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I had been without an Evo for awhile. Picked up this 2003 Rally Red VIII from an old Dyno4mance friend a couple weeks ago. This is my seventh Evo. It was Georgia and Alabama car exclusively, it is rust free underneath.
It had been sitting for a good bit with the previous owner, so I’ve been working on it in the garage with my daughter.
At purchase early October, it had the following mods already installed off the top of my head:
KW v3 (need rehab)
3 piece rotors
CBRD BBK turbo (about 6000 miles on this)
HKS 272s
Precision 880 injectors and Walbro 255
Mishimoto smaller intercooler (brackets bent, replacing)
Koyo radiator
Buschur full exhaust
Shep built transmission
Rear half cage
Car went off (no collision) into the gravel pit in Road Atlanta about 7 years ago while my friend owned it. That incident scratched and pulled some paint off the lower front bumper cover, and broke the mounts on the front lip. It failed Georgia emissions sometime around that time, so it had been sitting mostly since then. Aforementioned former owner started it bi-weekly to monthly, ran it up to operating temperature, and very rarely drove it on his street.
We no longer have emissions in Tennessee, but first order of business was to get it running correctly, fluids changed, timing belt inspected, etc.
The current timing belt was replaced around 90k, and the car currently has 110k on it. It has some years on it, but was stored in a garage, and looks to be in good condition.
Second order of business was to transform it back into a street car, which was easy because everything was still there except the right seats. It had IX front seats, no back seats at all, which made a pass through into the trunk. The cage had four mount points and was welded correctly by a professional shop. The anchor points were very short, and suitable to leave in. I cut the tubes to nubs and traded the IX seats for good condition VIII seats. My daughter and dad removed the racing harness, luckily the front seat belts were still fully installed. When I got the car, it was LOUD. The full Buschur exhaust and lack of back seats made it such that you couldn't have a conversation in the front seat without almost shouting. He also put a thin sheet of metal that was meant to be a sound barrier into the trunk, but over time, it worked itself loose enough to be a rattle master. I ripped that sucker out ASAP.
Typical maintenance that needed doing:
-The battery was flat from so much sitting, so it had to be replaced. The tires on it were old before the car was parked, so they had to go right away. I have multiple sets of wheels for this car.
-We installed a new battery, and ordered up 18x8.5 +30 Enkei RPF1 wheels in black wrapped in Azenis summers 235/40.
-The age of the plugs was unknown, so I replaced them with some NGK BR8ES, the one range colder plug that I always ran in my VIII and IX. Oil and filter changed. Diff and transmission fluids purchased.
-Brake pads replaced. It had track pads on it, and they were deafening. They were not suitable for street use, because you couldn't get the proper heat in them. So I put street pads back on it.
CEL Codes it had when purchased:
1) The IAC valve was worn, so the idle was crazy once the car got up to operating temp, bouncing from 1500-2000 at red lights. The idle condition was not harmful, but super annoying and caused the first CEL. The good IAC valves are pricey, made by Mikuni, but should last for years. I sprang for one of those, and the idle issue was cured immediately. That solved the idle code.
2) Coolant flushed and thermostat replaced. The stat was just starting to fail, and I would get a coolant temp below threshold as one of the codes. The new stat got rid of that intermittent issue.
3) The rear O2 was totally dead, and replacing it solved a rear O2 code.
4) The vacuum line was off the bottom of the EGR, and that was the fourth code.
Those were all the codes it had, and I've put another 1k+ on it so far without any codes reappearing!
Cosmetics/freshening up:
-Broken front lip replacement with an Ebay lip.
-Interior cleanup and extraction- musty from sitting. IX front seats out, all VIII seats in.
Rupes 21 polish (stupid single stage paint)
Headlight de-haze
As it looked a couple weeks after purchase. Since then, the rear 1/2 cage has been removed.
Man that is GORGEOUS. Red/White were my favorite color choices. Sadly, I got stuck with gray, given the other parameters of my shopping.
Nothing wrong with gray! Thanks for the kind words.
Originally Posted by MinusPrevious
Super nice Seth. Thread could be in the Project Forum?
Thought the rear roll bar was an AutoPwr? But it may not be & you are removing!
Wonder if youre going for an @Abacus type of sleeper hammer lol? You know, one of those Florida sleepers?
Looking fwd to updates!
Cheers, Joe
Custom weld-in cage from a shop in GA known for quality. But it’s track days are over with me and cage means only one of my kiddos can ride with me. It’s gotta go.
Hard to find an '03 in this condition. Nice job man. Hope you don't let this one go! Also if you ever need a like new condition set of viii back seats I have a set been sitting in my basement for over ten years.
Originally Posted by 91355evo9
as someone who has been shopping for a while, 8/9 have been priced much higher than the X
Yea they definiltey are. In Canada you can get like 2-4 X's for the price of one ct9a lol
Oct 27, 2022, 03:14 PM
