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Old 29th April 2013, 18:00   #1
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My Quest to Build the Ultimate 2nd gen Mitsubishi 3000GT (& Hello from the USA)

First of all I would like to thank the Team-BHP moderators and administrators for accepting my application for membership even though I live in the United States.
I discovered this Forum after it was mentioned on a UK Forum I am active on.

I am a Mitsubishi 3000GT/GTO addict. I was first diagnosed 7 years ago in my late forties when I bought my green US Spec 1994 3000GT VR4. The only known treatment (there is no cure) is to spend lots of money on it and meet regularly with my local support group. I am a moderator on my local 3000GT Forum in Oregon. To support my habbit I work 50-60 hours a week as a concrete ready-mix truck driver (which most people over here erroneously call cement mixers), a profession I also throughly enjoy.

A few years ago I realized that Mitsubishi sold the GTO/3000GT/Stealth under different names in different markets with features and options unique to each direct market to meet local regulations and interests. 1994 was the pinnacle of the design from a feature standpoint and the US versions were blessed with more amenities than others. However other markets had features we never got in the US. I have spent the last 2 years identifying as many of the unique features and options available in other markets and importing them to add to my car with the goal of building the ultimate 2nd gen/Mk2 3000GT/O. For the most part I have all the standard features now and am looking under every stone for the rest while trying to discover new direct markets Mitsubishi sold them in.

I have joined Team-BPH in the hope of connecting with Mitsubishi GTO or 3000GT owners in India for several reasons. First of all I have been very impressed with the examples of members cars I have seen on this Forum. Some real thought and work has been put into many of them. Secondly I would like to know if Mitsubishi ever sold their GTOs or 3000GTs as new cars in India, and if so what features did they came with? And lastly there is the implication that used GTOs are regularly imported from Japan to India creating the potential that some of the parts and features I am trying to find may end up being available in India?

Last edited by Rudra Sen : 2nd May 2013 at 12:21. Reason: Added paragraphs for easy reading
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Old 29th April 2013, 20:07   #2
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Re: Hello from the USA

Quote:
Originally Posted by Markingtime View Post
I was first diagnosed 7 years ago in my late forties when I bought my green US Spec 1994 3000GT VR4. The only known treatment (there is no cure) is to spend lots of money on it and meet regularly with my local support group. I am a moderator on my local 3000GT Forum in Oregon.
Lol that is very funny , Welcome to the community.
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Old 29th April 2013, 22:30   #3
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Re: Hello from the USA

Welcome to Team-Bhp Markingtime

Please read our board rules carefully as we are very particular about our rules.

We have a running thread, where members from USA discuss their cars & buying decisions in US. Here is the Link (Buying, Owning, Driving and Maintaining a car in North America)

Here are a few links on Mitsubishi 3000GT/GTO on Team-Bhp

Link1

Link2

Link3

Link4

You can search for a few more

See you around

Last edited by Technocrat : 29th April 2013 at 22:33.
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Old 30th April 2013, 00:05   #4
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Re: Hello from the USA

Hey there markingtime, nice to see growing international participation in our very own premier Indian automotive forum Team BHP. Do keep posting regular updates in the International Automotive scene section which will be good to know.

Similarly there are some very interesting sections such as Travelogues - http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travelogues/ where you can find some great destinations covered by our very own members which are captured and narrated beautifully which may even draw you to come and explore!

Also would be interested to know the rides in your garage and pics of them would be great! Welcome again!
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Old 2nd May 2013, 17:17   #5
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Re: Hello from the USA

Quote:
Originally Posted by Markingtime View Post
I am a Mitsubishi 3000GT/GTO addict. I was first diagnosed 7 years ago in my late forties when I bought my green US Spec 1994 3000GT VR4. The only known treatment (there is no cure) is to spend lots of money on it and meet regularly with my local support group.
Well said

Welcome aboard!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Markingtime View Post
I have spent the last 2 years identifying as many of the unique features and options available in other markets and importing them to add to my car with the goal of building the ultimate 2nd gen/Mk2 3000GT/O.
Sounds awesome. Could you list off a few add-ons that you've already blessed your car with?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Markingtime View Post
Secondly I would like to know if Mitsubishi ever sold their GTOs or 3000GTs as new cars in India
Nope, sorry - never (much to our dismay).

Quote:
Originally Posted by Markingtime View Post
And lastly there is the implication that used GTOs are regularly imported from Japan to India creating the potential that some of the parts and features I am trying to find may end up being available in India?
There are definitely a few 3000/GT/Os around. If i had to guess, I'd say no more than 20-40 in India. I wouldn't go so far as to say that they are regularly imported from Japan either. Beautiful car though!

Do you have specific features you're hunting for?

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Old 4th May 2013, 10:47   #6
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Re: Hello from the USA

Thanks to the moderator that got my opening post sorted back into paragraphs the way I had submitted it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rehaan View Post
Sounds awesome. Could you list off a few add-ons that you've already blessed your car with?

Do you have specific features you're hunting for?
Thanks for the warm welcome.

Unfortunately none of the parts I have bought in the last 2 years are actually on the car yet, though I have lots of pictures of them. I have just been collecting them up till now and plan to take my car out of service in a couple months, when the garage/shop I have been building is finished, to start the installs in an organized and documented fashion.

But to answer your question here is a sampling:

Stealth RT/TT C pillar air deflectors (sourced locally)

GTO RHD 6-way Power Driver's Seat as my LHD passenger seat so my passenger is as pampered as me. (imported from Japan)

GTO Power folding mirror system with all the switches and black boxes. (imported from the UK)

Entire headlight washer system including steering column switches and the 1 gal tank that fits behind the bumper. (all from the UK except LHD column switches from Sweden)

Vertically adjustable, 2nd gen headlight aiming system, remote controlled electricly from the cab with all related wiring and switches. My US rare glass tops will be swapped on in place of the standard Lexan when I robo and halo mod them. It should be noted that the OEM system is only for the high beams but the low beams appear to be set up to accept remote controlled adjusting motors too so I have acquired a second set of motors and switches with wiring as well. (all from UK except the LHD lights themselves from Sweden)

3000GT Swedish Spec heated seat switches and wiring (sourced from Sweden). Still trying to source the OEM seat heating elements themselves to add to mine, but they were never sold as a separate part and breakers aren't willing to sell them to me out of a seat they have removed. There were only 57 total cars sold in Sweden from 1991 to 1999 so all their uniquely Swedish specific parts are very rare. I expect to end up using heating elements from a Pajaro that look to be campatible.

UK clear bumper corner marker. (from UK)

UK front fender turn signal light behind wheel in aftermarket clear. (from UK)

GTO rear quarter window sun visors (mounted from the inside), with the critical wiring harness, that the "GTO" badge lights up on when the car lights are on. These are from the GTO Accessories Catalogue. I have both the early fragile versions with the vertical cutouts and the later stronger solid ones. (sourced from Canada and the UK)

GTO BBS alloy wheels out of the GTO Accessories Catalogue. (sourced from a car in the UK that had been imported used from Japan)

Bozz Speed wing extension and fairings. Not OEM but are reminiscent of the Spyder wing and fairings and look like they could be OEM. I fell in love with them when I saw them a couple years ago. (sourced from 2 different GTOs in the UK)



Here is a list of what I am looking for at the moment. I have pictures too but need to double check rules before posting them:


1) Ralliart AWS (All Wheel Steering) Hybrid Rear Diff (B4H): Sold only in Japan, so it is more commonly found on GTOs. There was also a 2WS version (B3H), but I only want the B4H since I have the AWS version. All GTO rear diffs had a different gear ratio than US Spec cars so I will need the related gearing parts to convert my car to GTO gearing to go with this diff.

2) Front brake cooling fins: GTO MRs (and I think UK Spec 3000GTs) had brake cooling fins (plastic I think) attached to the front A arms. I would like a good used set of A arms with the fins attached. Yes I know I could just drill holes into my A arms and attach a set of fins, but as a collector I want the bragging rights that go with having the actual OEM set.

3) Heated seat heating elements: Swedish and German Spec cars got heated seats, the only countries to do so.

4) Swedish and German heated seat switch console mounting trim (early version): These are LHD specific and the heated seat switches were mounted between the cruise and AA switches in the trim piece just ahead of the shifting stick up through about the first half of 1995 . After that they were mounted in the dead space just below the single din stereo .

5) An actual copy of the GTO Accessories Catalogue for Japan only dealer added options. I only have scans of them at the moment, including a set I recently had translated that is being cleaned up for me to look more OEM.

6) The OEM mounting clips for the optional GTO rear quarter window sun visors out of the GTO Accessories Catalogue.

7) All the options from the GTO Accessories Catalogue.

Last edited by Rehaan : 4th May 2013 at 16:39. Reason: Shortening quoted post :)
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Old 4th May 2013, 16:37   #7
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Re: Hello from the USA

Wow - thats quite a list!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Markingtime View Post
I have pictures too but need to double check rules before posting them:


It's quite straightforward. Do follow the instructions here : http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/announ...-team-bhp.html

I've also taken the liberty of moving your thread from the "Intro" section to the "International Scene" section (since Intro threads automatically lock after a few weeks).

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