South Florida Mitsubishi Enthusiasts

My son and I have been into DSMs since his 1st car 6 years ago, a n/a 96 gs spyder . caught the bug right then and there......next was a 97 gst spyder (sold after 2 years of mods and lots of fun) Now have a 99 gsx a/t that we're going for bigger power (not too big, maybe 400 to 500 whp) I also have a mint 95 VR4 and and near mint 87 Chrysler Conquest. I've learned everything I know from forums like these and fellow enthusiasts that post up lots of how to's and been there's. Wrench On !

Where are you guys located around? Miami? Ft. Lauderdale? Boca?

There's a group of us still floating around and about.

We're actually moving towards getting an auto swap done on my 1g. Right now we're working through cooling issues and waiting on a few parts. Then on to tuning and the auto trans.

Unlike the M/T's, the A/Ts on these cars are pretty stout. A 5 friction front clutch pack and a translab shift kit go a LONG way (like 9's). The only real issues are the flexplates (which you can get a Kiggly plate from http://www.kigglyracing.com) and the torque converters. At this point, a Sinister is probably the way to go if you want to be cost effective.

The Huges restalls have gotten PRICEY, and the IPT stuff is also absurdly (and abusively) expensive.

The only other thing to consider would be (if it's really more a race car than a street car) to remove the lockup clutch from the TC as when those go, they can make a total mess of things and they will NOT hold the sort of power you're talking about anyway.

Welcome to the board.

_________________
-Will
2020 Giant Defy Adv 1
2023 Giant Revolt Adv 0
2022 Ibis Ripmo
2018 Trek Roscoe "Frankenbike"
2020 Trek Marlin 8

RIP:
Raul Ortiz - 02/29/2008
Westley Hess - 12/30/2008
Dad - 4/24/2010
Curt Brown - 5/23/2020

Howdy. Yes its true, a "built" trans would be nice but we're on a really tight budget (as in broke most of the time) so our projects tend to stall or just sit under a car cover for months and months untill i can spare the coin or the time and energy to work outside for hours long stretches. My VR4 sat for almost a year after the valve stem seals finally gave out even though i had all the parts and related gaskets and whatnot for the the complete vss job... which was no fun at all on that monsterous v6 built by very small handed japanese auto workers ! But we did it earlier this year from like Feb thru May. Got it all back together and most of the big mods we did while the car still ran but smoked alot.

We only just recently started on the 99 GXS. Bought it from a kid in Tampa and had to get it towed home cause it had a blown HG. I bought the engine from a friend here in Mia that owned a 98 blk Talon for 12 years and just got bored with it and bought himself an Evo.

He had put a long list of top shelf parts into into and it was making around 600 whp on E85 when we pulled it out of his Talon. It then sat in my garage for 6 months while the GSX sat in the backyard.

We finally put it all together just to have the trans fail on the 1st test drive around the block. I was so bummed i didnt touch the car for 3 weeks....just kept yelling at it everytime i walked out back for a smoke or to sit outside.

Anyways.... now we figure just spending 2 or 300 on the simple rebuild of just front and rear clutch packs and another huge amount of labor to pull the trans out and put it back in and get the car drivable again.....The car did run with the old motor after a head swap and i rebuilt the OD pack and installed a shift kit and all that and the trans seemed ok.....the she thru a rod and we parked it for almost a year i guess.....just my luck i guess cause we werent even driving it hard at all , just a slow cruise around the hood to log a drive for Link and the trans went into limp mode, solenoid codes, the stopped going into R and 3rd altogether.

Dropped the pan and found clutch material reside all in the filter and fluid. 9 qts of brand new mitsu atf down the drain....well not down the drain but you know....wasted....

But we do like to stay busy so we're always tinkering on something here....my close friend and #1 assistant has 3 Starions so theres always something to fix or mod.

Sorry, i don't get out much and sometimes go on and on when a much shorter answer would have been adequate. My name is Mario, my son is Michael. we're in NE Miami 33161. Glad to meet ya, Will.

Welcome, nice to see to see people still into these cars down here.

This is why it's good to keep the board running.

_________________
Being a "Patriot" does not mean prioritizing service to government above all else.
-Edward Snowden

A simple rebuild is what I'm talking about. A 5 disk front clutch pack and a translab shift kit (I got mine off ebay for $40 shipped) are quite literally all you need to run 9s.

With the power goals you're talking about, I wouldn't do a rebuild without those two pieces and they will only cost marginally more.

I'll have to go dig through my notes to find the site with the good price on the rebuild kits. The only OE part you'll need to source from Mitsu is the filter. The rebuild kit filters don't have enough openings and can cause the pump/transmission to starve.

Fluid wise, you can get a 5-gallon bucket of JD Hygard for like $60. Beats the pants off the $12/qt fluids.

_________________
-Will
2020 Giant Defy Adv 1
2023 Giant Revolt Adv 0
2022 Ibis Ripmo
2018 Trek Roscoe "Frankenbike"
2020 Trek Marlin 8

RIP:
Raul Ortiz - 02/29/2008
Westley Hess - 12/30/2008
Dad - 4/24/2010
Curt Brown - 5/23/2020

I remember driving to Apollo Beach (just south of Tampa) for my second GSX. I actually went twice. The first time to look at it and test drive it, and the second time to pay for it. The first time I had actually been in Brandon looking at another GSX that I ended up passing on. Picked up the AutoTrader and boom, there was the one I ended up buying.

Sadly, it just sits parked now.

Welcome to the boards!

_________________
2017 Volkswagen Golf R
2012 Volkswagen Golf R - SOLD
2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI - SOLD
1997 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX - PARKED
1997 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX - WRECKED

If we can all ever get our DSM's running at the same time, we'll need to go out on a cruise.

...

I miss the old days.

_________________
-Will
2020 Giant Defy Adv 1
2023 Giant Revolt Adv 0
2022 Ibis Ripmo
2018 Trek Roscoe "Frankenbike"
2020 Trek Marlin 8

RIP:
Raul Ortiz - 02/29/2008
Westley Hess - 12/30/2008
Dad - 4/24/2010
Curt Brown - 5/23/2020