chaseshad3streg

Hey everyone, I'm new to this page, but certainly not modifying cars (specifically Mitsubishis). When I was in my teens even before I HAD a car I used to lurk the forums for my first car ('93 3KGT VR-4) such as 3si/3SGTO and later got into other platforms such as the MKIV Supra, Subaru STi and even K swapped Hondas in college. I then was always turning wrenches to get myself through school and ended up with me creating my own repair shop in Lincoln Nebraska and later would move to Omaha Nebraska my senior year of college (Redux Automotive on Facebook or @RDXautomotive on Instagram).

My story with the Mirage/Lancer 4-6 chassis started when I was in high school. Growing up in western Nebraska in ~2011 in a town called North Platte the whole "Import car racing" thing was NOT big at all and only a small sliver of people even interested in modified cars were into Japanese imports at all--as the scene was completely dominated by 4th generation Camaros/Firebirds. *yawn*

One of my friends who I converted to the other side of this bought two DSMs, one was a Plymouth Laser and one was a Talon TSI, both AWD and one was auto and one was manual. ANYWHO, he showed me this video I'm sure y'all are probably familiar with and little did I know, I would become obsessed.

Having my VR-4 I never was a huge fan of the CT9A chassis Evolutions we got here in the USA, but these smaller and in my opinion, better looking EVOs would become the apple of my eye my junior year of high school. It goes without saying that getting an authentic Evolution at that time simply was not an option, and even if it was there'd be no way I could afford it. Later on, I saw the Evolution VI on Forza Horizon 1 and I was convinced I had to have one. Later on, I saw that others have used the two door coupe chassis to do these conversions to create a 1-off Evolution coupe that never existed. When I saw "@2dr_evo" on YouTube later:
So, my last year in college I began to plot exactly what I wanted to do; this of course was in 2020 and I had just moved my shop to Omaha and tripled my overhead so I wanted to build this on a budget (go ahead and laugh) and I've never been one afraid to sit on the internet for endless hours researching ways to do things properly but for less money.

At the time of me searching and now posting this, these cars are incredibly cheap. Especially where I live. No one where I'm at even cares about these cars which creates a sort of confusing "rarity" because people think they're not even WORTH listing online *annoyed face* and Craigslist seems to be a dying platform by the day and Facebook Marketplace seems to be the only option but cluttered in stupid "1,234" prices and "make offer"/"not looking to sell" ads and everyone and their dog thinks they're a car flipper during COVID. *rolleyes*

That was UNTIL I used "Tulsa Oklahoma" as my location, and found T H I S gem in a town called Pawhuska asking $600 OBO, I sent him a picture of how far I was willing to travel and offered 400 bucks, and the gentleman took it immediately and was even willing to take the post down *relief sigh*

I bought a '09 6.7 Cummins 2WD with a BW S400 and a built 47RE trans and manual valvebody, my first domestic and first diesel EVER, hopped in and rented a two wheel uhaul dolly in one of the WORST snowstorms of this winter and made on my merry way. I made it there and back round trip with no issues whatsoever, and I finally was a Mirage owner. SO-onto the build!

chaseshad3streg

Here is said truck about 15 minutes after I purchased the 2000 Mirage DE Coupe.

Some as authentic as possible "before" pictures *yuck*

SEXY eBay spec GT wing *flex*

Don't forget the absolute TANK of a 4G15 with over 300K on it, complete with a blown headgasket (100 emoji)

chaseshad3streg

Some more pictures immediately afterwards...

A picture of one of the LEGENDARY cars that donated their bodies to us.

I worked at a self-service auto recycling yard in college my senior year so one of of my days I was not busy at the shop I yanked two of these puppies out.

That super M I N T 300K+ mile interior *yuck*


One of my buddies who also is a Mitsubishi fanboy and client (@mitsuchris on Instagram) that we are ALSO doing a later generation 4G swap into a BASE eclipse GS like @miguel_dsm with our own poverty-stricken twist. Using a Hyundai G4JS!

After all of my homies clowning the wing 24/7 and them begging I kept it as the ultimate meta-sleeper I of course couldn't keep the wing, as I had already built a spray painted K20 swapped EK Civic hatchback (#projectfeedlot on Instagram if you like garbage pit civics)

chaseshad3streg

Now, to get to REAL work!

Not many things are more satisfying than being able to drop the engine out of the bottom with a lift. Sure beats doing this in the snow in my driveway like I used to in a good-old fashioned Nebraska winter 😵🥶

Since this was a 1.5 car instead of a 1.8 I took it upon myself to just hack the hoses and harness out because I'd be using all different units anyway. I have no intentions of keeping HVAC/PS (Colt manual rack)/Radio etc. As this will be exclusively used for going fast but can still be street driven legally with plates/insurance etc. I've always been a fan of "hardcore" street cars and never been attached to luxuries in my personal builds whatsoever ("I'm built different 💯" 😂&#129315

I am starting by getting this car just basically running and driving NA, using a G4JS engine backed by a third generation eclipse 2.4 manual transmission. After this my next "phase" will be to add a turbo and have some fun, then do the FUN evolution 4-9 trunk pan swap with rear hubs/axles/subframe/diff/shortened driveshaft etc. Using a 4-9 transmission and the 4-6 "under" transfer case. I'm afraid due to COVID and our borders being closed to Canada it'll be quite the wild goose chase getting ahold of the T-case and I'm also finding out even guys who are parting out 8/9 Evolutions here in the USA aren't exactly "willing" to cut the trunk pan out for me to purchase 😒 so any leads will be appreciated. I can't wait to blow this $280 junkyard engine sky-high as well. Apparently this guy has had good luck with these lumps too! 😀🤷‍♂️


Here's the 2.4 third gen Eclipse Fidanza flywheel I'll be using and my Spec clutch that is the same part number for these and AWD DSMs apparently. The flywheel came with bolts and the OEM clutch bolts are on their way from TMZ performance to get this thing all sandwiched together. I'll also be keeping an eye out for a factory Evolution 4-9 intake manifold/throttle body/sensors too.

MinusPrevious

iTrader: (3)

Great first post / We are watching

Im impressed w/such a serious project that will take some serious skills to complete

Welcome to the group

chaseshad3streg

I managed to squeeze in some time tonight to jack with the car:

The Fidanza third generation Eclipse 2.4 flywheel went on with no issue of course (part number 161041) and they even included brand new bolts. I grabbed one of my favorite tools (Snap-On tech angle torque wrench) and tightened these to 55 then 98 foot-pounds with Red loctite (I know, controversial topic but I stand firm in my choice and I have more than enough power to impact them off later) they also include a green film on the friction material that must be cleaned off via acetone.

Next I threw on the new SPEC clutch (part nunber SM482) with new OEM Mitsubishi pressure plate bolts (part number MF241251) with blue loctite and tightened these to 13 foot pounds. Then I used a new throwout bearing and sandwiched it together using the previous 4G15 manual transmission bellhousing bolts which worked perfectly. It turns out that the front and rear brackets directly bolt onto the 2.4 3G Eclipse transmission and work perfectly with the front/rear transmission mounts as well!

(Rear)

I then bolted on the front/rear member and sat it underneath the car because with the way the provisions stick off the frame rails it really is about 10-million times easier than swinging it under from the top!

chaseshad3streg

Then after my usual Western-Nebraskan barrage of swear words, we achieved this:

Obviously it isn't in its permanent setting, as I'm missing a passenger side engine mount and I'm borrowing @mitsuchris ' drivers side 3G Eclipse 2.4 manual transmission mount, however I currently plan on using the torque solution Evolution 7-9 engine mount kit. I'm aware that the Evolution 4-6 passenger mount is slightly thinner to "suck the engine up" higher in the engine bay, but I'm not afraid to have a buddy mill it down the 0.6 inches or whatever difference it is.




Here's the gap we are lookin' at here...

and a picture of Mitsuchris ' aforementioned Evolution 8 mount. I looked into just grabbing an OEM one like his but after finding out nothing is cross compatible from my browsing the junkyard I work at and finding this thing appears to be proprietary and the OEM replacement from AutoZone was well north of $150 I decided to pony up and am planning on buying the Torque Solution units because they'll also be stronger and if I've learned anything from my Hondas is I'm REAL hard on my toys.

chaseshad3streg

As of now the car is going to be at a standstill until I decide to quit being a coward and get the Torque Solution mounts AND I need to find myself a 1.8 LS Mirage engine harness or eat more crow and have OHM Racing or someone help me build a new one.I got the shifter cables bolted up to this engine and the old 1.5 manual shifter cable bolts right on lickety-split so that saved a thousand times a heartache.

I know some of y'all are gonna be bummed I'm not doing the AWD deal right out of the gate but I wanted to go through every step and show on a spectrum of just how cheap/easy/simple this can be even if you want to stay FWD and use cobbled together junk like I have. There aren't many resources for these cars ESPECIALLY in English and if I wasn't billingual I definitely would have struggled even more finding solid information. Not "I heard it should" or "I read that it should" type hearsay. Also let's be honest; or at least it's just me but I get tired of how people where I live think the ONLY option for budget-build import cars are Hondas. Especially now that DSMs have been furiously climbing in value and Evolutions will always be expensive unfortunately. I hope that this will be used as a guide for the next person.

deylag

iTrader: (23)

After owning a Ford Focus ST and tracking it for almost a year. I would be as happy as a clam to track a boosted mirage with the necessary safety equipment. I enjoy watching your ingenuity in cheaply piecing together all these Mitsubishi parts.

Any reason why you want to use aftermarket parts versus stock Evo parts? Engine mounts are cheap and you could swap out the old bushings with some new poly bushings. I tend to choose the least stiffest bushings as I don't enjoy the increased NVH. The same goes for an Engine harness and ECU. An Evo 8 engine harness and ECU would allow you to take advantage of the Evo 8 ECU capabilities and that would be a fraction of the cost of an aftermarket solution.

My inner OCD really wants to see that Mirage cleaned up.

chaseshad3streg

Interestingly enough evoscan SUPPORTS the 2000+ Mirage ECU as well! I originally planned on doing as you suggested but then found this out later reading on their site, so that gives me that capability that earlier ones would have to work around. When I got to the harness/ECU/electrical portion of this I planned on explaining if people wanted to copy this they can just go to a junkyard/eBay and get a third generation Eclipse ECU if their car was an earlier version too. On that HurstBuilt Sonata he even used it and it was plug and play!

For the mounts I considered OEM, but with how much hell I plan on putting this through I knew they wouldn't be up for the job and I am kind of ridiculous when it comes to NVH, like, I never had a car with air conditioning until I bought a 2019 Tacoma brand new 😳😅 and I kind of view my car hobby as an "athletic" experience so I anticipate it being uncomfortable 🤣 so I know how I build my personal cars DEFINITELY is not for everyone. However if a client wants me to replicate something similar to this later I may actually post in here how to easily and painlessly retain AC/PS and it really should be a bolt on no custom parts affair (I probably jinxed myself but oh well 😵&#128579

I'm glad you mentioned safety too because I go pretty overkill with that too. On that Civic I keep mentioning that I did I actually did a full 12 point cage and fixed Recaro ProRacer Hans seat and Sabelt harness. For this car I'm probably just going to keep it real mild and do a rear roll bar that ties to the rear strut towers and has door bars--just for the simple fact I'm going to ATTEMPT to go fast enough to need them at my local 1/8 mile track (I-29 Raceway) and if I can make the nearly 3 hour drive run 1/4s at Kearney Raceway Park as well! I previously have done so many time attack/road race oriented builds I wanted to switch it up especially with how much bigger it is to do that here where I'm at.

chaseshad3streg

Thank you my friend! It's probably gonna be a REAL slow pull to get this hunk done just because with the business growing and me moving into a different city. The big thing to me now is just keeping an eye out for cheap used parts to make this happen. I took a similar approach when I K swapped my Civic and everyone said "iTs tOo eXpEnSiVe tO K sWaP!!!" where I lived and everyone was still running B series despite being WAY behind the guys on the coasts, but with a ton of reading I found ways to make it cheaper but not unsafe/hacked because to me taking the expensive route 99% of the time is easier and I want to offer a reader some value as to how they can work around it. This is also the first time I've had the courage to document a build on a forum instead of my usual *timid face* "Hey guys plz look at my progress 👉👈🥺" on my Instagram page 🤣😅

pinups

Wow loving the build bud how is it coming along