Not making excuses but thank you for being one of the few TH-cam channels to acknowledge that you all have access to stuff most people don't which makes working on cars and doing it the right way a lot easier.
Idk, I've never seen the point in paying anyone to do something that I can learn how to do via reading and/or youtube. I can safely say that none of my cars have never been anywhere near the jank that this Eclipse is. The previous owner shouldn't have been working on anything and was either ill-equipped mentally or lacked the proper tooling for the job (likely a combo of both). I bought an Rx7 a few years ago that had self tapping screws and shit wiring all over. The previous owner didn't understand that his work was garbage. It's sad. Having some pride and patience goes a long way.
I've helped younger guys just getting into cars with aftermarket modifications and later when they ask me what they should buy next I tell them some TOOLS! The looks on most of their faces is disappointment lol.. The parts aren't going to install themselves and the right tools will get the job done properly and more efficiently. Plus they will need to learn the skills to turn a wrench People don't understand that tools are an investment and will pay themselves off in the long run, not saying go buy all snap-on etc lol...
@@simbro32tbf he did pay way too much for this piece of shit and the work he did on it was pretty sus. If he cleared it up with him before hand id say yeah not a big deal but jfc. Honestly the guy had balls of steel to drive it like this
I'm afraid that if Ben launches this car, a looney tune cartoon moment might happen and the engine and drivetrain may just leave him with the shell but as always quality content as usual fellas.
Gents, this series really highlights the evolution of this channel. Keep it up! The story telling, cinematography, and team charisma are infectious. Thank you for putting in all this work!
Die hard DSMer here. Loving the content. First off, can't believe they're doing a road trip in this gst-x. Secondly, Ben needs to fix that power steering leak, else that new alternator will fail too. Please find a new chassis and continue this build! Fingers crossed that nothing happens to the motor during the road trip. I'll be shocked if the previous owner built it properly given what we've seen so far.
Same, I still have my 98 Eclipse Spyder. A bunch of us 4g64 2.4L fans slapped 4g63 turbos on ours among all the other mods. There were still a few brave souls in our online groups that did the AWD swap. What what was most surprising is the GS Spyders must have used the GSX frames as all of the bolt holes and mounting points were already on the frame. Not so much with the GS-T's apparently.
But it's funny to see Ben has all the problems with his dsm I had too with my d22 in Germany many years ago...they just love to rust...not the bodypanels but the bolts would just rip off😅 it's still my fav car for the looks but I'll never own one again
It's a base model eclipse fwd no turbo he AWD swapped it and motor swapped it with a extra shell nine times out of ten it extremely hard to get a AWD swap that's not rusted like this and if you do it no cheap people don't have any idea what the previous was going threw sumtimes there a perfect resone for why a car is the way it is it take a real mechanic that knows eclipses,evos and Mitsubishi inland out to tell that that is a bad model AWD swap I had one i built myself but it was fwmwd untill I could find the sub frame and extend subframe bolts for rear..
Literally, there are so many clean dsm shells. He's just putting lipstick on a pig at this point. He should've bought a new car instead of those overpriced coilovers lol
He was def right about the left side of PA cars having more rust than the right.. I've been saying the same since I was 16 and started messing these oxidation stations
I'm in New Jersey. Similar story I have four cans of penatrating oil, if I'm working on something that Requires a decent amount of work. I will use about 2 cans a month. And my 9 year old daily New rust shows up everytime it goes up on the jacks
That eye roll/head throwback on the dyno encapsulated every car enthusiast's feelings when a car FIGHTS YOU EVERY. STEP. OF. THE. WAY!! Also, the thrity minute episode was a treat! I'd watch these long form videos from you guys any day!
As a former 1990 eclipse gsx owner this gave me so much satisfaction seeing the struggles you went through. These cars are the most painful cars ive ever owned every time you work on them the simplest job turns into a 3 hour ordeal. I didn't work on cars for 3 years after mine it totally broke me mentally physically and financially haha! I thought it was just my car or my inexperienced mechanic skills but seeing your struggle fills me with joy thank you for sharing your experience with us it made my day.
Had a buddy briefly own a Plymouth Laser RS. I think he was able to drive it twice in the 6 months he owned it cause it was always broke. Ended up selling back to the guy he bought it from for a loss
@iamsobored113 sounds about how I re-aquire most of my DSM's. I have 3 of them all in different condition, and you could reliably drive any of them wherever you'd need. It all boils down to knowing the platform enough to do it all right. The first thing I do when I get these cars is check for all the trans bolts, esp the little 8mm in the back most people forget. Then I adjust the clutch, check compression, fix any boost leaks or jank work, change fluids, and then the nit picky stuff as I go.
I had a head rebuilt for my 1g gsx and it skipped timing 3 times after that. Turned out the machine shop took too much off the head. To say I was defeated was an understatement lol.
Many of us have been exactly where you are today working on this DSM unpacking all of the 20 years of bandaid fixes by a guy who’s totally broke trying to finish a project. Normally your Inheriting issues of someone local that is a acquaintance, making you endlessly upset that they didn’t tell you the entire history of the car. Its half the reason I bet all the forums were so toxic before they died haha. Great content as always!
I live in southwest Pennsylvania. If you properly maintain your car they don't get this bad. Your car is an example of a vehicle that was rarely washed! But as to why as an adult do I still live in PA... I don't have the means to leave!
@@duanebailey6253 nah the turbo is 600hp capable, it's the rest of the system that was holding it back and now the leak in the turbo as shown, they tuned it down for reliability purposes
rust belt cars are the bane of mechanics existence. but if you’re worried about bolt won’t come out, rust penetrant and a torch before you even touch it
The emotional attachment this car is about to give is gonna be insane! from the grave back to life this DSM is amazing! The RX-8 and DSM road trip is gonna be insane! lmao both loved by the entire car community but only the most daring purchase them lol I love this so much
32:18, Hey guys speaking of belts, yall should check the timing belt before heading out on the road. Wouldn't want it ripping apart and destroying the head, i don't know, just outside Lexington Kentucky on I-64 on the way to Utah.
Another good point is do a good inspection and if you find they’re lying about anything or you get a bad vibe, walk away. There’s tons of people out there like this who have no qualms in ripping people off. Another thing not mentioned is the sponsorship by advanced probably saves them a ton of money because they pretty much need to rebuild the whole car part by part
This is BY FAR your best content. As a builder in the Midwest Rust Belt I understand and have experienced every one of these struggles on repairs with cars. This is real car guy shit.... 💯
his wallet was about as full as his skill level. this goes beyond skill though, he had no business attempting that build with the clear lack of fucks given
Absolutely love this channel! Watching you guys struggle with projects always motivates me to go and wrench on my own rust-buckets. Thanks for taking us along on the journey. Looking forward to more!
This is THE BEST way I've seen filmed on a resto/unexpected resto. I'm in this for the long haul. I was a previous sub, and left due to a long style of videos not being anything I enjoy, and the algorithm went backwards and was over recommending only this channel. I'M BACK BABY! Thank you SO much for putting so much time into this. IN IN IN!
Not sure how this ever got by inspection in PA as we have annual inspections! But yeah rust like that is fairly common, I work in a shop and doing alignments in particular is always the worst as everything is rusty/seized.
@@shept.7736 makes sense since he got it in Philly, it's sad to see it in such bad condition though, up in western PA there's a lot of people that keep their specialty cars clean, obviously not the case in this instance
As a rust belt employee, the reason the driver side of the car is rustier than the passenger side is because it is always in the middle of the road. salt trucks (atleast in MI) tend to dump salt right in the middle of the road and expect it to dissipate, also it allows 1 good "lane" of traction if you are the only one in on the road. Same situation for four lane roads too. Life is pain.
I’ve owned a bunch of these and have learned that the turbo return line flange welded nuts on the inside of the oil pan are not a great design. The oem design uses bolts, crush washers, and a gasket. It’s prone to leak especially when added pressure in the crank case. I fixed this issue by removing the welded nut flange on the inside and welding bolts from the inside out, creating a stud. This allows a tighter seal for your -10 fitting flange to your oil pan. Love the project. ❤
A situation i was in ~20 years ago was shockingly familiar to your current one. I bought a Talon TSi AWD in 2003-ish that was even worse off in the rust department than this one. But I had driven 8 hrs from NC to NJ to pick it up. It ran, and had a built motor. Luckily I only paid $2400 for it. When we got it home, we found the rust was MUCH worse off that we were lead to believe. Literally holes in just about the entire underside of the car. The body wasn't salvageable, but luckily I found a local TSi AWD roller for $750 and picked that up and swapped the motor/Turbo over. That was my last DSM. 🤣 In 2005 I moved on to a relatively new 05 Legacy Gt after that.
I just recently bought a ‘98 GSX that makes this car look mint, I’m talking golf ball sized holes in the frame rails to start. 2 days after I bought it, I drove it from Northern Michigan to Deals Gap TN/NC and back and it did amazing, even at 126,xxx miles. These cars aren’t nearly as unreliable as people make them out to be. I was so happy with mine that I decided not to buy an EVO and bought a mint condition ‘99 GSX instead.
Abother Ontario resident here I’ll say it’s possible to keep your car 100% rust free but only a handful of people do so finding a clean rust free car to start a project with us near impossible
I loved this video, few people will understand what hell it is working on an old Mitsubishi. You don't know hard until you walk into this world. I've owned 8 Mitsubishi, my favorite brand. Eclipse I've owned a 2g, 3g, and 4g in the past. The 3g was my favorite so I picked another 3g GT Spyder up in October and daily drive it. Since buying it I've done: water pump, timing belt, idler pulley, tensioner pulley, hydraulic tensioner, harmonic balancer, power steering belt, valve cover gaskets, intake plenum gasket, spark plugs, spark plug wires, idle air control valve, egr valve solenoid. Some welding on the exhaust, new wheels. Oh and I had to take a fuel temperature sensor off a Lancer fuel pump and solder it to the sending unit of the 3g fuel pump.
Thank you for affirming my life choice to never buy someone else's unfinished project. But I am enjoying watching the escapades. Seriously, the challenge of this car and the fact that I couldn't pull it off make this an interesting build.
Well done, only some minor work to clean this car up. 1. Fix the turbo leak. 2. Change the sheet metal bracket everything bolts onto. Oh yeah, after 1 and 2, a coat of paint would set it off just great.
@weedshoes5089 gst isnt the base model. Its just a step down from the awd gsx. The base models are wholly unloved and get riced to hell and back with zero maintenance. Also in the dsm community you were either a genius with cars or the biggest drooling moron to turn a wrench. No in between. So glad i sold mine. Bone stock had 360k miles when i sold it. New owner daily drives it.
They were modified before fast and furious. In fact, if you look closely enough, you'll see the one in F&F was modified. Universal didn't build the cars in the movie. At most they repainted them then built clones out of base models with cheap body kits and no actual engine or power mods. The eclipse was the cheap way to get into an evo motor and was pretty much always treated like it.
I will be very sorry for Ben if this is a new road trip car, but also I will definitely watch the whole series. Please take this and Other Ben's RX8 on a road trip.
LOVE that this janky project is gonna make its way on a road trip- it is super satisfying seeing things fixed properly (despite the enormous stress it may cause 😅)
24:28 there’s just something about this transition, so clean, beat is perfect, camera work it’s on point, just gets u hyped for some crisp fortune autos.
As someone from Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh area), not buying cars from PA isn't bad advice. It's interesting seeing people not aclimated try to tackle PA rust. We generally need to spray PB blaster on every bolt we are thinking of touching days in advance. I just recently worked on my ex's sister's '13 forester with ultra bad front wheel bearings and ball joints, which ended up in breaking so many bolts, so many bits trying to drill out said broken bolts, and it ended up taking weeks and replacing a hub entirely. I did recently buy a '71 240z from PA that I'm in the process of getting road worthy, but luckily for me it seems to have lived in Texas for a while, so it's been a dream to work on relative to (much newer) cars from here. Good luck!
By far the BEST build series on TH-cam right now. Comedic timing is on point and the acknowledgement of the access you have to fix all these issues compared to the real world was greatly appreciated. No other TH-camr would ever acknowledge this. This series so good that my oldest son and I watch it together Saturday mornings and now even my wife and daughter catch themselves watching with us. Keep up the fantastic work and cant wait to see where your roadtrip takes you.
This explains why in f&f1 the floor pan blew out of the lancer, it just rusted in real time and flew out. Edit: I just also realized my 2 remaining brain cells from all the brake clean I’ve used in my life were crashing. Eclipse not lancer*
Actually I used to have 2007 mazda rx8 from PA and this thing had almost no rust! Right now I bought a brand new 2024 camaro and I already done complete undercoating and ceramic coating because this is my primary car and I live in PA.
I've said it a few times. If you can't afford to do it right, just don't do it.. Also, when I heard Philly, it all made sense. Bleeding the system in the eclipse was a lot faster than the rx7 lol. Shout out to my boy Kenny @blacksheeptuning!
I really really enjoy watching a car video where the struggle is real. All the shows out there where its just smooth sailing and then you got stuff like this. I'll take these types of videos all day. Its reality. Nothing is easy, especially if your working on a car from Pennsylvania. lol
Ben this series has been so refreshing and entertaining to watch. It has been a dry slump of watching other car youtubers buy brand new cars off the lot and throw thousands of dollars at it. Where as you have bought a true project car abandoned by its owner and have given it a completely new life. You talk and act just like any of us going through the daily struggles of building something we are passionate about. Please keep doing videos like this. You stand high above the rest. Flexing money has been the new way of getting views, but not mine. True dedication and passion gets my view.
you may have already figured this out, but to do the AWD swap two of the subframe bolts go in a different spot then the FWD. So it wasnet a problem he fixed, it was a problem he created by not doing the subframe bolt swap install correct.
This has become one of my top choice channels for car content. There is a great variety and I really love these longer videos watching the crew chip away at a car and all the challenges along the way. 2024 is going to be awesome!
What a phenomenal depiction of the rollercoaster that is enthusiast car ownership lol. I also loved the polairty in this episode with the soft music balanced by the metal getting the coilover off. I feel this.
I owned a 97 GST, 90 TSI AWD, 98 GSX, I loved those cars unfortunately rust and a spun bearing killed my 98 , back in the day these cars were not that expensive to maintain and responded well to mods, If it wasn't for how expensive things have gotten for these cars I'd still own one, and my 98 came from PA lol, DSM life is hard, harder these days :) GL with the build
To Mark that made the capp merch, im drinking from the mug right now and am enjoying the cup while i stare at my engine that caught on fire recently. Feels great.
Love the 2g. Had a 97 eclipse spyder gs-t as my first car in high school. Fun car and super clean. Would not have thought finding a clean one 15 years later would be so hard. As a PA resident I'll say proper car enthusiasts here don't drive in the winter an we anti-seize not just bolts but certain contact surfaces. Got an 09 RX-8 so been loving both these new builds you guys are taking on.
I never knew Ben had such great comedic timing/editing. This series is GOLD. An alternative method of chilling aluminum bushings: use a bath of crushed dry ice and ethanol. It'll get you to -109F in MINUTES. Do no handle it with bare hands. It will burn you terribly.
depends on the area of PA, PA is a huge state. Where I live we hardly get snow so our cars aren't rusty. But you definitely should exercise more caution when car buying especially old cars. And that's not just PA, that's any of the northern states.
That split vacuum line to the wastegate that you fixed is why the boost went down since last Dyno session... It's no different than when guys stick T fittings in the line to raise boost
Ben, really enjoying watching a video of fails and shoddy workmanship. Unfortunately, this is the type of thing the average tinkerer will come across, and it's great to see a professional tackle the same issues. It's much better viewing than watching someone bolt on expensive aftermarket parts on the same sorts of cars, over and over
p.s. if your going on a trip. u need an air to oil cooler and delete the coolant to oil cooler, they are old and when they fail u need a new engine. and a radiator and wrap that manifold or u will have cooling issues. trust me i daily my dsm as much as possible and even used it to travel on contracts around the country. even drove it from memphis to deleware in one day and from ohio to dc in 10hrs. u build it right they give good service.. overbuild, over build, overbuild!!!
32:12, seeing my own comment flashing through the screen whilst he was calling us dumb idiots.. 😅 What a hell of a project.. I respect you for not giving up
Being originally from Maryland, I feel your pain. Idk what they use on their roads up there, but as soon as you cross the border, the rust becomes exponentially worse.
As someone who just spent my whole weekend do a “routine” header and exhaust upgrade on my pristine Porsche Cayman, you brave to take on this rust bucket project.
I felt this video, working on rusty cars suck. But I learned that heat and PB blast is your friend, and it also taught me how to deal with rusty bolts!
Best TH-cam channel ever. Guys, are you planning to wrap that eclipse? Would be great to see in a shade of blue to combine with the RX8 in the trip! 🚙🚙
This was probably the best car video I have seen in a long time. Highs and lows, comedic, and a car that should probably be chunked in the garbage that will continue to surprise us. 🎉
despite the headaches. I feel like this rx8/eclipse series will be one of the best ones yet. Can't wait to see what else you have planned for these two
I had a first gen Rx7 that fought me like this in my younger days. Somehow, watching this Eclipse provide pain and suffering at every turn is oddly nostalgic, dare I say therapeutic. Who cares how any of this turns out at the end, as long as we get to watch Mark and Ben tackle together what we've all faced alone in our darkest hours.
im a dsm owner. man so many hours fixing previous owners mods and properly upgrading and fixing. think i've finally replaced every bolt on this little beast..lol
I’m loving this thing I’d say just fix everything underneath it the rusty floors and all the mechanical leave the paint alone and have a ratty looking eclipse that runs great
Love seeing people fix up these basket case marketplace specials. Always wanted to do a "unfinished project" rescue series if money was no issue. Keeping these cars alive is no easy task but it's so rewarding to see
Sorry you got hosed on your purchase, but this is so much better and satisfying to watch than someone paying others to wash his car. Sell some limited edition T-shirts to help fund this rust bucket... this reminds me of PFI speed rehab s2000.
Man I love this channel. As a WI resident and mechanic, I felt your pain for ALL of those rusted and stuck on parts. Always quality content and a wild ride of a video. The sacrifice is must appreciated guys, keep up the hard work!
Welcome to the world of cars from the rust belt. Now you feel our pain and it makes me happy. This should make you really appreciate your rust-free vehicles as well as all the access you have to professionals, lifts, tools, etc as you've already stated
I had the same issue with a stock shock on an 01 eclipse. I won with a 16" pipe wrench and a 5 foot jack handle and unscrewed the part out of the hub while spinning the bushing inside the shock
Ben, as a fan of your content, I’ll take upon myself to look for a cheap Eclipse you can buy and swap everything from that one. I live in the desert, West Texas, so I don’t think rust will be a problem. I’ll DM you my findings.
I live in a place where you cant park your car in the streets, and the garage that I rent wont allow to have the car in jackstands for more than a few hours, so working in my car is painful, most of the work I do to it is simple or can be done in one day, if not I send it to a shop.
Not making excuses but thank you for being one of the few TH-cam channels to acknowledge that you all have access to stuff most people don't which makes working on cars and doing it the right way a lot easier.
Idk, I've never seen the point in paying anyone to do something that I can learn how to do via reading and/or youtube. I can safely say that none of my cars have never been anywhere near the jank that this Eclipse is. The previous owner shouldn't have been working on anything and was either ill-equipped mentally or lacked the proper tooling for the job (likely a combo of both). I bought an Rx7 a few years ago that had self tapping screws and shit wiring all over. The previous owner didn't understand that his work was garbage. It's sad. Having some pride and patience goes a long way.
Having the correct tool is half the work 🥰 Thats why we have ChrisFix, he use normal day handtools much
acknowledges it and then still proceeds to shit on this persons work and cry that he was ripped off.
I've helped younger guys just getting into cars with aftermarket modifications and later when they ask me what they should buy next I tell them some TOOLS! The looks on most of their faces is disappointment lol.. The parts aren't going to install themselves and the right tools will get the job done properly and more efficiently. Plus they will need to learn the skills to turn a wrench People don't understand that tools are an investment and will pay themselves off in the long run, not saying go buy all snap-on etc lol...
@@simbro32tbf he did pay way too much for this piece of shit and the work he did on it was pretty sus. If he cleared it up with him before hand id say yeah not a big deal but jfc. Honestly the guy had balls of steel to drive it like this
You've gotta have balls of steel to take the DSM on a road trip. This is gonna be epic.
I'm afraid that if Ben launches this car, a looney tune cartoon moment might happen and the engine and drivetrain may just leave him with the shell but as always quality content as usual fellas.
It's a DSM, he'll end up on the moon before he ends up being left on the side of the road.
I was thinking okay, so what happens if it’s a e85 600 hp monster and it just tears the car to shreds on full street rips...
ben or ben?
LMFAOO
😂😂
Gents, this series really highlights the evolution of this channel. Keep it up!
The story telling, cinematography, and team charisma are infectious. Thank you for putting in all this work!
It sucks you are stuck with this thing but good lord is this series been endlessly entertaining and its only episode 2. Its fantastic content
Picture him dressed in his nerdy clothes with that sleeper taking cash in NJ street races this summer
Die hard DSMer here. Loving the content. First off, can't believe they're doing a road trip in this gst-x. Secondly, Ben needs to fix that power steering leak, else that new alternator will fail too. Please find a new chassis and continue this build! Fingers crossed that nothing happens to the motor during the road trip. I'll be shocked if the previous owner built it properly given what we've seen so far.
Same, I still have my 98 Eclipse Spyder. A bunch of us 4g64 2.4L fans slapped 4g63 turbos on ours among all the other mods. There were still a few brave souls in our online groups that did the AWD swap. What what was most surprising is the GS Spyders must have used the GSX frames as all of the bolt holes and mounting points were already on the frame. Not so much with the GS-T's apparently.
Just wanna remind everybody that this was the best looking Eclipse Ben could find
There is a fast and furious 1 hero car running around Jacksonville..... he needs that shell
They aren’t all that bad but he would to had to have dropped over 10k for a decent one
But it's funny to see Ben has all the problems with his dsm I had too with my d22 in Germany many years ago...they just love to rust...not the bodypanels but the bolts would just rip off😅 it's still my fav car for the looks but I'll never own one again
Makes me feel very fortunate to have a rust free DSM!! 1GB Talon AWD
Can't wait for it to be restored in terms of cosmetics!
The fact that people can live with themselves by selling something like this to someone is sad
It's a base model eclipse fwd no turbo he AWD swapped it and motor swapped it with a extra shell nine times out of ten it extremely hard to get a AWD swap that's not rusted like this and if you do it no cheap people don't have any idea what the previous was going threw sumtimes there a perfect resone for why a car is the way it is it take a real mechanic that knows eclipses,evos and Mitsubishi inland out to tell that that is a bad model AWD swap I had one i built myself but it was fwmwd untill I could find the sub frame and extend subframe bolts for rear..
You having a stroke? @@sandgreen3935
ben just needs a new shell after seeing all that rust.
Literally, there are so many clean dsm shells. He's just putting lipstick on a pig at this point. He should've bought a new car instead of those overpriced coilovers lol
I don’t think he wants a new shell purely for content purposes.
@@vBunzwhich is weird, getting a shell and doing a resto would be great content
Yeah he shoulda bought something from down south and traveled to get a non rusted body.
@@ulqui0rra Do they pay for fortune autos? They've done tours of their assembly facility and stuff
I think working on / owning this car would do me in. Hats off to Ben and Mark for persevering - that’s no mean feat.
As a person who works on his own cars in PA, anti seize is your best friend. Even in places you wouldn’t expect lol.
also... 2 words. Air Hammer
He was def right about the left side of PA cars having more rust than the right.. I've been saying the same since I was 16 and started messing these oxidation stations
In Canada it’s the same thing
I'm in New Jersey. Similar story I have four cans of penatrating oil, if I'm working on something that Requires a decent amount of work. I will use about 2 cans a month. And my 9 year old daily New rust shows up everytime it goes up on the jacks
Aw yess... another road trip video incoming. 🤣👍
Eclipse and RX-8 road trip. Looking forward to it.
never before has an audience been so captivated by such soul-crushing content
That eye roll/head throwback on the dyno encapsulated every car enthusiast's feelings when a car FIGHTS YOU EVERY. STEP. OF. THE. WAY!!
Also, the thrity minute episode was a treat! I'd watch these long form videos from you guys any day!
As a former 1990 eclipse gsx owner this gave me so much satisfaction seeing the struggles you went through. These cars are the most painful cars ive ever owned every time you work on them the simplest job turns into a 3 hour ordeal. I didn't work on cars for 3 years after mine it totally broke me mentally physically and financially haha! I thought it was just my car or my inexperienced mechanic skills but seeing your struggle fills me with joy thank you for sharing your experience with us it made my day.
Oh and after working on it for 4 years it broke down when the new owner drove it home, never again dsm rip
@@actionjackson891 amazing ending 10/10
Had a buddy briefly own a Plymouth Laser RS. I think he was able to drive it twice in the 6 months he owned it cause it was always broke. Ended up selling back to the guy he bought it from for a loss
@iamsobored113 sounds about how I re-aquire most of my DSM's. I have 3 of them all in different condition, and you could reliably drive any of them wherever you'd need. It all boils down to knowing the platform enough to do it all right. The first thing I do when I get these cars is check for all the trans bolts, esp the little 8mm in the back most people forget. Then I adjust the clutch, check compression, fix any boost leaks or jank work, change fluids, and then the nit picky stuff as I go.
I had a head rebuilt for my 1g gsx and it skipped timing 3 times after that. Turned out the machine shop took too much off the head. To say I was defeated was an understatement lol.
Ben intentionally welding for the first time was hilarious! Totally undermined his trash talking the previous owner. TH-cam gold!
There's a difference between not knowing how to weld and literally putting the tires on backwards
Many of us have been exactly where you are today working on this DSM unpacking all of the 20 years of bandaid fixes by a guy who’s totally broke trying to finish a project.
Normally your Inheriting issues of someone local that is a acquaintance, making you endlessly upset that they didn’t tell you the entire history of the car.
Its half the reason I bet all the forums were so toxic before they died haha. Great content as always!
I live in southwest Pennsylvania. If you properly maintain your car they don't get this bad. Your car is an example of a vehicle that was rarely washed! But as to why as an adult do I still live in PA... I don't have the means to leave!
Please get a replacement turbo that hopefully spools a bit faster, cant wait to see it go on a trip!
I don’t know if that thing Should ever touch the interstate 😅 let alone drive more than 30 miles at once
@@Original_t31 th-cam.com/video/MRUldbKDbvk/w-d-xo.html
This is what I think about with both Ben's taking this POS on a road trip.
@@brendanconnelly1835 I don't usually click on links, but this seems accurate. 😅
I don't think it's the turbo it seems really small to be at 350 hp with 33psi. The cams are massive for such low compression.
@@duanebailey6253 nah the turbo is 600hp capable, it's the rest of the system that was holding it back and now the leak in the turbo as shown, they tuned it down for reliability purposes
rust belt cars are the bane of mechanics existence. but if you’re worried about bolt won’t come out, rust penetrant and a torch before you even touch it
I can’t explain how much I love this series my favorite you guys have done by far lol
The emotional attachment this car is about to give is gonna be insane! from the grave back to life this DSM is amazing! The RX-8 and DSM road trip is gonna be insane! lmao both loved by the entire car community but only the most daring purchase them lol I love this so much
That tuner guy is a badass!
It's a hard job but he makes it look so fun.
Thanks
@@Kenuwine24
Is that you in the video?!?
@@mhknfh3049 yes
32:18, Hey guys speaking of belts, yall should check the timing belt before heading out on the road. Wouldn't want it ripping apart and destroying the head, i don't know, just outside Lexington Kentucky on I-64 on the way to Utah.
Projects like these are the kind of cars you just keep after all is done. Im sure this thing is going to be a gem when its finished.
Highly unlikely this car will ever be a gem
yeah, changing the break lines without cleaning out the now accesible rust and putting a little paint to preserve it speaks for itself@@pressley10r
Another good point is do a good inspection and if you find they’re lying about anything or you get a bad vibe, walk away.
There’s tons of people out there like this who have no qualms in ripping people off.
Another thing not mentioned is the sponsorship by advanced probably saves them a ton of money because they pretty much need to rebuild the whole car part by part
That turbo is 100% turning into a pipe bomb
So is literally everything on that eclipse
This is BY FAR your best content. As a builder in the Midwest Rust Belt I understand and have experienced every one of these struggles on repairs with cars.
This is real car guy shit.... 💯
It's clear to see that ambitions and intentions were greater than the wallet for this previous owner I feel this guys pain 😢
his wallet was about as full as his skill level. this goes beyond skill though, he had no business attempting that build with the clear lack of fucks given
Absolutely love this channel! Watching you guys struggle with projects always motivates me to go and wrench on my own rust-buckets. Thanks for taking us along on the journey. Looking forward to more!
Very entertaining episode Ben, props for not just setting the car on fire and walking away
He’s a patient man. Or foolish.
This is THE BEST way I've seen filmed on a resto/unexpected resto. I'm in this for the long haul. I was a previous sub, and left due to a long style of videos not being anything I enjoy, and the algorithm went backwards and was over recommending only this channel. I'M BACK BABY! Thank you SO much for putting so much time into this. IN IN IN!
Not sure how this ever got by inspection in PA as we have annual inspections! But yeah rust like that is fairly common, I work in a shop and doing alignments in particular is always the worst as everything is rusty/seized.
Passing inspection in PA is as easy as knowing the right mechanics, especially in small towns
They call that a "lick and stick"
@@joecosta3416 around here we call that the "philly inspection" haha
@@shept.7736 makes sense since he got it in Philly, it's sad to see it in such bad condition though, up in western PA there's a lot of people that keep their specialty cars clean, obviously not the case in this instance
Yup, PA stickers are for sale in many bodegas in the PR neighborhoods.
As a rust belt employee, the reason the driver side of the car is rustier than the passenger side is because it is always in the middle of the road. salt trucks (atleast in MI) tend to dump salt right in the middle of the road and expect it to dissipate, also it allows 1 good "lane" of traction if you are the only one in on the road.
Same situation for four lane roads too.
Life is pain.
I’ve owned a bunch of these and have learned that the turbo return line flange welded nuts on the inside of the oil pan are not a great design. The oem design uses bolts, crush washers, and a gasket. It’s prone to leak especially when added pressure in the crank case. I fixed this issue by removing the welded nut flange on the inside and welding bolts from the inside out, creating a stud. This allows a tighter seal for your -10 fitting flange to your oil pan. Love the project. ❤
On 2g dsm don't forget to replace the front lower control arms. Sometimes the ball joints fail and separate. Not fun. Preventative maintenance is key
A situation i was in ~20 years ago was shockingly familiar to your current one. I bought a Talon TSi AWD in 2003-ish that was even worse off in the rust department than this one. But I had driven 8 hrs from NC to NJ to pick it up. It ran, and had a built motor. Luckily I only paid $2400 for it. When we got it home, we found the rust was MUCH worse off that we were lead to believe. Literally holes in just about the entire underside of the car. The body wasn't salvageable, but luckily I found a local TSi AWD roller for $750 and picked that up and swapped the motor/Turbo over.
That was my last DSM. 🤣 In 2005 I moved on to a relatively new 05 Legacy Gt after that.
I just recently bought a ‘98 GSX that makes this car look mint, I’m talking golf ball sized holes in the frame rails to start. 2 days after I bought it, I drove it from Northern Michigan to Deals Gap TN/NC and back and it did amazing, even at 126,xxx miles. These cars aren’t nearly as unreliable as people make them out to be. I was so happy with mine that I decided not to buy an EVO and bought a mint condition ‘99 GSX instead.
Welcome to the rust belt. As a fan from Ontario Canada, I'll say that this is just normal level of project car suffering so far.
Abother Ontario resident here I’ll say it’s possible to keep your car 100% rust free but only a handful of people do so finding a clean rust free car to start a project with us near impossible
Hey, my people! Ive had literally all of these problems! Turns out, spraying your roads with salt to melt the sbow and ice also melts the cars!
@@DC2_Danny It's outrageous how corrosive the new blue stuff is.
I loved this video, few people will understand what hell it is working on an old Mitsubishi. You don't know hard until you walk into this world. I've owned 8 Mitsubishi, my favorite brand. Eclipse I've owned a 2g, 3g, and 4g in the past. The 3g was my favorite so I picked another 3g GT Spyder up in October and daily drive it. Since buying it I've done: water pump, timing belt, idler pulley, tensioner pulley, hydraulic tensioner, harmonic balancer, power steering belt, valve cover gaskets, intake plenum gasket, spark plugs, spark plug wires, idle air control valve, egr valve solenoid. Some welding on the exhaust, new wheels. Oh and I had to take a fuel temperature sensor off a Lancer fuel pump and solder it to the sending unit of the 3g fuel pump.
Thank you for affirming my life choice to never buy someone else's unfinished project. But I am enjoying watching the escapades. Seriously, the challenge of this car and the fact that I couldn't pull it off make this an interesting build.
Well done, only some minor work to clean this car up.
1. Fix the turbo leak.
2. Change the sheet metal bracket everything bolts onto.
Oh yeah, after 1 and 2, a coat of paint would set it off just great.
It’s really too bad that 98% of those cars have been modified and neglected. Thanks to the movie… fast and furious
cry
@@gazoooo6386we are
98% of these front wheel drive base model shitsubishis?
@weedshoes5089 gst isnt the base model. Its just a step down from the awd gsx. The base models are wholly unloved and get riced to hell and back with zero maintenance. Also in the dsm community you were either a genius with cars or the biggest drooling moron to turn a wrench. No in between.
So glad i sold mine. Bone stock had 360k miles when i sold it. New owner daily drives it.
They were modified before fast and furious. In fact, if you look closely enough, you'll see the one in F&F was modified. Universal didn't build the cars in the movie. At most they repainted them then built clones out of base models with cheap body kits and no actual engine or power mods. The eclipse was the cheap way to get into an evo motor and was pretty much always treated like it.
I will be very sorry for Ben if this is a new road trip car, but also I will definitely watch the whole series. Please take this and Other Ben's RX8 on a road trip.
LOVE that this janky project is gonna make its way on a road trip- it is super satisfying seeing things fixed properly (despite the enormous stress it may cause 😅)
24:28 there’s just something about this transition, so clean, beat is perfect, camera work it’s on point, just gets u hyped for some crisp fortune autos.
As someone from Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh area), not buying cars from PA isn't bad advice. It's interesting seeing people not aclimated try to tackle PA rust. We generally need to spray PB blaster on every bolt we are thinking of touching days in advance. I just recently worked on my ex's sister's '13 forester with ultra bad front wheel bearings and ball joints, which ended up in breaking so many bolts, so many bits trying to drill out said broken bolts, and it ended up taking weeks and replacing a hub entirely. I did recently buy a '71 240z from PA that I'm in the process of getting road worthy, but luckily for me it seems to have lived in Texas for a while, so it's been a dream to work on relative to (much newer) cars from here. Good luck!
By far the BEST build series on TH-cam right now. Comedic timing is on point and the acknowledgement of the access you have to fix all these issues compared to the real world was greatly appreciated. No other TH-camr would ever acknowledge this. This series so good that my oldest son and I watch it together Saturday mornings and now even my wife and daughter catch themselves watching with us. Keep up the fantastic work and cant wait to see where your roadtrip takes you.
This explains why in f&f1 the floor pan blew out of the lancer, it just rusted in real time and flew out.
Edit: I just also realized my 2 remaining brain cells from all the brake clean I’ve used in my life were crashing. Eclipse not lancer*
YES. 🤣
Brian drove straight from PA to LA
Actually I used to have 2007 mazda rx8 from PA and this thing had almost no rust!
Right now I bought a brand new 2024 camaro and I already done complete undercoating and ceramic coating because this is my primary car and I live in PA.
I absolutely love this GST-X!!!!!
Great content guys!
I really enjoy watching this channel
I bought my e36 in Arizona and had it shipped back east just to avoid major rust. Honestly worth it. And it was cheaper.
I've said it a few times. If you can't afford to do it right, just don't do it.. Also, when I heard Philly, it all made sense. Bleeding the system in the eclipse was a lot faster than the rx7 lol. Shout out to my boy Kenny @blacksheeptuning!
I really really enjoy watching a car video where the struggle is real. All the shows out there where its just smooth sailing and then you got stuff like this. I'll take these types of videos all day. Its reality. Nothing is easy, especially if your working on a car from Pennsylvania. lol
loving the content! glad to see Devonte getting some time in front of the camera!
Ben this series has been so refreshing and entertaining to watch. It has been a dry slump of watching other car youtubers buy brand new cars off the lot and throw thousands of dollars at it. Where as you have bought a true project car abandoned by its owner and have given it a completely new life. You talk and act just like any of us going through the daily struggles of building something we are passionate about. Please keep doing videos like this. You stand high above the rest. Flexing money has been the new way of getting views, but not mine. True dedication and passion gets my view.
I'm just hoping you do a lot more to that eclipse. It still has potential. Great vid you guys!
you may have already figured this out, but to do the AWD swap two of the subframe bolts go in a different spot then the FWD. So it wasnet a problem he fixed, it was a problem he created by not doing the subframe bolt swap install correct.
This has become one of my top choice channels for car content. There is a great variety and I really love these longer videos watching the crew chip away at a car and all the challenges along the way. 2024 is going to be awesome!
What a phenomenal depiction of the rollercoaster that is enthusiast car ownership lol. I also loved the polairty in this episode with the soft music balanced by the metal getting the coilover off. I feel this.
have you ever thought about modifying a car that is solid from the start?
His RX7 wasn't too terrible from what I remember.
🤣🤣
where's the fun in that?
I owned a 97 GST, 90 TSI AWD, 98 GSX, I loved those cars unfortunately rust and a spun bearing killed my 98 , back in the day these cars were not that expensive to maintain and responded well to mods, If it wasn't for how expensive things have gotten for these cars I'd still own one, and my 98 came from PA lol, DSM life is hard, harder these days :) GL with the build
To Mark that made the capp merch, im drinking from the mug right now and am enjoying the cup while i stare at my engine that caught on fire recently. Feels great.
Love the 2g. Had a 97 eclipse spyder gs-t as my first car in high school. Fun car and super clean. Would not have thought finding a clean one 15 years later would be so hard. As a PA resident I'll say proper car enthusiasts here don't drive in the winter an we anti-seize not just bolts but certain contact surfaces. Got an 09 RX-8 so been loving both these new builds you guys are taking on.
All the way from Australia. Thank god we don't have rust like you all get in the Northern Hemisphere. This car is a heap.
I never knew Ben had such great comedic timing/editing. This series is GOLD.
An alternative method of chilling aluminum bushings: use a bath of crushed dry ice and ethanol. It'll get you to -109F in MINUTES. Do no handle it with bare hands. It will burn you terribly.
depends on the area of PA, PA is a huge state. Where I live we hardly get snow so our cars aren't rusty. But you definitely should exercise more caution when car buying especially old cars. And that's not just PA, that's any of the northern states.
That split vacuum line to the wastegate that you fixed is why the boost went down since last Dyno session... It's no different than when guys stick T fittings in the line to raise boost
Ben, really enjoying watching a video of fails and shoddy workmanship. Unfortunately, this is the type of thing the average tinkerer will come across, and it's great to see a professional tackle the same issues.
It's much better viewing than watching someone bolt on expensive aftermarket parts on the same sorts of cars, over and over
Tip when cutting aluminum with a cutoff wheel a toilet bowl wax ring helps lube the chop. Great channel.
p.s. if your going on a trip. u need an air to oil cooler and delete the coolant to oil cooler, they are old and when they fail u need a new engine. and a radiator and wrap that manifold or u will have cooling issues. trust me i daily my dsm as much as possible and even used it to travel on contracts around the country. even drove it from memphis to deleware in one day and from ohio to dc in 10hrs. u build it right they give good service.. overbuild, over build, overbuild!!!
32:12, seeing my own comment flashing through the screen whilst he was calling us dumb idiots.. 😅
What a hell of a project.. I respect you for not giving up
Ditch the pb blaster and mix up 50/50 atf and acetone for the rusted stuck bolts and such. It's literally God's gift for removing rusty crap.
Being originally from Maryland, I feel your pain. Idk what they use on their roads up there, but as soon as you cross the border, the rust becomes exponentially worse.
Says he hates cars but then teases another trip series in car that made him say that. I love how this channel is so relateable and helps us love cars.
As someone who just spent my whole weekend do a “routine” header and exhaust upgrade on my pristine Porsche Cayman, you brave to take on this rust bucket project.
I felt this video, working on rusty cars suck. But I learned that heat and PB blast is your friend, and it also taught me how to deal with rusty bolts!
As a previous dsm owner of multiple 2g chassis, yes this chassis may be quite too far gone… but I’m so happy to see you give it one last hooray🖤
"go on a little trip" and I though he was just crazy for buying this thing!
This is my favorite looking 90s Japanese car... Big respect to saving this one!
Best TH-cam channel ever. Guys, are you planning to wrap that eclipse? Would be great to see in a shade of blue to combine with the RX8 in the trip! 🚙🚙
Owning a 1998 GSX i really look forward to these kind of videos and by the way the same thing happened to my sons GSX with the crank pulley .
This was probably the best car video I have seen in a long time. Highs and lows, comedic, and a car that should probably be chunked in the garbage that will continue to surprise us. 🎉
despite the headaches. I feel like this rx8/eclipse series will be one of the best ones yet. Can't wait to see what else you have planned for these two
I had a first gen Rx7 that fought me like this in my younger days. Somehow, watching this Eclipse provide pain and suffering at every turn is oddly nostalgic, dare I say therapeutic. Who cares how any of this turns out at the end, as long as we get to watch Mark and Ben tackle together what we've all faced alone in our darkest hours.
FANTASTIC love this plagued pile of dsm parts and rust get a second chance at life. Cant wait to see whats next!
I love whoever writes you chapter titles. The “rite of spring” quote is too good
im a dsm owner. man so many hours fixing previous owners mods and properly upgrading and fixing. think i've finally replaced every bolt on this little beast..lol
I’m loving this thing I’d say just fix everything underneath it the rusty floors and all the mechanical leave the paint alone and have a ratty looking eclipse that runs great
Love seeing people fix up these basket case marketplace specials. Always wanted to do a "unfinished project" rescue series if money was no issue. Keeping these cars alive is no easy task but it's so rewarding to see
I’ve had a harmonic balancer start to fall apart on my ep3. Age on cars does strange and wonderful things.
Sorry you got hosed on your purchase, but this is so much better and satisfying to watch than someone paying others to wash his car.
Sell some limited edition T-shirts to help fund this rust bucket... this reminds me of PFI speed rehab s2000.
Man I love this channel. As a WI resident and mechanic, I felt your pain for ALL of those rusted and stuck on parts. Always quality content and a wild ride of a video. The sacrifice is must appreciated guys, keep up the hard work!
I don't know how you guys have had the patience with this car! Bravo!
This is everyone of our DSM experiences all rolled up into one car 🤣 talk about bringing back so many memories in the garage with buddies
Welcome to the world of cars from the rust belt. Now you feel our pain and it makes me happy. This should make you really appreciate your rust-free vehicles as well as all the access you have to professionals, lifts, tools, etc as you've already stated
I had the same issue with a stock shock on an 01 eclipse. I won with a 16" pipe wrench and a 5 foot jack handle and unscrewed the part out of the hub while spinning the bushing inside the shock
When I saw you got a 2g It made me wanna get another one after selling mine awhile back. After watching this. I remember why I no longer do.
Ben, as a fan of your content, I’ll take upon myself to look for a cheap Eclipse you can buy and swap everything from that one. I live in the desert, West Texas, so I don’t think rust will be a problem. I’ll DM you my findings.
I live in a place where you cant park your car in the streets, and the garage that I rent wont allow to have the car in jackstands for more than a few hours, so working in my car is painful, most of the work I do to it is simple or can be done in one day, if not I send it to a shop.