Rusty But Trusty

For those of you who are feeling left behind by the collector car bubble that’s driven the value of some muscle cars, Porsches, Ferraris and more to unattainable heights, the opportunities are still out there if you have time. Even some 1980s cars have started taking off as people are looking for a seat before the music stops, but if you’re willing to buy and hold (and drive, of course, that’s the whole point!), the Starion/Conquest cars are a great bet. You can find this 1986 Mitsubishi Starion Turbo for sale in the San Fernando Valley, CA for a mere $2750.

Thanks to its location and age, you might find the car has created memories for a skin-flick star or a valley girl. Similar to them, it’s showing its age a bit, and has a salvage title, and needs some cosmetic attention. The fender flares and leather chairs are very 1980s, and help the car stick in the minds of Generation Xers who are getting close to wanting to revisit that time and being able to afford it. The b-pillar vents, spoiler, and aggressive wheels make it clear this car is to be taken seriously, even if you’re in a 944 or Audi Quattro.

The car is said to show no obvious traces of repairs, in spite of the salvage title, and no theft history either. The silver paint seems to have suffered some level of oxidation, but the “distressed” look is popular among some fans of older Japanese cars. You’ll want to have the splits on the leather seats restitched, or have the seats reupholstered.

With recent headgasket, alternator, fuel pump, clutch master/slave/disc, rodded out radiator and rebuilt turbo, this car should be seat for some fun weekends in the hills or at the autocross track. All the electrical bits are also said to work. With dual balance shafts, this engine should be smoother than most other large displacement fours.

The eighties-tastic design continues, with all switches in little pods on either side of the binnacle, and what is probably a separate AM/FM cassette deck and equalizer. It’s nice to see the dashboard has no cracking, but the center console appears to be held together with tape just south of the shifter. Things look pretty clean in there otherwise, if well-used.

Can you still buy a car with anything cool printed on the seat belt, much less “TURBO”? This is the last year for the then-unusual door-mounted safety belts – in 1987-89 cars, you have to put up with the killer motorized belts.

Tags: Feature, gt, japanese, mitsubishi, starion, turbo

This entry was posted on November 12, 2013 at 2:03 pm and is filed under Feature. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.