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A long time ago, when I was younger, dumber, and thinner, I traded in my Hyundai Tiburon for my dream car...a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX. My first encounter with an Evo had been driving down route 1 in CT late at night. A silver IX drove past me, reflecting the amber streetlights, growling the whole way. When I hit up the lot and saw this silver IX MR with all the SE accessories I had to have it. A few mods later (Buschur exhaust, UICP, intake, flash, gauge overlay, etc) I wound up meeting the next love of my life. She lived in Vermont. Long story short, me and my new Evo started a new life up north. That's when things got rough. My monthly payments were killing me. More than once I felt the need to sell the car, but always found myself upside down on it. The Evo, for many years, became my albatross. My cross to bear. When we moved to an apartment she was forced to sit outside in the parking lot, where someone wound up denting and scratching her rear quarter panel. There was nothing I could do. I had insurance, of course, but it was bare bones. It was only enough to keep me legal on the road. My girlfriend and I were working our butts off but not making very much.
Finally the Evo was paid for. Then came marriage. Followed by a new job for me, and a new job for my wife. Now, we're responsible adults with a dog and cat, living in a house, and paying our *bills. We've got a lovely two car garage, and I've got time. First thing I did was fix up those dents and scratches. Those are gone and thanks to Roy Waine's in St. Albans, VT ((HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!) you can't even tell there were any.
Now, with 41 years on me and 112k miles on the car, it's time to make up for lost time. I'd love to get 350-400whp on her, but without any E85 stations in my area that might take a lot longer than I'd like. My wife and I live relatively comfortably, but we're by no means rich. This will be a long, ongoing project. I apologize if this thread often sits dormant, but I will bump it to life when I have something new to show. Right now I'm starting small. I'm going to get the acd pump sorted (three lights), followed by some new coilovers...the rusty Bilsteins make me nervous as h*ck. Then will come maybe a Buschur intercooler and piping to finish what I started so long ago. Then, I'll just see where I go from there. She's a daily driver that takes the winters off so it's not going to be insane. It's also a stock 6 speed transmission and I won't be building her for the track. I had a couple autocross days and that was more than enough for me.
Anyway, time to begin again.
TL;DR - Starting up a few repairs, upgrades, and modifications now that I'm able. This will probably take a while.
Just after HIN 2009 Autocross Autocross Oh to be that clean again.... Her first days in Vermont. Just a few gauge overlays and a radio relocation.
I bet you're happy with your decision not selling it now seeing how prices wont stop rising, Money is money and there's trillions of it flowing through a network of wires but only 8000 usdm evo 9s were produced and you own one of them. I love to hear a story like this, no matter how hard things got, life happened but you still found a way to stay dedicated to your passion and sentiment towards the car. Its not easy to separate a man from his machine! 400 whp should be easy to attain and will make for a very fun, responsive street car just read through the technical part of these forums! (id stop the daily driving but that's just me haha).
Honestly, one of the most fun daily drivers out there. Just enough race car, just enough comfort. I daily drove both of mine until my current one went a little TOO race car.
Life's short. Enjoy it all you can, while you can!
hey, atleast youre not one of my competitors who still lived with parents and had more disposable income than me :\
I've also been trying to catch my evo up on the evoms/mods. better late than never
While I'm working on the bigger stuff for the long term, I will be changing up the look inside Allison (that's her name by the way...car has to have a name, and when I got her I felt like "Alice in Wonderland."...Alice in...Allison...never mind). I've ordered a new 3-gauge pod as well as some AEM digital gauge replacements. I'd like to get the boost gauge off the steering column as well. My goal has always been to have a blink-and-you'll-miss-it modded look. Meaning I've always wanted it to look as stock as possible while still being different. The digital gauges will definitely stand out, but any cleanliness I lose with that will be hopefully made up by getting rid of the column mount pod. Parts should be arriving any day now so pics to follow.
Autometer analog boost gauge. Stock MR gauges relocated.
Nice! I put my wideband in the "Lancer" spot, then my oil temp/pressure and boost gauges where the stereo used to be (where your OEM gauges are), then moved the stereo down to the bottom, like yours. I'm with you: Looking OEM is definitely nice. I'm not a fan of gauges attached to stuff.
Yup, stock looking is the way to go. 42 Draft Designs used to make a pod for the location where you have the MR gauges and that's what I run. I also went with all red analog AEM gauges (boost, AFR, oil pressure) so they match the factory cluster too.
Yup, stock looking is the way to go. 42 Draft Designs used to make a pod for the location where you have the MR gauges and that's what I run. I also went with all red analog AEM gauges (boost, AFR, oil pressure) so they match the factory cluster too.
I cheated. An autometer mount fits. I then used a red sharpie on the light bulbs. Looks OEM to me
I cheated. An autometer mount fits. I then used a red sharpie on the light bulbs. Looks OEM to me
This is what my setup looks like. Minus the gauges sticking out a bit, pretty OEM looking.
I love the autometer and red sharpie lol, it definitely works.
This is what my setup looks like. Minus the gauges sticking out a bit, pretty OEM looking.
I love the autometer and red sharpie lol, it definitely works.
Jul 16, 2022, 06:26 PM
