rear wheel drive eclipse

Alright before anyone says anything stupid about time, money, buy a 240, drive backward, or whatever other inane comments you want to make, I've heard it and don't care what you have to say. I'm going to make my 95 gst into a rwd car. Why? Because it's not there. Because RWD burnouts in an eclipse would be insane. Because being different rocks. I currently have a 95 gst a 90 gsx and a 91 tsi awd. The 95 is already in pieces (spun bearing, but i won). I already have a pretty good idea what I'm looking at here, but I am gathering info currently and would like anyone with a REAL opinion on this project to give me any information you might have. I'm sure this can be done, and with me or friends readily available to do all the fabricating, it should be pulled off within a year. Thanks for the time.

Have fun.


You have several options:

# You use a 5sp transmission from late 80's Mitsubishi Mighty Max/Dodge D50. It is a direct bolt on to a DSM 4G63 motor. But it is not very strong; you will not be able to push much more than 250hp through it for a long time. An alternative to this transmission is to use 88-89 Starion/Conquest transmissions with Mighty Max bell housing section. Since bell housings on these transmissions are a part of the transmission, such a swap is not as trivial as it is on some of the V8 trannys. It requires complete disassembly of the transmission.
# Use an engine adapter to put a different RWD tranny behind this motor.
# Use a "wide" 4G63 N/T block. It came on automatic trucks and some other models of early 80's Mitsubishis. The plus side is that you will be able to use the Starion tranny as is, the down side is that you will have to rebuild that block to handle boost. I am also told that this block will work with many other transmissions such as: Mazda B2600 bell housing (which opens possibility to use many other Mazda trannys) and maybe even some GM and Toyota transmissions. Back when I first started this project, I didn't know about the "wide block" so I choose option #1. I purchased a '89 truck tranny, '88 Starion ESIR tranny and attempted to create a hybrid. I soon realized that rebuilding RWD trannys was not my forte and fortunately for me, Eric Plebani (the builder of the first 4G63 powered Starion, who currently has a 4G63 powered Porsche 911) could rebuild these transmission with his eyes closed. So he was able to take over this mess and build me an awesome Starion/MightyMax tranny hybrid.

with the AWD cars cant u just remove the front drive axels and cap the open ends. and "tada" RWD?

with the AWD cars cant u just remove the front drive axels and cap the open ends. and "tada" RWD?

YEa you could i guess but i think you would put too much stress on some of the parts like the transfer case maybe?

Nobody smart does it, so no.

i guess the simplest is not allways the best...

Do it.

I'll keep everyone posted on the project. I'm currently leaning towards using a mighty max drivetrain with strengthened internals and a different fd. That will leave the mounts and the rear suspension to do but I'm pretty good with a welder and I'm also an automotive engineer major so I should be able to figure it out. Also, a friend at work who has a 7 second twin turbo mustang is going to be helping me out.

doing that would burn out the transfer case in a couple hundred miles

the only way to get a truly RWD DSM is to turn the engine sideways (or the right way if your a RWD fan), cut a giant hole into the firewall, and bolt the engine up to a mitsubishi might max pickup trans, then get a custom driveshaft and find a rear end you can use.

with the AWD cars cant u just remove the front drive axels and cap the open ends. and "tada" RWD?


You're missing a Y and an O there.

The reason you cant do this is the viscous coupling. Not the transfer case, not the diff. The VC. Its a fluid coupling, any slippage heats the viscous fluid, it expands, and locks the VC. Well, it tries to lock it. Its not that strong. If you try to run without front axles the fluid will heat up but it cant lock hard enough to let the car move well. It will just spin, overheat, and destroy itself. If any of you ricers break a rear axle someday, you'll see this in action. The car doesnt move. With a welded VC, welded center diff, or center spool (www.teamrip.com), you CAN run without front axles and get full power to the rear end ;) But you still need the axle cups in the tranny to keep the fluid from pouring out. And the rear drivetrain was designed to take HALF of the engines torque output, not 100% of it. This is why many DSMs (still running in AWD mode) break rear axles and tcases when using welded centers and spools. Weight shifts to the rear, and the rear takes more torque than it was meant to handle. At least with a solid center though you can still drive the car (in FWD mode). People like Shepherd are running stiff suspesions to reduce weight transfer and rear drivetrain breakage.

You're missing a Y and an O there.
what can i say , AIM has messed up my typing and spelling skills forever...

My son is currently doing this to his Talon tsi for the hell of it. Just pulled it in the garage tonight to start the project...I'll let you know how it goes.

My son is currently doing this to his Talon tsi for the hell of it. Just pulled it in the garage tonight to start the project...I'll let you know how it goes.
What drivetrain will he be using?