14x07 - Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4

[bunniefuu]

Stuffed with technology,
the 1994 Mitsubishi


supercar performance

without the six-figure price tag, thanks to
a 3.0-litre, 320-horsepower twin-turbo V6.

But its futuristic active systems are prone
to breaking down, and aftermarket add-ons

have spoiled the car's
presence, and tonight

are determined to get
this Japanese stallion

back to factory trim without
putting our budget out to pasture.

Not all the active stuff
is working because

you've got to fix the
active exhaust as well.

Anything else?

I got up early this morning and I'm on my
way to go and see a car that was probably

the most technically
advanced car of the 90s.

It is the Mitsubishi 3000 GT VR4.

The 1990s version of this car had active
aero, active exhaust and active steering.

This car was so crammed with
technology, it was incredible.

In 1994, they advanced
the car even further.

They added another gear
to the five-speed gearbox.

Now it was a six-speed, and then
they threw in another 20-horsepower.


horses under the bonnet.

This car is for sale at just seven and a
half thousand dollars, and I've seen him

change hands for more
than three times that amount.

So the money that he's asking
for it, there's already a built-in profit.

I just hope it's everything he says it is.

Jeff has arranged to meet me at a car show.

Although Jeff says
his car is worthy, I still

need to have my wits
about me because these

Mitsubishis have all this active
aero and active technology.

If it works, it's brilliant.

If it goes wrong, it's costly.

You must be Jeff.

Mike.

How are you, sir?

It's great, man.

What a wonderful place to arrange
to meet me at this little car show.

But you have taken a little bit of a
risk, because as I was walking through,

there was quite a few cars for sale,
and a couple of them got my eye.

Well, that's true, but there's none
that's quite as cool as this one, though.

This looks incredible.

So tell me about the car.

When did you get it?

So I've owned the car since 2001.

Why are you selling it?

I was lucky enough to have the
opportunity to score a 2013 GT500.

So you've now got a new plaything.

Yes.

So in your time of
ownership, has there been

any accidents, any
incidents in the car?

No, no.

I've done some mild modifying.

I can see you've got an air filter
and a big dump valve in there.

Yeah.

I'd like to hear it.

Can you charge it and start it up for me?

Yeah, no problem.

Give me a little rev for me, Jeff.

There's the dump valve
and a tiny bit of lifted tick.

All right, you can shut her off now.

That looks fantastic under the bonnet.

The wheels are not standard, are they?

No, they're not stock wheels.

They came that way
specifically because they

cleared the calipers without
having to use a spacer.

Right, gotcha.

Nice big brakes on this.

And it's nice to see that they're
drilled and ventilated as well.

My inside looks really good.

Seat bolster's a little bit worn, but
everything else seems to be intact.

You said to me on the phone that there's a
problem though with the active aero system.

Ever since I've owned the
car, the wing has never worked.

It's never tipped up and as cool as
it is, I never spent the time to fix it.

You also said there was a problem
with the active exhaust as well.

The active exhaust system is
stuck in sport mode and I never

messed with it because sport
mode was just fine for me.

I just think this car's screaming
at me, not because of the color.

It's screaming at me to get out
there on the road and experience it.

So would you mind if I
took it for a test drive?

Not at all.

Top man.

That's 320 of Japan's finest horses.

Galloping.

This car has got a lusty 3 litre V6
engine, 24 valves, double overhead cam.

It's got plenty of oomph under the bonnet.

It's a beautifully presented car,
but it does have its problems.

The one thing I can tell
you immediately that I

don't like about the
car is this gear shifter.

It's hard to find what gear you want
to be in and there's no positivity to it.

The aero at the rear isn't working.

The front dam will be opening and shutting
and the rear wing should be popping up

and at the moment is
doing absolutely nothing.

As for this active steering, I don't
think that's doing a thing, you know,

because if I turn it
in, it should be turning

the wheels at the rear
in the same direction.

That's to aid higher speed stability.

It just doesn't feel any
different than a standard

car at the moment that's
got to be addressed.

You've got the active exhaust and when
I push it, well, no, nothing's happening.

It's got like a butterfly in the exhaust
system and that was obviously gummed up.

Is this a classic car? Absolutely.

This is what's technically known as a modern
classic and if I get this car cheaper.

and do the right thing by
the car by fixing this car's

problems, there is
definitely a profit in this one.

Well, Mike, what do you think?

Well, there's a lot of nice
things to say about this car.

I mean, it is exactly what I was expecting.

It's just a few problems with it.

The gearbox is one of them.

I understand.

It's got a custom short throw shifter
on it, so it might feel a little funky.

It was really funky.

I couldn't get it into the right gear.

Then the active air out
the back, the active exhaust,

the four-wheel steering
is not working correctly.

I've got to spend some money
on this car and make it right.

I understand you got to beat me
up a little bit to get a good deal here,

but I'm asking a very
reasonable price of just $7,500.

I was thinking more like six grand.

It's seven.

Seven's more reasonable.

Seven would make me feel okay.

$7,000.

That's about 5,000 pounds.

I'll tell you what.

I'll do it for $6,500.

And I bought with me today cash.

You can put it in the glove
box and that nice Mustang

and drive home with a
big smile on your face.

What do you say?

Come on.

All right, let's do this.

$6,500.

Thank you very much.

I've just bought an incredible 3000 GT.

I'm happy with that.

I'm happy too.

$6,500 is a good price for this car.

It's about 4,800 English pounds.

This is a car that I
know we can do right by.

I'm going to get it back
to the workshop and it's

going to love it because
it's flash and it's brash.

Just like Ant really.

I can't wait to see his face
when he claps eyes on it.

A VR4?

Yeah, I thought you'd like that one.

That is my generation.

Yep, a Mitsubishi 3000 GT VR4.

What a motor.

How nice is that inside?

What is that?

Oh, that is a boost Gauge.

It's been put up on the A pillar.

I wear a watch and I
hit against it all the time.

It's in the stupid
position so it's got to go.

Yep, that is this car's Achilles heel.

It's got a short shifter.

It feels like a tractor.

And it drives like a tractor.

It's really difficult to drive.

Sometimes I can't even find reverse.

So I think get rid of it and
put the original one back in.

It's coming in.

What does it sound like?

It sounds all right.

Japanese reliability
starts up on the button.

Now give it a little rev.

Yep, dump valve.

I know it's an aftermarket
one that they put on the car.

Some people like them, but me, it
makes the car sound too asthmatic.

I think we should take
it off and get rid of it.

I agree.

Well, let's put it on it.

Let me show you the other stuff.

Have a look at what they've
squeezed underneath there.

Yeah, that's tidy.

It's good, isn't it?

I mean, we need to
get rid of the aftermarket

air filter and obviously
that dump valve.

Sound a bit tappy.

That's actually called lift-a-tick.

It's a common problem on these cars.

And anyone who comes to see it
will immediately go look in for that.

And if they find it, they
just simply walk away.

Right, so sort the tap, get rid of
the air filter, lose the dump valve.

Perfect.

Done.

It is a great car, isn't it?

Yeah, look at it.

Plus, it's packed with
technology, like active aero.

Not very active at the moment.

What, that doesn't work?

That could be really expensive.

You never know until you get stuck into it.

How much was the car?

Car was cheap.

It was only $6,500.

That's less than £5,000.

Which leaves us enough money
in a kitty to repair things like that.

Okay.

And the active four-wheel steering.

Yeah, I know.

It's a big, long list.

And I do apologise, because
there is a lot of work to do on this car.

And not all the active stuff is working,

because you've got to fix
the active exhaust as well.

I'll get the parts.

Anything else?

I've just bought this 1994
Mitsubishi 3000 GT VR4.

It's a blast on the road.



And it looks amazing
just sitting at a car show.

Oh man, thank you very much.

But its active systems are in disarray,

and the engine has fallen prey to
a lift-a-tick common in this model.

When I looked outside and saw
that Mike had bought this, a VR4,

I was instantly transported
back to being a child again.

And that's because I can
vividly remember being a

young teenager, and my
mate's dad had this exact car.

And I remember that feeling
of standing back and thinking,

wow, it must be some
sort of Italian supercar.

Ours has a few problems,
and I'm going to tackle them.

And I'm going to start
off with that ticking sound.

And in the 1990s, this engine had
a reputation for that ticking noise.

And it's hidden under
here and deep under

here, which means I've
got to remove some bits.

First, I'll disconnect the battery
and the pipes leading to the air intake.

I'll also set aside the intercooler pipes.

This bit here, this is that
aftermarket blow-off valve.

It's this that makes that
really loud whooshing noise.

This can go in the bin.

Next, I'm removing the bolts that
attach the intake manifold to the engine.

Seeing that these bolts
are different lengths,

be careful not to mix them up and make
sure they go back in the same space.

With the intake manifold out of the way,

I can finally take the valve
covers off to reveal the lifters.

The lifter tick is very
common in these motors,

so it makes my job easier not
needing to troubleshoot the issue.

Now that the engine's exposed,
you can see the V6 configuration.

There's three spark plugs
here, one above each piston,

same on the other
side, six pistons in total.

The engine's angled into a V
shape, hence why it's called a V6.

And this is the problem here.

These little lifters hidden
under these rockers,

that's where our tapping
noise is coming from.

But the great news is,

I don't need to take this
engine apart any further.

No more nuts, no more bolts.

I can get to those
with a special little tool.

And here it is.

Now it might look a little bit
homemade, a bit agricultural,

but actually this tool is quite
specific for this exact engine.

And all these little dimps
and dents are quite deliberate.

This one here allows me to
lean up against the camshaft,

give it a bit of pressure,

take the tension off the spring,

and then I can simply remove
the rocker with my hands.

There it is.

Once that's out the way,
I can pull out the lifter.

And this is where the tapping
problem is coming from.

There are 24 lifters in
total, 12 on each side.

The only tricky bit is
that I have to manually

turn the crankshaft to
free up some of the lifters.

Now it's time to go out with
the old and in with the new.

And what I've done with our new lifters
is I've soaked them in oil overnight,

and that's to get loads
of oil in all the nooks and

crannies so that when
they go back in the engine,

they're properly lubricated.

And it's only now the lifters are out

that you can see what the problem is.

And the problem is right here on
the end of the size of that little hole.

Now these are early Mitsubishi lifters,

and the hole in the end
is really, really small.

In fact, it's about one millimeter wide.

And over time, carbon builds
up and carbon gets hard.

The flow of oil is restricted so
that when the rocker comes down

and hits on the top of the lifter, it
creates that annoying tapping noise.

Now Mitsubishi knew that this
was a problem on their early cars.

So a couple of years later,
they came up with a solution.

They built new lifters.

And of course, it has a
bigger hole in the end.

In fact, it's three times the
size, the three millimeters.

So now on a new lifter,
the flow of oil is really lovely.

It creates a kind of
fountain mushroom effect

so that when the rocker
comes down and touches it,

all that flow of oil protects it

and gets rid of that tapping noise.

These lubed up lifters slide
nicely back into position.

And the rockers go back
on the lifters easy peasy.

I've got a bit of housekeeping to
do before replacing the valve covers.

First, I have to remove the old gasket,

cleaning off over 20 years of gunk.

Before fitting the valve
covers back on the engine,

I'll put on a bead of sealant
followed by new gaskets

so that this car will have
years of trouble-free driving.

Before testing the engine,
I've hooked up an extraction unit

to send the exhaust fumes
out of the garage so I don't

fill the air around me with
toxic carbon monoxide.

I've reinstated everything
back into this engine bay.

Now it's really important before
you restart an engine for the first time

that you check and double
check that everything's in order.

Also, before you restart,

be prepared that you're going
to hear a little bit of lift-a-tick.

But that's only going
to last a few seconds

and that's because
the engine needs the oil

to get round it, lubricate it, and there.

You can hear a significant
change in the lift-a-tick.

It's now completely gone.

In fact, from here within the c*ck,

it sounds pretty good.

But it's out here where it
really counts right by the engine.

Already, I can hear a marked difference
from the car when Mike brought it in.

That lift-a-tick noise has gone.

It's no longer annoying.

This now sounds like a proper
Mitsubishi V6 engine should do.

And I've taken the seats out
and given them to Mike to sort.

Now the bit I want to fix
next is this active steering.

And the reason that I've kept
the car on the ramp and it's at

this specific height is because
to test the active steering,

the car has to be driving
at 35 miles an hour.

And that's because that's the speed in
where the four-wheel steering kicks in.

You may be tempted to
put the car on axle stands,

but don't.

At 35 miles an hour, if
it comes off axle stands,

it's going to hit the floor
and then hit the wall.

So the trick is, get the car started up.

Now you want to get through the gear.

This linkage is rubbish.

Get through the gears nice and smoothly.

Get up to speed.

Get to 35 miles an hour.

Check everything's safe.

And then operate the wheels.

Now the rear wheels
actually only turn 1.5 degrees,

which doesn't sound like a lot,

but those sort of highway speeds,

one and a half degrees is enough to make
this car handle each corner efficiently.

Yeah, it definitely doesn't work.

And the new owner of this car is
going to want it to work properly.

The steering on the front of this car

is pretty much like every
other road car of the 90s.

It has rack and pinion.

But the difference with this Mitsubishi
lies under these two shrouds here.

These are hydraulic pipes

that are operated from
the front steering rack.

It sends oil pressurized back to the rear.

In fact, I can already
see now it's leaking.

But it feeds the back rack,
which is a hydraulic rack,

so that when you're
under lock on the front,

the pressure moves the hydraulic rack

and turns the rear wheels.

Now the system is
complete down this side, the

left side, but this side
is under less pressure.

It's actually rare for this side to fail.

This is the side that has the reputation.

And the reputation is
at exactly this point here

where we have our leak.

Active four-wheel steering
was a staple of high-end

Japanese sports cars in
the late 80s and early 90s.

The mechanism is complicated,

but getting to the leak is simple.

Unbolt the shrouds, unclamp
the hose, and drain the oil,

which is actually
automatic transmission fluid.

The rubber part of this
doesn't actually look too bad,

but it'd be a false economy
not to replace the whole part.

Now the seats in that
Mitsubishi are quite good,

but they can be just
that little bit better.

So I've had the seats sent
down to friends of mine.

They're called Mike and Nick, and
these two guys are upholstery specialists

and they reckon they can
make a good seat even better.

Nick, how are you?

What's going on?

Good to see you.

Enjoying this weather?

Oh yeah, it's hot.

It's hot out there.

Mike, how are you?

Good, fantastic.

Fantastic.

I see you have my seat
sent down, which is great.

What do you think of them?

They look like they could
use a little bit of cleaning,

a little bit of touch up where
there's some wear and tear,

but for the most part, we can salvage
them and make them look new again.

Fantastic.

That's what I want to hear.

Should we crack on?

Let's do it.

Nick sits in the seat with
degreaser to clear out oil

and dirt buildup that can
degrade the leather over time.

A lot of people don't
realize it's skin, isn't it?

You know, leather is skin.

It's a natural product.

It's a natural product.

It's got pores that they open up,

you know, it seeps in a load of oil.

You can get it back out if you
know how to treat it and look after it.

Nick has gone to the little car and
he's gone and got himself sandpaper.

All you want to do, Mike,
is just rough it up just

a little bit so that when
you do apply the dye,

it's going to stick.

All that leather is now smooth.

It's amazing.

That doesn't mean to say you can stop.

It means to say it's amazing.

My turn.

Before painting,

we have to mask the plastic
bits so they don't get sprayed.

Mike's putting on like a leather dye paste.

He's just filling in the minute cracks.

And I think it's fair to
say it's what, you know,

thousands of people do in
front of the mirror every day.

You're filling in the blemishes
before you put the top coat on.

Nick heats the seams to
flatten any frayed stitching.

So now the seat's all prepared.

Now you're going to lay
some paint on it, yeah?

We call it a dye because
of the properties in it

and it's obviously an
automotive design for leather.

Right, now I'm going to move out the way.

Yeah.

And we get covered in paint.

Good color match.

I can see it already coming out of there.

That's fantastic.

Now, Nick, you've nailed that, haven't you?

Look at it.

I mean, that rough bit that was
there, that's completely disappeared.

The couple of cracks that were in
leather down there, they've gone.

And do you know what?

I already thought that
the old seat looked good,

but now when you compare and
contrast the two seats together,

this looks tatty and worn.

Only problem you've got is you've
got to make this one look like that one.

A secondhand hydraulic line that Mike
ordered from the Internet has just arrived.

So now I can button up
the four-wheel steering.

Right, starter up.

Up to 35 miles an hour.

And there it is.

The active steering is now fixed.

What's amazing, it didn't
cost a lot of money to do.

But it might not look like a much.

That tiny little movement,
that one and a half degrees

is only a small difference,
but it is the difference.

Mitsubishi could have been lazy.

They could have just
put front wheel steering in.

But this car wouldn't stand out.

Over time, those switches go wrong.

In fact, they have a reputation for it.

As a kid, I loved the 3000 GT VR4s.

And now I get to work on one.

This was one of the
coolest cars of the 90s.

So the job is to get all of the
active technology working again

so it can rule the roads,
just like it did back then.

Mike tells me that the active exhaust
system on this car doesn't work.

And now that it's in the air,

you can clearly see that Mitsubishi built
this exhaust with performance in mind.

They want to get the gases
from the engine in a straight line

down the length of the
car as quickly as possible.

And they do it with this
huge three inch pipe.

Now, remember, in the 90s,
this was a groundbreaking vehicle.

And Mitsubishi could have just kept
the exhaust simple, but they didn't.

They made it complicated.

And it's around here that
it gets really complicated.

And it's there that we have the problem.

The hardest part is unbolting the rear of
the exhaust from the rest of the system.

It's been on there for years.

I've removed the rubber hangers,
and now I'm going to wiggle it off.

Oh, and now the exhaust is off.

You can see that complicated bit.

The active exhaust
works because of two basic

components, an electrical
side and a mechanical side.

And the mechanical side is
this, and it's actually quite simple.

This is a butterfly valve that exists
within inside that three inch tube.

Open the valve, and it allows gases
to pass down one side of the exhaust,

the driver's side, that's
known as sports mode.

Close the valve, and it recirculates
the gases down both sides.

And that's called touring mode.

It's a little bit quieter.

And I can feel from the valve
that it's actually really stiff.

There is no way that that
would be able to open.

So what I'm going to do is load
it up with a ton of lubricating fluid.

That's going to really penetrate in
there, get that mechanism working again.

And while that magic happens, I'm going
to test the electrical side of the system.

Now, inside the boot of the
car is a small electrical motor

that's operated by a switch on the dash.

That motor in turn moves this cable.

Press the button on the
dash into sports mode.

It pulls the cable, opens
up the butterfly valve,

and allows gases out the
back of one side of the exhaust.

Put it in touring mode,
it closes that butterfly.

Now, I need to see if
the electrical side works.

This is great news.

The electrical side of
the system's working,

which means it can only
be this mechanical bit,

which has already started to free up.

Give it a little bit more pressure.

Yeah, the penetrating
fluid has really worked.

Now, this is spring-operated.

That's it.

Electrical side works,
mechanical side works.

All I've got to do is
fit this back on the car.

So I turn the key.

Now, at the moment, the car's in tour mode.

That means the butterfly valve is closed.

But if I press the switch
and put it on sports mode,

there, you can instantly hear this tone
and the noise of the exhaust is changing.

It's throatier, it's heavier.

Given the choice, I'll just
run this car in sports mode.

That's the exhaust fixed,
but that's not the only

bit of active technology
that's broken on this car.

Now, Mike tells me
that the active aero's

also broken and the
rear spoiler doesn't work.

Now, in front of the gear
stick, there's a switch.

If I turn it on, it
operates the active aero.

The front spoiler I can
see from here does work.

Turn it off, turn it on.

Now, the rear spoiler
definitely doesn't

work, which means the
problem is at the back.

To remove the wing,

I first have to get the boot trim panel
out of the way by removing four screws,

then simply unsnapping the panel.

Then I unplug the wing's electrical harness

and unbolt it from
inside the inner boot skin.

Underneath the fibreglass housing is a
little motor that controls the active aero.

By carefully disassembling the wing itself,

I can get to that motor
and the two small switches

inside that may have
went faulty over the years.

So if I reveal the underside of the motor,

you'll see in the middle here,
there's a white plastic cog.

That's actually a cam.

It looks round, but it's not.

That cam operates under two conditions.

Number one, if you
press the button in the

car, or two, if you go over 45 miles
an hour, it does it automatically.

And when the cam turns,

it leans against these
two little sensors here.

And I can see from the soldering

that these have been replaced before.

Now those switches are
disconnected, I'm just going to

take this opportunity to
check if the motor still works

by plugging it back into the car.

Get in the car,

hit that switch, and if
the motor's fine, it'll work.

Ah, result!

That means the problem
is definitely not the motor,

and it's going to be those little switches.

These switches are actually soldered on,

which means I'm going
to have to snip them off.

Cut one,

cut two.

Now that it's out, you can
actually see how it works.

That little white cam
touches against this arm,

and it's that that makes
the wind go up and down.

Now I've got rid of those,

and I bought a new pair of switches.

And these were only $9 each.

That's just a shade under seven pounds.

So I've got to be fair to Mike, I thought
it was going to be an expensive fix.

Turns out I was wrong.

I think I've gotten the active aero fixed,

but I won't know for sure
until I can remount and test it.

I'm always very careful to keep
all the screws and small bits sorted,

because you don't want
to get halfway through

reassembly and find
out you've lost something.

Time to test it.

Right, ignition on.

So that's the active aero
fixed and the active exhaust.

And to be fair, I gave Mike loads of stick,
because I thought it would be expensive,

but turns out I got both
those jobs done for under $20,

which is going to make
me Mike's new best friend.

Ants, how are you doing?

Yo.

You all right?

Look at these, eh?

Look at that.

They look great.

Are they the originals?

Yeah, they're the ones
that come out the car.

They look like brand new
again, and it was quite cheap.

What I want to do is give people
no reason to find fault with the car.

Now, hopefully, you've got
all that active stuff working.

We're on the right path.

Oh, I've got the active stuff working.

Fantastic.

OK, so we've now got this car
going back to being bone stock original

with no modifications, except
for the wheels that are on the car.

What's wrong with them?

Yeah, I don't know.

They're original.

Yeah, these are the original
wheels that went on the 95 onwards.

I prefer the ones that
are on the car currently,

but the market absolutely is crying
out for these wheels to go on our VR4.

Do you know they're so rare?

I was searching from
everywhere on the Internet.

I actually found them on a
forum, and I paid $1,000 for them.

That's without the tires.

No tires, $1,000 on rims.

Yeah, sorry about that.

But it's about 700 pounds.

But I'll try and make some
money back by selling the old ones.

I spent less than you.

Did you?

Yeah.

OK, well, that's good news.

All you've got to do is bolt
these to the car, get the interior in,

and Ming, you can get
this car sent down the road.

This car isn't ready for
a new owner just yet.

I have to undo some of these
unfortunate aftermarket add-ons.

Now, this should be...

Yep.

This is the part I've been waiting for.

This is the new gear lever that's
going to replace the awful agricultural

homemade piece of rubbish that
exists on the car at the moment.

Now, this is a Mitsubishi.

It's supposed to be a driver's car.

It's supposed to have a really
clean and crisp gear change.

But it's not the only bit
I've managed to get hold of.

I've got hold of a new
handbrake gator, gear lever

gator, the new panel
when I remove that Gauge,

an original blow-off valve,
plus an original air filter.

Now, to start with, I'm going to
go with eeny, meeny, miny, moe.

A boost Gauge monitors the turbo system

by measuring the amount of
air entering the intake manifold.

It's measured in pounds per square inch.

There is a stock boost Gauge on
the instrument cluster above the radio,

so we certainly don't need
this spare one on the A pillar.

Our car has been fitted with
this aftermarket blow-off valve.

The engine builds up pressure as normal,

and that pressure comes out
via a hose and hits inside here.

Now, this valve is set at a certain psi,

so when the pressure builds up,
it suddenly releases and whoosh,

it creates that really
loud noise that you hear,

and it escapes out into the atmosphere.

But this isn't the way
that Mitsubishi intended.

They intended it to be recirculated.

So this valve, instead of it
releasing out into the atmosphere,

it goes back into the engine.

The reason you need a blow-off
valve is to maintain the life of the turbo.

If you imagine the engine's
running, it builds up pressure.

If you close the throttle,
that pressure's maintained,

and it puts strain on the turbo.

This regulates and maintains the
pressure and makes the turbo last longer.

If you're going to fit an atmospheric pressure
valve so that it escapes into the air,

you're going to have to block
the other side of the system.

And on this car, it's been
done with a bottle cap.

It might seem like a bit of a bodge,

but in reality, it just kind of
works, so I'm all right with it.

But I'm going to do away with that,

do away with this fancy
pants aftermarket blow-off

valve, and I'm going
to stick to the original.

I got hold of a second hand one,

and I'm going to make
the car exactly how

Mitsubishi intended it
to be back in the day.

The last bit of kit this
engine needs is a new

air filter to replace the
larger aftermarket one.

Now finally, I get to deal
with this awful gear-lever.

All the bits that have been done on this
car would mean nothing if this is left.

And it is awful.
In fact, it looks homemade.

Let's get that out.

To get this rubbish out, I
need to remove the cotter pin,

slide the shifter linkage off the
shifter, and remove the pivot bolt,

and then the spring assembly, which
centers the shifter when it's in neutral.

This should just lift out.

Rubbish!

This is the business.

It looks much more purposeful.

Once the gear-lever is fitted,

it's this little pivot point here that
pushes the gear selector within the gearbox.

Now on the original cars, Mitsubishi
fitted a rubber bushing on there,

so it took up the slack between
the gear-lever and the gear linkage.

And the problem with
rubber is that it's flexible.

So I'm going to do away
with Mitsubishi's rubber option,

and I'm going to replace it
with this, a brass bush instead.

It's going to give a real positive,
solid feel to the gear change.

I fit the brass bushing into
the end of the shifter linkage,

then attach the new
shifter with the pivot bolt.

Next thing is to fit
this little spring here.

At the moment, the
gear-lever, if I move it there,

stays there, but this
spring centers it for me.

It goes on the end there.

I tighten the spring assembly,

then remount the shifter
linkage and reinsert

the cotter pin to
hold it all in place.

Then tidy up with a new gear-lever
gator and a new gear knob.

Now already that feels instantly better.

It might be really fiddly, but
for a hundred and eighty dollars,

that's a hundred and thirty pounds, it's
going to transform the feel of this car.

It's now a driver's car.

Love it.

A little blip of the throttle.

Whoa!

We're in the home stretch and getting our
Mitsubishi 3000 GT ready for its new owner

and just needs to get the
seats in and the wheels installed.

The 1994 Mitsubishi 3000 GT VR4 is a
marvel of technology and performance,

advanced active
systems, luxurious interior

and a heart-stopping


combined to make this one of the
most enjoyable drives of the 90s.

While I was off rescuing the original
leather seats and solved the lift-a-tick

and restored the
active aero exhaust and

four-wheel steering
to their proper function.

And there it is!

He also did some amazing work
undoing years of dodgy customisation.

We spent six thousand five
hundred dollars on the car.

New parts, including
the shifter assembly,

new blowout valve
and lifters only cost 400.

Refreshing the interior cost 500 bucks.

Tyres and stock chrome wheels set us
back one thousand five hundred dollars.

With 42 man hours in, our total outlay
is eight thousand nine hundred dollars

or around six thousand
seven hundred pounds.

Any fan of 90s performance would practically
salivate at the chance to own this car.

I'll have to be content with an
afternoon in sports car nirvana.

You're telling me that this
active spoiler now works?

Yeah, this car is ready. She is fixed.

It just goes to prove that
if you find the right car

and tackle the jobs with confidence,
you can turn out a fine motor.

You're absolutely right. This was the perfect
starting point. You bought a good car.

Yeah, the only extravagant expense on
the whole car were these wheels and tyres.

But the market wants originality
and it wants these wheels and tyres.

All right. Right. So why have you
dragged me all the way out here?

Right. This is a sports car, right?
It's about speed and it's about handling.

Check it out. This is a winding road of
straights and turns through the mountains.

It's the perfect place to test this.

Yeah, very dangerous. So what about safety?

You know I was a copper, right?

Yeah.

I've still got some friends in the police.

Oh, look at that.

So we own the road.

Do we?

Yep.

OK, give me the keys.

Get yourself in there.

What? What? So I'm going to be a passenger.
Remember how valuable I am.

Yeah, get in, grandad.

Right, so what should happen if you've got
this active aero stuff working properly?

Of course I have.

At 55 miles an hour, it should pop up.

What we've got is we've got plus
three degrees on that rear spoiler

so it's actually pointing
down a little bit at the moment.

And at 55 miles an hour, that will
pop up to minus 11 degrees. Not yet.

Can I go now?

The front air dam will
open, there'll be a vacuum

underneath and it
should all start working.

Your field is cast out, sucking the floor.

So keep accelerating
once you go through it.

See the right pedal?

Yeah, hit it.

So right now I'm doing 30 miles an hour.

Right, let me know when you're at 55.

It's not done now.

So quick.

Yeah, the active aero's up,
that front air dam will be open.

This car is now sucking air in through
the front, creating a vacuum underneath.

And already I can feel this car.

It transforms the way it
handles, it absolutely grips.

Oh wow, does it grip.

The active four-wheel steering,
you could really feel that, can't you?

I'm hardly moving the
wheel and this is a big bend.

You're breathing on the
steering wheel and it's turning.

Look at that, that is wicked.

Tell me about that gear shifter.

It feels so positive.

Fifth, a little blip of the throttle.

That is all thanks in part to that
transversely mounted V6 twin-turbo engine.

That doesn't make any more noise.

No, lifted tick is gone,
absolutely brilliant.

I tell you what, mechanically,
this car, you've nailed it.

You know we're at 120 miles an hour.

We're not.

You don't like being a passenger, do you?

Not really, no, I'm not
a very good passenger.

But I'm happy, I'm happy to be here.

The interior, although it
looked good, it was just tired.

Finding Mike and Nick, those
two guys, to go and do the interior,

we could have put new
leather swashes inside the car.

We could have done that,
but no, I had it reconalysed.

It cost just 300 bucks to do this.

It was cheap, wasn't it?

Plus, got rid of that awful boost Gauge.

Oh, thank God, yeah.

My hand doesn't hit any more,

and have you noticed the
little whooshing farting sounds?

Yeah, that's horrible dump
valve that was under the bonnet.

That's gone, and those blue
gauges are a thing of the past.

Do you know, it feels good.

It feels good, doesn't it?

Feels really good.

This car feels great.

What we've done with this car is
we've made it exactly right for the market.

There is a real nostalgic
feel for people that

wanted one of these cars back in the
day, but do you know how much they were?

When this car was new, it was $40,000.

That's like £33,000.

Today, that's the equivalent of $70,000.

This was an expensive car.

They couldn't afford it back then.

They could afford it now,

and I know me and you can get this out
there on the marketplace for under $15,000.

With the work you've done
and how good this car is,

I couldn't be any happier that
somebody will enjoy it forever and a day.

This car, we pounded it.

Now, what we did is we
took a good car that was

already cheap, and we
made it a fantastic car.

I advertised it out there for $13,400.

I thought that was a fair price.

I had a few calls, a couple of tyre kickers
down, but nobody really committed to it.

I think it's got something
to do with the color being

so yellow, but this lady
behind me, her name is Sarah.

She is a fan of turbo Japanese sports cars.

She's had one in the past.

Guess what color it was?

It was yellow, so I hope she
likes what we've done with ours.

So then, Sarah, what do you think?

Do you like it?

I love it.

It's awesome.

You can see that we've done the interior.

It's got a new gear stick, and
this car is packed with technology.

It's got a lot of active stuff,

and we changed the look of it as well by
putting on these second-generation wheels.

Do you like them?

I do really like them, actually.

The 18s from the 95
are just the right touch.

Really?

Yeah.

Okay.

I was told that people would like
them, and there's the evidence.

I've advertised the car, I
think, at a reasonable price.

$13,400.

I'll be honest with you.

I am willing to do a
deal on this car today,

so if you're interested,
make me an offer.

I could probably do $11,000.

$11,000.

You know, it's always nice
that we can pass a car on to

somebody like you who's
going to really appreciate it,

but $11,000 for the amount of
work we put into it is just not enough.

I do get the fact that
you are a fan of this

car, and I think you
would really enjoy it.

To make this car sensible for both
of us, and it really is a bargain for you,

I'll let you have it for $12,000,

and that's a steal at $12,000.

I think I can do $12,000.

What?

Hold out your hand.

You put yourself one cheap Mitsubishi.

Well done, young lady.

Thank you.

You can get to where
you're going now really fast.

This right here is a perfect example,

both Anton and I love doing what we do.

We took a good car and we made it perfect.

And to have it signed off by a
true fan of Japanese sports cars,

you can't say fairer than that.

Plus, I managed to
sell the car for $12,000.

That's around £9,000.

That means we've got a
little bit of money in our pocket.

That means I can go out and
buy some more cars to bring to you.

And if you want to see those cars,

make sure you join me and
Ant soon on Wheel of Dealers.

Salut.