I took a peek at the X tonight, looks nice, but the prices in jax are crazy. Ill get mine from California. Anyway, on the drive home I saw a little 97GST for about 3k, it's in amazing condition, inside and out, runs like a champ. I was thinking about picking it up for the heck of it, as a little beater. I have an 07 Armada, 05 M3 and an 06 MR already.

I dont know squat about DSM's, and I know alot of people here do. Are there better finds out there? What should I look for, afterall it's only a cheap car, I just want something to play around with, think I might remove the engine, and install it into a little s-10 I have sitting around, or mabye just drive the car for fun.

What do you think of having a Dsm beater, it's a 2g right? and what should I look for when picking up one? Thanks,
james

 

Thats awesome, I've always wanted a GSX. Nice find. 3 grand for a GS-T sound really good. Go for it.

 

I'd say if your gonna grab a DSM, eclipse get the GSX or if you want a talon grab a TSI.
those are the AWD turbo versions! the other versions are FWD.

 

I know trim.
Eagle talon TSI = awd turbo
eclipse gst = fwd turbo
eclipse gsx = awd turbo
laser, okay I dont know the trims of the lasers, but they seem hard to find, I checked autotrader, they had 1, and it was in shambles.

I just want it to play around with, so I think the FWD will be okay, the gsx is hard to find too, there arent any within 200 miles of me on autotrader. Ill probably drive it till it craps, then put the engine in my truck as a project.

Anything in particular I should be looking for before purchasing one of these dsm's?

 

I had a GS-T for a few months before i got my GSX, and i must say, they are both really fun cars, you can mod the **** outta them and they still run like champs.

 

Check it as if it's a regular car you're planning on buying first, as in, are there records of previous maintenance history. Has the lower control arm factory recall been replaced? Check for rust, paint condition, how well the clutch feels, brakes, etc. Then when all that passes in your eyes, see how the interior fairs out with others in the same year and mileage. It's the typical maintenance before mods theory, when looking at buying a previously owned DSM. Has the maintenance been kept up, and how well/bad did the previous owner{s} mod the DSM.

We bought my girlfriend's Spyder GST last May for $7900, with a brand new black top, 49,000 miles, flawless paint job, and unmolested engine bay. Not even the air filter had been upgraded.

As for reliability issues, mine is nicely modded compared to my girlfriend's and we both drive our 2G's every single day to school, work, and out of town, not to mention I race with the North Florida Corvette Association.

 

Ill be sure to look up that recall thanks LUNAR. I think I will probably go with the GSX, but I was thinking on such an old car the AWD might be a problem, doe well does it hold up? I have always loved the way these cars looked, but when I was in the market for one years back they were just too old/high-miles. Now that I can afford to get one, I want to make sure it will be something I will get some enjoyment out of. Realistically the likelyhood of finding one unmodded is slim I imagine. I am okay with that as long as there is only basic boltons. Anymore advice? Im looking for DSM websites now, Im sure there is a buying guide like on our evo site.

If anyone in FL/GA/close finds a nice one, I would even take a TSI in great condition, please pm me. Id even manage a finders fee of some sort. Thanks.

James

 

Just for reference, the Talon TSI is the turbocharged FWD. The Talon TSI AWD is the turbocharged AWD.

How many miles does it have on it? If over 80,000, has the water pump and timing belt been done? Make sure it doesn't grind when going into gear. Make sure the clutch pedal doesn't stick to the floor when making a left-hand turn. If you want to get down and try and move the crankshaft pulley to check for end play, go for it. Make sure it isn't leaking any fluid.

Just check everything and anything. Inspect it as you would any used car, but give everything a second glance and be thorough.

 

There's definitely a lot of DSM forums that can help you...just let me know. Maybe me and my girlfriend's DSM's can help motivate you a little. Here's hers...




and mine...




...and our recent holiday photo...

 

that is way ghey, having same color car and everything as your gf... nice cars though.

i had a 99 rs and 99 gsx before the evo.

 

Nice comment. I've had mine since I bought it brand new at the dealership in 1998. She's had hers since last May. I've been around the block for a while considering I had another Monarch Green Pearl that I bought brand new in 1997 before this current one. I guess that's ghey to you. I'll stop the off-topic non-sense.

 

Stop jerking around and marry that girl!

 

That's a good price, if the car is in the condition you've described. What's the mileage? Definitely make sure the regular maintenance has been performed, especially the timing belt as suggested above...you already know the 4g63's are interference engines. I know some people have issues with the front shock tower rusting out here in the West, but that's probably not a concern if the car has been in Florida for most/all of it's life. They are usually pretty rust free.

I have a 96 Talon AWD and really like it. It's dependable enough to be my DD, and relatively cheap to find parts for. Plus tons of aftermarket parts.

And if it's been modded already, then you might want to do a compression test on it, to see if it's been beaten to death. Pull off the intake and check to see if there's any shaft play in the turbo, or if the lines to/from the turbo are leaking. If it's the stock T25, then there's not much chance the engine has been subjected to too much boost, as they tend to run out of steam above 16-ish psi. If you do end up with one, there are a few free mods to eek a little more power out of them before you start buying parts.

If you are going to buy one just to pull the motor, just buy a motor. An early (1g) DSM 6 bolt is a little stronger internally than the later 7 bolts (late 94-99). Or, buy a 1g car with the 6 bolt motor/4 bolt rear end for the best driveline strength combination, and drive the car until you're sick of it. You'll have to search dsmtuners.com for the dates that combo was made, as I don't remember them offhand. And if you do set one up for RWD (S10 install), there's a bellhousing available for bolting up a Supra Mk4 tranny.

 

Thanks for all the info guys, I checked out the car, and noticed some things that made me change my mind, for one the crankshaft was off about 4 teeth!!! Anyway, I found an oem-orange GSX in good cond with new leather interior stock except for an intake, the girl was honest and said her husband had a gt30 in it, I think he was military and out of the country or something, Ill post pics when I get the change. While looking for them I also came across a 94 3000GT, that is red with some minor paint issues, the cleanest interior I have seen in a 94! Turbo's looked great, no play, car ran great, 120k miles Just had timing done. I compression checked both cars, they were solid, the 3000GT was fantastic, so I went ahead and got that one too. I know it's not a Evo/DSM but it's still in the mitsubishi family!

Thanks for the help everyone! Lunar, whenever you meet up for evo/dsm stuff let me know! Been trying to find some people with similar car intrests in the area.

Thanks,
James

Looking into that MK4 tranny, but for now the car is fun to drive!! much more comfy than the evo too.

 

be prepared to work on it...if you get a dsm that is