Saving a 1996 GTO (Ch. 4): Mitsubishi 3000GT PPI Checklist
Armed with the knowledge of what’s needed to import a GTO, I turn my attention to actually finding the right car.
And in this chapter, I do just that.
Doing nothing is the hardest part
If you’ve ever bought any special car, as in special to you, then you’ll understand this part. I know what I need, and I know where to look. Now it’s really just about being in the right place (or uh, site) at the right time.
I’d keep one eye on Japan, and one eye on the U.S. market.
The Holy Grail that Wasn’t: A 2000 GTO MR
It was a good option, but it wasn’t the exact spec I was looking for, as you know. And bad turbos scared me – the dealer states they were smoking. Right off the bat, a $10,000 repair bill just doesn’t sound like my dream build. I know it’s the most rare of GTOs, but does that matter? I’ll be the dude that chases you around at shows screaming “It’s one of 200!”.
And remember – no rear-wheel steer, no ABS. Not thrilled about that.
Turns out that a GTO Twin Turbo for sale Stateside is pretty rare – only a few have been listed over the years, and fewer still that have been unmolested.
So when I found this one randomly in a near-perfect spec, my interest was piqued.
Finding the One: A 1996 Mitsubishi GTO Twin Turbo
It was listed by a dealer in Virginia that specializes in importing JDM cars – Duncan Imports and Classics. First, the car:
- 141,637 km (88,009 miles)
- Hamilton Silver Metallic (paint code A71). Also known as Seattle Silver in the US market.
- Black cloth inside
- Though this was a 1996, it had a 1997 body style, the one I wanted
- Looked totally stock from the pictures, and in really good shape
- Had the chrome wheels I wanted
- Listed for $21,488
We’ll come back to the car in a minute.
Duncan Imports and Classics
Owned by eccentric car collector Gary Duncan (he has an entire network of regular “new-car” dealers in Virginia), Duncan Imports is really a warehouse. Inside are over 1,000 JDM cars that are part of her personal collection, and you can actually tour the place if you call ahead.
I called them about the GTO and found that yes, it was in stock, and had been for about three weeks. The price was non-negotiable, and basically it was “what you see is what you get”, which is fine because we’re talking about a 30-year old car from across the world.
But some things gave me pause. Turns out that for the most part they sell good examples, but there was a strange Bring a Trailer auction regarding a very rare Nissan 240SX.
You can look through the details online, but essentially the 240 wasn’t anywhere near the shape they claim it was, and the auction was pulled. It’s one hiccup among thousands of JDM cars sold with no issues, and for the most part everyone had good things to say.
And they didn’t say this car was in good shape or bad, just in uhh…a shape.
The more you know
Though you hope people are honest, it’s the responsibility of the buyer to know all the pitfalls.
Look no further than this 1993 VR-4 example on Cars & Bids – less than 60k miles on it. You can see the comment I left in hopes of alerting others – “I am rebuilding one of these as we speak – just know that even on this example, without records to know for sure, you’ll need a timing belt and water pump service right away, among other possible things.”
The reply: “This car is in great running and driving condition and shows no signs of needing those items addressed.” Okay, but without records, how do you know if the timing was ever changed? It’s not an option, it’s a requirement.
The 3000GT PPI Checklist: What I Looked For
Thankfully they did have a ton of photos online, and the car was rust-free – remarkable for one with so many miles. So, a PPI was needed, right?
Not so fast.
I could use one Duncan “recommends”, but no way – their job is to make Duncan money, and there were a lot of comments online about how the PPI wasn’t worth the cost because things were often missed.
Now, I could hire my own guy to do it, but to be blunt, I know more than they do about this particular car. Note that Japanese privacy laws prevent the transfer of personal information, so I had no maintenance records anyway.
The engine
I could see from the images that the exhaust had a patch on it the size of Pluto. That’s fine, we can install an aftermarket one. I asked the salesman to start it up on video – no smoke of any kind, nothing burning. Of course we need the timing belt done anyway.
The interior
I saw an aftermarket head unit, not uncommon because the stock ones tended to fail. Also noted what looked like wiring for an aftermarket alarm or dash cam. The shifter and all the cloth materials were in excellent shape.
The exterior
The wheels were in good shape but had some surface damage. I knew J&B would be able to repair them.
As for the paint itself, the car had a Japanese auction grade of 4 out of 5 – indicating no structural damage. This was a key element – I’m sure the paint needed more than just a simple wash and wax, but some of these examples had clear coat destroyed. I saw none of that here.
The undercarriage
88,000 miles sounds like a lot, but that averages out to about 3,000 miles a year over 30 years, and the entire underside looked like it was pristine.
Too pristine – I suspected it was painted over – this is a common tactic to hide corrosion on imported cars. The exhaust definitely was. But with that auction grade in hand, it made me feel better. JDM cars from the 90’s typically don’t have the same rust-proofing that US or UK-market cars have because Japan gets far less snow, and their roads are not heavily salted like ours. This made the cars lighter, but along with thinner gauge steel, also made them more susceptible to rust.
In short, I expected to find some things wrong with the car upon delivery that are not disclosed. But since I planned on restoring it, anything short of catastrophic damage could be repaired.
Making the Choice: Why I Bought It Anyway
It wasn’t perfect, and there were a few, let’s call them yellow flags. But the only other option would be to find one of those cream puffs for $75,000.
On the other hand, this was an authentic JDM GTO, and it was already here. In fact, the salesman said I could have it at my door the very next day.
Mitsubishi GTO used pricing, and making my choice
The last part of this is the price – $21,500 was a lot of money for a car that needed work, and was this old. But at some point, the market is what it is. This was the same price as that 1998 VR-4 from Chapter 2, and it was in far better shape. A car like this direct from Japan could be had for about $17k, but I’d need to ship it, do paperwork, and wait up to eight months – that’s time and effort.
The thought of not negotiating bugged me, but I’m not walking away from a dream over $2,000.
And just like that, I became the proud owner of a 1996 Mitsubishi GTO Twin Turbo.
What the hell have I gotten myself into?
