This is the beginning of what I'd like to call my "DD" (daily driver) project. After long consideration of either an Evo VIII, WRX, or GSX... I eventually came down with the idea that yet ANOTHER DSM would be my ultimate demise(Although now I kind of wish that I had went with the Evo). Well I searched and found what was soon to be the victim of my tool box filled with various Craftsman and Snap-On specialty tools.
A 1998 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX 5Sp.
Now my original intentions for this car were simple. Nice ICE, good paint and a body kit(oh yes I do LOVE rice), slightly modified tranny, and a moderately modified engine, probably in the range of 300-400HP. Something that would give the average base Corvette a run for its money. Nothing like eating a V8 with 4 cylinders.
So I outfitted the car with the basic mods: Dejon intake and inter cooler piping, Greddy type RS bov, 3" exhaust and down pipe, 3"GM Maf for a blow-thru setup, Big 16G Turbo, 680cc injectors, 255lph fuel pump, and an Apexi AFC for fuel trims.(Of course I have a datalogger)
I took the car over to my buddy's shop, Strictly Modified, and had him put in an ACT2600 clutch and a ACT aluminum flywheel. (Yeah I could have done it myself but I hate clutch jobs and without a lift or tranny jack they are a PITA). Well with the car all put together and dialed in, I decided to take a trip to the local drag strip. Pull a few times and see what the car was really made of.
Well my best past of the day was 12.596 @112 MPH
I decided to swap out the Big 16G and put on a 50 trim turbo and.... well I'll let the pictures do the talking.
The piston in cylinder #1 is clearly damaged
Ever seen a burned exhaust valve this bad? I Have!
Yeah... so moral of the story... Don't run dangerously high boost on an engine with stock internals. More importantly if you swap in a turbo from another persons car make sure that their wastegate actuator is set for YOUR boost. Haha.... I didn't even make it halfway down the track before my CEL came on and my car started spitting back.
So what happened after that? Well I put the car on a U-Haul trailer and took it back to my house. After removing the piston and valves I realized that I could salvage that cylinder. Yeah I know most of you are saying "why don't you pull the block out and take it to a machine shop. Well if my car was sitting in a garage all day it wouldn't be a very effective
Daily Driver now would it?
So what next? Replace the pistons, throw on some ARP head studs, a cometic head gasket and have a nice day!
I don't know why I installed the studs before removing the pistons. It was pointless as the cylinders had to have a light hone before I installed the pistons so they came right back out. Silly me
Sorry I don't have any pictures of the pistons being installed, but I didn't have anyone to take pictures(my buddy's all left) and you can get really side tracked setting ring gaps and what not if you're taking pictures all the time. Trust me the last thing I need is ring flutter.
All Done!

Well the car is up and running fine. As it is a daily driver I don't plan on doing anything else as extreme as running it down a quarter mile at the moment. However what I do have in store for the next project is:
2.4L 4G64 Block
Wiseco Forged pistons @ 8.8/1
Crower I-Beam Long Rods
Garrett GT30R
Who needs to stroke when you can replace the entire block!?! A 2.4L DSM. Good torque and a fast spool. I'll keep you guys updated on that build.