Welcome to Harrison Roske’s Mitsubishi Starion, where there’s no extra charge for awesomeness. And you know what? The internet’s full of short attention spans, so let’s cut straight to the moral up front. The moral here is… (drumroll)… don’t be scared to do it differently. Ooop there’s that word again – different. It’s become one of the most cringeworthy words in car culture. But let’s talk about it.
Doing it differently sounds exciting on paper…
It’s a neat concept. But put into practice, different often turns out to be challenging. Because inevitably, doing it differently comes with a whole lotta 2nd-guesses and wondering if. Specifically, wondering if you should’ve just done it the way everybody else does. Maybe the ‘popular choice’ got popular for a reason, eh?
“If it were easy, everybody’d do it.” – my dad
But keep in mind – when you’re out there doing it differently…
It’s often hard to see yourself from the perspective of ‘the outside looking in’. That’s because you’re often kinda lost on the inside – looking out. Looking out at how much damn easier it seems to be for everyone else. You might forget what that view’s actually like from ‘the outside looking in’. And how truly awesome & authentic it is. What you tend to see – are the headaches, setbacks, and 2nd-guesses. But what they see – is absolute awesomeness with no filter.
Don’t try-so-hard to be different…
Because that’s where that cringe-effect comes into play. Rather – be true to yourself, and go with your own flow. Find your sweet-spot. Truth is: We all spark in different ways, and that’s the beauty of it all. So as long as you’re true to yourself, different is just a bonus to the real mission – authenticity. But don’t get it twisted…
“Do Less.” – Kunu
Authenticity ain’t easy…
Not by a long shot. See, authenticity doesn’t always get you popular. In the influencer-age, popularity is (unfortunately) a driving force behind a lot of what we do. Nevertheless, authenticity & popularity don’t necessarily correlate. A lot of times these days – authenticity gets overshadowed by flash-pan sizzle. You wanna be popular? Make lots of videos, keep ‘em under a minute, and may the algorithms be in your favor. But authenticity on the other hand – often has a black-sheep, starving-artist effect. There’s a reason pop music usually sucks, and the best music usually isn’t that popular. It’s ‘authentic’ lol. Bottom line: Authenticity is a tricky bitch. And that’s why it’s special.
There’s no shortage of people telling you what you need to do…
They’ll tell you (or sell you) the quick & easy cheat-code to get results. The path of least resistance. Drifting is no different. And all that experience & wisdom is super-great… to a point. But when it comes to drifting, correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t style at very heart of it? Isn’t a big part of style… having the confidence to not worry about what everybody else does? And isn’t a culture/lifestyle comprised of more than just… results? Don’t we do it for the hang, not just the outcome? Trends in the data suggest: That when trends start to favor ease & convenience over skill & style… the affected hobbies, sports, and golden-eras start to dry up.
The Mitsubishi Starion is just a cool sports car…
Sure – it wasn’t ever ‘the best’ at anything, and the aftermarket support sucks. Yet – it’s undeniably rad. It’s rad where statistics can’t measure. At this point, the Starion’s design has become quintessential ‘80s. Boxed flares, pop-up headlights, turbo on the door handles, and an incredibly damn cool window shape. It’s at a place where a sports car & a galaxy far-far away intersect. Origami in motion. Just say the name in your head – Starion. We were really ‘going there’ weren’t we…
Harrison got into the Mitsubishi Starion without knowing…
Much (if anything) about them. He just thought they looked real cool… and that was enough to figure the rest out. Sometimes what makes a build-process exciting & rejuvenating – is actually not having all the answers before you start, ya know? With the Starion, almost everything had to be dreamed up & built by Harrison & his Dirtylove friends. They would basically use parts from other familiar/proven chassis as a starting point… and then modify them to work on the Starion. Take the suspension for example, it’s largely Nissan S-chassis based (see modlist below).
This Starion has a Toyota 2JZ-GE swap…
For reference, that’s the non-turbo 2J out of something like a GS300. Starions originally came with a 2.6 turbo 4-cylinder (G54B), But those aren’t really the strongest engines when pushed, and Harrison had chewed-up a couple. He found the 2J engine for a steal & scooped it up… and figured he’d cross all the other obstacles as he got to ‘em. Harrison & the Dirtylove boys had to get creative with the motor mounts, as the NA 2J manifold was a hindrance. But once they got the 2J sorted in the Starion… it performed very well even without a turbocharger.
Consistency & reliability are the key factors (over brute horsepower). And while Harrison’s buddies were all trending on overbuilding their drift cars, Harrison was just building his. Then – the trends & priorities began to change. Harrison’s buddies began building new cars that were less PRO-AM spec, and more refocused on the roots of street, style, & enjoyability. Harrison’s Starion just kinda fell right into place with that. Don’t get me wrong…
The Starion did kinda go race car a little quicker than intended…
But the main reason for that is: Since the Starion has less aftermarket support & bolt-on solutions, you have to get a little creative, loose, & crafty. As mentioned, Harrison and the boys went S-chassis on a lot of the suspension – so that basically initiated a domino effect. But still – this Starion retains a tag & gets regularly street-driven in addition to drift events.
It’s rad that these Dirtylove guys are maturing in the hobby…
But not in the way you might assume. They’re getting back to their roots, getting the cars back on the streets… & reflecting the true spirit of the culture. And not just wildly overbuilding drift cars for short sprints on small closed-courses & parking lots. As you can probably guess, a turbo was/is in Harrison’s ultimate plans… maybe. But plans have kind of shifted since the Starion is honestly at a pretty good sweet-spot right now.
Photos by Cody Helton
1986 Mitsubishi Starion
Engine / Drivetrain
2JZ-GE swap
CX Racing exhaust manifold
Otherwise stock & unopened engine block
Griffin high-flow radiator (biggest one that would fit in the frame rails)
Chassis harness by Sam Kluver with a Painless Performance harness
Factory Toyota engine management
Toyota W58 transmission
ACT clutch
Fidanza flywheel
Custom driveshaft
Nissan S14 differential (welded)
Suspension / Wheels / Brakes
Modified Starion crossmember to mount Nissan S-chassis steering rack
Stance S14 coilovers
DLGarage (DirtyLove Garage) custom control arms & knuckles (Starion —> S14)
Custom S14 rear subframe swap w/ differential (DLGarage)
DLGarage adjustable rear control arms
Amazon Volks (aka Rotas) in 15×9 front & 15×10 rear
Tires are 195/50 front & 205/50 rear – usually Hankooks.
S14 4-lug swap (Harrison wanted 15” wheels and 4-lug was the way)
Also S14 brakes
Interior
Bride rep seats
Grip Royal steering wheel
GReddy shift knob
DLGarage roll-cage with door bars (built by Chris Harteau in exchange for bodywork & paint on his S13)
ASD in-line hydro handbrake
Exterior
Self-made front lip
Hoodoo Voodoo (Blazeberry Version2) paint
European Starion taillights
Future plans…
Mild body-styling additions
2nd engine build for turbo vvti
May work on ITB setup for original motor
Engine bay shave with wire tuck
Find missing interior parts to make the inside more livable
Thanks to…
My wife, for pushing me forward & encouraging the habit.
Sam Kluver & Chris Harteau (DLGarage)
Dirtylove fam *Chris Harteau did a lot of the roll cage & suspension work, Sam Kluver & Justin Shepherd did the wiring, and Harrison does paint & body. Between all of ’em, they’re pretty resourceful lol.
Cody Helton (photographer)
MKS Motorsport (Mikie Sorrell) –> another Starion guru (we featured a couple of his cars back in the print mag)
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