Your Projects: How to Turn a Base-Model DSM Coupe Into a Mitsubishi Evo

Colin
By Colin Wood
Jun 30, 2020 | Mitsubishi, Your Projects, Evo III

What's the next best thing to buying and importing an early Mitsubishi Evo? Building one yourself.

That's exactly what forum user HaveBlue83 did, starting with a base-model 1993 Eagle Summit DL Coupe. Thanks to the Diamond-Star Motors joint venture, the Summit is mechanically similar to the Mitsubishi Mirage and, by extension, the Mitsubishi Evolution.

All it takes time, dedication and lots of power adders. Oh, and did we mention the methanol sprayer?

Read more about how HaveBlue83 turned an Eagle Summit into a Mitsubishi Evo, a project six years in the making, over on the Builds and Project Cars forum.

 

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Comments
accordionfolder
accordionfolder Dork
6/29/20 12:52 p.m.

This one deserved a feature! Great content in there.

Colin Wood
Colin Wood Associate Editor
6/29/20 1:19 p.m.

In reply to accordionfolder :

Agreed. We always appreciate a project with a lot of time and effort put into it.

bmw88rider (Forum Supporter)
bmw88rider (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand UltraDork
6/29/20 3:02 p.m.

Ahhh.....The memories. It was a lot of fun to build one of these. The hardest part was getting the rear subframe in place and aligned properly. There is a lot of details on these hidden away on the old mirage performance website. 

 

I had a lot of fun building a FSP Summit too with some interesting update/backdate. Had a 2.4L summit wagon engine, the higher ratio 1.8L transmission, an Evo LSD, and home-made coilovers with custom valved koni double adjustables on it. It was under 1900 LBs and 130ish HP. Too bad I wasn't as good of a driver as the car was. It was fast on some r compounds.

 

Too bad almost all of these have either rusted up or got thrashed. I would love another one for a challenge build.  

pointofdeparture
pointofdeparture GRM+ Memberand UltimaDork
6/29/20 3:13 p.m.

These are actually not DSMs as they were all built in Japan, not at Diamond Star Motors in Illinois wink

Very cool nonetheless!

pinchvalve (Forum Supporter)
pinchvalve (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
6/30/20 8:18 a.m.

My wife had a DE coupe back in the day, always thought it was a good looking little car. The passenger door fell off in the driveway once, the hinge rusted clean off the car! (it was 4 year old) Quality was not a hallmark of those cars.

David S. Wallens
David S. Wallens Editorial Director
6/30/20 10:49 a.m.

This is all the cool. 

crankwalk (Forum Supporter)
crankwalk (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
7/1/20 12:05 a.m.
pointofdeparture said:

These are actually not DSMs as they were all built in Japan, not at Diamond Star Motors in Illinois wink

Very cool nonetheless!

I didn't want to be that guy but yeah, not every Mitsu is a DSM.

shelbyz
shelbyz Reader
7/1/20 3:52 p.m.

Love it. I've got an AWD 1G Talon that's been slowly returning to the Earth and it's on my bucket list to swap at least the engine to something more "econo-sleeper" that a 4G63 will bolt into like a Summit/Colt/Elantra/etc., if/when it gets too far gone.

Also, x3 on the whole not a DSM thing. That said, I can understand where someone not as familiar might get confused trying to wade through the technical and more enthusiast recognitions of what a DSM is. I mean if the whole DSM thing were a family household, you'd have an American Dad and Japanese Mom living in Illinois with several of their own children (cars built at the Normal plant before it switched to MMMA) and a niece from the Mom's side who was born in Japan (Galant VR4). Their hallways are lined with family photos of the Talon, Laser and Eclipse siblings joined by their Japanese cousin, who they practically treat as one of their own. A casual acquaintance would never know the family has some other kids (actually DSM tagged Avenger and Sebring) they keep locked away in the attic because they're too embarrassed over how they got too much of Dad's looks and none of the athletic ability from Mom's side of the family.

pointofdeparture
pointofdeparture GRM+ Memberand UltimaDork
7/1/20 5:41 p.m.

In reply to shelbyz :

Yeah, it's admittedly confusing. There's a lot of mistaken labeling of vehicles as DSMs out there on the internet; they range from "incorrect but logical" (Starion/Conquest, 3000GT/Stealth), to "not even close" (Daytona, Stratus).

HaveBlue83
HaveBlue83 Reader
9/13/20 7:28 p.m.

wow just stumbled on this, showing a buddy the old motor pics!

 

thanks so much!!!! yea, its a CSM:

Colt Summit Mirage

 

i love this lil forum and the builds. thx for choosing me as a feature!!

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