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This upcoming weekend I am going to take a look at/ probably purchase a 1992 expo lrv. It is a 7 seater, AWD, and manual transmission. What are your experienced thoughts on daily driving it? I love driving my 3G hatch, but am on the fence about the expo. I will post pics when I look at it.
Thank you,
Justin

There is no reason you couldn't daily drive it. Do all the maintenance and they can do pretty well. If I can DD my boosted 3g, you can definitely DD a NA 2.4

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Thom
1991 GVR4 1025/2000 (PTE 1200's, 16g, DSMLink v3, gm-maf, eagle/ross, .020 over, 272's, EVO VIII Wheels)
1992 GVR4 866/1000 (getting everything from above)

I am not so worried about reliability, I daily drove my 3G for 2 years, with only 1 breakdown. And that was due to a rusted gastank. More worried about how the ride is. Or is it feel like a fat 3G?

well you will sit like a minivan, but ride more like a smooth 1g dsm that rides like a 3g hatch

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Thom
1991 GVR4 1025/2000 (PTE 1200's, 16g, DSMLink v3, gm-maf, eagle/ross, .020 over, 272's, EVO VIII Wheels)
1992 GVR4 866/1000 (getting everything from above)

I've owned 4 of these in the past and love them. They are just so practical. Don't expect the same gas mileage as a 3g but you can fold down the seats and haul almost anything in them. Or add a hitch and pull a small trailer. The ride on them is awesome, just like a car but you sit up a little higher.

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93 Mitsubishi Expo LRV 1.8/manual
95 Eagle Summit DL Coupe 1.5/manual
01 Mitsubishi Mirage ES Sedan 1.8/manual

As long as the car is on as good of shape as the seller says it is I will get it. He said it doesn't run, so that will be first. The only thing is I wish it was a 3 door not the 4 door.

What transmission do they use? The guy thinks it is bad. I will verify it is not a clutch first.

The transmission is basically identical to DSMs aside from having a smaller viscous coupling.

Would it be hard to swap a dsm trans into it? 2g I guess? Thank you guys for answering my questions. It helped me make up my mind to get one as a daily. Just searching for the right one.

A 2g awd trans should drop right in. Unless it was an awesome deal I'd wait for a 3 door though.

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93 Mitsubishi Expo LRV 1.8/manual
95 Eagle Summit DL Coupe 1.5/manual
01 Mitsubishi Mirage ES Sedan 1.8/manual

The guy is asking $500 on the 4 door local to me. Only issue is a misfire. The one with the trans issue is a 3 door up north. I had the lady take pics of the underside, and there is a typical rust. I didn't look at the 4 door one yet. Seriously debating on getting it just for the drivetrain parts.

I'd take the 4 door over the rusty one. Especially for $500.

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93 Mitsubishi Expo LRV 1.8/manual
95 Eagle Summit DL Coupe 1.5/manual
01 Mitsubishi Mirage ES Sedan 1.8/manual

Here are pics the owner sent me on the 7 seater.

They are great daily drivers with LOTS of space! They are also invisible to cops . But, they are slow unless throw a turbo on them. Handling/stopping is on par with stock 1G (meaning: not bad) and can be adult improved farther!

I also like 3-door version more, they all of these vans/wagons are very rare, so you might just as well go with what you can find.

Well ... maybe. I bought a '93 AWD 3 door Summit wagon with the 4G64 16v engine in 2002, scrapped it in 2011.

If the Expo is already an AWD, then the DSM W5M33 will fit, and a 4G63T if you are so inclined.
The 93/94 AWDs already had a W5M33 with the Talon-similar 3.454 diff, while the 92's had a W5M31 with the small 3.9 diff (from the Vista 4WD)

If its not an AWD, converting it to AWD is a major operation. You need the following AWD model parts:
* gas tank (channeled for the prop shaft)
* 2 piece prop shaft
* complete rear suspension and axles and 3.454 diff. You could sort out a Talon Visco diff (3.545) with some fiddling with the axles.
* exhaust system (different route to clear the rear diff).

The existing rear suspension has to be cut out and all the necessary mounting points fabricated/rebuilt as needed.
Brake lines have to be rerouted or replaced. Likewise fuel lines. The prop shaft center hanger bearing has to be fabricated.

Converting to 5x4.50" hubs from the current 4.4.50" would be nice but not essential.

94 upwards have ABS and rear disks, these have to work too.

Not a job for the faint of heart, but certainly all doable if the parts are available.