1989 Mitsubishi Mirage Turbo white
Purchased March 1989 from Stevens Creek Mistubishi, Santa Clara, California
VIN# JA3CU54Z0KU076321
I am the original owner of this automobile. It has been meticulously maintained for all but 1 year of its existence (I had given the car to my stepson).
Following the year the car was being driven by my stepson I retrieved the car and proceeded on a total rebuild of nearly every system on the car.
I immediately had this car taken down to California Tint and had the windows UV tinted to save interior. Given its lifetime guarantee this has been performed many times over the last 21 years (who keeps a car this long?) As well, a dash cover was installed. Unfortunately the dash cover still cracked.
The foam on the driver and passenger seats was disintegrating so the seats were rebuilt about 2 years ago. The rear seats are as new. The carpeting has been changed to a thicker type for sound deadening capabilities. Before the carpet went down a full set of low level RCA style cable were sent to the rear, custom built DH-Labs BL-1 with high quality terminations utilizing silver solder. Cable and protection is significant. Pics will suffice here. It may be over protected as it often takes a few turns of the key to get things started.
The instrument panel nacelle was replaced with a brand new one from the dealer. Costly
A full set of gauges was installed including boost/vacuum/temp and volt. The damn volt meter came DOA. It sits in panel DOA.
Dynamat was installed in all of the relevant locations. The speakers are ADS 320i’s. I believe I paid $600 for the set and the crossovers are installed under the seats. See pics. JL Audio amps X 2. A subwoofer which holds an Image Dynamics driver is included. It is made to be removed when loading other crap.
A Odyssey battery and a 400amp battcap maintain power in a safe manner as they are trunk installed. They have been properly secured in the event of a serious accident. (that would earn one a Darwin award).
I just replaced the front windshield. It was pitted beyond belief from all those freeway miles.
Fresh bearings on a 4 wheels (PIA). New tie rods and ball joints. New racing springs and Koni’s all around. New brakes, rotors, and SS brake lines. New Master and slave cylinders. New pivot arm, fork and pushrod. This car was aligned as well but what a handful
The calipers I rebuilt.
The car been repainted, mostly by me. I’m a perfectionist. Wish I could paint better. Regardless, it was a 2 stage paint job. I did not touch the top or the rear hatch as I wish to preserve the original decals.
All work was done to preserve, as much as possible the true nature of the car. Nothing has been hacked!! No hacked bumper or engine compartment. There is no intercooler in this car.
Motor.
I rebuilt the motor to mostly original specifications. It is the original 4G61T motor.
I’ve replaced nearly every component to new or properly rebuilt.
NEW:
Coil pack
Evo III 02 housing
Big 16G turbo (the good one)
2G exhaust ported and polished.
Bearings and rings of course
New 3†exhaust including downpipe and Full flow CAT. Yes it’s a real CAT with a real 02 sensor.
680cc injectors rebuilt and tested to match.
Remapped computer from Jeff Oberhowzer.
2G MAF.
Forced Performance air intake (it’s frickin huge)
HBE (I think boost thingy)
Chrome oil can
Fidanza flywheel (light)
Expensive as hell clutch (can’t remember name but it’s been a PIA)
Lot’s of other crap.
What needs fixin to be perfect.
#1 This car has AC (think of that) and it worked perfectly except the small pulley that the belt runs off of makes noise. So I took it off to replace. It still needs replacing. (I have other cars to drive when it’s hot outside ïŠ)
I use anti-seize compound everywhere I feel it necessary. On the 4 bolts to the O2 housing they would come loose after a few hundred miles. So I’ve tightened them only one decided to be problematic. The threads need to be taped. I tried to stay authentic including not using lock washers. My bad.
The DAO volt gauge. It’s new it’s pretty, it’s dead.
The stereo needs tuning. Trust me. Being an audio guru and having a 3 month old baby, I don’t have the time nor the desire.
Some of the black trim pieces are showing wear. A can of paint and some sandpaper would help.
The front tire spins. Too much power. And folks put intercoolers on these?
As mentioned earlier, it often takes a few turns of the key to initiate takeoff. 2 batteries and 1/0 wire this surprises me. I have it fused in multiple locations so maybe a higher amp fuse would solve that situation.
I know this is a lot of verbiage. I’ll send additional pics on request.
I’ve spent a stupid amount of money on this car. I wanted the best 89 Mirage Turbo on the planet. I might be close. This was my baby. Now I have a real one
.
I’d like to get $5500 for this car. Anyone savvy enough knows I’ve got triple that amount invested.
I’m hopeful this car won’t end up trashed but ya just gotta let go.
Thanks to all the forum folks for their help, suggestions, links, and deep knowledge regarding this car.
Here is a link to some pics. For some reason, I couldn't get the pics to show on this site.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9751465@N0 ... otostream/
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