92 Spirit

What's up everybody. I've got a 92 Spirit with the Mitsu 3.0L V6, and i was wondering what all kinds of upgrades i can do to this engine, and the car for that matter. I had been pondering a top-end and electronics swap with a DOHC Stealth. I know the bottom end on both of these engines is the same. Only thing i would be worried about is clearance issues, as well as placement. Engine placement is reversed; my belts, pulleys, etc. are on the left side of the engine bay, where as the stealth's are on the opposite side. I have also been concerned with exhaust and intake manifold placement. Mainly the intake manifold, which on my car has a black hose that leads from the right of my intake manifold and turns to the back where it attaches to my air filter housing which is positioned right behind my intake manifold against the firewall. The stealth's manifold is a longer design that spans from the center of the engine on back close to the firewall and then extends to the left. There's also a concern of finding the parts in general, and good quality parts at that. Some of you may think i'm stupid for wanting to, but the reason for this is simple: how many DOHC V6 Spirits do you know of? My point exactly. It's one thing to be beaten in a race by a Stealth, which looks the part of a fast car...it's another thing to be beaten by a 4-door spirit that in all logic should be hauling your groceries, not hauling ass. A 5-speed conversion would be even better but i am not worried about that in the least bit at the moment, my 4-speed auto will do just fine. But anyways, i would really like some opinions, some help, suggestions, anything really. Thanks guys!

I am wondering why you are wasting your time? The only way it would be worth it is if you were doing the twin turbo swap. The ES Stealth only produced 175HP at the crank and the RT non-turbo made 224HP. I beat an RT Stealth with my old 89 LeBaron GTC and at the time the intercooler wasn't working so under WOT the engine would get some bad detonation. I just don't feel that the power you will gain will be worth it for the price you will pay.

Well there's something to take into consideration about this; weight. I can garuntee you my spirit with the same engine would be faster than a stealth with that engine because the spirit weighs less than the Stealth. The R/T stealths weighed a little more than 3300 pounds. The spirits, on the other hand, weighed in at 2862 pounds. That's a 400pound difference. Which can make a big difference. pounds-per-horsepower rating for a Stealth R/T is 15.2lbs per hp. A Spirit, again with the same Stealth engine, would be 129bs per hp. So it would be quicker. Spirits with the regular 141hp SOHC 12-valve engine, which i have, could do 0-60 in the mid to low 7's, which is pretty damn quick for a sedan with relatively skinny tires, an automatic transmission, and no performance suspension, tires, wheels, etc. to speak of. Imagine the car with a stiffer, performance-oriented suspension, larger performance rubber, and 222 horsepower. The difference could very well surprise you. Personally i think after all the work is done, i would be very very satisfied with the performance. I just want something unique...something that nobody else has...and trust me, i'm not gonna run into a LeBaron GTC Turbo around here anytime soon...so i know for sure that it would be one of the quickest cars in town. With the exception of a couple guys with trucks who have big motors in them, and the local doctor's 93 VR-4 (bastard lol).

Personally i think after all the work is done, i would be very very satisfied with the performance. I just want something unique...something that nobody else has...and trust me, i'm not gonna run into a LeBaron GTC Turbo around here anytime soon.

That I can understand. That is why I picked the GTC, they only made 94 of them in a hardtop with the Turbo II in 89. It is great having a unique car, even better if it is a sleeper. As for the weight though, I would have thought both cars would weigh more. I was under the impression that my LeBaron weighed about 2,800 pounds, and I would expect it to be at least 100-200 pounds lighter than a Spirit, but I am not sure of the weight I guess. I do know that the TT Stealth is about 3,700 pounds, I guess the AWD and Turbo parts add on a good 300-400 pounds, that would make sense.

Damn you, now I have to find a place that will weigh my new GTC. :)

Actually, the GTC coupe weighs in at 2863 pounds, a whopping one pound more than a Spirit! Wow hahahaha. But i'm sure mine weighs a little over that, since i do have some extra stuff here and there such as a couple subwoofers, amp, extra wiring, etc., and of course the extra weight that i add, which is 277 pounds. Kinda cancels out the weight difference between the two...the car would be as fast as a Stealth running without the weight of a driver...heheh, can anyone say Maximum Overdrive? hahaha

I'm right there with ya man. i have a thread similar to this going in several message groups and forums. i have been researching this swap(although mine is the whole deal, engine, trans, awd the whole thing) maybe we can share notes. :banghead:

good luck
Sean