OrdinalGradient Posted June 27 Report Share Posted June 27 (edited) Hey everybody, Hope this post finds you all well, I have been lurking for a little while and watching lots of videos to see what I'd be getting myself into with getting myself a Dodge Conquest/Mitsubishi Starion. Really love their look, flat or wide body. I recently got an 85 Conquest from a friend who had it laying in storage. I like to think it's in pretty good condition and the interior is a real gem. The digital dash is to die for, and there's just something all too charming about the car as a whole. I know that I'm in for some surprises with a 40 year old car, but I'm excited to start. I've studying up as much as I can about the G54B and some common failure points from you guys, and I know I'm in for a very fun ride. The only real issues on it seem to be a head gasket related problem, some minor panel rust on the wheel wells, and some clear-coat separation on the hood. I'm excited to get this thing punched up and looking beautiful. A little about myself: I am a software developer and studied electrical engineering. I live in Texas. New homeowner and starting a family soon (I hope!) I'd like to see myself in manufacturing one day, but programming just seems to pay the bills a little better. I like to program for fun too, I work a lot on signals processing as a matter of hobby and real-time optimizations for graphics rendering, but my heart will always be stuck on seeing something real and physical and I hope to be in a field that'll let me do that before I die. My family used to run a machine shop and I was raised in that, and I miss the days of being able to ask my dad, "Hey, I want to make something..." and he'd show me. Life story aside, I hope to get to continue getting great information and insight from you guys and that I won't try your patience too much when I ask a question or seven. Thanks again! Edited June 27 by OrdinalGradient 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1SICDSM Posted June 27 Report Share Posted June 27 welcome to the family.it looks like a good starting point.technica nice too.ya the jet valve head is not the best.but dads engine parts can get you a head and everything you need to make it even better.good luck and have fun. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizardKing Posted June 27 Report Share Posted June 27 (edited) Welcome and congratulations on your find! Head gasket failure and cracked head are common unfortunately. Upgrade the cooling system with an alum radiator and eliminate the jet valves. You need to drop the gas tank if it wasn't drained when it was stored. If so, replace the fuel pump with a walboro pump. That's just for starters!!! More pictures please! Edited June 27 by LizardKing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psu_Crash Posted June 27 Report Share Posted June 27 Congrats and Welcome aboard! 🥳 Let's see some interior pics. I agree that year digital dash and all the sounds it makes are pretty cool! We are here to help you on this journey! P.S. Also an Electrical Engineer here with a title of Controls Engineer. Lots of PLC and Robotic coding for me, among MANY other tasks 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrdinalGradient Posted June 27 Author Report Share Posted June 27 Here's some more pictures. These were kindly taken by my friend who offered me the car. Very excited to get in and do some deep cleaning but, just looking at everything, it really appears to be in fine condition compared to the few I've found around Texas that I could get within my budget and repair-tolerance. Gas tank is definitely first on the list in terms of things. Undercarriage looked great too. He did a wonderful job of keeping this in good of shape as one could for 40 years old when it was his occasional driver. I've scoped out a reasonable budget to make it run, and some overflow to "make it OEM+" (as my mechanic friend puts it). But, first things first is just hitting those common problems as discussed. Thanks for the warm welcome, guys. Here's a picture where you can see the rust on the rear panel wheel well a little more clearly. I'm not too worried about that, all things can be fixed in time. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasQuest Posted June 27 Report Share Posted June 27 Welcome fellow Texan, there's a few of us around here including a few guys around the San Antonio area. The car looks really clean for being the age it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psu_Crash Posted June 29 Report Share Posted June 29 On 6/27/2025 at 4:41 PM, OrdinalGradient said: Here's some more pictures. These were kindly taken by my friend who offered me the car. Very excited to get in and do some deep cleaning but, just looking at everything, it really appears to be in fine condition compared to the few I've found around Texas that I could get within my budget and repair-tolerance. Gas tank is definitely first on the list in terms of things. Undercarriage looked great too. He did a wonderful job of keeping this in good of shape as one could for 40 years old when it was his occasional driver. I've scoped out a reasonable budget to make it run, and some overflow to "make it OEM+" (as my mechanic friend puts it). But, first things first is just hitting those common problems as discussed. Thanks for the warm welcome, guys. Here's a picture where you can see the rust on the rear panel wheel well a little more clearly. I'm not too worried about that, all things can be fixed in time. Sounds like you have a good plan. Just FYI, I used a gas tank kit from KBS coatings many years ago and it has been great! There are lots of solutions there though. Image links aren't working for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nc_beagle Posted July 2 Report Share Posted July 2 Starquesting can be an expensive and sometimes frustrating "hobby" but you'll be driving something a lot of people have never seen and still looks cool 35 years after it was released. But, there's a lot of knowledgeable people on this board who are always willing to share their experience and advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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