Hello,
The time has come to sell one of the most awesome cars ever made in the 80's. I must part ways with my 1988 Mitsubishi Starion ESI-R that I picked up in December 2010 for $2k. I haven't had the time to keep up with this project so it has been replaced and is currently taking up space in pseudosport's driveway. It is currently running/driving/registered/insured/inspected and was planning on selling it in the spring until I found its replacement sooner than anticipated.
A brief history. I found this car in NH in the White Mountains area. The previous owner was a younger guy who's parents purchased it from him as a graduation gift. They had purchased it from the original owner's daughter who had passed in 2002 IIRC. The car came with all records from the original owner, right down to the window sticker. The car was never modified and was well cared for by the original owner. The guy I purchased it from was having financial issues and was not familiar with Starquests and had to sell it.
Since I've owned the car I have done the following: OE plugs
NGK Wires
Rebuilt the throttle body
Replaced the fuel injectors due to the secondary leaking
Replaced the distributor with an OE part
Rear brakes/pads/calipers/stainless hoses
Rear parking brake cables
Installed a KDM 4 row aluminum heater
160 degree thermostat
Primary cooling fan sensor
Transmission Mount
Haven't got around to, but have the parts:
Front pads/rotor/calipers/stainless hoses
Carrier Bearing & U-joints (car has a slight vibration above 30mph)
New header panel (old one has some dings)
4 Patch panels for the rear (rockers rotted in front of rear wheels)
KDM large FMIC
1G DSM MAF
The good: Box Flare awesomeness, what more can you ask. Car has never let me down or overheated on me. Engine runs smooth and has IIRC 82k on it give or take. Transmission & clutch feel great, doesn't pop or grind. The cloth interior is in great shape with only a small nick in the driver's door panel and the top of the rear seats have been discolored from the sun.
The not-so-good: Starting to rot. The patch panels will take care of the rockers but underneath is beginning to get worse & what is behind the rockers is unknown. However when installing the brake cables there was no signs of rot coming through the floors. The original owner had a rust preventive treatment done on the car in the early 90's but now New England is trying to reclaim it. It should be no big problem for someone who has the skills to repair. The front air dam has a crack in it, which happens as soon as you leave the showroom. Headlamp motor does not work off the switch anymore. I had taken apart all the switches, cleaned & lubed them and they worked fine for a few days. Put a new switch in & they worked again until recently. They can be cranked manually. Wiper motor stopped working recently & rear wiper motor never worked as long as I have owned the car. Some panels in front have been repainted. Some scrapes and bruises but nothing major. Fuel filler neck may need replacing, when completely full a bit of fuel drips out. I guess it's a common wear item on these cars.
I may be forgetting some things but this is what comes to mind.
I refuse to sell this car to anyone who is not an enthusiast or familiar with these. I'd hate to see some kid drift it into a semi, so I'm listing it here and possibly the SQ forums. I paid $2,000 and I will sell it for $2,000. If I had a garage I would store it until I could fix it. Even though it's a bit rough, the chances of finding a nicer one in New England are getting harder. Once the car is unburied from the latest snowstorm I can take more pictures, I don't know why I never bothered taken many pictures before so here's a few, including the rot underneath.
The rocker on this side has gotten worse along the bottom.
Surprisingly this side hasn't gotten much worse.
The ugly
C'mon, you're from VT, buck up! Sacrifices must be made for we yankees to drive 80s cars.
