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Mitsubishi Lancer GLi |
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My efforts to modify my first car on a fish and chip shop wage :-) |
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About a month before I got my licence I bought a Mitsubishi Lancer GLi second hand for $10 000. It had done around 70 000 km and had small dint in the passenger door (shopping trolly) and a larger dint in the rear quarter panel (tree). The only modification done to the car was a rear spoiler which was put on by mitsubishi (they did not come standard on this model) which was a nice touch. Apart from a set of sheepskin seat covers it was basically stock, from the 1.5lt engine to the steel rims.
Here are a few pictures of when I first bought the car: |
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As you can see there was a long way to go. Soon after this photo I removed the mud flaps, sheep skin seat covers and a few stickers that were on the rear window. On the way home one day I also picked up a set of little blue rubber covers for the globes in the front parkers and rear number plate (which have since come off). The modifications had begun. |
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Soon after I went and bought a set of wheels and tyres. Due to insurance complications I had to get smaller wheels than I wanted but they still look great. They are ALT x-phile rims (15' x 6.5') with Simex tyres (195 x 50). The tyres have a really beefy directional tread and made a huge difference to the handeling of the car.
To the right are my rims: |
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I had always wanted to get a set of Altezza style tail lights (clear) but when I looked into it the cheapest I could find were between $400 and $450. I couldnt make my self spend that sought of money on a set of lights so had to forget about it. This changed when a friend found an add in the trading post. Brand new clear tail lights for $185. The only catch was that the price was for if they kept my old tail lights. That didnt worry me so the next week I went and got the set fitted. While I was there I paid the extra $30 and got a set of clear side indicators. Again I had to trade in my old ones. |
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This is the style of tail light I chose:
I chose these because the other style (After Burner) with the three circles looked a bit cluttered. These are nice and simple. |
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By this stage I thought it was about time to do somthing about the pathetic standard sound system, if you could call it that. It was made up of a pair of four inch speakers in the doors made from foam and ply wood and a tape deck. On a trip to the 2002 Melbourne Auto Salon I bought a set of speakers from the Strathfield store. I got around $430 worth of speakers for $230. Not bad. The speakers were Kenwoods, 6 x 9s for the back and 6s for the front. Both had seperate tweeters and the rears have heaps of bass. For the time being the tape deck had to do. After along days work with my uncle the speakers were in and sounding great. Here are the speakers: |
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It was about now that I had to pay insurance, racv membership and had the 75000km service. As a result the modifications dried up for a while. Once the finances allowed I went down to Mr Muffler in Lilydale and got the sports muffler and tip fitted. The exhaust is an Autotechnica item. It has a 5' muffler with a 4' tip. Not to big but still looks nice. It is made from stainless steel so it should last the distance. It sounds awsome and is probably my favorite mod to date. It is a nice deep sound, but not too loud, and it has a little crackle when you back off the throttle. |
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Here are a few pictures of the car since the wheels, lights and exhaust have been put on: |
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Next was the CD player. I bought it second hand. I paid $370 for it and it had only been used for one month. The RRP was $799 when new. It is ofcourse a Kenwood. With a flip down, detachable fase with mask option, remote control and an lcd screen that goes between 30 different colours. I havent hooked it up yet but am looking forward to it. As you can see it is a very nice looking deck: |
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On the way home from picking up my CD player the brake pads went on my car, there was no warning, until they started making a grinding noise. That afternoon I went to get the pads replaced, only to find that the disks were stuffed aswell. This was a good chance for an upgrade so I got a set of Bendix pads and upgraded the disk rotors. The stopping power has increased dramaticaly. The rear brakes are still standard drums. :-(
These are the brake pads --> |
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Well I recently picked up a set of Pedders Super Low springs. They have since been fitted and the car is looking nice. The handeling has also increased dramatically. When you look at the car it doesnt look really low (because of the small 15" rims) but I used to be able to fit an upright can between the front tyre and guard (see pics above). In the end, the springs have lowered the car around 2.5" at the front and around 1.5" at the rear. Photos are coming as soon as they get developed.. |
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That brings us up to date, next I am looking at tinted windows. And maybe after summer, a body kit. Pulse Styling make one that looks nice. I will be looking into it shortly. Till next time. :-) |
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