I finally started on my Eclipse Spyder replica!

vanilla gorilla · #1 08-20-2005, 04:21 PM

Hey everyone! I posted a while back about me doing a replica of my 1:1 99 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder. I finally bought another kit and started working on it. Its not going to be an exact replica but I am going to do the best I can with what I have to work with and what my skills will allow me to do. I haven't made too much progress so far but I think I am off to a good start. Check it out and tell me what u think!

Here are a few pictures of the actual car (its a little dirty on the out side, but thats what driving at nice in the summer does to ur car):

So far I have started working on the front bumper since the kit doesn't include the stock one. I started out with a blitz bumper and I have hacked it up. It's starting to look a bit like the stock one.
The next thing I did was cut the roof off of the car.
Then I started working on the interior. Since this kit is based off of "The Fast and The Furious" Eclipse, it doesn't come with alot of the stock parts. It doesnt even come with a back seat, it has some amps on the floor and a speaker wall. So I took my once "in progress" acura integra roadster and cut out the back and front seats. I had to section the middle and sides of the back seat and putty it back together, then cut the amps out of the floor. I also had to trim the front seats quite a bit to get them to fit in the car's small interior. I will use the integra steering wheel too.
I havent started on the engine yet but the kit has a 4G63 engine and the real car has a 4G64 (non turbo) engine. The engines are similar and I will use some more parts off of the B-series acura engine on my mitsubishi one.

Thank you for checking out my thread and expect updates soon.

I leave you with some pictures of the model in it's current state:

modder · #2 08-20-2005, 04:40 PM

looks good for start.......keep it up.....

Zlaja_ · #3 08-20-2005, 04:47 PM

Time for new exhaust headers?

Looks like a very cool project, would like to see more!

vanilla gorilla · #4 08-20-2005, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Time for new exhaust headers?

Looks like a very cool project, would like to see more!

I dont know if you were joking or what. But that is Thermotec heat wrap on the header.

patoffspyder · #5 08-20-2005, 05:04 PM

Nice project, I have the same car!
Mind is the same color, except that there is metal flakes in my paint. I just love this car, I tried to do the same thing with the same kit, but I add problems cuting the top with my little modelist knife.

Zlaja_ · #6 08-20-2005, 05:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vanilla gorilla

I dont know if you were joking or what. But that is Thermotec heat wrap on the header.

It looked kinda tired, heat wraps are for hotrods, not import tuners :P

vanilla gorilla · #7 08-20-2005, 05:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zlaja_

It looked kinda tired, heat wraps are for hotrods, not import tuners :P

Well, I would have got a custom header but the aftermarket is kinda limited for the 4G64. And I dont really care what it looks like as long as it performs.

g00eY · #8 08-20-2005, 06:43 PM

nice work so far! nice clean cut on the roof.

SupaMan89T · #9 08-21-2005, 04:44 AM

header wrap is for any car i plan on running header wrap on my supra when its done because ill be running it hard for long distance in SCCA touring s class.

on topic now it looks great so far!

eph2 · #10 08-21-2005, 07:34 AM

Nice start!! I love eclipses.. but use the 4g63.. Turbo rock!!!!

vanilla gorilla · #11 08-21-2005, 02:24 PM

Thanks for all (or most) of the feedback! Here is a little update for you. Last night I finished the worrysome interior, the modified non turbo engine, and the drivetrain. I am pretty much done with the whole thing except for the front bumper and the body. I am away from home right now so I will probably post some pictures and more details tomorrow. Stay tuned!

vanilla gorilla · #12 08-23-2005, 06:40 PM

Time for some updates.

I have finished the interior, the drivetrain, and the NA motor. Here are some pictures, and please tell me what u think.

Here are a couple shots of the interior:

Here is a shot of the car by itself and beside of the "tuner version" of the kit:

Here is a shot of the car's NA engine beside the tuner's turbo engine:

And here is a shot of the replica car's enterior beside of the kit's "tuner" interior:

Thank you for checking out my thread and please tell me what you think of it!

patoffspyder · #13 08-23-2005, 07:06 PM

This is very nice.
What did you use to cut the top of the car?
You should try to do a double tip exhaust like the original one of the eclipse, it would be great.

vanilla gorilla · #14 08-23-2005, 07:20 PM

Yeah I am still going to do the dual tip.
To cut the top off I used some curved sissors, then I work out the final contour of the cut with some coarse sandpaper. The scissors are extremly strong and precise. I use them to cut out my lexan RC car bodies, and I also use them to cut plastic on these model kits. They are made by Duratrax.

And thanks for your comment. I appreciate it.

patoffspyder · #15 08-23-2005, 08:08 PM

Yeah I really like your work here, I tried the same thing with a AMT eclipse, but it's not very good.

My eclipse was exactly like yours when I bought it :

Now I changed the rims and I put a metal flake paint.

I love this car, I don't car if it's not turbo ;-)

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