d95gas Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 Evening All, The wife fancies a change from her MR2 which she has had for 7yrs now. She's seen a really nice looking FTO 2.0 V6 Semi Auto. Looks well looked after and has had a good amount of money spent on it, as you would expect from another "Jap Petrolhead". Anyone any experience with the FTO's? what we should look for, etc. Trying to arrange a viewing, and personally have never even been close to an FTO let alone anything else. Thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike k-g Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 Had one for 6 years..2.0 GR. spent loads of money modding it.. which model she looking? the GR is abit slower than the Mivec Models. they also suffer from tappety issues which can be fix. check for oil leaks from the camcover seals. Mike K_g Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d95gas Posted August 10, 2014 Author Share Posted August 10, 2014 Hi Mike, its the 2.0 GR she is looking at, V6 Tiptronic. Guy has just had a top end rebuild done as well as cambelt and water pump. Total stranger to these cars despite having worked on probably 100's of different model cars in my lifetime, I have never touched the Mitsi...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike k-g Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 If you go to view it.. check for rust under bonnet also the alternator is very difficult to change if this goes.. check bootfor rust not sure on the tiptronic gearbox as mine was a manual.. also look for white smoke when driving useing oil. The FTO OClub is a must if u buy it. for advice and a great bunch of guys. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lexx Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 Amy also had a heavily modded one. My ex had one for the 3 years we were together. I hated every moment of driving and working on it. Different strokes for different folks though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floydbax Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 I had my GPX manual for over 15 years, a super little car. Personally I wouldn't touch anything but a GPX and especially if there's been work done on the engine.There should be plenty of decent ones out there cheap. Mine was great, perfect bodywork, interior and only around 60 000 mls, a superb screamer of a V6 engine. Sadly it went to the scrappy, I neglected to rustproof it when I imported it and the chassis was totally f**ked. I would check out the forum for one of their members old cars, that's probably the best place to find a decent one. I disagree about a good bunch of guys, compared to this forum they are a load of attitude filled big kids. BUT, they do love their cars. So the main thing I would be checking is the chassis for rust and around the suspension struts as well. The drivers seats usually have wear on the bolsters but there's plenty of spares knocking around and a couple of companies who do leather conversions. Dip the engine oil and make sure it's not milky under the oil cap. Listen to the engine closely on tickover, the GPX tappets can be adjusted but the GR is a bit of a job. Have a listen to the exhaust, it tends to wobble around a lot which can in some cases cause it to crack in places - even after market ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland Rat Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 I had a GR for 3 yrs, great car, lots prefer the GPX with the Mivec, but each to there own, mine had the tip box which was extremely reliable and it will learn your driving style!!! As stated the alternator is tricky but once you know how to do it can be done in under 2 hrs, be careful of roof rust on early models there was a faulty with the roof lining adhesive which caused it to blister, and also join the FTO owners club lots of great info and really helpful just like this forum!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dannyg Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 (edited) I had one and loved it, Look out for Rusty suspension top mounts, alternator, tappet noise, needs to have been undersealed and any other rust And the Ftooc is a good bet for any more info Here's mine Edited August 10, 2014 by Dannyg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PiGFoetus Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 I still have a 1996 FTO GPX sat on my drive being very sadly neglected. Had it for 12 years and used it daily before I got the Z with scarcely any issues whatsoever. Great handling, reasonable performance and very reliable. As has been said before, the vast majority are imports and if they weren't undersealed early, there may be structurally significant rust, so check very carefully. Also due to the unintentionally hydrophilic glue they used internally, there is a tendency for the roof to rust from the inside in a line across the width of the car. Idle control valve stepper motor is a prime failure point, but this can mostly be fixed with a good clean or an aftermarket part (£80 rather than the £500 mitsubishi wanted). The brakes are pretty weak, and the disks have a tendency to warp under heavy braking, so check for judder. Head over to the FTO Owners club and ask if they know the car? They have a public thread on what to look for here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d95gas Posted August 11, 2014 Author Share Posted August 11, 2014 Well guys thats given me plenty to think of and enough information to go on when looking at them. The wife, who will use it as a daily drive for work, is not a fast driver or anything like that, as long as its got a bit of poke to take off from a junction, anything else she is not interested in.... She is not convinced about the Tiptronic, not ever having driven or semi-auto. Can I assume the GPX variant is the manual drive? this might be better for her. I am a bit wary about the guy selling it.... Says all the top end has been done, but no paperwork and doesn't really know what was done as its a mate of a mate sort of thing. Comes out with statements like "Oil and filter changed every month"! But my eyes have been opened by you guys, many thanks for all your comments and help, very much appreciated. Graeme Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floydbax Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 (edited) The GPX comes in manual and tip versions. There's also on GPX Version R which was an anniversary edition with a few small differences. These have usually been the best looked after because their owners have sought that variant out specifically. The difference between the GPX and GR is the GPX has the MIVEC variable valve timing - a bit like the Honda VTEC. The 2.0L V6 is an absolute screamer. Redlines at 8.25K RPM and sounds just beautiful, honestly not that different to the V10 in a Porsche Carrera GT - with the right exhaust (JP Macclesfield - I'm always recommending them ). The negines are usually pretty reliable, most owners will change the oil regularly with decent oil which is important and the timing belts ought to have already been done at the age the cars will be by now regardless of mileage. As has been pointed out other things to check are the alternator, stepper motor, the synchros in the manual gearbox can wear as well. Oh and the heater matrix - check the passenger footwell for damp! The roof rust problem seemed to affect the black ones and ones with the sunroof more than others and lots of owners already fixed the problem. Yes, the standard brakes are terrible!! In my first week I had an awful moment on a windy B-road with a cyclist and oncoming car. By the end of that week the car was wearing grooved and dimpled discs, Mintex pads, braided brake lines and dot 5 brake fluid which totally fixed the problem. There's loads of aftermarket stuff for this area. Edited August 11, 2014 by Floydbax Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d95gas Posted August 11, 2014 Author Share Posted August 11, 2014 She has decided against the Tiptronic one, definately wants manual, that in mind she has just seen: Mitsubishi FTO 2.0 V6-200 PS GPX Which is in A1 cond with full service history, new MOT etc etc Some of you guys were saying one model engine was the better one to go for, what is the engine in the GPX likely to be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floydbax Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 The GPX comes with only one engine variant the 2.0L MIVEC. You can tell the MIVEC from the non-MIVEC by the side of the engine the oil filler cap is on. It's the left hand side as you face the car from the front. There used to be lots of people trying to pass of the non-MIVEC as the MIVEC when selling I suspect this is not as bad these days though. Pop up a link to the car if you can and I'll give an opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock_Steady Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 (edited) is it possible to chuck a 3000GT/GTO engine in one of these? Are the engine mounts in the same position? I bet that'd be a proper hoot. I think you can also put a Pagero block on for 3.5 Litre grunt. Edited August 12, 2014 by Rock_Steady Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ts743 Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 My brothers just bought a GPX manual - Proved incredibly hard to find anything half decent, these are / were probably one of the most common cars to be abused and 'fast and furious-ed' (read: ruined). As you've seen, most are auto and they're not the one to own. Major problem is rust, or underseal hiding rust. Rear chassis rails, sills, arches, roof and underneath the leading edge of the bonnet. There is a GPXvR on the owners club at the moment, it's very low mileage, manual, rust free and looks clean as a whistle. It does need a couple of jobs, but nothing major and evidently an honest seller, PM me if you'd like contact details. The GPXvR has a Torsen LSD, thicker anti roll bars and a few visual cues, certainly the one to have, if not only for resale value. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d95gas Posted August 13, 2014 Author Share Posted August 13, 2014 Thanks for the info guys. ts743 - Wouldn't mind grabbing some info on that sale just in case this one falls through Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.