9th Apr 2009, 04:45

I have just obtained a Magna TP 89 SE efi, it seems to be a real sturdy car, the only problem is that the bottom bearing hole on the water pump has a very small leak, other than that the car has great get up and go power, 390 on the clock.

The instrument clusters lights didn't work, so I narrowed it down to the dimmer board located in the steering column, so I ripped that out, identified which cable gave 12+ when the lights are turned on, and wired them all up and presto! Found a few blown lights, now it looks a million dollars.

I'm going to tint the rear taillights because they have faded erm... I also found the water pump to have chunks missing out of the belt, upon inspection I found that it was the original Mitsubishi belt, 19 years, that's insane for a belt The last service the car was in 2006, so yeah LOL.

11th Mar 2010, 08:11

I bought a 1988 GLX sedan, manual, (carby engine) when I turned 17 late in '99 for $2000, which was about the only non-dinosaur car I could afford at the time.

It had done 137,000kms and was bought privately.

I had an RAC mechanic inspect it, and he bluntly recommended I avoid buying a Magna of any description full stop. It had some minor oil leaks, stiff steering (CV joints) and didn't idle smoothly due to obviously tired ignition leads, but was fairly straight body wise.

I got it serviced and it ran fairly well, didn't smoke, started every time in less than 2 seconds, fuel consumption was good, and sat on the highways nicely, though the steering was always stiff, and the accelerator pedal was uncomfortable to hold steady for a long period on country drives. The engine also seemed to get much hotter than my parent's EA Falcon, though the gauge showed this was normal.

My good run ended abruptly (spectacularly) when I was leaving TAFE one day. It had started well, reversed well, I then changed from first to second, and was almost out of the TAFE car park, took one final 90 degree corner in second doing about 15km/h, riding the clutch a little when the engine suddenly red-lined without warning, throwing me back in my seat, feet now well clear of the pedals. I mounted a steep curb, traveled a few meters and ploughed head on into a sturdy tree, causing the car to stall.

No surprise, no one believed I wasn't hooning. (The car had cost almost my entire savings - I wouldn't have risked it)!

Sometime later, I tried to investigate what caused the crash. Something that caught my eye was when upon removal of the rocker cover, I noticed the inside of the cover was chipped to varying degrees directly above the valve stems, which may have been the result overheating previously.

The car was a write-off. And now the engine had started smoking and becoming increasingly hard to start. I sold it as a wreck for $150. The car hadn't even made it to the 140,000kms mark.

Interestingly enough, when I visited several wreckers for Magna bits, I noticed almost all the pranged TM and TN Magnas they had showed between 135,000 and 145,000 on the clock. Wished I knew the stories behind how they got there!

22nd Jun 2010, 21:37

I bought my 1991 Fuel injected TP Magna 16 years ago with a mere 50000 kms, it has been a gem.

It has just clocked up 330000 kms and is still going strong. It has plenty of room for our family of five.

The only thing it has ever needed done, besides regular services and tyres (4 sets), was recently replacing the water pump. Amazing I know. As most comments say, it blows a little smoke on start up (valve stems). This is nothing to worry about.

It uses about 1 litre of oil in between 10000kms servicing.

Go Mitsubishi.

9th May 2012, 10:46

Our 1990 Magna has had everything under the bonnet fixed, from engine mounts to the carby, and now can't fault it one bit.

The interior now needs fixing, with the roof lining starting to drop, but $180 will take care of that.

Can't fault the car overall, but must admit that I did have a hand in building this, and all cars within this write-up, as I'm a retired Mitsubishi worker.

Our car cost us $1,000, and we've spent $4,000 on doing it up. Every cent was worth it, as it is a wonderful car, as many have said.

It's not fast, but gets you to point B reliably and safely.

Great car for a first car as well, BUT choose wisely; there are some junkers out there.

22nd Jul 2015, 14:22

I just bought a 1991 TP Magna Elite wagon.

This is the 2nd TP wagon I've owned; the first one I bought in 2000, 15 years ago.

I think the main reason I bought it was nostalgia, & also the beer money price was also an strong incentive.

Being the top of the range, fully optioned & prohibitory expensive when new, its first owner was a Mitsubishi managing director. Which was no surprise to me.

It was bought off the factory floor, which Mitsubishi did for its employees.

The first TP I had wasn't a real bad car, it had many issues, but still went.

Against my better judgement I traded it in at a car yard, for an eight year old 1994 TS model. The biggest mistake I ever made, despite its low km (143,000), it was a nightmare, compared to the faithful TP. Everything went wrong, literally: Welch plugs leaked, 2 ECUs replaced, idle motor, 2 starter motors, 3 alternators, EFI failed, fuel pump failed, CV joints clicked, overheated, & blew head gasket, paint all of a sudden went patchy, all under 200,000 km!! It went to the wreckers, and I was about $15,000 out of pocket.

The TP Elite I just bought is a bit of a gamble, it's basically a disposable car, when something goes majorly wrong, that's it, never again.

It's just done 200,000 km, & it's 24 years old.

I guess in the future, they will be collectible, especially the Elite, GT & Elante models - if you can actually find one; the first series are also pretty rust prone.

The wrecking yards have quite a few, in really good condition, paint & body wise, but obviously they have failed mechanically, that's why they're there.

You can buy much later model ones now for $1,000 or less, but I feel they don't have the same character of the first generation & they're also all V6 & bigger, which means thirstier & rego' is also much more expensive.