Ah, the joys of the drop-top. Cutting corners, spinning tires, hearing your car scream out loud, all with the wind in your hair and the sun in your face. The boulevard pimping points for convertibles have given them a vast following of fans. When it came time for Jim Blair, Jr. to get a new ride, the only decision he had to make was which car looked the best topless. The completely redesigned third generation Mitsubishi Eclipse had Blair enthralled, and soon this 2001 Eclipse Spyder GT model was his. A longtime import enthusiast who learned the art of the automotive customization from his father, Blair soon began to hook up his ride. Upon purchasing his dream convertible, Blair ran into a little problem. Parts tend to be scarce for cars that are brand new on the market. Luckily, the Eclipse came across the eye of Brian Fox from Fox Marketing with the help of The webmaster for Fox Marketing. Blair began to turn his car into a mobile marketing proposal for the company. Two years of hard work and Blair's Eclipse has become the show stomping ragtop plastered across these pages.
The first changes to the Spyder GT were to make it lower, wider and sexier. A Shinestreet 9-piece body kit was grafted on. Straight out of Tyrese's 2Fast 2Furious Eclipse, the kit includes 1.5-in fender flares and a two-stage rear wing spoiler. The kit was then painted the factory Dove White, with a few choice areas left pure black for accented style. Adding to the black and white contrasting design is a Carbon Creations full carbon-fiber hood showing off all its engrained glory. Fitted to the rear is a set of TYC JDM taillights with black inserts. The final coup de grace of the bodywork is an Extreme Dimensions adjustable carbon-fiber front splitter. Accenting the exterior is a brushed billet aluminum gas cap cover. For nighttime cruises and shows, Blair received big help from StreetGlow. The Eclipse was setup with a full 20-ft red neon underbody lighting kit. The engine compartment also received two 12-in red neon accent tubes and a gaggle of white and red LED strobe lights. The interior of the Eclipse received ten 12-in red neon accent tubes and six sets of white LED strobe lights. The trunk also got the neon treatment, taking in ten 12-in blue accent tubes and six sets of LED white strobe lights.
Blair's Eclipse received an interior makeover as detailed as the exterior bodywork. The dashboard was re-skinned in a Florida Auto Trim 15-piece carbon-fiber dash kit to attract numerous second glances. Adding to this, various interior trim pieces were painted Dove White to match the exterior color. Replacing the front seats is a grippy set of Arospeed racing seats. Aiding in driver input feel, the seats work well in conjunction with the HP Racing steering wheel with carbon-fiber horn button handles. Those carbon fiber handles also work with an Ignited toggle switch to allow nitrous power surges with each press of the former horn button. A huge concern of convertible owners is safety; only air separates your head from the pavement in a hopefully unlikely rollover. To this end, Blair added a Classic Design Concepts sport/roll bar, painted gloss black. A set of Autometer silver face gauges help monitor air/fuel ratio, fuel pressure, oil pressure, volts, and nitrous pressure. Finishing up the interior trim bits is a set of brushed aluminum pedals, shift knob and cigarette lighter.