1987 Mitsubishi Starion LS1 / T56 swap

I had missed quite a bit and just caught up.

Two words...

Holy Cow, I Love it, All Hail Mikie's Starion!

Ok so maybe thats like 9 words or something. But it is looking great and with 418 rwhp it will be difficult to get the grin off your face!

In reply to Mikiedriftsjunk :

Somehow lost track of where this build was at. WOW did it ever turn out nice and as long as you did not plan for a sleeper that would fly under the radar, you nailed it.

On a separate topic, the "road" you drove on  deserves mention. The juxtaposition of a farm barn and more interlocking pavement than I have ever seen in one place,  caught my attention. What it this place?

Pete

Bent-Valve said:

I had missed quite a bit and just caught up.

Two words...

Holy Cow, I Love it, All Hail Mikie's Starion!

Ok so maybe thats like 9 words or something. But it is looking great and with 418 rwhp it will be difficult to get the grin off your face!

The goal was to make it look “factory” and I think I got fairly close! Haha. It certainly made more power than I was expecting but I’m not complaining. It sure it a lot of fun to drive. 

NOHOME said:

In reply to Mikiedriftsjunk :

Somehow lost track of where this build was at. WOW did it ever turn out nice and as long as you did not plan for a sleeper that would fly under the radar, you nailed it.

 

On a separate topic, the "road" you drove on  deserves mention. The juxtaposition of a farm barn and more interlocking pavement than I have ever seen in one place,  caught my attention. What it this place?

Pete

I like to keep them looking factory, certainly had to be a sleeper when it’s clapping at the red light. But I was driving it at my house  or my dads house rather lol  the bottom of the barn is where the garage i use is  it looks neat.   but is always wet and dingy too!

The time had come to get the proper wheels on the car. I got 4 rear 9" wheels, they were not in the best shape but nothing 4 million hours of labor and hating my whole existence couldnt fix!  on a serious note i have about 10 hours per wheel from start to finish, maybe more! The end result is worth it though!

For the process to do them the way i did. 

I started with aircraft remover, the gel kind! this removes the factory clear and paint. Takes about 2 applications per wheel, then i use a fine steel wool pad and water to remove that after its sat about 30 minutes. Rinse and repeat until its finished.. 

From there i fixed any curb rash or rough spots. then started sanding the machine face. The lips are already good so they don require much work other than the areas i had to fix. 

Started with 180 grit, moved to 320 - 600 - 1000 - 1200 - 1500 you just keep using each grit until you have a uniform finish. once i got to 1000 i used a mini sanding disc i got from a wood working place online, worked great, saved my elbow grease! 

after the sanding was finished i moved to a buffing wheel and white rouge, this take the fine scratches out but still leaves the metal looking splotchy to me

Then i moved on to a different buffing wheel and wenol polish

then i hand polished with white diamond after that for the final shine!

I had also decided to make a panel to cover the radiator. it was ugly left open 

all pics below!

before, sanded, polished 

So the fog lights i love but they are "in your face" bright on the black car.. so i tinted the lenses a little, and i think its WAY better!

I also went back and painted the  inset of the wheel black, this wasnt easy either and took me about an hour or more per wheel to get them taped and painted.. but again, the result is great! 

I had to work on getting the rear wheels to fit proper as well, had to roll the fenders and quarters, and use a 1 inch spacer in the rear.. but its perfect!

THE CAR IS FINALLY LOOKING PROPER!  i just need a damn paint job now.. ill get there! and the windows tinted!

BEFORE SPACER

AFTER SPACER

It looks great!

I have always had a thing for the Starion, I guess growing up in the 80's there bold lines really stuck on.

Both the Starion and the MkII Supra with the boxy flares work great for me.

Gustaf

Its beautiful!

therealpinto said:

It looks great!

I have always had a thing for the Starion, I guess growing up in the 80's there bold lines really stuck on.

Both the Starion and the MkII Supra with the boxy flares work great for me.

Gustaf

My other starion I bought 11 years ago.  Straight out of high school. The first car I really learned to work on. And modify. So it’s just kinda what I know best at this point haha

Lof8 said:

Its beautiful!

thank you! 

I love this build!

Great looking car, I noticed you had it on the dyno but didn't see results...what kind of power did it make?

Awesome build, great job!!

Very nice!  Makes me want to find one of these cars, but I don’t have your fab skills.

dj06482 said:

I love this build!

Thanks man! It’s been a long road! 

stuart in mn said:

Great looking car, I noticed you had it on the dyno but didn't see results...what kind of power did it make?

It made 418/397 at the wheels!

maj75 said:

Very nice!  Makes me want to find one of these cars, but I don’t have your fab skills.

I wouldn’t say it’s “skills” really. I learned a lot along the way. It’s a lot of patience. And thinking. Lol. I’d sit for hours staring and looking trying to figure it how to make something. Then start with poster board. 

Mikiedriftsjunk said:

stuart in mn said:

Great looking car, I noticed you had it on the dyno but didn't see results...what kind of power did it make?

It made 418/397 at the wheels!

Now we're talking.    It should be fun to drive.

stuart in mn said:

Mikiedriftsjunk said:

stuart in mn said:

Great looking car, I noticed you had it on the dyno but didn't see results...what kind of power did it make?

It made 418/397 at the wheels!

Now we're talking.    It should be fun to drive.

It’s a whole lot of fun to drive! For sure!

So  a few things have changed since i last posted, still working away on making this car into something nice! I upgraded the shifter to a MGW shifter and man is this thing nice! super tight. i love it.. Also just for laughs because this thing screams 80's i got an eight ball shift knob!

And while i was at PRI this year,  I picked up these super nice Plazmaman valve covers! 

Next thing i had to do in order to put the covers on was to build a catch can, and relocate the coils. This turned into alot of extra work. 

the catch can was built out of an exhuast pipe and some scraps i had laying around.. ordered a few fittngs, made a trip to lowes, and started cutting and welding!

video on the catch can

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmjivG7kk_U&t=8s

While i was fitting the covers, i realized that the dipstick is just ugly... So i wanted to do something different with it.. I found an old bearing race at work, and thought this will make a nice handle! Then i added my little touch to the top! I think it turned out really well!

I powder coated the race, and glued the top on.. then trimmed down the original handle and glued it up! 

video on dipstick

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5M7UAu94ut8&t=6s

So i was on to relocating coils, and building custom wires.. Which was not fun at first, once i figured out what i was doing and found some tricks it went much much smoother! 

videos on coil relocation and custom wires 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3sTbniMX74&t=47s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Tt52TzKNag&t=1s

From there i headed down to kentucky to my buddy Corey Conders house so he could could try and bring this paint back to life.. I can NOT thank him enough for the effort he put into this.. Man he really made it look like a new penny again.. I was beyond impressed with his ability!

But first i had to swing by my tuner to grab a picture! LOL

car is gross, but the windows are fresly tinted!!!

OK, off to coreys!

before and after on the door!

ALL POLISHED AND WAXED!!!!!

In reply to Mikiedriftsjunk :

Like I said on IG you inspire me to do my black conquest.

Buuuuuuut, no space  

Can I just send you my car and like $25,000 lmfaoooo