Chapter 4

After killing my truck in only 4 years and 88,000 miles, I decided that I needed another truck. My theory is "killing trucks is like eating peanuts; you can't just stop at one". When I returned to the Isuzu dealer to trade in my old truck I was given a lesson in sticker shock. It seems that small trucks had become very popular and my $6,700 truck would cost $12,000 to replace. I told the dealer that $12,000 would buy a nice sports cars, so why should I buy a truck? The salesman at Isuzu said $12,000 WOULD NOT buy a sports car, and he was right. Courtesy Mitsubishi had the brand new 1992 Eclipse on sale for $9,999. If you added A/C, tinted windows, floor mats and tax the car was $13,000 out the door.

Side shot after tinted the windows, sunroof, new wheels and tires Picture shows new tires, and DynoMax SuperTurbo muffler Nice side shot of wheels and tires Front shot with smoked headlight lens installed When clean, the car looked like a solid chunk of darkness I added a digital tach and voltmeter on a gauge pod The engine got a K&N, poted aircan, Crane plug wires and a strut tower brace New muffler installed at Muffler City. Looked great, but loud as hell. Muffler City Rocks !!!!! Kenwood CD player, Uniden Scanner, Polk speakers and a Bazooka sub inside Of course I have to crash test all my vehicles. Back from the shop with no dents and a big stripe Stripe went from hood bulge all the way back My wife trying to figure out if she likes the stripe. She sorta did. The stripe was a special silver that changed in the light A great paint job by Beto's Custom in Tampa Florida

Now you must understand this is the base 1.8 liter front wheel drive model  Eclipse NOT the 2.0 liter DOHC 200+ horsepower turbo all-wheel drive Eclipse, but it IS a sports car. These cars all have wonderfully designed bodywork with the braking and handling ability of cars worth $40,000. Not only can these cars handle and brake but they are also unstoppable in the rain. During one bad storm in Tampa, I was able to float home in the "Black Duck" while Ford Broncos and Mustangs where stranded by high water. The combination of Front Wheel drive and the engine's high mounted air intake has saved me from many Florida flood waters.

The only fault in the car's design lies in it's thin sheet metal and white base coat. It seems dents appear by magic on the side of the car, while white spots appear on the hood. I hope that Mitsubishi now uses gray or black undercoat for its black cars, because the white is a serious pain in the butt. While the sides of the car may be fragile, the front and rear are protected by thick steel shock mounted bumpers covered by Rubbermaid* quality plastic molding. After any bump to the front and rear of the car, the plastic always returns to normal as the bumpers snap back on their oil filled shocks. As long as the shocks don't leak, the car is no worse for wear after an accident. This is very important in Florida where 90% of our senior citizens cannot see over the dashboard of their oversized Cadillacs.

While surfing the Internet one day, I came upon the holy grail of sites for owners of Mitsubishi Eclipses, Eagle Talons or Plymouth Lasers. At the Club DSM site , I learned how to modify my car to squeeze out all the performance my 1.8 liter engine can produce (which is about 100 horsepower on a good day).

This is my old Mitsubishi Eclipse on the DSM Orlando site