1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX full custom street and show monster

I'll admit, I've been holding out on you guys :disappoin I'm a slow builder and usually when I start something new, I end up writing more about what I'll do that actually doing it and posting progress. And since this was started a year ago, :shakehead I'd say I read that about right. I wanted to wait until i had the engine finished, then I'd unveil it, but I got tired of sitting on my hands...

Anyway, this will be based on the Revell kit. I had an old metal body Eclipse build I didn't like, so I scrapped it for parts. :uhoh: This is one of 2 I plan on building, this being the show car and the other being a sleeper. Both will recieve roughly the same engine parts, except the sleeper will have more. :naughty: :evillol: That's where the similarities end, as the sleeper will have a full scratchbuilt stock body kit and stock appearance. The show car will have a full custom body kit, although I might use the Blitz rear bumper.

This build sets a lot of milestones for me. I've never done extensive bodywork, never opened or hinged doors, never did extensive detailing (the glue and wires on my last Civic doesn't count :uhoh: ), I'll be using my own resin parts for the first time, I've never purchased aftermarket parts before, and this is by far the most kitbashing, scratchbuilding, and modifying I have ever done. Not for the faint-hearted :lol: Oh yeah, and I've never done a 2 tone paint job or used an airbrush...

OK, how about some pictures?

This is the Bomex front bumper I'm making (yes, I know it is quite different than the real bumper, but I'm liking the way this looks so far). The pieces I started with are the majority of the AMT Bomex Supra bumper and the piece of the Eclipse bumper between the headlights.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y193/daklunk/Eclipse%20GSX/Original%20Body%20Work/1CutBumpers.jpg

And with some styrene, glue, and several kinds of putty, here is what we have so far (still needs some finishing touches):
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y193/daklunk/Eclipse%20GSX/Original%20Body%20Work/CheckingBomex2.jpg

Resin blue anodized cam gears, the material to use for the belt is still up in the air. Maybe a strip of electrical tape, but I kinda want the cogs in the belt
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y193/daklunk/Eclipse%20GSX/Engine%20Work/Details%20and%20Misc%20Performance/SomeBiggergears_2.jpg

Slow Boy Racing tubular turbo manifold, made from solder. It'll have a resin copy of the Fujimi Hi Mechanism 3.0 Supra turbo and a Turbonetics wategate.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y193/daklunk/Eclipse%20GSX/Engine%20Work/Turbo%20and%20exhaust/SBRmani2.jpg

Spearco bar and plate FMIC, it'll have a NOS Cobra IC spray bar.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y193/daklunk/Eclipse%20GSX/Engine%20Work/Induction%20and%20Boost/SpearcoIC.jpg

The rear suspension with scratchbuilt coilovers and Mr. Modeler PE disk brake rotor. The caliper is not in place because of a clearance problem I have yet to tackle...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y193/daklunk/Eclipse%20GSX/Suspension%20and%20Chassis/Rearsuspension.jpg

There are more pictures and descriptions in my photobucket album, here is the link:
http://s5.photobucket.com/albums/y193/daklunk/Eclipse%20GSX/

Enjoy! Questions, comments, concerns, criticsim, all welcome! :)

Looks like you are off to a great start. Not for the faint-hearted is right, looking forward to seeing how you tackle each aspect of this project.

I've already mentioned how cool your model is looking and my feelings haven't changed. I'm hoping you have a lot of time to work on it, i'm ready to see it put mine to shame.. heh, heh.

That's looking very clean. Love the coil overs. Shapping up to be a great build.

Thanks guys! And again, bhop, I can't say thanks enough for those pictures. They are really going to come in handy...

Right now I've been trying to make the vacuum solenoids on the firewall, but umm, it isn't going too smoothly. I might have to just tap the lines into the firewall instead of the solenoids themselves. I'm hoping to get a goo portion of the firewall detailing done today, but things don't always go as planned... especially with me.

Here's a little more that will go into this thing:

For the exterior, I think I'll try and scratch some Bomex side skirts to go with the front bumper, but I don't know what rear bumper to use, the Blitz is too common and the Bomex too ugly. The headlights had the pegs shaved and the buckets redone, I'll probably put individual lenses inside to give them more depth. The rear hatch will open up, as will the vertical doors, and I think I want to try working struts for those... any idea how to build some? A straight pin, some tiny O rings and a sleeve? And I think I might change the rims, some one said they look too much like Honda rims. But I love that wide track they have, 12 scale inches! Pair that with the AWD, who's ready to hook up off the line? :naughty: I might get some VeilSide Andrew Racing Dishes... For the sleeper, I have Impul NS-GT II's, they look awesome.

Umm, for a quick walk through on the engine:
There's the K&N air filter on the air snorkel, which will have the MAF wired. The turbocharger will be resin cast from the Fujimi Hi-Mechanism 3.0 GT Supra, I'll cut up several copies to make one witht the correct shapes. I'll use the turbo header, which will have a a Turbonetics BOV. The exhaust will flow into a custom down pipe witha flex joint. The air will pass through 3/32 or 1/8 solder IC pipes into the massive Spearco FMIC (and NOS Cobra IC spray bar) and back into the solder pipes. A 1st generation Eclipse throttle body (larger) will control the airflow into a Magnus Motorsports sheetmetal intake, which will have an aftermarket fuel rail (with a large fuel filter on the firewall and an adjustable fuel pressure regulator and gauge after the rail) and a 250 shot nitrous system, complete with solenoids, lines, distribution blocks, fittings, wires, and injectors. A GReddy Type-S BOV and a TurboXS manual boost controller ride heard on the boost system, and there will be a MSD box adding spark to the relocated coil pack with 8mm plug wires. A custom made aluminum radiator with oversized fans will keep the engine cool, along with a remote mounted oil cooler.

That covers most of the performance stuff (engine wise, anyway), additionally, I'll be added details Revell forgot, like the water pump, A/C compressor, starter, alternator, oil filter/sender unit, water pipe, lower radiator hose, oil dipstick, motor mounts, etc. I'll be adding major wiring harness, lines, and hoses, as well as plenty of different size braided lines and fittings.

The interior is going to have a fiberglassed full audio system with Kicker amps, JL Audio (?) subs and speakers, TVs, crossovers, distribution blocks, wiring, etc. This will take the entire back seat area and the whole trunk/hatch. Up front there will be a TV glassed into the pass. side airbag, with a PS2, XBOX, or XB 360 on the floor with twin controllers (not sure which, yet). The kit Sparco Torinos will be there with the addition of belts and hardware, with a laptop plugged into the AEM EMS sitting on the passenger seat. Lots of gauges, I don't know if I'll use the kit tach or an aftermarket one I bought, but there will be a 3 gauge A pillar pod grafted onto the 6 or 8 point roll cage. And then other little details like CF trim, Sparco pedals, flocked carpeting, under dash wiring, an iPod, radar detector, etc. I wanted to do LED neon glow in a few spots (under the dash, the seats, incoorperated into the sound system, maybe undercarriage) but that might be too much of a hassle. Not sure yet...

OK, I talk too much. Just wanted to get what's going into this out there. I'll cut down on the text and hopefully have more pics in future posts. Lemme know what you think!

Still open for ideas for the rear bumper wing, and paint scheme (although I kinda want to do an Arctic Blue Metallic base with a silver web like on Bossalani's purple supra... but I don't want to copy it. Something a little different?)

Update. Shaved off the custom side skirts I was going to be using (looked too much like the Blitz ones, I thought) and began shaping the rear quarter panels and front fenders to look like the stock panels. After I get the correct shapes with Tamiya Quick Type and sanding sticks, I'll begin building the Bomex side skirts. Here are some pics, in the order they were taken:

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y193/daklunk/Eclipse%20GSX/Original%20Body%20Work/Skirtscut.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y193/daklunk/Eclipse%20GSX/Original%20Body%20Work/skirtsprimer.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y193/daklunk/Eclipse%20GSX/Original%20Body%20Work/skirtsputtied.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y193/daklunk/Eclipse%20GSX/Original%20Body%20Work/SkPcontours2.jpg

Here's what i did the cowl, eliminating the gaps for the dog leg hinges.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y193/daklunk/Eclipse%20GSX/Original%20Body%20Work/CowlMod.jpg
Originally I was just going to leave the hood sitting on the body, like the AMT Eclipse, and secure it with DM hood pins. But I decided I wanted working hinges AND hood pins... I'm looking for photos of these hinges, which will be the hardest functional hardware to build aside from this:

http://plaza.umin.ac.jp/~satoshi/pic2106.jpg
I'm gonna try to build some working vertical door hinges, with posable struts. :naughty: Aside from the fact that I'll try photoetching the hinge arm and bracket, I have no idea how I'll do the rest of the set up. It'll probably send me to the nut house at 16, but hey, who knows? Maybe I'll get them to work... :uhoh: any ideas are welcome.

Thanks for lookin'

Nice!!

:eek2:

working vertical door hinges, Thats a wickedly crazy idea. Looking forward to seeing a little tutorial for it in that case :P The model is coming along nicley.

Good luck man, it looks like it's coming along awesome. I love your cam gears, I can't believe the detail they show. can't wait to see how it turns out, keep it goin

Thanks for the interest guys :grinyes:

@ syntax: Well, I don't know if I'd be able to do a tutorial. What I'm thinking of so far involves making some sort of stencil, photoetching, designing pivot points, and scratchbuilding the mounts, shocks, and what ever else. :uhoh: But I'll see what I can do :biggrin:

@ B16: Thanks, I was really pleased with how they turned out myself. Did you see the original ones I had compared to these new ones? A world of difference...

I almost forgot, this is the turbo I'll be resin casting, chopping up, and reassembling to look like a Mitsubishi 16g turbo (the ones from an Evo).
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y193/daklunk/Eclipse%20GSX/Engine%20Work/Turbo%20and%20exhaust/Turbocharger.jpg

Think it's big enough? :naughty: :evillol: I figure on 450-500 scale horsepower with the supporting mods. :biggrin: :lol: The piece is stuck in the clay bed that was part of the first attempt to cast a mold... but something went wrong and the rubber never cured right, after 16 or so days it's still sticky and squishy. (And yes, the clay is synthetic, that wasn't the problem :dunno: )

That is amazing the things you are doin.Wish I had the talent and patience.I didn't even know people were doin these things to models.Makes me want to build some again.Of course not to the extent you are doin them.Keep up the great work.Maybe I can get some ideas from you guys on here to do to our real life street rods.

Great job so far Daklunk!!.. finally you've decided to show it up!! very good!!

I want to see more!!

Dont like Japenese cars but awsom very clean and well executed.

Dont like Japenese cars
Well in that case, don't think of it as a Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX, think of it as an Eagle Talon TSi :icon16:

Cris, did ya check my photobucket? The link is in the my first post. That's about all I have to show so far, hopefully I can get more stuff done today. I'm itchin' to get to work on that turbo, but I've decided to wait for more mold catalyst to avoid problems like I had...

Update:

OK, so the PE hinge idea is out the window, I didn't have a clue how difficult it would be PE .020 stainless steel. :uhoh: I still plan on utilizing working hinges with posable struts, I'll just have to go another route. Thanks to GTMike40 and Ferrari TR for helping me sort this out... :)

Cut the runners for the Magnus Motorsports sheet metal intake, nothing huge. They still need to be cut to the exact length, have the ends squared, the flange end tapered (although with a fule rail and N20 system in the way I dunno if I'll go through the trouble), and a flange built. Oh yeah, and add welding lines :thumbsup:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y193/daklunk/Eclipse%20GSX/Engine%20Work/Induction%20and%20Boost/MMmanifold2.jpg

Here is the throttle body I'm building for it. This is a first generation 4G63 TB instead of the 2nd gen, because the 1g was a 60mm while the 2g was a 52mm. Enough to make a difference...
Chunk of styrene rod filed down to rough shape.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y193/daklunk/Eclipse%20GSX/Engine%20Work/Induction%20and%20Boost/oneG_tb1.jpg

This is after filing, sanding, drilling, Dremeling, and gluing :icon16: Man, I hate this camera, I think I might go splurge and get something with at least 5 megapixels... You can't see anything really. The 4 black dots are for vacuum lines that will run to firewall solenoids. The blue dots are for screws (one the Base Idle Set Screw). The green square is where the coolant passage is, it will connect to the water line running underneath it. The red square is the abse of the Throttle Position Sensor, I'll add a chunk of styrene with some wiring that hooks up to the wiring harness...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y193/daklunk/Eclipse%20GSX/Engine%20Work/Induction%20and%20Boost/oneG_tb2.jpg

This is from the other side, you can see the throttle shaft with a wire winding. I'll cut it off at the blue line and add a disk of styrene and the throttle cable:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y193/daklunk/Eclipse%20GSX/Engine%20Work/Induction%20and%20Boost/oneG_tb3.jpg

Still needs some finishing work and a primer coat to pick up defects. It looks a tad large next to the manifold, but scaled out it's only about 2.75 inches, which seems reasonable.

I like the progress, did that turbo come with that kit or is it an aftermarket one? I'm also feelin the cams!

The turbo comes with the Fujimi Hi Mechanism 3.0 Supra. :grinyes: Big'un :naughty:

Glad you like it...

If you want a turbo that would produce 450 horsepower or more your going to need a lot more than a 16G.Put something large on there and be done with it.

450 doesn't sound too unreasonable for an Evo III 16g. A Schwitzer S200 would put me dead into the 400-500 hp range, but then again that is where it is designed to operate. And can you say lag? Although, technically, this isn't really a 16g, since I'm using the TN external wastegate, whereas the 16g's utilize internally gated turbos. Yes, the turbo shown has the wastegate actuator, but I'm lopping it off when I get the cast piece finished. Also, look at the size of the thing, it's wee bit bigger, it almost spans the block!

Uh oh... which makes me wonder: will the alternator and P/S pump fit now? Hmmm, must go look...

:lol: Here we are talking about pump ponies out of a chunk of plastic... :lol:

Very cool project so far! I'm loving the attention you're giving each and every part. It should be a stunner!

Thanks!

Well, the bodywork is now on hold, I've decided it will be too much trouble to repair. When i first cut open the doors a year ago, on the drivers side I also cut out the window rubber, thinking it was part of the door frame. :twak: I tried some styrene rod, it looks close, but not enough to keep it. Also, the door were cut out with a knife, which means the gaps are a little wide, and when i got the interior panel I hurried, so they are a little "off." Plus I cheated and Dremeled off the backing. The hatch is also a bit warped. :owned:

I'm probably going to get another kit, that way I can cut the doors and hatch with string (much better method, I think), glue the mirrors on AFTER I get the doors cut out :slap: cut the sunroof out cleaner, just do things a better way than when I started. Hopefully it will work better and I can do it correctly.

Meanwhile, I'll be practicing with the leftovers to get the door jambs right :iceslolan

Never been a fan of the eclipse but i love the work that you are doing..hope to see this baby finished.

No luck finding a new one yet, waiting on Walmart... nearest LHS is 70 miles away... :banghead:

Some teaser pics of the PS2b, I'm not satisfied with the body, so I'll probably redo that, it's made of .005 and .020 sheet styrene, a little thicker than it should be, but that's about as close as it's gonna get. The two "buttons" are just melted plastic that leaked out when I clamped it down, but they are about the right spot! I might make the disker drawer open with a PE disk in place, add some realism. Or if I leave it closed, I'll try and get some screen shots of NFSU2 or Carbon and make decals for the screens :thumbsup:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y193/daklunk/Eclipse%20GSX/PS2_1.jpg

Here's the controller and cord, there will be 2 of them hooked up. I'm going to recast better controllers with more detail and detail paint the buttons. And boy are those controllers big... :disappoin Oh well, what do you expect from Jada...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y193/daklunk/Eclipse%20GSX/PS2_2cont.jpg

Where do you guys think I should have it? Originally, I was just going to leave it in the passenger footwell, but that seems a little unfinished for a car like this. Under the seat would just hide it, and sticking it the dash would only show the front... Maybe I could mount it to the underside of the dash, shave the glovebox?

I'm open for ideas...

You're gettin crazy.

Looks good so far, I had the same problem a year or so ago when I tried to open the doors and such on my revell ITR... luckily I had an extra kit to steal to body from.

You're gettin crazy.
Getting? More like gone :evillol:

OK, here's the second attempt at it. I painted the first to see if it would look OK, and then I smudged the paint and it gummed up the fins. So... Measured and cut the piece more carefully, also spread the glue very thin. Ended up about .010 thinner than the first try. The picture shows the pieces left to right as they are assembled top to bottom. The fins are made of .005 styrene (9x6 mm large, 8.5x5.5 mm small) and the last piece is .020, 8x5.5 mm.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y193/daklunk/Eclipse%20GSX/PS2_redo1.jpg
If anyone else builds one of these, make sure you spread the glue, I used a .010 strip and some Ambroid. The first time, the glue built up in the center and made it too thick, and also melted through to the top layer, giving it a nice dent. Here's take 2, sorry for the lousy pics:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y193/daklunk/Eclipse%20GSX/PS2_redo3.jpg

Here's the dash, you can see where the TV will go, the shaved radio (to be replaced with a PE stereo and maybe and EQ), and the shave handbrake, I'm relocating it to the correct position using the piece form the AMT Eclipse. The PS2 is the white chunk. I wanted to slide it under the screen until someone told me the top of these open instead of having a disk drawer (you can tell who doesn't play video games :uhoh: LOL). So now I think I'll mount it to the passenger side of the console, it's easy to see and would be readily accessable in 1:1. Of course, that means I have to find another spot for the AEM EMS... :banghead: Stay tuned for another exciting installment :screwy:

EDIT: Suppose that last pic would help:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y193/daklunk/Eclipse%20GSX/PS2_space.jpg

Better and better, NIce Talon. ; ) lol

Try ebay, I just got a 3 fast and furious kits, 2 supras and the eclipse for 9.99.... Shipping was 3 days too. Just trying to help, lookin good man.

Man if you can I reakon you should open up the glovebox somehow and mount the ps2 in it. And if you feel like being really detailed on it. You should open up the disc drive bit of the ps. That should look frigin awesome!

BTW. Everything else looks real good man. Nice detail.

Wonderfull Work.. I loved the PS2

Thanks guys!

The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of mounting the console in an open glovebox. I think that's what I'll do, first I need a pic of an open PS2b, I like the idea of having the game disk exposed. So if anyone has one of these console, could you take a picture of it open for me? What game do you guys think the disk should be? Something car related... NFS Carbon?

If anyone has any of the following, I'd be willing to buy or trade (I have lots of resin audio components :smokin: ). Please let me know if you have:

PE CD disks (both full and half)
PE mondern style stereo face
PE equalizer (EQ)
Fujimi Andrew Racing Dish rim and tire set
left over sponsor decals

I could really use them. Any help would be much appreciated :sunglasse
In other news, I have a new Bomex front clip on the way, I'm redoing the front bumper to make it more accurate. Then I can make a mold and resin cast copies :naughty:

nice!!! looking good

here's a good pic of the ps2 slim i found on google. dono if its much help but i figured id post it anyways. good luck on the build!

http://spug.e-linksoft.com/22a.jpg

Yeah, that's a good pic! That'll help! I guess it's time for PS2b v 3.0 :rolleyes:
Any one got PE disks?

Sorry, I don't have any updates, I had to work non stop these past few days, haven't even touched the bench, let alone the computer. But I have today and tomorrow off, so hopefully something will get done... And then I'll be leaving on vacation for a week, maybe I'll be able to pick up a kit while I'm gone. And then school starts... :puke:

Well, I finally have more mold rubber materials, a new Bomex bumper, and a new Eclipse kit. Now I just have to find time to work on it in between school, homewrok, yardwork, odd jobs, weight training, and the rest of my life... I say we abolish school and build 24/7, who's with me? :grinno::screwy:

I will keep you posted of any updates I make...

Hey, hey, hey! It's been a couple months or so and you guys are expecting some progress! :uhoh:

Well, uh, no. :disappoin I haven't hardly done anything. When I got the new kit a moth ago I promptly shaved off the Blitz side skirts, and then put it away as the daily drain of school set in and took hold of my soul and free time :lol::eek7:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y193/daklunk/Eclipse%20GSX/Redo%20Body%20Work/Bomex%20Body%20Kit/Bomexskirtsredo_01.jpg

Then about 3 days ago I sat down and started doing something. :eek: I took the Bomex bumper another builder supplied me with and hacked off the top, then cut it down the middle to make it the correct width. I cut up the Eclipse Blitz bumper and used more of the top section, and kept the mounting pegs this time so it isn't all guess work as to how it will mount. I've modified the main grille hole to be more rounded and deeper.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y193/daklunk/Eclipse%20GSX/Redo%20Body%20Work/Bomex%20Body%20Kit/Bomexredo_12.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y193/daklunk/Eclipse%20GSX/Redo%20Body%20Work/Bomex%20Body%20Kit/Bomexredo_14.jpg

To see the whole build process for this bumper, here's the link to the sub album of my Photobucket:
http://s5.photobucket.com/albums/y193/daklunk/Eclipse%20GSX/Redo%20Body%20Work/Bomex%20Body%20Kit/?sc=1&addtype=local

I'm going to be reconfiguring my GSX photobcuket album within the next few days, so if some pics show up as red Xs, that's why. I'll go through and fix everything, so bear with me for a little while. And if I happen to miss something, I'd appreciate if someone lets me know :sunglasse Thanks

This looks like a thread I need to keep watching!
The Bomex front end looks nice!

Thanks ;)

Little bit more progress. Added about a mm to both sides, mapped out where to put the pieces later tonight...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y193/daklunk/Eclipse%20GSX/Redo%20Body%20Work/Bomex%20Body%20Kit/Bomexskirtsredo_05.jpg

Hey everyone, hope you guys had a great Turkey Day :grinyes:
My photobucket has been reconfigured, at least for this build. Here the "main menu" for the GSX: http://s5.photobucket.com/albums/y193/daklunk/Eclipse%20GSX/
Everything is in sub folders, so if the album is empty, look for a folder.

Well, anyhow, I got the body lines scribed in:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y193/daklunk/Eclipse%20GSX/Redo%20Body%20Work/Bomex%20Body%20Kit/Bomexskirtsredo_07.jpg

And the doors cut out and the spaces for part of the door jambs ground out. I used sewing thread to cut the doors, and although the cut line is very thin, it's a rough cut and it's easier than I though to get off track. I be using a bit of putty to fix these up...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y193/daklunk/Eclipse%20GSX/Redo%20Body%20Work/Doorjambs_01.jpg
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man that looks sweet so far!!! keep up the good work

Any progress on this build? dont let it die man! its been like a year lol

Very nice work, looking forward to seeing more

Yo dak, where did you get the gears? Because I just RE:bought this kit for the 3rd time, and want to do it right. So yeah, where did you get it?

Come on dude! Keep us posted!!!!