Starion

1987 Mitsubishi Starion

You have no idea, dear readers, how long I hunted- perhaps stalked is the more accurate term- this Mitsubishi. Starions are very rare these days, I wanted to shoot one in Alameda for this series, and here was this primered-out specimen living just a few blocks from my house (on the same block, in fact, as the '87 Corolla FX16 GT-S). Unfortunately, its owner clearly uses it as a daily driver, and his work hours seem to coincide exactly with the daylight hours. All fall and winter I waited, and with the onset of the longer days of spring I was finally able to catch this Starion, parked and with photography-friendly lighting (if only I could have the same success with that '76 Olds Starfire that keeps evading my camera).
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9:00 AM on Thu Apr 3 2008
By Murilee Martin
2,541 views, 60 comments

Latest by FuzzyPlushroom: @LTDScott, Porcubimmer pilot: I just love the stock wheels! '80s-Toyota-esque. Seriously. Best car ever. Pity about the current owner, more than likely.; more »

choose your eternity

PCH, 80s Japanese Muscle Edition: AE86 or Starion?

I know it's been a while since our last Choose Your Eternity matchup (in which, incidentally, the Hayubasa-powered Honda 600 just barely edged out the Duramax-powered '47 Ford, for which I apologize; the cruel overlords at ~~the salt mine~~ my tech-writing job shipped me out to New York for a 4-day weekend of PowerPoint presentations. Aaah, PowerPoint, the magical tool that makes time slow to a crawl! To unwind, we were treated to free booze each night at corporate-sponsored parties, including one with an "Eighties Prom" theme. And, as I fought my way to the bar to get another French 75 (F. Scott Fitzgerald's drink of choice while in Paris), contemplating the spectacle of a bunch of 24-year-old software geeks shakin' it to the usual Billy Idol tunes (how come 80s parties never have good 80s dance music, like George Clinton or Grandmaster Flash? And, yes, I know the answer: MTV), I tried to recall how the rear-wheel-drive Japanese factory hot rods of the era appeared to those of us who cared about cars at the time. And, of course, that was the inspiration for today's pair of PCH choices...
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5:30 PM on Mon Jan 14 2008
By Murilee Martin
4,751 views, 74 comments

Latest by OddManOut: No question...Starion. I wanted one since I was 11...finally got one when I was 21 (a 1987 model). I only had it for about 4 years. Dropped massive cash on it (for the time) and never did get the more »

sema

ENGINE SUPERNOVA POTENTIAL!

Every now and again we have to revisit the reasons sinking endless hours and buckets of coinstar trappings into our rides somehow worth the effort. Last week we motored down to Torrance from Montrose in the mighty Starion for some wrenching, a late cobb salad down at the Hof's Hut, and to pick up a turbo heat shield bracket that had snapped after twenty years of heat cycling. Kelly was prepping Mario's car for the trip to sin city, and Mark came over to suggest propane turbo engine swaps for the Starlet. After some more wrenching on our own Starion we're off to SEMA today. If you see a mushroom cloud on your way out to Las Vegas don't worry. The nuclear test ban treaty is still in effect. The Star of Astron has merely gone supernova, and I'll need a ride.

2:30 PM on Mon Oct 29 2007
By Mike Bumbeck
786 views, 5 comments

Latest by Turboner: Those cars are way too clean to have 10 years on my Talon. more »

engines

Workhorse Engine of the Day: Mitsubishi Astron

From a distant galaxy of single overhead cam engines comes the Mitsubishi Astron series. The mighty Astron began life in 1972, and is still ticking away under the hoods of everything from Mitsubishi Starions to the panoply of Chrysler K-Car variants. In the beginning, the Flying Sikh himself pummeled an Astron equipped original Lancer to numerous rally victories. Patented silent shaft technology canceled out harmonics as the engine grew in displacement from 1.8 to 2.6 liters of four pot fury. The last production car to pack the Astron was either the the 1991 Pajero or the 1990 Starion, but only if not counting the diesel version of the Astron - which motored on with turbo until 1993 amid Galants. 21 years of Astron! In sourcing a new cylinder head sans jet valves for one of the two 2.6L G54B turbo variants of the Astron in our garage we learned that the 'ol G54B aspirated on propane with propane accessories serves in many forklifts to this day. The odd marriage of Mopar, Mitsubishi, and K-Car station wagons also led to some innovative badging - as seen in the bonus pic after the jump. [Mitsubishi Astron] More »

2:30 PM on Tue Oct 23 2007
By Mike Bumbeck
2,873 views, 26 comments

Latest by Magna260: Mitsubishi Motors Australia actually continued production of the 2.6 Astron at their Lonsdale, South Australia engine plant until 1996 for use in the Mitsubishi Magna sedan and wagon. It was a transverse mounted petrol version. more »

gratuitous friday burnout

Dodge D-50 Smokes the Baloneys

The torquey 2.6L Mitsubishi G54B four-banger was installed under the hood of a great number of vehicles, including but not limited to this rusty Dodge D-50 pickup - aka Mitsubishi Mighty Max. There are enough of these engines still running in Monteros, forklifts, K-cars, Starions, and other more industrial applications that parts are still readily available. Good news in case one spins a bearing or kicks a rod while doing a burnout.

3:00 PM on Fri Aug 24 2007
By Mike Bumbeck
1,002 views, 15 comments

sooner or later

1000 Dollars Cash Back on Chrysler Conquest TSI

Rolling in an import was easier than ever in the during the eighties thanks to your local Chrysler-Plymouth-Dodge dealer. A Dodge Colt would have been the more economical choice, with the D-50 pickup winning in utility. We're not quite sure if the Colt Vista mini space wagon would have swept the durability contest, but we do still see them on the road. A new Chrysler Conquest TSI listed for 18,683 in 1988. The 1000 bucks cash back would have left plenty of scratch for Slayer World Sacrifice tour tickets and t-shirts, or a few shares of Mitsubishi stock.

3:00 PM on Wed Aug 15 2007
By Mike Bumbeck
583 views, 11 comments

Latest by Frost Face: This reminds me of the good old days in a 4g63 powered Eagle TSi AWD TurboVan. Thats F**king sleeper. more »

starion monkey

Donut Potential!

The Starion in this video is essentially a Euro-spec version of Jalopnik's own Star-of-Orion/Stallion steed. Fit Bumbeck's car with a wide plate, and you're ready to rock hoonage all over the continent. But these guys? Well, they're keeping it confined to the parking lot.

7:00 PM on Fri Aug 10 2007
By Davey G. Johnson
614 views, 16 comments

super sequential!

Starion Bar-B-Que in Motion

Not so long ago we rolled down to the KDM Starion Bar-B-Que for some Carne Asada and turbo goodness. While we snapped stills, mini DV cameras spun to capture the event. One Mitchell Spacone spent hours and a toasted motherboard getting this together, splicing in some stills courtesy of the Jalopnik in the process. The ~~523~~ 539 horsepower king of the turbo and motherboard frying StarQuests is featured with motion and realistic hi-fi sound!

3:45 PM on Tue Aug 7 2007
By Mike Bumbeck
231 views, 2 comments

super attendance!

MOD Squad Hits Triple Diamonds in Third Year

Having been to the first annual Mitsubishi Owners Day three years ago, the sheer number of Lancer Evolutions tearing up the roads today seems almost impossible. So many EVOS appeared that the cars overflowed onto the nearby streets of MMUSA HQ. While there was some temporary grumbling that Prototype X showed up instead of the production version, there were plenty of 3000GTs, Starions, and Eclipses to keep everyone happily distracted. Stay tuned for some mini-galleries focusing in on some of the historic rides on shipped over from the museum in Japan on display at MOD. The good news is you've got another year to get that Mitsubishi 500 ready to roll.

3:30 PM on Sun Jul 15 2007
By Mike Bumbeck
730 views, 4 comments

Latest by evoCS: @Frost Face: Yes indeed. The way the car should've been. Unfortunately it shan't be built. Phooey. more »

mod squad

Mitsubishi Owner's Day

The third annual gathering of Mitsubishis and the people that drive them will take place tomorrow, July 14th at MMUSA HQ in Cypress, California. Rumor has it that a genuine Group A Starion will be among the machines rolled out from the museum to celebrate triple-diamond racing heritage. As much as we would have liked to put our Starion back together for the show, we'll have to settle for bringing the camera instead. [Mitsubishi Owner's Day via Mitsubishi]

1:30 PM on Fri Jul 13 2007
By Mike Bumbeck
375 views, 3 comments

Latest by Frost Face: @WheatKing: Thats only when teengers rice them or smart people push them just beyond their high high HIGH limits. We will miss you four gee... (but you will continue to live on in my 3 cars! :)) Them cars are more »

look what they've done to my car

Luxurious Starion Burgundy

What the Mitsubishi Starion ever had to do with Gallo-Romans or Pinot Noir grapes we don't really know. What we do know is that the burgundy interior is low on the list of desired Starion features among those lusting after the turbo speciality sports coupe. This guy found good use for a velour burgundy interior nonetheless. More »

6:15 PM on Wed Jul 11 2007
By Mike Bumbeck
443 views, 2 comments

too late, you let the sun go down

Starion Racing Video Music Contest, Part 2

More eighties ~~bombast~~ music and STP helps the Starion slay an onslaught of Ford Sierras, BMW's, and even a Volvo in the second video segment of the contest. We're not sure if Andy Granatelli had anything to do with this STP race car, or what makes this second and near 20 minute video the Hot Version. Wait for it... – Mike Bumbeck More »

4:00 PM on Tue Jul 3 2007
By Mike Bumbeck
261 views, 6 comments

don't stop believing

Starion Racing Video Music Contest, Part 1

Long before editing software made it easy for even Chim-Chim to put together a video of his dancing cousins, it seems Mitsubishi assembled their own quality versions of racing videos. As far as we can determine from the eighties soundtrack, these two rolls were produced during the actual run of the Starion itself. The first person to correctly identify all songs featured in both videos will win a genuine used OEM hydraulic lifter from a 1987 Mitsubishi Starion ESI-R. This is video number one - We Are Fast. – Mike Bumbeck More »

3:00 PM on Tue Jul 3 2007
By Mike Bumbeck
371 views, 6 comments

Latest by gti_rocky: Don't really care about the music, but I can say that I was soooo happy to see some old familiar faces in this video! I see Dave Wolen, Fred his crew chief, and Peter from NZ that was a co-driver more »

super potential!

523 Horsepower Starion Bar-B-Que

The coolest thing about owning any automobile is almost instant membership in the club of the car. The less ubiquitous the machine, the more esoteric the club. In the case of the Mitsubishi Starion, aka Chrysler Conquest, a membership of peers is required just to keep the twentysomething year old StarQuests rolling. That same community is also there when it comes time to squeeze more horsepower than the factory ever intended out of the 2.6L Mitsubishi mill, or chow down on some tasty BBQ. More »

3:00 PM on Sat Jun 16 2007
By Mike Bumbeck
1,721 views, 7 comments

Latest by saltflatsracer: I've been a bonneville salt flats racer for 20yrs running blown fuel. I have a narrow body Conquest I intend to run next year & i'm looking for input on how to set the 2.6 on kill. Record for this more »

turbo specialty dugga-dugga

Unfortunate Metal Potential! Starquest Madness!

Okay, here's another rad vid with an unfortunate soundtrack. There are no good engine sounds, so unless you're a fan of generic nü-metal, pick a rollicking tune of your choice that clocks in around four minutes, cue it up and mash play on this vid and the genuine rock article at the same time. You may just achieve potential nirvana. – Davey G. Johnson More »

11:15 PM on Tue May 29 2007
By Davey G. Johnson
311 views, 9 comments

contest

Jalopnik Preview: Awesome is Coming

Why did Bumbeck cross the road? I was lucky enough to participate in what will no doubt prove to be a most awesome J-Lop feature. We're keeping it secret for now, but trust me, awesome. Think you know what we're up to? You can win my standard prize - a fresh lock of my chest hair. Aw shucks, we'll even throw in the gas cap off Bumbeck's Starion. If you get it right. Exactly right. – Jonny Lieberman More »

6:15 PM on Thu Apr 19 2007
By Jonny Lieberman
695 views, 21 comments

Latest by Bumbeck: Burro driven flying Plymouth Fire Arrows powered by quad-busa engines would be most awesome. No winner yet! more »

retro

Half-Price Day Junkyard Day

Uttering the phrase half price anywhere near the word junkyard sends a couple of the Jalops driving with toolbox toward the self-service junkyard like so many moths to a streetlight on a summer night. One of the larger self-service yards in California had a statewide half price sale a while back and we were there in NoCal and SoCal. Bumbeck headed down out of the hills into hot and dusty Sun Valley while Martin ventured out onto the mean streets of Hayward from Alameda. Out of the thousands of cars being picked apart we've chosen ten that qualify to enter into the pantheon of Jalopnik half-price day junkyard specials. Our selections in blazing full color after the jump. More »

2:30 PM on Thu Mar 29 2007
By Mike Bumbeck
5,503 views, 15 comments

Latest by chdir: Hello more »