New 3000gt owner, sorely in need of guidance.

Hello All!

I recently purchased my first 3000gt! WOOOO! That's the good news. Now, however, I am facing an interesting situation. That's the....well, also good news. I'm not sure what to do though. That's the bad news. :)

Ok, so here is the situation. I purchased the car sight unseen, and will be going to pick it up pretty soon. (I'll clarify, I saw pictures, but not the physical vehicle, as it is 2000 miles away from my current location.) So, it is a 1994 3kGT SL, 5spd. Nothing super difficult there. The engine that is currently in it is the SL engine, but has a custom turbo kit, and a few other mods that I can't think of right now...the only issue is that the timing belt needs to be replaced (the belt is included with the car) and the turbo timer that he purchased (also included) needs to be installed. The guy I got the car from, also included a new twin-turbo engine that he ordered from Japan and had shipped. Now, the interesting thing is I have this delimma. I can either:

1. Repair the current engine with the minor fixes (the engine has otherwise been rebuilt, so is in great condition) and have a fairly nice car.
OR
2. Install the new twin turbo engine and throw in the turbo timer since it is free and available.

So, I don't consider this a bad situation, but I would like to make the best decision. So, my first question is, which option would you take, if you were in this situation? I do, however, have a couple of follow-up questions.

1. If the new engine is installed, what will be required, as far as conversions? I ask this because I'm sure there will be a difference in the Japanese computer and the american connections...and I'm not sure what to look for.
2. If I go with the new one, are there any other considerations that I should take? I'm sure there is no difference under the hood, with respect to space between the SL and VR4 models, but I've never had to deal with a conversion like this.
3. I currently live in California, will there be an issue with emissions that I will need to consider? I'm pretty sure the town in Tn (where the car is currently) has no emissions checks/requirements, so there wouldn't be an issue...but here in Orange County, the standards are pretty rigid...and I would hate to put all of this effort and money into installing an engine from Japan that may not have to meet our emissions guidelines.

Ok....I think that that is more than enough to ask in a first post, and I definitely thank everyone for taking the time to read and respond. So, as I mentioned above, I'm just looking for some helpful guidance here. I suppose it should also be noted that I will be a bit limited by my budget, as I blew almost my entire checking account to buy this car, so if that will affect your perspective, let's pretend I only have $500-$1000 :banghead: to spend to make it CA road-worthy.

Thank you all in advance!
-Kevin

wow.. you have a lot of work and reading ahead of you.. first check out the FAQ there is some really good stuff in there.. second.. check out steath316.com... good news is that you can test it obd1 style.. ok now assuming you do the tt motor I would used the jdm ecu for sure so you dont through any codes! second through a stock cat on it (if it doesnt have it) get a set of used emission stuff.. with the jdm ecu the stuff wont work (witch is good) but it is "there" so it should pass..
Jason

I wrote this at work like a half a sentence at a time so if it doesnt make sense sorry haha

also welcome to the forums

Thanks for the quick reply, and the welcome. I've never had to shop for an ECU before, so I'm not sure exactly what to look for....I looked for a JDM ECU as you suggested but still wasn't entirely sure what exactly I was looking for...will I need to find one that is specific to Mitsubishi 3000gts? I know its a noob question, but as I am a noob to this, it makes sense. :)

And I have already read through the FAQ, there was some really cool stuff in there...I'm currently half-assed working and reading the stealth316 site you sent and doing a little ecu research, but there is a lot of info out there and its taking forever to filter through it....the one fact that I have faced is that they are pretty freaking expensive...does that count as a break-through? :) All of this would be so much easier if I didn't have another car payment to carry until this thing is up, running and in Ca with me.

Thanks again!
-Kevin

Jason I hear has tons of mitsubishi goods... but people here on the forums always have things for sale - ECU being just one of the things. with 500 - 1000 i would suggest keeping the turbo'd engine, use it to its fullest, and then maybe sometime down the road swapping it in when the original is blown... OR sell it. then you avoid the ECU problem.

the timing belt can't be too expensive, certainly under 1000. infact, if you are knowledgable with electronics, you can install the tubo timer yourself. You have a relay i believe in your ignition.. very simple. then you save even more money than paying for an install.

Jason I hear has tons of mitsubishi goods... but people here on the forums always have things for sale - ECU being just one of the things. with 500 - 1000 i would suggest keeping the turbo'd engine, use it to its fullest, and then maybe sometime down the road swapping it in when the original is blown... OR sell it. then you avoid the ECU problem.

the timing belt can't be too expensive, certainly under 1000. infact, if you are knowledgable with electronics, you can install the tubo timer yourself. You have a relay i believe in your ignition.. very simple. then you save even more money than paying for an install.

Valid rationale...and yeah, timing belts are pretty cheap, in the grand scheme, but that doesn't really matter that much, since it came with the belt. And you definitely make a good point about people on this forum selling stuff, so I may be able to find a CA ready ecu here....good thinking. I tried the link i Jason's signature, and the site didn't have a link for 3000gt parts, which I kind of found ironic, but all good none the less. As for the extra engine, when I'm done with all of this I was considering selling the one I didn't use, or buying another 3000gt body and dropping it in, so I could have a spare car for when I go home to Alabama to visit.

Thanks again and good looking out! Anyone else got any ideas?

Thanks
-Kevin

P.S. When I looked it up, it looks like the SL is ~450lbs lighter than the VR-4, what's that about?

Awd....

Awd....
Ohhhhh...right, I completely forgot about that....and now that I think about it, that sounds like a project for later....AWD conversion. :)

Thanks Stealthee!
-Kevin

awd conversion is often not worth the hassle. it would be less money to sell the SL and get a vr4.

but you can cross that bridge when you come to it. a fwd tt will still be a mean machine.

I'd cut your losses now and buy a 1st generation stealth before you go 4-EYED CRAZY!

I'd cut your losses now and buy a 1st generation stealth before you go 4-EYED CRAZY!

ok seriously stop, i stuck up for u on another thread, but now this is a lil rediculus, u come back from a lil vacation and start the same stuff all over again.

i would say do a fwd tt conversion. or u could go for a tt stock with the awd. trying to do an awd conversion on an sl would not b worth it, it'd b cheaper to just buy r/t tt or vr4. of any year that u feel is wat u can afford be it a 91 with pop up or a 99 with that damn near perfect rack and ass

yeah.. there are some actually some good ideas in this thread.. I am sure what ever you pick you will love! sorry my web site is all Fed up! hopefully next week or so it will look better i had a lot done and my computer crashed before I published it!! but yeah anyways I can get you any factory Mitsubishi part at 20% off factory list.. as well as killer deals on after market parts (stock parts) and soon i will be offering a lot of performance parts
Jason

p.s. I have a JDM ECU if you want to go that route

the sl and vr-4 all have extra crap that is really useless once you replace it with performace parts making it heavier... like the tunable exhaust, and the suspension junk.. active aero.. awd steering.. the base model is lighter than both because it doesn't have any of that.

as for the TT conversion, I am very interested in doing one myself. the ONLY downside would be at a certain HP, you have no traction, and driving around town would require pretty sticky tires.. if you planned on using stoplights as your track :)

plus, it's not too common to see a conversion. i would love to be the first in town.

you could do one for a very affordable cost, with the used parts here. someone recently rated it at like??? 800 i think.

god one leaves the forums doing a conversion, and 2 more join.

um other than suspension and all that other bs...the engine adds weight to the car to. u think turbo's weigh nothing, along with the intercoolers and plumbing needed for said items. yes the base weighs less, but u dont loose traction as easily with the awd as u will with fwd. that's the exact reason i bought the 944 instead of a 94 r/t

vector.. haha what was the point u r trying to get across? haha i just dont get it?
And the base model is way way harder to do a conversion on then the sl dohc..

vector.. haha what was the point u r trying to get across? haha i just dont get it?
And the base model is way way harder to do a conversion on then the sl dohc..

i didnt know i was trying to make a point...

vector.. haha what was the point u r trying to get across? haha i just dont get it?
And the base model is way way harder to do a conversion on then the sl dohc..

why is that? i have a dohc.. so would it still be the same?

the base SOHC is a lot harder to swap then a DOHC..

awd conversion is often not worth the hassle. it would be less money to sell the SL and get a vr4.

but you can cross that bridge when you come to it. a fwd tt will still be a mean machine.
Agreed.... unless you have a deep sentimenal relationship with the car.

My car will be AWD and TT in a few years. Yes the swap will be difficult, but at this time I have put so much time, effort, money and most of all love into this car that I cannot and will not sell it. It looks dead sexy, it was the original bastard.

I wish I could get my sig back over here. Heres my current one on 3si

http://www.3si.org/gallery/data/500/newsig1.JPG

For some reason here the largest image that can be in your sig is really small and would be pointless