Mitsubishi Starion / Dodge Conquest TSI

sugarwood · sugarwood's Garage

A friend recently told me he's always wanted one of these, but never really gave any real thought to owning an older 80s weekend car .....until I told him about my 911.

What do you know about this car? Is it viable to own? Parts are available or unobtanium? He is really concerned about that.
The car only lasted for a few years, so I can see parts being NLA.

He's also always liked the 928, and was shocked you can get one for under $10k.
It's easy to forget just how many people assume every non-Honda is a $250,000 car that costs $25,000 a year to maintain...

Lost Cars of the 1980s – Mitsubishi Starion / Dodge Conquest | Hemmings Daily

stomachmonkey · 08-16-2015, 09:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sugarwood

A friend recently told me he's always wanted one of these, but never really gave any real thought to owning an older 80s weekend car .....until I told him about my 911.

What do you know about this car? Is it viable to own? Parts are available or unobtanium? He is really concerned about that.

Lost Cars of the 1980s – Mitsubishi Starion / Dodge Conquest | Hemmings Daily

I had two.

A Black 87 and an 89 in Fiji Blue.

Tons of fun.

The 87-89 widebody's are the one you want.

Sheet metal is tough to get due to the limited production.

Mechanical parts are easier since they can be sourced from the Mitsu parts bin.

Example, needed a throw out bearing, Starion part was $75. Cross reference and the Rodeo TOB was the same part at $25.

Head gaskets are an issue, they tend to go and when people replace them they are unaware the head bolts are torque to yield so you end up with warped heads.

Ignition ignitors was another thing. When I had mine they were really expensive.

If he gets one go look for an 89' Nicer seats, IIRC the wheels were a bit wider.

Turbo 4 cylinder rear wheel drive. Lot of fun to drive.

All in all I really liked the car, wish I'd kept one. Sold them along with the 3000GT, TR8, and Bronco when I moved to TX 8 years ago. Just no room to keep them.

Funny thing, a little while back the wife calls me while she is out running errands, says "you need to find another VR4, I miss that car"

masraum · 08-16-2015, 11:39 AM

I always thought they were really cool back in the day. I see one in good shape from time to time.

sugarwood · sugarwood's Garage

Can you tell me about the driving differences between the 3000GT and the Starion?

stomachmonkey · 08-16-2015, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sugarwood

Can you tell me about the driving differences between the 3000GT and the Starion?

Mitsus tend to be a bit on the heavy side.

The Starion is a rear wheel drive turbo 4 banger. Very nimble car. Power to weight was very good. Easy to make them stupid fast with minimal mods. Predictable handling. Drivable in the wet but terrible in snow. Prone to wheel hop on hard launch. Good braking.

I'm 5'8" so for me the "fit" was very good.

There are 2 3000's, the GT and the VR4. GT is a 6 cylinder NA front wheel drive beast. On the outside the car is big, long wide and heavy, interior was not much bigger than the Starion and the rear seats are pretty much useless.

Really solid car, could have done with a bit more power but the car is no slouch either. Lot's of torque steer. Car is always firmly planted and really pleasant to drive for long hauls.

The VR is in a league of it's own. Same 6 cylinder but with Twin Turbos, all wheel drive, all wheel steering, active suspension plus active aero. It's a really capable road car that is a lot of fun to drive.

It's a totally different animal from anything else that was in it's class at the time like the Turbo Z's, Turbo Supra's.

The VR4's are tough to find because few people sell them. There was a VR4 Spyder, which is a droptop. If you can find one expect to pay $40k or more depending on condition.

mikester · 08-16-2015, 04:13 PM

I had a friend who had one and the engines were very problematic. Head leaks - his was always in the garage undrivable for that and I recall reading a lot of other folks having similar issues.

stomachmonkey · 08-16-2015, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikester

I had a friend who had one and the engines were very problematic. Head leaks - his was always in the garage undrivable for that and I recall reading a lot of other folks having similar issues.

Recurring head issues with the same owner was either he overheated it / ran hot too often or reused the head studs, they are torque to yield on those cars, need a new set when you pull the head.

One of the things that made running hot problematic in those cars were the aluminum head and steel lined jet valves.

The simple fix was to watch your temps or just eliminate the jet valves if the head did need to come off.

Otherwise the motors were bullet proof.

Same block used in their trucks.

Jandrews · 08-16-2015, 04:59 PM

I have always liked them, and then one event cemented it forever. I had a C4 Corvette back in the day...late 80's. It obviously was no rocket, but it was a 4-speed and ran pretty good. I pulled up to a stoplight one night next to a black Conquest TSi (which I assume is the same or similar to Starion?). Well, I didn't really know anything about the car at the time, and I had no intention of "racing" him, but suffice it to say he launched and that car disappeared!! It MUST have been tuned, because at that time I had never seen anything accelerate like that. If I would have attempted to go with him in my C4, suffice it to say it would have been beyond humiliating. I might as well have had Corolla.

Loved those cars after that! Damn it was fast! Hearing SM's description makes it sound like it would be a fun little toy. I can't remember the last time I saw one on the street though.

JA

cashflyer · 05:37 PM

Had a 1988 widebody Conquest TSI.
Loved it. Very drivable car with fun turbo boost, but not like knight rider because it wouldn't jump over things when the turbo kicked in. I found it to be sensitive to tire pressure; even slightly under-inflated tires made it handle like poop. And nobody wants to handle poop.

Girlfriend had a 3000GT. I hated the interior. It felt cramped, IMO.
Not her. The car.

slow&rusty · 08-16-2015, 06:32 PM

The Starion / Conquest in my opinion is iconic, in terms of styling right down to the 16x8 5 spoke wheels and the big front mount intercooler. The later TSi model is the one to get!

Love them!

look 171 · 08-16-2015, 07:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikester

I had a friend who had one and the engines were very problematic. Head leaks - his was always in the garage undrivable for that and I recall reading a lot of other folks having similar issues.

I had some issues with the head gasket. But man, it was a fun car to drive with big fast sweepers. Not too much fun in the really tight hair pins. My suspension was always in soft mode. Sport mode would kick my ass making my head bob all the way to my destination. very little lag with that twin turbo. I had the earlier one so no active four wheel steering

john70t · 08-16-2015, 07:07 PM

The late 80's cars rocked:
-The EPA smog/vacuum routing bugs were mostly worked out, and cats were mostly contained.
-The carbs were better, or simple TBI replaced it.
-Chassis were still light and HP was on the rise.
-You could still fix and modify your own vehicle(vs. today's Auto Alliance and SOPA and The Borg).

masraum · 08-16-2015, 07:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slow&rusty

The Starion / Conquest in my opinion is iconic, in terms of styling right down to the 16x8 5 spoke wheels and the big front mount intercooler. The later TSi model is the one to get!

Love them!

very moderate picture, but that's the one. The widebody with the huge rear tires (well, huge for the car for the time) in that color. Yep, very freakin' cool. When I occasionally see one these days, they still look really hot, not really aged at all.

stomachmonkey · 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slow&rusty

The Starion / Conquest in my opinion is iconic, in terms of styling right down to the 16x8 5 spoke wheels and the big front mount intercooler. The later TSi model is the one to get!

Love them!

Not the stock rims on that one.

Starion/Conquest is one of those cars that just never looks right to me without the stock rims.

And the Fiji Blue was such an awesome color on that car.

masraum · 08-16-2015, 07:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

Not the stock rims on that one.

Starion/Conquest is one of those cars that just never looks right to me without the stock rims.

And the Fiji Blue was such an awesome color on that car.

Agreed, stock wheels are much better.

john70t · 08-16-2015, 07:49 PM

There is a door panel alignment fail on post #10.
(plus that first turn will rip off the entire tire.)

Also a front valence alignment fail on post #10 and #14.

john70t · 08-16-2015, 07:51 PM

Once knew some shadetree mech guys who were big into Starions.
Never rode in one, but they said they were wicked fast.
I believe it.

bri450sl · 08-17-2015, 02:31 AM

I had one. Fast for the time, but I kept having to replace head gaskets. I didn't know to replace the screws each time, so that was probably the issue. Very fun car. To this day, I cannot find seats as comfortable.

onewhippedpuppy · 08-17-2015, 02:42 AM

Awesome cars, love the big flares and straight lines of the 1980s.

berettafan · 08-17-2015, 05:22 AM

I was 15 IIRC and crossing the street in Ocean City walking back to our house. Yellow Starion with what I think was a small confederate flag sticker on the front fender was rocking out 'Still of the Night'. I looked over and was just taken by the whole thing.

Never did get to drive one but I do remember that night.