1996 Mitsubishi Eclipse

There is an increasing need these days to come up with new and refreshing build schemes for those who want to assemble a car for show in the import scene. We've all seen the car that's been kicking around the scene for the past three years and the only thing the owner's changed in that time is the color of his vinyl stickers, or maybe the addition of a trick new shift knob.

Yawn.If you find yourself dissatisfied with the way your car looks simply because you've been looking at it too long, maybe a change is in order.

This was the case with La Verne, Calif., resident Chris Bory. Bory has been in the scene for about three years, and has campaigned his 1996 Eclipse, pictured here, for the duration of that time. It was black back then, but about a half year ago Bory decided his steed needed a facelift to further set it apart from the rapidly swelling tide of compact show cars that have flooded the scene since he first got involved.

"I also wanted to get in a magazine, and everybody told me you can't get in a magazine with a black car," he said.

While that may not be entirely true-we may be enticed a little more by light-colored cars strictly for photographical purposes-I haven't heard anyone complaining at the first glimpse of the car's new digs. The result of Bory's decision was a period of four months in which the Eclipse received attention in every area, and heavy attention in the cosmetics department. The pristine bodywork was performed by Auto Explosion in Gardena, Calif. The door handles, antenna and back-up lights were shaved, and Mustang-style flares were grafted into the Eclipse fenders. A Street Fighter front fascia was installed for visual intimidation, and the look is completed with side skirts and a rear bumper from Blitz. Auto Explosion took care to smooth all kit pieces in with the body panels, as well as grafting MR2-type side vents into the rear quarter panels.

Other body additions include a 2000 Eclipse fuel door, Viper GTS-style hood and a two-tiered wing from APR. The body was painted in PPG Ferrari Yellow with platinum and white pearls and several coats of clear.

Even the undercarriage received treatment-"Everything was chromed, polished or powdercoated," Bory said.

The car's suspension work was carried out by a friend of Bory's who runs a small tuning shop in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., called Stickman Customs.

According to Bory, he has two set-ups that he likes to use. During the show season, he runs a special type of air shock-basically your average shock absorber body with an inflatable capsule contained in its barrel-that allows the car's driver to adjust ride height inside the cockpit, even while driving.

The system is comprised of six air valves-four for each shock, one for intake and one for pressure release-and their respective air lines. Bory tells us that the valves and lines are of the type more often found supplying power to the big, big air brakes on commercial semi trucks. He also stated that the system allows more ride height control than conventional hydraulic or "air bag" systems that release pressure quicker and may potentially damage one's carefully prepared body kit pieces.

Bory's other suspension set-up consists of Ground Control coil-overs with Tokico shocks. He uses this one when it's time to leave the show and take to the mean streets of home; give him his tools and a lift, and Bory states he can change the entire suspension in about an hour.

Other custom suspension mods include vented PowerSlot rotors, chromed and yellow powdercoated factory calipers fitted with Axxis Metal Master pads, chrome Tenzo R upper strut bars and a Tenzo R lower rear stabilizer bar. Bory's running gear consists of smooth silver Konig rush wheels (sized 19x8 inches) and Nitto NT555 tires.

Pop the car's custom hood and you'll probably be blinded by all the bright chrome and yellow powdercoating inside the engine bay. A polished Tenzo R intake, Hotshot header Tenzo R exhaust, with dual 4-in. tips pipe air in and out of the system.

A fully installed and operational dry fogger system from Nitrous Express is linked to the polished Tenzo intake pipe, but Bory said he honestly doesn't want to try it out yet.

"When the show season is over I'll play around with it," he said.