Lets install some things!
With the engine bay paint all dry I can begin getting things knocked out. All of the brake related components are installed, Clutch line run, Firewall AC lines run, motor mounts installed. The cruise control system was deleted and the cables updated to a single pull cable that runs from the throttle pedal right to the throttle body.
All of the wiring on the car was a dirty crumbly mess. All of the OEM electrical tape was removed and the engine body and engine harness itself were both re-wrapped with new 3m tape. Some of the stock plugs were in bad shape and had to also be replaced. Fuel injector plugs were also upgraded to the newer quick disconnect style plugs.
Now that we have all of the firewall stuff mounted we can look into transplanting the heart of the car from the old frame into the new one.
The motor we are dropping into the car in a bone stock non-turbo motor, meaning 10:1 compression, that has been fitted with the stock TT turbo’s. At the time this was the only motor and it worked, extremely well. The higher compression means we get more Hp at lower boost levels, the TT motor is a 8:1. So running stock boost levels of 12psi it was making more power to the wheels than a stock TT would be making. The problem was controlling the knock on the high compression motor. A methanol injection kit was added to assist with this.
The old 10:1 motor was very “Colorful” to say the least. This was the car/engine that I learned the basics about the platform on so I made some odd color choices at time when cleaning/repainting certain items. This is also how I found out that spray paint companies lie out their asses in regards to how the color will look compared to what the can top show.
I had plans on building a proper TT motor down the road, but for the time being this motor would work fine to get the car up and running.
When I got the frame it already had Intrax lowering springs on it. This was a great surprise as those are my #1 choice for lowering springs. They offer the best ride and lowest drop of all of the springs on the market. Plus the fact you can’t get them anymore made it even more special. Combining the Intrax springs with the ECS suspension I believe is the best option for a great driving car.
The car comes stock from the factory with ECS suspension “Electronically Controlled Suspension”. What this means is that the driver is able to control the dampening on the struts between 2 different modes, Tour and Sport.
Sport mode changes all four of the struts into hard dampening mode which is great for high speed driving and cornering.
Touring mode is where this option really shines. Tour mode automatically adjusts the dampening force depending on the driving/braking/handling conditions. Normal street driving the strust stay in soft mode and as you increase speed they will change to medium and then hard mode. If you brake hard the will stiffen the front struts to prevent the car nose diving. If you launch the car is will stiff the rear to prevent the rear squatting.
Most of the suspension was in decent shape for the time being. All parts came off and were cleaned up, repaintied then reinstalled. Items like tie rod ends and balls joints where replaced and they were all beyond their lifespan and best to just knock them all out when it’s apart. Moog ball joints are the best replacements as Mitsubishi doesn’t sell just the ball joints, you have to replace the entire lower control arm.
New Stoptech blank rotors with EBC pads on stock calipers finished off the suspension and brakes for the front of the car. The wheel well areas were also cleaned and then recoated with underbody rubberizer since the stock stuff was rubbed off and pretty bad in spots.
For anyone that has had to drop the rear subframe on these cars, you know it’s big, heavy and can be a pain in the ass, but it had to be done. This year Stealth came from the factory with the AWS “All Wheel Steering” option, which is basically just to assist with highway lane changing as it only changing the rear steering angle a couple degrees. When it works it’s nice, but when any of the multiple components fail, you better have deep wallets and be lucky enough to find replacement parts. It’s pretty common to just delete the AWS on the rear as it’s simple and pretty inexpensive.
I went the delete route which entails removing the AWS lines going to the front steering rack and plugging those holes, removing the rear steering rack completely, adding in the heim joint arms to lock the rear and still be able to adjust toe and finally removing the AWS pump that sits on top of the rear dif and plugging that hole…. Simple right?
of course nothing goes back onto the car until it’s been cleaned, repainted, etc. So all of that work was also done while it was all apart. Rear dif was also drained and serviced. Rear suspension got the same treatment that the front did.
