This car has been through absolute hell. Ruthless abuse and neglect. I saved it from being murdered by it's owner (who wanted to literally blow it up with tannerite) and my plan is to turn it into a "micro" work van.
A bit rough. The tailgate and rear bumper were damaged from an atv pushing it out of a mud hole. I was able to get most of the dents and damage out of the tailgate. Rear bumper I used a heat gun and applied pressure to help reform it and that worked great. Applied truck bed coating to the upper surface of the back bumper to hide scratches and prevent further damage. Front bumper replaced with new aftermarket unit and just left the black color it came... Makes it easy for me to identify the car hahaha. Also added a Curt trailer hitch so I can carry my cargo basket thing for extra room for parts.
Front seats replaced with 15 ES seats that I added a seat heater kit to the driver side. Weather tech floor liners of course. Rear seats are removed and I will be making grates for the rear door and back window. Also will be making a divider cage to keep cargo from flying forward. Have to figure out what to do to make a nice flat loading floor for parts...
Stock CD player was removed. In it's place is the OEM navigation system from a 2015 ES and I also bought a cheap Chinese backup camera so I can easily see behind me. I also added a tray table so I can eat lunch on the passenger side since restaurants are closed.
Stock drivetrain with 5 speed manual transmission. I replaced the transmission and shifter cables with 7000 mile units out of a wrecked 2017 and a new clutch since it was trashed.
Eventually will equip with Daox rear sway bar, and Beetle springs for larger load capacity.
Rolling on a set of factory 17+ SE alloy wheels with stock size tires.
Fantastic news! Thanks for the play-by-play.
__________________________________________
View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 62.4 mpg (US) ... 26.5 km/L ... 3.8 L/100 km ... 74.9 mpg (Imp)
Bumper cover arrived at the place that gets them and... it's no good. They're getting another one hopefully by the end of the week. What is with people breaking parts for this car before I get them? Anyway, at a stand still until that shows up.
-Karl B. 2015 Mirage DE CVT Utility Machine (and lots of other cars)
Put new rear brake shoes and hardware on tonight. Driver side was toast. Sadly, the parking brake cable on that side is no good... I wonder why (sarcasm). Anyway, so no parking brake on that side for now but at least the brake will work okay again. Drums are getting turned tomorrow morning so then I'll put it back together and then I really will be at a standstill until I can get the bumper cover.
-Karl B. 2015 Mirage DE CVT Utility Machine (and lots of other cars)
Drums reinstalled, car tested. Regular brakes work great, parking brake barely functions because of the bad cable but... Eh. That's for another time. I'll just park it in gear for now. Been told bumper cover should be in tomorrow or Friday again so here's hoping that I can actually finish this project this weekend!
-Karl B. 2015 Mirage DE CVT Utility Machine (and lots of other cars)
inuvik (11-19-2020)
There it is! Bumper and new fender liners installed. The car is definitely tweaked a bit (it's just the driver fender is bent but I'm not replacing it) but I got everything pretty much lined up decent. Even glued the Mitsubishi logo back on which I didn't get a picture of because the emblem glue exploded and got all over my hands lol. Few more minor things to finish on it and... well... project complete.
-Karl B. 2015 Mirage DE CVT Utility Machine (and lots of other cars)
That is such a cool project you have going on there DodgeAriesK. Seeing different aspects of the Mirage before it's finished eh, and parts taken apart. Well done. You like your Chrysler and Mitsubishi products.
I am looking into buying a Plymouth Valiant once I can shop for used cars again. There is a Valiant convertible for sale a few hours away. 60s era. And all-original. I just need to figure out storage issues. I have the room but not the garage, I just have a small carport built to size for my Mirage, and even that is too tight doors wise. So maybe I should build a car port on the side of my car port. I got the room. So much work. Also, the local mice would love a classic car like some other people have pointed out on the Forum.
Still, I feel that some classic cars are going under the radar right now, and now is a good time to buy a collector car.
Last edited by dspace9; 11-21-2020 at 06:39 AM.
__________________________________________
View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 42.2 mpg (US) ... 17.9 km/L ... 5.6 L/100 km ... 50.7 mpg (Imp)
Eggman (11-21-2020)
Eggman (11-21-2020)
__________________________________________
View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 49.6 mpg (US) ... 21.1 km/L ... 4.7 L/100 km ... 59.5 mpg (Imp)
I owned a 1969 Plymouth Valiant bought off a little old lady who needed help with small jobs. It had a slant six. Ran great until it rained and the distributor got wet. Good old Chrysler... What finally did it in was underbody rust. The front suspension used torsion bars for springs which were tied to the frame (well, subframe) at a crossmember. The crossmember rusted enough to the point where the torsion bar let loose and dropped that corner on the rubber bump stop. Nowadays that would be desirable... No one would repair it. So if you do find one, inspect that crossmember very closely.
I agree. Seems the market for classic cars is getting smaller and smaller. Fewer drivers are interested in an old car. Considering the old-timers who treasured and preserved these cars are aging out their classics will hit the market but not as many want them. Be patient and a good bargain should come your way.
Last edited by Eggman; 11-21-2020 at 11:16 AM.
__________________________________________
View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 49.6 mpg (US) ... 21.1 km/L ... 4.7 L/100 km ... 59.5 mpg (Imp)
dspace9 (11-21-2020)