Project Starion
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8/10/2003 The Project Begins
With the engine's next to last breath, the car made it into the garage under it's own power! Now we can get some real work done.
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Here's a picture of the progress so far. I started with the interior rather than under the hood for a few reasons. Since I will be replacing the Starion ECU and engine wiring harness with the 92 Plymouth Laser (DSM) unit, Getting the dash and other junk out of the way will help the job go smoothly.

Weight reduction is a key part of this project and this interior is is overweight to say the least. I unbolted the glovebox in order to remove the dash and was shocked at its 7 pound girth! How about the stereo? 8 pounds! These are just two quick examples. I do plan to keep the dash, console, headliner and door panels intact. They will just go on a diet before being re-installed.

I still have much more work to do. Next is to get the entire dash and carpet out. The carpet will get a well deserved shampooing, all insulation removed, then will be thrown back in. While the carpet is out, any useless wiring/computers will be removed and the thick sound deadening material will be scraped off the floor.


I remember riding in my sister's Conquest back in the day and looking down at a bright red lever that read: "Lift for emergency exit." I was afraid to ask what it did and wondered why my parents Buick didn't have them. With her driving, I was about ready to try it out, no matter the consequence.

After some poking around inside the car, I've finally found out what these things do. Check out the picture.
This car is loaded with computery goodness. There's a computer for everything. Even the seatbelts get their own computer...seriously. Check the picture out to see all that I've found so far.
Part of getting this car prepared to race is removing some of the creature comforts that it's known for. These ventilation ducts are just what I could reach before the dash comes all the way off.

Now the question is, what should I do with them? Hamster playset? Kitchen utensils? I've got an idea I'll connect them, spraypaint them chrome and sell it on Ebay as a "Tenzo R type max ram air intake" for ricers.