eclipse conversions??

[Lawrence Hahn]

anyone here convert a 2g talon into an eclipse or know someone who has?  were there a lot of problems or was it hard?   how much does it cost approx?  where is the best place to go get it done?  if anyone could help me out i'd appreciate that a lot..oh..and i was thinking of putting on a body kit of some sort (most likely blitz) at the same time to make life easier...any thoughts or tips?  and is fibreglass really that bad?  cuz some ppl i know tell me its not bad but some ppl tell me to stay away...k thanks a lot!

ooHH...one more thing..how long does it take? like...a week? or..months?  thanks again

[Graeme Shaw]

Talk to George M about doing an OE eclipse conversion, he put a front end and sideskirts on his talon.  If you're looking to do a full OE conversion, you're probably looking at around $2k in parts (front end, side skirts, bumpers (front/back), lights (front/back), and then you're looking at labour and all that.  It's an expensive conversion, to say the least.  Unless I'm mistaken, we have a 2Gb Eclipse front bumper cover in stock, but the OE Talon lights will leave a gap, as they're shaped differently.

Talk to George, or come on in, and we'll talk about how much/what is needed, and how much you'd want to do.

[George Myshlyayev]

it's definitely not a cheap thing to do.  if you wanna go blitz, you dont need to convert to 2g eclipse body.  only thing i think u might want to do is 97+ eclipse door caps and head lights because blitz kit doesnt provide those.  talk to howard hu and robin toor about blitz kit.  if you want to convert to 2gb (97+) eclipse body you're looking at about 3-4grand in just (brand new) parts + labour.  once you buy the parts you can go to a decent body shop (i went to starlite autobody, they did an awesome job) and they'll paint and install them on your car.  ill guess prolly about 5 grand to do complete conversion with brand new parts.  you can make it cheaper by buying used parts of course.  

good luck bro

[Robin Toor]

anyone here convert a 2g talon into an eclipse or know someone who has?  were there a lot of problems or was it hard?   how much does it cost approx?  where is the best place to go get it done?  if anyone could help me out i'd appreciate that a lot..oh..and i was thinking of putting on a body kit of some sort (most likely blitz) at the same time to make life easier...any thoughts or tips?  and is fibreglass really that bad?  cuz some ppl i know tell me its not bad but some ppl tell me to stay away...k thanks a lot!

ooHH...one more thing..how long does it take? like...a week? or..months?  thanks again

I've converted by 2GB (97) talon into an eclipse. Its not TO bad. First take your car to a good body shop, one where they have done body kits and such before. the blitz front bumper and side skirts fit on no problem, the rear bumper is a pain in the ass. You have to make new custom hinges that will hold the eclipse bumper up higher, and then you will have to buy eclipse tailights to fit te bumper, as well as reverse lights. All you need to buy is the blitz kit ($800 or so fiberglass, alot more poly urethane) and the 3 piece tailights ($300 for altezza's or $300 for stock ones from the dealer.. I think), and then you will need to pay the shop to install and paint and custom fit the rear bumper (another $800 or so)... so basically its a good $2000 job.

The problem with fiberglass is that it cracks very easy if you hit something, now fiberglass sideskirts and rear bumper isnt that big of a deal because they dont usually scrape or hit anything, it is the front bumper that is of concern. If you bottom out lots on the front, your going to have paint chipping problems and maybe cracks, same if you drive on the highway alot. If this is so, I would reccomend and poly urethane front, and fiberglass sides and back. If you dont go on the highway and your car is high up off the ground, the fiberglass one is fine.

The blitz kits you get around here that are fiberglass will fit fine onto the stock eagle talon headlights, but it will have a little 0.5" gap. If you get the poly urethane front kit, then you will have to buy the mitsu headlights ($300 from dealer or $300 for aftermarket projectors) because the talon ones will not fit, due to the polky urethane bumper being made to fit EXACTLY to a mistu eclipse.

I highly highly reccomend getting a urethane front, and fiberglass sideskirts and rear bumper, your cheapest and safest bet.

[Graeme Shaw]

If you're looking to do a taillight conversion, it'll run you around $500 (pre-tax) for the full set of lights (reverse, left/right, centre peice), and headlights will run you almost $800 pre-tax for OE peices.  If you can score cheap projectors, you can do a sweet HID setup, with just a little more cash.

Like Robin says, Fibreglass is cheaper, but it also is more prone to breaking, whereas polyurethane is bendable, repairable, and is the same stuff used in OE peices.  I'd have to recommend poly as well (having no personal experience with kits, but hearing some bad horror stories).  Keep in mind your driving skill...if you've ever accidentally gone too far in to a parking stall and scuffed up your bumper, that'd break a fibreglass one.  What's worth more, spending $600 on a poly bumper, or $300 each time you need a new one?

But yeah, I think I'm done ranting for now.

[Lawrence Hahn]

omgoodness...u dsmer's are awesome!  so nice and willing to help..i'm a new dsmer and now im glad that i choose to get a talon~ =)  ..but one thing..sorry im a nub..but what does OE mean?  im guessing that has something to do with stock?  

anyway...man i cant believe i never thought of just having the front urethane..ur a genious~~  for some reason i only considered having all fibre or all urethane... ..well..yeh so i think ill take yer advice and go urethane front and fibre back and sides...cuz in the summer i drive on the highway heaps..

but i heard from a body shop that u have to take the front rebar out for talon bodykits?  but everywhere ive looked and researched..and by the way u make it sound...it seems like i dun have to rite?  neway..thanks again for ALL the help everyone =)  .by the way..which bodyshop did u go to robin? ..anyone know a good bodyshop in burnaby thats pretty affordable and yet does a good job?  my friend told me starlight and ak something is good...dunno..k..thanks

ooh..one last thing...do we get discounts at vancouver mitsubishi on parts? like..15% or somethign??

[Graeme Shaw]

OE=Originally Equipped/Original Equipment.

For most body kits (non-OE ) you have to modify some things, ask Robin about stuff like that.

As far as a discount at Van Mitsu, yes you totally do.  I'm the parts guy (it;'s how I got prices so easily) and those prices are avec discount (which is why I recommended thinking about the HID thing, those are the ACTUAL prices you'll run in to)

For more info on Kits, talk to Robin, for more info on OE stuff, MSN me, or if you want a quote or osmething, e-mail me at parts@vancouver-mitsubishi.com

Glad to have you with us, Lawrence.  So now that we know you drive a Talon, and that it's a 2G, tell us, turbo?  2Ga/b?

[Marty van den Bosch]

You need a first and a last name to officially be a member  :roll:
Members get discounts at a few places

OE = Original Equipment

[Robin Toor]

omgoodness...u dsmer's are awesome!  so nice and willing to help..i'm a new dsmer and now im glad that i choose to get a talon~ =)  ..but one thing..sorry im a nub..but what does OE mean?  im guessing that has something to do with stock?  

anyway...man i cant believe i never thought of just having the front urethane..ur a genious~~  for some reason i only considered having all fibre or all urethane... ..well..yeh so i think ill take yer advice and go urethane front and fibre back and sides...cuz in the summer i drive on the highway heaps..

but i heard from a body shop that u have to take the front rebar out for talon bodykits?  but everywhere ive looked and researched..and by the way u make it sound...it seems like i dun have to rite?  neway..thanks again for ALL the help everyone =)  .by the way..which bodyshop did u go to robin? ..anyone know a good bodyshop in burnaby thats pretty affordable and yet does a good job?  my friend told me starlight and ak something is good...dunno..k..thanks

ooh..one last thing...do we get discounts at vancouver mitsubishi on parts? like..15% or somethign??

no problem man, we're always willing to help out a fellow DSMer......

I made the mistake of getting the whole kit in fiberglass, now my front bumper is all messed up, the sides and rear are fine though, so I'm looking for a poly urethane front... do you know where you can get poly urethane kits locally from lawrence?

the front re-bar you can shave and screw around with and it WILL fit.... especially with the poly urethane front bumper... the rear re-bar will not fit no matter what you do, so you'll have to get rid of it...

I dont know of any body shops in burnaby... but a really good one in surrey is SSN Autobody.... I'm friends with the owner, he is a younger guy and knows how body kits work... he'll do a super good job on yours... his name is Dan, and the shop's number is 604-594-4421

and Graeme Shaw is the guy to talk to about mitsu dealership parts and discounts, we all get a discount when getting parts through him... hes the new parts guy at Vancouver Mistubishi.... although from the sound of it, aftermarket altezza tailights and projector headlights are cheaper than stock OEM ones through Vancouver Mitsu..... but personally I think the stock ones look better  :wink:

[Wayne Barbaza]

as an alternative, if you're patient you can find good deals on ebay.  I picked up used mint condition 99 eclipse OE headlights from separate sellers and my total came to ~$170 CDN shipped (to a friends place in seattle).

they also have 2Gb eclipse polyurethane OEM style bumpers, brand new, ready to paint, for ~$200 USD shipped (within the states, not sure how much more for shipping up here).  Its probably more of a hassle (duty-wise) to get a bumper up here because its so bulky though.

hey robin, so you were able to use the same blitz bumper when you had the talon lights and after switching over to eclipse lights?  I'm just curious cuz you said w/ talon lights there was a .5" gap.....that gap must be huge with eclipse lights in there...

[Howard Hu]

yeah man, if you're going to go for blitz, i just had a bad experience with the sideskirts today, ask robin, lol..it didn't fit at ALL...so i had to return them..but yeah just a little thing, fitment is always not good for aftermarket kits

[Graeme Shaw]

Wayne, the bumper was designed for Eclipse lights, so there isn't a gap.

[Robin Toor]

no Wayne is right, there is a HUGE FUCKING gap between the bumper and the headlights.... before with the talon headlights, since they are longer, there was only a 0.5" gap.... now with the eclipse headlights, there is at least a 1.5" gap, ask Mike Meron and Fraser, they've seen it, it looks fugly, thats why I need a poly urethane kit that was made for the eclipse so it will fit properly around the headlights, not a fiberglass rip off that it made for both talons and eclipses. Howard Hu has the same problem with the gap.

yeah Howards side skirts didnt fit at all, which is wierd, one of mine is short to, but it still fit on, Howard's side skirt was so short it wouldnt even slide in.. you should go back to the shop you got it from and give them hell.....

[Lawrence Hahn]

ok..i still got a few questions..=p  hehe..sorry for the hassle

umm....this may sound dumb..but whats a HID headlight?  how is it better and do they cost more than stock mitsu headlights?  hmm...i like the stock rear headlites more than the altezzas...personal taste i guess~

umm..robin..when u asked me if i knew where to get urethane fronts..were u asking if i knew? or asking me cuz u were gonna tell me the answer if i didnt know?  hehe..cuz i dunno whre to find them..i can ask a friend who knows lots of talon ppl...(he's a ex-dsmer) ...but not sure as of now

also...anyone know anywhere in town where i could find some reasonably priced fibreglass blitz rear and sideskirts? and a urethane blitz front?  how long do the sideskirts have to be to fit? cuz i dun want ones too short or too long =(

lastly..umm..just to get this straight..cuz im sorta on a tight budget..but can u guys tell me if im underestimating or not?

eclipse tail lights + reverse lights = 500
eclipse headlights = 800
blitz rear bumper and sideskirt = approx 500
blitz urethane front bumper = approx 500??
paint and install = 800??

total = approx 3100 +tax?  am i way off? over or under??  hopefully under cuz i dun wanna go too much over 3000 ..thanks =)

by the way graeme..im getting a 2g turbo VERY soon =)  and yes..i emailed the email person asking to have my full name cuz right after i registered i realized i forgot my last name...but he hasnt gotten back to me or changed it..so im guessing im ok for now??? hope so ><

if u guys ever see a mango orange eclipse running around..just stop me and say hi =))  sorry if u dun like mango orange..haha =p

[Graeme Shaw]

ok..i still got a few questions..=p  hehe..sorry for the hassle

umm....this may sound dumb..but whats a HID headlight?  how is it better and do they cost more than stock mitsu headlights?  

HID=High Intensity Discharge.  It's the BMW/Benz/Acura headlight type deal.  They come in several styles, but here's the deal.  If you just plug HID in to your stock headlight system, you'll blind all the other drivers on the road.  If you buy projector headlights, and replace the projectors that are in there with projectors from BMW or Audi cars, you'll have HID that works amazingly, and doesn't blind people.

hmm...i like the stock rear headlites more than the altezzas...personal taste i guess~

you mean "tail lights"

umm..robin..when u asked me if i knew where to get urethane fronts..were u asking if i knew? or asking me cuz u were gonna tell me the answer if i didnt know?  hehe..cuz i dunno whre to find them..i can ask a friend who knows lots of talon ppl...(he's a ex-dsmer) ...but not sure as of now

also...anyone know anywhere in town where i could find some reasonably priced fibreglass blitz rear and sideskirts? and a urethane blitz front?  how long do the sideskirts have to be to fit? cuz i dun want ones too short or too long =(

Robin's your guy on all that, and he was probably asking 'cause he doesn't know either

lastly..umm..just to get this straight..cuz im sorta on a tight budget..but can u guys tell me if im underestimating or not?

eclipse tail lights + reverse lights = 500
eclipse headlights = 800
blitz rear bumper and sideskirt = approx 500
blitz urethane front bumper = approx 500??
paint and install = 800??

total = approx 3100 +tax?  am i way off? over or under??  hopefully under cuz i dun wanna go too much over 3000 ..thanks =)

I'd say that's probably pretty close, although paint may cost you more, depending on your colour, and whether or not you want the whole car repainted with it

by the way graeme..im getting a 2g turbo VERY soon =)  and yes..i emailed the email person asking to have my full name cuz right after i registered i realized i forgot my last name...but he hasnt gotten back to me or changed it..so im guessing im ok for now??? hope so ><

if u guys ever see a mango orange eclipse running around..just stop me and say hi =))  sorry if u dun like mango orange..haha =p

Ew.  Mangoes.
Glad to have you around though, man.