Welcome to the new FLP Garage Works web-log. On this site you will be able to find useful information regarding the import segment of the automotive performance industry. The largest focus will be cars from Mitsubishi, Honda, and Nissan, mainly the 5th generation Mitsubishi Mirage.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

It Lives!!!

Got the Mirage fired up and running.  Drove it to the car wash and got her shined up, and dropped her off at the shop in order to have some finishing touches done this week.  Here are a few new pics as of today, enjoy!












Saturday, January 28, 2012

Here We Come!!!

As of today the car is almost completed.  I was able to put on some finishing touches under the hood, and fire her up for the first time since June 2011.  She runs, and boy does she run good.  When the car was dropped off, it had a huge stumble off the line (amongst other large downfalls) due to issues caused by Justin Merrill at Merrill Performance in San Diego, CA. , now she seems to get a small amount of wheelspin leaving the line even at partial throttle.  Not all is well though, as the alignment is way off and the car tracks horribly due to that and tire wear, but will be corrected this week by the time Eric comes to get the car.  Tomorrow we (Zeke and I) will wrap up a few more things by taking her out for a good wash and wax, and hopefully drop her at the shop so the exhaust can get repaired this week prior to Eric's arrival.  Pictures to come once she is all cleaned up and ready to rock.



FLESH 

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Eric's Mirage is Nearing Completion

This past weekend we kicked things up a notch in order to ensure Eric's Mirage being completed by the ever nearing deadline, February 3, 2012.  Zeke, Leif and I all crammed into the tiny work space in order to get many things installed and repaired all at once.  Leif got both front axles installed, Zeke figued out the fuel system, and I wrapped up the last of the wiring dilemma.  Runnability, here we come.  The goal is to have the Mirage fired up this Saturday, in-order to have plenty of time to work out the bugs before Eric arrives on the third.  Can we make it?  Hell yes!!!

Leif Pinned Trying to Install The Drivers Axle (FUNFUN)
 Zeke Smiling As Always
 Cramped Work Environment
My Beautiful Wiring Job 
 As She Sits Currently

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Travis' Mirage - BBYEVO

Here are a few recent pictures of my '99 Mirage DE Sedan












The Mirage has a 2001 4G93 engine swap as well as a 2000 model year F5M21 manual transmisson.

Eric's Mirage Update

     Here is a minor update on Eric's Mirage.  As there is a ton of work yet to go, things are just getting started.  First are some pictures of where she began, and some of the wiring damage done to her by merrill performance.


Dyno Graph


Some of the Wiring Damage






Massive Air leak at the Intake Manifold (Black Soot is Where it was Leaking From No Gasket)




    Now, these are just a very few of the items that were done with a lack of care or concern when performed by merrill performance (supposedly a performance shop, but I don't believe it carries a legal license to operate).  I also had a shady intake installed, an oversixed throttle body too large for the manifold (mani. was not properly bored), and the coilovers were installed wrong just to name a few.

     Now, the rebuild process.  The first and largest task is the wiring.  In an attempt to perform a "wire-tuck" the harness was all but ruined.  I have rewired the majority of the harness so far, and have approximately another 10-12 hours of wiring to go.  I am yet to repair the fuel injector wiring as well as the feeds to the coil packs, which both of those will be done by this weekend.  Then the next will be re-mounting the fuse box back to it's oe location.  As far as additional wiring goes, the only needed item is wiring in the AFR (narrow band ) gauge.  Here are a few pictures of the updated wiring as of this past weekend.





More to come as it's a fast work in progress.