Chassis And Body

Many owners, both 1G and 2G, have had problems with paint. Certain owners have found the clearcoat layer of the paint turns to powder, making black cars appear grey. Others have had problems with cracking, flaking, or imperfections in the paint.

Those who have problems can sometimes get satisfaction from a dealership - Chrysler and Mitsubishi are dealing with complaints on a 'one-on-one' basis. Dealers will sometimes repaint the affected areas for free. Unfortunately this is not a recall, and usually the car is out of warranty, but it's worth a shot. 1995 owners may have an edge, as there is a TSB for this problem on 1995 cars only (TSB-95-51-001), but it's still not a recall.

There is a nationwide class-action lawsuit being brought against Chrysler for paint problems. Check out the Hagens Berman website for some more information on this lawsuit. You can also read Kim's Peeling Paint Page for more links relating to the problem. Kim apparantly took Chrysler to court over her paint problems, and has advice which is generally applicable to all automotive problems. The class-action lawsuit is not a substitute for trying to work out problems with your local dealer.

Hey, it's a used car, and probably an old one at that. Most of them will have flaking clearcoat somewhere.

There are several things you can try to fix headlight lenses that have become cloudy, yellowed or scratched. Click on the method to find the referring poster:

• metal polish;
• plastic or plexiglass polish;
• C.L.R., or another similar rust remover;
• Wet sanding the lenses with ultra-fine grit sandpaper;
• or
• simply replacing the headlights with newer ones.

Robert Thompson had this to say regarding his headlight polishing experience (edited):

"Cataract Surgery on a 1993 TSi

• 1500 wet
• 2000 wet
• Mothers Mag & Alum polish ($8.49 CT) ( this contains Kerosene, no wonder it "works" on plastic )
• Mothers Stage 1 Cleaner (wax kit) ( also contains Kerosene )
• Mothers Stage 2 Sealer
• Mothers Stage 3 Wax
• Buffed, more Buffing, still more.

Had to repeat this 3 times!

The results? Well, to start, my lens looked like they had been sand blasted. Millions of little craters that had blended and smoothed into a dull crappy looking plastic lens. You really could not look into the light and see a bulb. (I was amazed as just how crappy they were when I sat down and really looked at them)

What made this job a lot easier to do was I have a Black & Decker "Mouse". So I just strapped on the appropriate adapter and buzzed away....

Speaking of the Dremel, DO NOT use it for this project. You can't get it to turn slow enough and in a nano second you will "burn" the lens. (Gee, how would I know? Well... It takes about 30 min to sand out the burn.)"

Be sure the check the FAQ Locator for up to date information.

Replacement headlights are available on eBay. Just replace them.

There is a TSB for this problem, number TSB080795, NHTSA Item Number: SB039984.  Unfortunately, no summary or listing of this TSB is currently available on the web. (Anyone who is willing to take the time to separate the 1995 DSM TSBs from the 1995 Sebring/Avenger TSBs should contact Todd Day for information on obtaining a copy of the TSB reference book.)

One DSMer suggested simply sticking a pin into the vent hole on the windshield washer reservoir cap. The stock hole is so small that it is hardly visible, and can easily get clogged. Cleaning or enlarging the hole keep pressure from building up in the system.

..Unanswered..

Some members who have admired bumper grilles on other cars have found an inexpensive copy in a product called "Gutter Guard", sold at Home Depot. This chromed grille can look very good when installed behind the DSM bumper. Doubters need only examine this photo from Canada's own Mark Scheitzbach (the "Purple Plymouth Guy") that shows his car with the grille installed.

Jim Tomarchio recommends you investigate a company called Eastwood that sells restoration and touch-up products. Also, at least one DSMer has successfully obtained interior paint from a dealership.

Tristan Santoniello recommends you use acrylic paint and clear coat on the panels, using 3-5 coats of each. He also suggests you remove the panels completely before trying to paint them. Another DSMer suggests vinyl paint, again using several coats until you can get a smooth coat, and sanding lightly between each coat. The sanding helps the paint stick to the previous coat.

The exterior decals, for all that they stay on the cars for years, are not that hard to remove. The same applies to dealership stickers, which many DSMers prefer not to have on their car.

To remove the stickers, usually all that is needed is a little heat from a hair dryer. A heat gun may also be used, but beware - the gun can develop much higher spot temperatures than the hair dryer and could damage the paint. The same can be said of using a cigarette lighter, but both methods can be used successfully with due caution.

After the sticker is hot enough, scrape it off with a plastic tool. You can also try and use fishing line. A little WD-40 or bug n' tar remover with some elbow grease will take off the residue.

There are many shops that offer pop-up glass sun roofs. Also, David Scott says that ASC and Hollandia both make tilt-and-slide glass sunroofs that will fit DSMs.

The following vendors sell them. There may also be others. This list may be out of date.

• Magnus Motorsports
• Squidskins
• Wholesale Hyperformance
• Xtremewhite
• 2Loww
• Showcars / Bodyparts Unlimited
• Adventon

Several people.

If you're having problems finding a kit, try Google.

Those seriously interested in a kit will want to read Richard Howell's complaints against his Andy's Autosport body kit. 

Many people have done this. It is not difficult to do. The process is essentially the same as installing white faces, described above.

Converting the stock needles to a different color simply involves scraping the orange paint off of the bottom of the needles. They can then be repainted in any color. The backlighting color may also be changed. There is a VFAQ on the process here; also try the results of this Google search.

This is possible, at least for 1990-1991 models. You need to swap the front garnish (between the headlights) and change the Chrysler rear clip for the Mitsubishi one. However, the Mitsu parts will go exactly where the Chrysler parts were without any need for modification.

Yes, it can be done. Digest writers recommend that the spoiler come from a like-styled car - a 90-91 Talon spoiler for 90-91 Lasers, and a 92-94 Talon spoiler for a 92-94 Laser. Cross-body conversions may also be possible, but you must verify that the spoiler will fit beforedrilling holes into your car. Information on this subject is limited - Laser owners often prefer their car without the spoiler, so it doesn't appear that this is a popular conversion.

This can be done too, but it is a significant amount of trouble. It appears that most people purchased the front end they wanted with their car, as information on this modification is limited.

According to Paul Bratina:

"The following parts must be replaced: hood, fenders, headlights, side marker lights. The front bumper can be kept (as in my case) but must be slightly modified. Replacing the bumper with a 92-94 makes the conversion easier. Replacing the hood is strictly bolt-on. The fenders are bolt-on except for where they attach at the very front (easily accommodated). Mounting the headlights (and to a lesser extent, the side marker lights) is by far the hardest part of the conversion, and is definitely not a bolt-on procedure. I certainly wouldn't consider it technically difficult. Mostly just time consuming.

I think it's worth mentioning a little bit about the costs involved in the conversion. First, assuming you get all the parts necessary at the wreckers, the parts alone would run somewhere in the $500-$1000 area. (Of course, some of this cost could be recovered with the sale of your old parts.) Then you have the issue of repainting the car. Unless one is interested in a multi-coloured car (all the various body parts that were necessarily replaced), I consider repainting the car to be absolutely mandatory. So whatever the paint job costs, could theoretically be added to the cost of the conversion. In my case, I was going to be repainting the car anyway, so that cost didn't "count". I really feel the thought process on this conversion should be something like: "I'm going to get the car repainted and while I'm at it, I'll throw in a conversion." Not the other way around--you know, do a conversion and throw in a paint job."

A quick & dirty method for keeping the headlights down is to remove the fuse that controls the headlight motors, or to rewire them under manual control. This keeps the lights down when they are on, and thus is sort of a 'non-popup' mod.

The Last Word:: George Johnson adds:

"I looked for what I believed to be a good amount of time for the popup to non-popup conversion wiring schematic. I apparently failed to find it, so I figured you might like to add it into the answer to the swap.

Popup         Non-popup 
Solid Red         Solid Red 
Red w/Blue Stripe         Red w/Blue Stripe 
Red w/White Stripe         Black

Turn signal/running light assemblies will interchange." [Thanks, George!]

Yes.  You would already know this (hint, hint) if you looked at the FAQ Locator, or the archives.  Tom Stangl has a VFAQ on this subject.  Go there now.

Not many people have done this change, since it for appearance only. Canadian DSMers are more likely to find it attractive, since the Eclipse is not sold in Canada.

According to Micheal Wong, you will need the following parts to convert a 1995-96 Talon exterior to a 1997 Eclipse exterior:

• front end
• rear end
• headlights, taillights,
• foglights, reverse lights
• spoiler.

This list is likely not comprehensive.

Morgan D'Antonio did this swap on his 1995 Talon, using 1997 Eclipse parts.

Severly Rusted

Option 1:  Order a new front rad support unit from

• Mitsubishi [[missing part number]]
• Aftermarket vendor
• Ebay

Please make sure you order the proper year / model.

Option 2: Some members have reportedly remove the entire front support and created a tubular cross member. See image of custom tubular cross member [archive copy]. This will require AC delete as there is no support for condenser (unless you custom fab extension)

Partially Rusted Option:

Members have cut out the affected area and replaced with a cutout from donor car. Many believe that a solid weld will affect crash, but as the lower section is one solid piece, as long as you are replacing only that and not touching the spot welds, there should be no ill effect.