How We Got Our Mitsubishi Eclipse Ready For The GP Fest

Continuing the sports coupe phenomenon of the earlier model Eclipse which got them featured in many famous movies and video games, the 2000 - ‘05 model year Eclipse shows off a modern design with the same DNA. The older 1st and 2nd gen Eclipse models were not sold in Canada but due to their immense popularity, Mitsubishi decided to sell the 3rd gen in Canada. Although the Eclipse is not uncommon, it can still turn heads if specced up right. So that's what we decided to do. With a few modifications and a sparkling paint job, the Eclipse is now ready to impress. Visit us at the Crescent Street Festival on 16th, 17th and 18th June 2022 for an exclusive first look, but fans can get a sneak peek via the company's social media handles.

The sole reason for choosing the Mitsubishi Eclipse was because of its sleek body styling. The vehicle did not come from the factory with the engine it deserved nor the drivetrain! So we felt why not revamp it for the GP Fest. We swapped out the factory engine with something with more gusto. To wish some life back into the wreck we found it in, we first tackled the bodywork. After sanding down all the panels we purchased a fibreglass-based body kit which required a lot of work to straighten out, as you’ll notice in the pictures. The car was painted in a Mazda Soul Red Paint Code. The specialty of this colour is that the clear coat used has a Red Tint. In which the colour is extremely vibrant.

After this, it was time to address the motor. The car originally came with a 6G72 Engine. This engine is fairly robust and can definitely take a beating, however, its power band is questionable at best. Therefore, we resorted to search for options to increase power and at the same time find an engine platform that was better supported in the market. The 6G75-M caught our eye. This engine is currently being used by Mitsubishi in recent vehicles such as the Outlander, Montero, Eclipse and Galant. The interesting part about Mitsubishi vehicles is that they are sort of like legos where you could literally piece together components to the point where you have something you want. During the Crescent Street Festival, this vehicle will be displayed with its new motor. But during winter 2022 it will get an upgraded differential accompanied by a big spool turbo and hopefully Air Suspension to help get around the city of notorious potholes.

The body panels were in rough shape. To change that and to add to the look of the car, a simple yet very fashionable body kit was added. Since the body kit was made from fibreglass it was easy to get the kinks out, which were quite a lot. Once the imperfections were filled with body filler and sanded down until smooth, it was covered in primer. All the body panels were then sanded down once more to a smooth finish. This was followed by a base coat, a few layers of soul red paint and then a few more clear coats to give it an impeccable finish.

The replacement engine needed some work before it could be used. Since the factory exhaust manifold was quite restrictive, a high-performance header was added. The most important and heavy-wearing gaskets were swapped out like the head gasket, valve cover gasket, manifold gaskets, and throttle body gasket. The worn timing belt and water pump were also replaced along with the oil pan, oil filter and its plug. A brand new high-performance cold air intake followed along with its corresponding high-flow air filter.

The ignition system was revamped with a new distributor, some plugs and leads. The old and confusing wiring loom was also replaced. To complement the high-performance hardware, the software was also tweaked using an aftermarket tuning device. Finally, the brakes were upgraded with new brake pads and rotors and the engine sound was tuned by using Borla exhaust system.