Frank's JA Mitsubishi Starion

I bought this car in May 2002 with the intention of competing in motorkhanas, with an eventual goal turning it into a rally car for VRC and VCRS competitions. I wanted a small and quick rear wheel drive, and something that didn't need lots of money poured into it to make it a fast car. These cars came delivered in 1982 with a factory turbo and put out 125kw of power, it was good in it's day but is pretty ordinary by today's standards. Having owned a number of turbo cars in the past (a couple of Holden's VLs, an MR2 and a WRX) I was certainly excited by the potential reliable output it could produce for a small outlay.

These cars share very few parts with the Sigma and Scorpion models, having a totally different engine of the same capacity, as well as a 5 speed box, an independent rear end and four wheel discs. Mitsubishi threw in EFI, electric windows and tilt adjustable steering and marketed it as a car with all the bells and whistles, to ensure it would appeal to those with disposable income at the time (They cost $26,000 in 1982!) Knowing I was going to spend some time doing lower speed stuff and that also suiting up on a hot day for autocrosses can be uncomfortable, the power steering and air conditioning were going to come in handy. I had owned one of these previously but realised it wasn't a good starting point, so I sold it and bought this one. The deal was that in buying this one, I had to take a non- running silver one with it. That has proven very useful as these cars are quite rare - only about 2000 of them were Australian complied between 1982 and 1986.

Most Starions have been thrashed, crashed and crushed, so there are not many on the road, though there is the occasional import floating around. These cars were used in virtually standard form in Group A and Group E in the mid eighties. One finished ninth in the 1985 ATCC, not starting every round. Some time back I purchased the FISA homologation guide and have checked out Schedule J of the CAMS manual for rollcage specs, but that's about as far as I've gotten in setting it up for rally use. This one is still in reasonable condition (if you ignore the disintegrating seats) and is still able to be driven daily. It's quite torquey for a small motor and been very reliable to-date with the major issues (until a radiator hose blew cooking the head) being the fuel pump and the alternator. I don't put a spanner to the car very often, but unfortunately I think that is starting to show now. I do still have the majority of the silver car under the house, I figured rallying requires things like rear quarter panels, etc. Unfortunately I don't have a spare front spoiler for it (hence the strange looking front view shot) and most of the cars still around lost them long ago, they sit very low and get mangled as soon as you touch them on a gutter. I have fitted a factory LSD from a later model (also as rare as rocking horse droppings) and a hydraulic handbrake. The car has done laps of Winton and done the occasional khanacross, even towed the odd garden trailer! But it is most at home digging at a dirt khana or shredding some tires at a concrete/bitumen one. The truth is I've had more fun in this car than virtually anything else before it, because we (the car and I) love going sideways. It's almost bullet-proof, I get can treat the car with almost contempt at an event and then still drive it home afterwards. These days it mainly gets used for motorkhanas, with quite a number of trophies collected over time. Although I've only had two class wins so far in 2006, my 2005 results include Group 5 Motorkhana Series winner in Class D, and runner-up 2005 Victorian Motorkhana Championship in Class C.

Specs

4G63-T, similar block to the Evo Lancer.
85mm bore by 88mm stroke, 1997cc. Compression ratio 7.6:1
Standard manifold, throttle body injection and ECI unit. Ported and polished head with port matched exhaust

Factory TC06-11A, standard boost

Factory KM132 5 speed

JB 3.545 LSD (same ratio as the standard JA single spinner) rebuilt with upgraded breakaway point

Factory, ventilated front and rear 255mm and 247mm respectively, Dot 4 fluid

Standard 75 litre tank, drinks 98 Ron only
Economy - I don't really want to know.

15 x 6.5" JB alloys with good 215/60 tyres for the dirt, 3 sets of 14 x 6" JA alloys with whatever usable tyres are still on them for frying

Momo Champion steering wheel, shortened Mitsubishi gear knob, 3/4" hydraulic handbrake actuated by the standard lever Exedy Heavy Duty clutch,  retro-fitted Bosch 80 Amp alternator, Aftermarket exhaust with rattly resonator.