How to Sleepy Eye/Lazy Eye a Mitsubishi GTO/3000gt

I mentioned I wanted to try this soon, but I didn't realise it would only take me 30 seconds to do... (cue the that's what she said jokes)

So what is Sleepy Eye or Lazy Eye? This is where your pop-up headlights aren't fully open, but aren't closed either, it's a paradox a bit like a bar just before kick out, the doors open, but are you hell gonna get served.... although funnily enough it can make your car look like it's had one too many beers... and the rest!

Sleepy Eye GTO

This is probably the easiest mod I will ever do to the car... It doesn't really count as a mod, just something cool to do for pics with pop-up headlights really. Beats the googly eyes I keep seeing hairdressers put on their mx5's  (that's what we call a "miata" to those across the pond by the way).

The first step, which I'm sure will come as a shock to most, is to open the bonnet.

GTO engine bay. Headlight height controls circled. 

In the pic above I have circled the "headlight height control dials". I'm sure this will have a more technical and slightly less made up title, but as my manual is in Japanese I'm gonna go with that for now... it's catchy. Up close it looks like this:

Dial with cover

 It is a rubber cover which hides the actual "headlight height control dial" underneath. This should pull off easy enough.

Actual dial

 

With your headlights popped up, turn this dial the opposite direction to the arrow (anti-clockwise) and the headlight will start to lower itself. It's that easy! I found the cover to the dial handy as a gauge to use to ensure the headlights were at the level, although the cock eyed look might appeal to some people.

GTO with 1 Lazy Eye

And on that note I'll just leave this here:

I prefer the look of the Sleepy Eye on the GTO without the lens below the headlight itself, sadly this is the sidelight and I probably wouldn't get away with doing a delete on this in the UK, not that anything seems to ever get done about those driving about with only 1 headlight, but it would be just my luck to get screwed over it, so I think I may nightshade that somewhere down the line. 

Below is what it looks like with both sides done for now though.

This wasn't all I got up to with the GTO this weekend however, in my next entry (hopefully later this week) I'll be removing this:

Check out my last entry - The Beast is Back

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E85 Society - April Meet

In my last post I mentioned that I wouldn't leave it as long before my next post, so as promised, here goes. But first a disclaimer. This post comes with a warning:

So warning over, shall we begin?


Last night I attended the April E85 Society meet and the cars in attendance didn't disappoint. There was a wide range of cars there, from Low n Slow VAGs, to JDM beasts, and even the odd bit of domestic muscle, speaking of which is where I'll start.

My favourite car on show was this 600+BHP Ford Escort Cosworth:

Simply stunning example

Engine bay - Car porn!

Boot build on the Cossie

Many of these cars spent much of the 80's and 90's either upside down in hedges or being plagued with rust, so to see one not only in such good condition, but also modified so well, felt like a very rare treat indeed.

So from one legend to another, Godzilla. There were not one, but three Skylines at the meet. When the White one pictured below arrived, just reversing into the bay it managed to set off the car alarm on one of my mates project cars. I think that this laid down the gauntlet for when I get the GTO back next week. Next meet I gotta try and do that! If it can't in its current guise I'm sure I'd manage it when the 57i is installed.

The blue r34 (also shown below) went one better though, as it left the meet it spat flames, damn big flames. Sadly I left the meet before it, so didn't get any pictures, but the E85 Society on facebook has plenty of videos of it I'm sure.

Loud Exhaust

Flaming Exhaust

 You might just be able to make out that the cars sat either side of the blue skyline are a little special as well. Both are imported JDM Honda's (well... sort of). To the right is an Integra type R. I think that if I was to own a Honda again, this would be the one I'd go for. They seem to carry a bit more presence than a lot of other Honda's, they look awesome and sound great. To the left of the Skyline is a Mugen Civic, not exactly something you see at every meet.

Teggy Type R

Mugen Civic

There was a variety of other Jap cars there, one of which was this rather clean Mitsubishi GTO. It made me a tad disappointed I hadn't been able to get mine back on Friday as planned. but I do look forward to getting her out to meets again soon.

Mitsubishi GTO SR

She is an SR model, so although not as fast as my baby, she is in really good condition in comparison.  This one gave me some goals for body work, eventually....  after she's had a bit of love and attention in the performance department. 

So, as I move on to the next couple of cars I was going to mention, I would just like to take a moment  and pause for a second to point out this is not a JDM society... honest... Here are 2 Supras and a couple of early MR2's:

4JZ Power!

Stock spoiler or carbon? Left or Right?

Toyota should never have changed form this early format

The later MR2s are like a completely different car

I think thats probably enough JDM goodness for today, if that's even possible.

As with most car meets, a large proportion of the cars there were VAGs, many of which rather than modifying for speed, instead chose to see who could make their car sit on the ground the lowest. I always find this relatively funny watching people trying to leave over bumps, but it can make for some admittedly dramatic and good looking pictures. There is also something strangely satisfying about the signature tssssssssssssst of an air bag signifying a VW has just parked next to you at a meet.

 Last but not least is probably the most unexpected car at the meet. Not every day you get a machine like this at your average car meet in a car park on a Saturday night. Dat Lupo tho!

Dat Lupo tho!

There were many more cars there, and I wish I could have featured them all in my entry, but I suppose I should save some for next time! Hopefully next time the 3 of Diamonds herself will feature!


If you enjoyed this post, Check out my previous post by clicking here. It contains less cars, but more humor, lots of laughs in that one... Well... OK... there is SOME humor at least... Check it out.

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GTR for the GTO

Last night felt like Christmas eve. Last night felt so much like Christmas eve that I barely slept a wink. In fact last night probably more like Christmas eve than Christmas eve did.

I'm going stop saying Christmas now, it's January for crying out loud....


The reason for the excitement may have had something to do with today being the day that I picked up my first big purchase for the GTO. As I mentioned in my entry last week I had been out shopping for a new set of rims and today I was able to pick them up.

The set I opted for were Rota GTR's, and also opted to increase the size over the standard wheels. Increasing from 16x7.5 to 18x8.5. I was slightly worried about this at the time, fearing they may be too big, but I was really happy with the results. I think they now fill the wheel wells better than the stock rims, giving the car an improved stance with enough space left over to play with heights of coil-overs (when I eventually get around to getting them).

Picking the new rims up from Revolution Motorsports

Like this shot, but shame about the rain...

New Rota GTR

I didn't actually mind the original alloys which came with the car, I just felt they were too small for the car, and by changing them it has made a big aesthetic change to the car. In addition to this, when I was trying to do a baseline 0-60 for the car I ended up feeling quite tyre limited, so hopefully new rubber will help bring that down a touch. 

Original wheel drivers rear

Original wheel drivers front

The only problem with getting the new wheels, is now I'm thinking about all the other things I want to do to the car. I had got to the point where I was starting to get a clear picture of what I wanted to do, and when would be best to do each upgrade; whereas now I want it all, and I want it now!!!

I want all the car parts.... I cant afford all the car parts... Maybe I should consider a new career, like lottery winner... 

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GTO Engine Noise

Merry (belated) Christmas and a Happy New Year! I hope this entry finds everyone in fine spirits this festive period.

I hope Santa was kind with the car parts this year to help everyone get ready for the 2016 show season!

So Santa may have got me 1 or 2 car parts this year, but I also treated myself to a new camera, a new action cam. Nothing flash mind, my budget didn't exactly stretch to a hero4, but it'll certainly do for what I need and will be much better than using my phone! As such I took advantage of the quiet holiday roads and unseasonably good weather (finally!) to do a bit of hooning in the GTO.

As promised weeks ago here the sound my car makes, currently with a stock in-take and Kakimoto Racing Exhaust. I look forward to hearing how it will sound down the line when I get round to upgrading the intake system as it already sounds pretty mean (even if I do say so myself)

I have been reflecting on 2015 and what it has meant for me automotively (if that's such a word), obviously it has been the year this project started (not so much started, but rather the year the car was bought) but it also had a few highlights building up to that point also. In the run up to New Year I will share my top 5 moments on my Instagram  as I reflect on my 2015 and look forward to what 2016 may hold!

So I will leave you with one final thought, and something I sure a lot of petrol heads are feeling...

WAIT.... I almost forgot to mention, when hooning I may have done a 0-60 video... which may be in next weeks entry... so until then, Happy New Year!

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Winter is coming... Aaaaaaand its here...

I plan to keep my entry rather brief this week for fear of becoming a blog about the weather instead of being about cars....

So in the last 3 weekends we've had a weekend of 90mph winds, a weekend of flooding and to top it off, this weekend was a weekend of snow... Don't get me wrong, snow at this time of year can be nice and give a Christmas-y feel, but I just want to try to redo the 0-60 test! I know the one I did a few weeks ago can be beat and isn't truly representative of the cars' potential, I just have to catch a break in the weather...

On the plus side, snow does make for rather nice photos of the cars. The first pic is to give you an indication of how much snow ended up falling as most of the pics were taken in a slight break in the weather mid way! Living up in the hills makes for great driving roads in summer, but has it's disadvantages at this time of year!

Lots of snow!

Was feeling a bit artsy at first and quite like this pic so thought I'd throw it in here as well!

Careful Abarth, there's a monster in that garage!  

this is actually the first pic I've taken of the Mitsubishi and the Abarth together

The Abarth and the Dacia

Scorpion Popsicle!

The snow was actually that bad it caused a local bus to catch fire trying to get up a hill...

Luckily everyone was safely evacuated, but it goes to show how dangerous it can be driving in these weather conditions. If you're going to be driving in snow, stay safe!

Hopefully I will catch a break in the weather soon, and be able to do my baseline test, but in the mean time I will finish with a pun that bad even the Christmas Cracker companies rejected it...

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Starting to make decisions... Well, one or two...

OK, so for the last few weeks I have been playing around with apps that can help you plan projects and store links and ideas from the web, such as Google Keep and Evernote etc.

Although I have used these kind of apps before for other reasons, when it comes to planning a project car I have come to one main conclusion, and that is that 90% of the things I want to save fall into one of 3 predetermined headings which I will probably start using moving forward:

1. 'From this list of many MANY things you may eventually be able to buy 1 or 2 items by 2019'
2. 'Maybe if you win the lottery'
3. 'Dude, just buy an EvoX FQ400 already....'

That being said, using these apps to actually save things has helped me to come to a few decisions on the direction I want to take some of the aspects of the car. For instance last week I mentioned that I wanted some new rims, when I started saving wheels I was interested in I noticed a recurring theme.... and I know they've been played out.... I know everyone and their Honda has had a set.... but how lush* would a set of red Volk Racing rotas look on my sexy little black Mitsubishi?... 

*Geordie colloquialism, in this instance meaning sexy as f@£k

This would raise another question though, on a black car with red rims, what colour calipers to go for on a big brake kit? If the rest of the car is black and red not sure yellow would work and that was my first thought... Would black work?... hmmm may have to come back to that one...

Rims are not the only thing this little exercise has helped me to decide. A few weeks ago I posted this meme on my instagram account:

I know I want something JDM to keep the car true to its imported heritage (and unleash a little of my inner ricer). Since doing this I have been drawn back time and again to the Katana shifters... So Santa, if you're reading this, one of them please! 

I have started looking at proper mods as well, however I still need to do more research into those. For instance, is Meth injection legal in the UK? As its not that common a mod here that question seems to confuse google when I ask it... Although saying that there is plenty of time to research that yet as power will come after handling!

This week I did order a camera to help document the build when I get it properly started in January, Trying to document engine sounds on my phone highlighted that it wasn't up to the task. So no doubt as soon as that camera arrives a baseline 0-60 test on the GTO will finally follow! (weather permitting)

So with that, I'll conclude for this week with one last thought.... "Do you even lift bro?"

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Project - Prologue pt 2

Actually talking about the GTO... and its about time!

I apologise in advance if anyone reading this has viewed my Instagram  account recently (@3ofdiamonds_GTO) as some of the pics have already been posted on there, they will just have a touch more explanation now! As mentioned in my first entry the 2 months or so from getting the car until the new year is a time I wanted to set aside to learn about the car, the way it handles, the way it feels and drives before I start making changes so I can be sure I am making changes I want to be making.


So I'll start with exterior aesthetics.

Have you ever seen the episode of 'How I Met Your Mother' where they are trying to take a bad picture of Barney? No matter how bad he looks when the picture is taken, the picture always turns out great... The GTO is a bit like that. The picture below shows some slight damage to the rear quarter. No... it really does...

The paint on the corner just above the exhaust is cracked and will probably need a touch of filler before a re-spray. There is also a touch up needed just below the active aero wing for a scratch... They just don't seem to show up on pics unless you are really zoomed in... hence Barney... In truth the car could probably use a full re-spray anyway purely because the paint is a little tired through being almost 25 years old. I know how it feels there, it is probably in better condition than I am at 28.

With the paint, I like black so will probably go for that again. I had briefly toyed with the idea of white with black accents, but quickly went off the idea when I saw an example online done badly, thought keeping it black was a safer bet. Still deciding on whether to go for gloss again and keep it original or whether to change it up with a satin/flat black... That will probably be decided later. There are more important things to consider first like POWER! and handling.... and brakes... and safety..... but POWER!?!?!!

The car could also use some new shoes. I am pretty sure these are the original ones, only I'm pretty sure they didn't come black as standard.

They don't fill the wells enough for my liking, and changing them out for a good suspension/big brake kit combo should make a big difference to the way the car handles. Along with a potentially more striking colour could really help the car stand out looks wise.... I can already envisage a black and red colour theme for the car?....


The exhaust was already aftermarket. When I first saw the car, I couldn't stand the way the exhaust looked, and then I heard it and I was converted. Its gone from being the first thing I wanted shot of, to being one of the things I love showing off most on the car...

The exhaust is a Kakimoto Racing Exhaust. Yes its aftermarket and having two of them makes it a bit loud, but the sound it makes is awesome. I have recorded the sound (as with my Abarth on my phone) only this time with a little help, but my phone still doesn't do it justice. I will try to get a better recording, but if I can't will share what I have of the rumble. As far as I can tell this is not yet coupled with an aftermarket intake (unless it is simply an uprated panel filter) so may sound even better down the line....


Speaking of exhausts (and moving to the interior of the car) it comes equipped with this:

When I first found the exhaust silencer I though "this aint gonna get used much at all" however after driving the car for a while and playing with the buttons, I have come to realise that this button works about as well as a chocolate  fireguard, or in car terms as well as a BMW on racing slicks in snow.... basically it doesn't. Obviously (well... I'm assuming...) when the exhaust was changed the silencer must have been deleted. The cruise control has also been deleted at some point. I've read about the cruise control on 90s Mitsubishis,  they used the throttle cable to set the cruise control rather than a computer, and as such would sometimes make the throttle lag harder than Windows Vista, so from what I've read I'm not disappointed that this system is gone.

The interior is showing its age. The aftermarket Ripspeed steering wheel and Momo gear knob, along with worn seats and a Sony mini disc player (mini disc? wtf?) means the interior needs a bit of work, and I'm not actually sure where to start yet on this.... (although I know I kinda want a ninja gearstick)

Still also not quite sure how far to take the weight reduction either... These cars were known for being heavy... watch this space. The car going on a diet may be first change, weight reduction bro!

As with the majority of project cars, I would like to squeeze some more power from under the bonnet. The first thing on the list for the 3.0l lump under the hood will be a good cleaning so I can see whats what. The car pulls well, especially given its age and that current mods from buying the car are minimal. I think I cant make any other decisions about this area until that is done, and it will probably be quite painstaking as I doubt the 25 year old electrics will take a dousing from a hose......

Still going to stick with the plan to not start making changes till the new year, however because of this I think December will be a very long month indeed.... At least today we get to open the first window on our advent calendars. (how cool is mine below?? how much of a geek do I look now??.....)

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