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Should I mod my stock '91? 1789/2000

Joined
Aug 22, 2015
Messages
4
Location
dekalb, IL
So I've been DDing 1789 since about may/march and I am not sure if the car would be worth more if I kept it stock. Obviously it's tempting to want to mod it, and the only trouble I've had with it was a starter going out that was fixed. It's been in the southwest its whole life and has previous owners (1 really the 1st owner died and his son looked after it and sold it after a while). It has never been modified and has no significant issues with it. The only things keeping it from a 10/10 are the interior is a little faded in some parts as is the window trim on the exterior. The paint needs a little repair that I believe could be done without repainting the body. Also I bought the car with 101xxx original miles and it now has around 1065xx I could post some pictures if someone is interested in seeing it.

The question is: if you found a nice stock GVR4 would you mod it or keep it stock?
I've heard some mention that the car could be worth something some day if I keep it stock, but in my opinion it's a hard to know if an old car will be worth something some day especially one that most people don't think of as iconic. In NA most people think of Mitsubishi Lancer/GVR4s/DSMs as a tuner car with a lot of potential that you basically buy for the engine/drivertrain.

I'd to hear ya'll's opinion what I should do with my car, as well as what the future value of these kinds of cars could possibly have.
 

iceman69510

Turn Right Racing
Staff member
Joined
Mar 5, 2001
Messages
10,964
Location
Michigan
Of course you should post some pictures.

Opinion: If the car is good condition, you can do some mods, but keep them reversible. The death of many of these cars is owners trying to achieve overkill with mods.

Don't plan on sending your kid to college with the money, but you may see some appreciation if you keep the mileage from going too high.
 
Joined
Aug 22, 2015
Messages
4
Location
dekalb, IL
Thanks for the reply,
What would you consider reversible mods? For that I was thinking swapping the suspension with something a little firmer. Not sure if I'd want to lower it much, I'd be a little afraid of scraping it. Definitely new wheels. Not sure where to go in that direction as long as they look good and are light and strong. Not going to be cheap but it's kind of the critical pieces on a car so might as well :p

The definition of reversible when it comes to making it faster when it comes to speed is what seems less straight forward to me. Obviously the car can handle more speed stock, but just how much would that be?
I was under the impression that some other Gvr4s came with the 16g from the factory in the non-us releases. Would it be fine to just add a 16g and just a little more boost to be still working with the supporting parts? Or did the non-us gvrs also come heftier in that regard as well? Also adding an LSD would be cool especially if I tried autox/track with it, but would not be as I understand it reversible since you have to weld it.

Here is the google drive link:
click
Sorry the car is dirty and the lighting is not ideal.
 

fuel

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 23, 2009
Messages
2,165
Location
Toronto, ON, Canada
That's definitely tidy and original! It reminds me of Turbo Tom's white Galant VR-4. In fact I would recommend watching his Youtube series to get an idea of what you can do.

I have a stock '91 JDM Evolution which I am keeping more or less aesthetically stock, but that doesn't mean I can't do little mods here and there. So far it has:
- 20G compressor wheel and matched housing, exhaust turbine cut 7 degrees (using the stock big 16G turbo, though you can mod the 14B to accept the super back 16-20G compressor wheels)
- Lancer Evolution III exhaust manifold and chinese no name high flow downpipe/O2 housing
- K&N air filter in stock air can (am considering cutting out a larger hole at the bottom of the air can out of sight and running a cool air pipe from the front somewhere)
- Boost controller upping boost to about 16psi
- before the boost controller was fitted I removed the restricter in the stock boost control solenoid - this gave me about an extra 2psi
- 2G DSM throttle body elbow port matched to suit the stock throttle body, along with thinner throttle plate & shaft swap from a 7G V6 Galant VR-4 throttle body (should be the same as Evo8/9 or Diamante)
- cat delete

However because mine is a JDM Evolution it has these parts from the factory which helps:
- close ratio gearbox and 4-bolt vLSD 3.909 rear end
- 510cc injectors
- large front mount intercooler with larger diameter piping (which fits onto the 2G DSM elbow)
- Cyclone dual runner inlet manifold

At the minimum I would look at improving the flow of the inlet and exhaust starting with:
- High flow air filter ie K&N or Fram Air Hog in stock air can, or custom filter set up with a good cold air feed
- Larger intercooler and piping - this is a MUST as the stock USDM unit the biggest bottle neck by far. Swapping out to stock JDM would be the bare minimum but I would suggest fitting an Evo8 cooler with bigger piping
- High flow O2 housing and downpipe mated to a 2.5" exhaust system (preferably with mandrel bends)
- Then you can look at swapping your turbo out for something that can sustain the high flow, such as a 16G/20G hybrid or even a HTA68
 
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