throttle body, used 16g turbo, Tokico shocks and Ground Control adjustable coil overs w/ eibach springs, new clutch kit with extra plate, extra roller rocker set and another adjustable rocker kit, clutch master and slave cylinders, brake master-cylinder, new alternator, Turbo XS BOV and a better G-reddy one, new tires, re-built cv-axles, two aftermarket fans, new(er) ceramic brake pads, Bosch super coil, ngk plugs and wires. I changed the front timing cover gasket and just got the oil pan gasket. I also got some 27x10x15 Hoosier slicks which should help at the drags.. And may have found a set of autocross tires (DOT approved stickeys) Price? FREE!

Pictures...
Front
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/04/40910006-1.jpg

Rear
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/04/40910007-1.jpg

The "Guts"
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/05/HONDACAR002-1.jpg

The internals are surprisingly beefy for a 4 cylinder
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/05/HONDACAR004-1.jpg

Well, That is all I have for now. I'll update as I progress.

Thanks again for looking!

[Nessumsar]

What did you pay for the car?

Building it as a potential GRM contestant? I came reeeeally close to buying one of these before I purchased my Nova.

Does the car have an aftermarket radiator? If you're planning on making more power, that needs to be on your list of parts.

[DynoDon]

I used to race one of those! Little different form of racing though, in fact it carried us to the SCCA Southern Pacific Division Co-Drivers Championship. Originally built By Dave Kent's Kreative Cars as a factory backed Showroom Stock Road Racer (and a VERY illegal one at that, lots of hidden trick parts) it was then converted to Rally use and driven a couple of times by Steve Millen before we got it as a factory backed ride. At this event we got some backing from Chrysler so we called it a Dodge Conquest
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/05/DonLindforsStartionCRSPromo-1.jpg

[DynoDon]

There is FREE horsepower to be had by eliminating the balance shafts. They weigh about 10lbs each and turn at twice engine speed. We ran the same 2.6 engine in a Plymouth Arrow also and never had any problems by eliminating the shafts.

[71RS/SS396]

Those things friggin fly with very few mods. I had a Conquest TSI back in the day and had a ball smokin Mustangs and Camaros after doing some mods. The clutch sucks in them though, seems to be the weak point.

[68firebird]

I love those cars. My mother-in-law had a turbo one back in the day an it was a fast sucker. I was so upset when she traded it in for a friggan sebring. Good luck with your build and keep us up to date.

[Shiro666]

This is great.

Love the car and I can't wait to see the progression.

-Shiro

[Bjkadron]

What did you pay for the car?

Building it as a potential GRM contestant? I came reeeeally close to buying one of these before I purchased my Nova.

Does the car have an aftermarket radiator? If you're planning on making more power, that needs to be on your list of parts.

I paid $1000 for the car. I paid more for some other(fancy) parts but I won't be using them right now so they don't count towards the budget.

Bugger! Thanks for ruining the surprise! haha I was kinda not going to mention it so I could post stuff without letting other competitors know my tricks.. Oh well..

It doesn't have one now but it is on the list.




I used to race one of those! Little different form of racing though, in fact it carried us to the SCCA Southern Pacific Division Co-Drivers Championship. Originally built By Dave Kent's Kreative Cars as a factory backed Showroom Stock Road Racer (and a VERY illegal one at that, lots of hidden trick parts) it was then converted to Rally use and driven a couple of times by Steve Millen before we got it as a factory backed ride. At this event we got some backing from Chrysler so we called it a Dodge Conquest

There is FREE horsepower to be had by eliminating the balance shafts. They weigh about 10lbs each and turn at twice engine speed. We ran the same 2.6 engine in a Plymouth Arrow also and never had any problems by eliminating the shafts.


Cool! I think I have seen some videos of you racing on youtube.
I wasn't planning on taking apart the engine for the "first Phase"... But, I may have to anyway, so the balance shafts may come out.


Those things friggin fly with very few mods. I had a Conquest TSI back in the day and had a ball smokin Mustangs and Camaros after doing some mods. The clutch sucks in them though, seems to be the weak point.

Yes, While a upgrade isn't in the budget unless I find a killer deal, I do have a spare.


Thanks everyone for the comments And I will try to update soon.

[WS6]

Good luck! Those cars were so neat. I think they have a lot of potential. Keep us posted.

[jackfrost]

oh man, these cars are sweet. tons of potential. good luck with the challenge.

[DynoDon]

[QUOTE=Bjkadron;676980]
Cool! I think I have seen some videos of you racing on youtube.
QUOTE]
I think most of what is on U Tube is George Daland driving it the year after I sold it to him. He then sold it to Lonnie Peterson who went on win a couple of Championships in it just as he had done with my Plymouth Arrow that i sold to him to campaign the Starion.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/05/Arrow-1.jpg

Part of the problem I have had getting back into pavement racing is I spent so many years doing Rally and Off Road I keep wanting to throw the car sideways going into the corners. Maybe I should give up and go drifting LOL

[Bjkadron]

Thanks everyone for the comments.. The little I have driven it it was really nice! A little too much body roll for my tastes but very planted and good acceleration and braking.

If you have any suggestions for improvement let me know. PM me if it is an Idea that shouldn't be public knowledge..

Thanks again!

[Bjkadron]

Here is a picture of the engine bay.. The previous owner had some strange ways of "fixing stuff" So I have some work to do..

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/05/128_0210-1.jpg

[B Schein]

I had one in high school you will find if you own one that is on the road you will have 2 or 3 for parts. They are a blast to drive when they a running but always need to be worked on.

[64LS1Nova]

I had one in high school you will find if you own one that is on the road you will have 2 or 3 for parts. They are a blast to drive when they a running but always need to be worked on.

I miss mine too! What fun cars to drive! That was alot of fun when all 3 of us had them.

Frank

[Bjkadron]

Well, I have bad news. I thought I had posted it when it happened. But apparently, I did not.

Here goes: I believe the engine has suffered a fatal happening on the way home from the shop. My guesses are no better than something from bearings or detonation. But either way the engine sounds like it is about the go in multiple directions whenever I start it up.

This causes a slight setback in my plans as you can imagine.

[DarkBuddha]

Bummer... I'd marked this thread for updates and was hoping for something good when I saw it popped up. I'm a fan of these cars and it was on the short list when I ultimately bought my XR4TI in 2006. In fact, I was recently tempted when someone local advertised a heavily customized, Ford 5.0 powered, widebody Starion for $1100. It needed a clutch and driveshaft, and it was a bit of an odd looking car with a seriously customized front end, vertical headlight conversion, etc., but for $1100 it was a serious temptation.

Do post up if you make any progress with it. I'll be watching.

[67goatman455]

I love these cars! i have always wanted one!

very sorry to hear about your problems. if you end up having to scrap the engine, you may want to look into swapping in a 4G63 from an Eclipse. they dont seem like too hard of a swap, PLENTY of power potential and lots of aftermarket. just a thought for you and i hope all will go well!

[ArtosDracon]

If the engine does go, I say this thing needs an LS swap. I'm not usually the first to reccomend such a thing, but I've always had a thing for tiny RWD imports with an LS.

[Bjkadron]

Bummer... I'd marked this thread for updates and was hoping for something good when I saw it popped up. I'm a fan of these cars and it was on the short list when I ultimately bought my XR4TI in 2006. In fact, I was recently tempted when someone local advertised a heavily customized, Ford 5.0 powered, widebody Starion for $1100. It needed a clutch and driveshaft, and it was a bit of an odd looking car with a seriously customized front end, vertical headlight conversion, etc., but for $1100 it was a serious temptation.

Do post up if you make any progress with it. I'll be watching.

Yeah, I would have liked for it to be a good update as well. But, life happens! At this point my biggest thing is deciding if I want to fix this engine, swap in a 4g63 or go nuts and swap in a v8, or just cut my losses and sell it. I have no idea which at this point. Actually when a completely trashed s2000 got pulled into the shop I was really thinking about getting the engine and transmission out of it and going at it. But, the budget wouldn't allow it right now.


I love these cars! i have always wanted one!

very sorry to hear about your problems. if you end up having to scrap the engine, you may want to look into swapping in a 4G63 from an Eclipse. they dont seem like too hard of a swap, PLENTY of power potential and lots of aftermarket. just a thought for you and i hope all will go well!

That is one of the engines I'm considering. They actually came with the 4g63 in most other countries.


If the engine does go, I say this thing needs an LS swap. I'm not usually the first to reccomend such a thing, but I've always had a thing for tiny RWD imports with an LS.

I would LOVE to do a LS swap. But Unless I find one for super cheap, it is just out of my budget.


Again. Thanks for looking, and Hopefully I'll have better news to report next time.

[John Wright]

I drove one of it's brothers, Dodge Conquest, for a couple months. I thought the lil car was fun to drive except for a worn out strut that would let the steering go into a wobble on certain bumps. I'm sure it would feel very planted and predictable had the struts been replaced. Power was sort of peaky but came on predictably and strong for a 4 cyl. I bet it would be real fun with some V8 power...LOL