So I'm picking up a Mitsubishi Mirage LS Coupe FWD (boo) 5 spd manual.
I think it's great for the deal I'm getting it for, it's my first car, and it needs some aesthetic fixes. Other than the fact that it's going on to 240,000 miles, it's in relatively great shape, the prior owned used it for deliveries and whatnot.
So here I am looking at this car wondering what I can do to it to make it better. I'm a college student that's used to researching RWD cars that actually have an obvious aftermarket exhaust system and turbo add-on (like the honda civic or the mustang gt... the list goes on) and here I picked this economy line car.
I have a feeling that there's some sort of untapped power that I can get from this car. So from my experience I've learned to go to those who know a lot about Mitsubishi cars, most importantly the Mitsubishi Mirage. And so I turn to you gentlemen and women and ask this:
"What can I do to make this car a truly powerful machine?"
and
"What can I do to up its resale value, or at least slow down its depreciating value?"
It's a car that either has stock or oem parts. The engine seems a bit aged, perhaps there's another engine I could put in its place that would do a lot better (much like doing an sr20det engine swap on a nissan 240 sx), or maybe just some tune ups and an exhaust system (which I clearly cannot find on the market) which will give it an overall better flare.
I'm open to both criticism and appraisal throughout this conversation, so please feel free to share your thoughts on the matter.

 

So far i've noted 25 views to this thread. I apologize if this post has offended anyone, if you guys could please provide some input on the matter, I would be really greatful, even if it's just on the matter of how I posted this so that was I can encourage more responses. Thank you

 

What engine is in the marage? 1.8?

 

Yea that mirage is a 1.8L 4G93 engine that is a good engine if it didn't have 240k . You can do a enine swap with an Evo VIII engine. From other forums that I read that are mirage forums as well, they do the swap for an Evo engine. But If you wanna be original. In Puerto Rico there is as much Mitsubishi Mirages as Honda Civics... try finding a website from them...is you know spanish.

 

First off, thank you deadlysoul16 for your response. I've considered several options, including an engine swap, but to have something as good as an evo VIII engine sounds like a lot of fun. Oh and sorry for not being specific earlier, but this is a mitsubishi mirage LS coupe. Not much HP, but she's been working well for me.
So I took some pics today, and i'm compiling a list of needs and wants for this car. Try not to cream yourselves....

















The next post will include the next set of pics

 

Here's set two

















So yeah, please have a look over these, up next is a set of known needs and wants for this car

 

Needs:
New front bumper*
Headlights
Fog lights
Oil pan (unsure)
Detailing (lol...)
Driver side plug (see picture of driver side floor)
Carpet**
Dent pulls (most can be done by hand, but looking for products and good recommendations for self fixes, trying to avoid a mechanic)
Front alignment (if anyone wants a closer look I can take pictures of the front at different angles)
New cable for trunk release (current one is broken at one point or another, won't know till after I pull out the carpet for replacement)
Stock screw for the driver side control panel (see pictures)

Wants
New stereo (cd player doesn't work, plus I want an aux in)
Speakers (drivers front is dead, plus amps and sub are in need)
Security system (cheap but effective please)
Cool air intake

*I have a mitsubishi 5 style evo bumper picked out here...
http://www.grounddynamics.com/Templa...ubFolderId=374
Is it actually compatible? Any place I can find a better one and/or better price?

** carpet was found here..
http://www.stockinteriors.com/items....FRAMDQodDHnj0Q
But I beleive there is a better place.. open to suggestions

Next up is some current issues I have with the car.

 

Known problems:
Old engine, obviously, so i'm looking for evo engine swaps that I might wanna keep on hand as well as instructions and other parts i'll need to gather for the engine swap.
Because the front end is out of allignment, the hood is popped up just enough to catch wind at any speeds above 50. This becomes a problem above 70 (my buddy noticed some sparks on her side of the car last night while we were driving around, since then i've kept it under 60) So I need to find out what needs to be replaced and what can be bent back into shape to solve that issue.
Another note on the alignment, that the hood doesn't stay all the way down. I don't need to use the hood release in order to get the hood open, by basically pulling up on the hood and then accessing the lever for the release (which I fear is going to break soon)
While there isn't a noticable oil issue, the pan has a large amount of oil residue built up.
Now here's a problem I have yet to troubleshoot. The left and right blinkers will not automatically shut off after completing a turn. Which means every time I turn them on, I have to manually turn them off. I hear the wheel clicking when it's returning to a straight position, but the blinker remains on.

Another debate is whether or not the paint can be touched up or will painting it a new color cost just as much (considering black..)

Any feedback is appreciated.

 

No parts for sale for this Mirage or IT WILL BE VERY HARD FOR YOU TO FIND ONE

I had 1999 Mirage it was a pain to find parts. Intake wasn't so bad

Don't sweat it out

 

Have you considered partstrain.com?
http://www.partstrain.com/