Project: Red Rocket - A Little Mud on the Tires

The Atlanta Region SCCA put together their first rallycross event last month, so I was finally able to take the Eclipse out for some fun!  The track consisted of some sections on a dirt oval with a couple of detours through the grass infield.

Photo Credit: John Schellenberg
The Red Rocket in its new playground.

Read on after the jump to see how the GSX fared in its first outing.

Project: Red Rocket - Alive and Driving

Its been a busy six weeks since my last post for the Eclipse.  I left you with a car that was running - barely. It would overheat, wouldn't shift into 2nd and wouldn't pull full power.  Well, after a few new parts, some troubleshooting, and a lot of elbow grease, she is up to full power!  It turned out that getting it running was only the first half of the battle.  Read on after the jump to see the completion of the project.

The Red Rocket makes is debut on Main Street.

Project: Red Rocket - Judgement Day

The GSX spent a long 2 weeks at the mechanic.  It turns out the oil leak was due to the cam shaft seals that I never installed...woops.  The oil drip was from a hole in the turbo oil drain line.  Both of these were fixed in pretty short order, leaving a week to troubleshoot the reason behind not being able to get into 2nd gear.

Notice how its not in my garage!

Read on to follow the final week of the Eclipse build.

Project: Red Rocket - Total Eclipse of the Heart

With race day two weeks away, the GSX is fully assembled, but won't start.  My original goal was to have the car running two weeks before the race so that I could troubleshoot any issues that arose from daily driving.  Well, it looks like the troubleshooting is going to begin before she gets driven anywhere.

An engine needs 3 things to run: air, fuel, and spark.  I'm obviously missing at least 1 of them.  Follow me after the jump as I sort through each one to get this car going.

Project: Red Rocket - Reassembly and 1st Crank

Well, its been a while since the last Red Rocket update.  That's because most of the action has been taking place in the mail, so I haven't had much to talk about.  The biggest delay involved the cylinder head.  The head I had turned out to be bowed, twisted, and decked beyond spec.  This thing had a rough life.

Illustrating the many ways in which the head was unusable.

While I was waiting for a new head to come in, I took the time to clean a few parts and give the interior some TLC.

Project: Red Rocket - Down to the Block

The real work started this week on the Red Rocket.  Well, it started again.  I thought the real work was removing the head, but then I found piston damage.  Now the real work is replacing the pistons while leaving the block in frame.  I don't have an engine holder or hoist, so I didn't want to go down the Mitsubishi recommended path of block removal in order to replace the pistons.  I'll just drop the oil pan and push the pistons out from below.

Exposing the cylinders to daylight for what I hope will be the last time.

Project: Red Rocket - It Hits the Fan

A lot has happened since my last post, a long 10 days ago.  Removing the head was my first goal, since that would allow me to inspect valves and pistons and get an idea of what sort of work I needed to prepare for.

Stare into the void long enough...

Project: Red Rocket - Discovery

Now that I've got a shiny new  slightly used  recognizable Eclipse in my driveway, its time to take a closer look around.  I need to know what I've got on my hands before I start ordering parts.  The car is a repo, so the original owner will not be any help here.

I know that there's a pile of spare parts in the trunk, maybe there will be some clues to the condition or history of the car...Click read more to find out!

Its like the worst Lego set ever.

Project: Red Rocket - Prologue

Christian here, with a new project.  After a couple of years of planning, plotting and some bench racing, the Middle Georgia region of the SCCA has announced that they will be hosting some rally cross events in Milledgeville!  I haven’t raced on dirt since my Baja SAE days and I've been waiting for a chance to get back into it.  Only one problem: I do not have a vehicle suited to dirt driving.  I’d prefer not to cover the Z06 in mud and dust and the repair costs would be burdensome. The F-150 would handle the dirt and mud, but is too prone to a roll-over for racing.  So it was off to craigslist to find an appropriate ride.