Any gearhead worth his or her salt considers several factors when looking at used cars to buy. Was the vehicle well-kept? Is it fun to drive? How much money and time will need to go into it? Yet in spite of all the experience and wisdom enthusiasts gather over the years, there's always a battle going on between one's head and their heart—and the latter often gets the better of buyers in the worst ways possible. Even popular enthusiasts fall victim to this sometimes with one recent example being automotive YouTuber Tavarish, who recently acquired a Fast and Furious replica of Brian O'Conner's Mitsubishi Eclipse, arguably one of the most forgotten '90s sports cars, for a mere $500—and this car's got lots of problems.
A Film Accurate 'Fast And Furious' Eclipse Is Hard To Build
As many gearheads know from personal experience, not every project is a winner. Sometimes a vehicle ends up being too much of a money pit, or life just gets in the way. Tavarish has a reputation for taking projects on regardless of the condition a vehicle is in, and admits that despite the Eclipse's potential, this is just one of those cars he's not keeping.
Here's one of many issues facing a builder who wants to make as accurate of a Fast and Furious Eclipse as possible: the hard-to-obtain parts. "The actual movie car had a bodykit that was very hard to get back in the day," remarks Tavarish. "And right now, it is—I hate to use the word 'unobtainium'—but it literally does not exist anymore."
Tavarish Knows When To Fold On Car Projects
To get an idea of just how serious Tavarish was in making this car as legit as the version viewers fell in love with on the silver screen, the YouTuber shows off all the parts he started collecting once the project kicked off. Parts include a roof scoop (which Tavarish acknowledges serves no practical purpose, existing as a curious add-on by the original filmmakers), a VDO tachometer that looks like the one from the movie (ordered from Germany), a new Sparco steering wheel, and of course, nitrous buttons.
One has to commend Tavarish for initially setting out with the goal of making this Mitsubishi Eclipse into an accurate movie replica car. Yet as Tavarish rightly estimates, it could cost another $30,000 to $40,000 just to get it up to those standards. And if there's a simple lesson enthusiasts learn about car projects along the way, it's knowing when to quit.