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Nat's '90 Eclipse GSX — Full Build

As many of the local customers know, this is a special car to us. Nat is a very close friend and a brother to us. He also let us have our way with his car. The outline of a very clean and daily driven car that is ultra fast, looks unique and still within budget was the call.

A combination of parts selected by us and many hours of work make this car what it is. From the clocked (turned down) compressor housing to allow for a shorter and straighter piping set up, to the coated intercooler pipes that both come through the radiator support in a bright electric blue. The high temp coatings on the 95 manifold, turbine housing, EVO III O2 housing and the dump for the 40mm TiAl external wastegate keep the under hood heat down, and the many polished parts add to the custom feel under the hood and all around the car.

The inside was not overlooked. Nat's car was a leather car, so the seats were beat up and didn't look that good. As many of the older leathers fared, we couldn't find a set that Nat was happy with — and even a free set that was better than his was still no gem. As many know, the factory seats are "OK" at best, and this was a major problem for Nat. He wanted seats that fit him well and also looked good, so Corbeau racing seats were installed. A VERY nice fit and look, and it makes you feel one with the car. Till the cage goes in he will be using the factory seat belts, but later a harness will be installed.

The parts list is a long one, but it's not always what you see that makes the gains. An HSP Pro port job was done for this car. The exhaust manifold is a new 95 manifold Pro ported, and with the use of a TiAl 40mm wastegate we are able to keep it all under control. The turbo is a custom built 18G to HSP specs. The compressor is clocked, ported and polished on the outside (polished above). The turbine is Pro ported and the internal wastegate welded fully — not like some others that just put a tiny weld that allows it to leak. The O2 housing (turbo elbow) is an EVO 3 unit new from Japan. This housing is simply MASSIVE, and from the outside looks stock to the untrained eye. This housing allows for pro porting to bring it to 2.5" out of the turbine wheel and a massive 3" out to the down pipe of the exhaust system.

At the moment Nat is saving his money for the next round of mods. This will be a clutch to take the power and some other needed things. But as we all know, "is it truly ever finished?" We want to get the car to the track for some shake downs before the year's end. This can't happen till the clutch goes in. Right now the car is set at 10PSI and the factory clutch is slipping. This didn't stop him from taking a new Ferrari 348 TS the other night, but this isn't here for kill stories. So as things change we will keep you updated and follow up with the full story and build up of Nat and his car.

— BM

Here is the list of Mods...