May 12, 2016

Home Project | Hanif's Mitsubishi Evo


Has there ever been a point in life where when you saw something, you know one day you just have to have that thing? It has happened many times before regardless if it was a house, a car, a gadget or even a person. One becomes so determined to get that particular thing that they want, it is only a matter of time before they succeed achieving their goal. For Hanif, there was a point in time where he knew he had to have his own Mitsubishi Evo.



In the early 2000's, Hanif became into the Evo when Mitsubishi first debut the CT9A to the world. Being a diehard Fast And Furious fan at the time, he hoped so much that they would use the Mitsubishi Evo in the movie. When the sequel came out entitled 2 Fast 2 Furious, that was when they used the Evo as a character car for the first time in the series. This was the point where Hanif admired the car a lot more. Especially knowing that it was Brian O'Connor's car which was his favourite character in the movie.




As a kid at the time, he could not hold back his admiration to the Evo. So shortly after the movie release, he asked his dad to take him to a car dealership because he wanted to see an Evo in real life. It was quite a tall order at the time since back then, Evos were a rare sight to see in Malaysia. Eventually, his dad took him to a friend's used car dealership. There it was, an unregistered Mitsubishi Evo 7 that was imported straight from Japan, just sitting there. Since the car needed to be started and warmed up frequently, his friend gave a chance to Hanif's dad to take the car for a spin. So they took the Evo around the block with Hanif riding in the passenger seat. After that quick ride, the Evo became that one thing he always wanted.



Fast forward to 2013, Hanif enrolled in university. Which was where I met him. During the time, not only he was studying in management, but he also had a part time job managing events as a side income. In this point in life, Hanif had to balance with quite a lot of commitment in some things. It was difficult for him to save a decent amount of cash despite his income at the time. This was evident when he realized it took him a good three months to save for a carbon fiber plug cover for his Satria Neo which cost no more than 200 bucks. It really made him scratch his head numerous times.



However, in a turn of events, it made Hanif drop a lot of the commitments he had. Shortly after, he received a large payment from a previous event that he helped managed. With the amount of cash that he had in hand and the frustration he had from a rocky relationship, he made a decision to go after something that was more worth pursuing. Since he has nothing else, why not he get that Evo he also wanted since he was a kid.



It didn't took long for him to find a nice Mitsubishi Evo 7 for himself. He was excited to get the car that he always wanted from his own sweat. Sadly, the day before he got the keys to his new Evo was the day that Paul Walker, the actor that played Brian O'Connor in Fast And Furious, past away in a car accident in Southern California. It was sad for Hanif since Brian O'Connor was a huge influence to his childhood and was also one of the reasons he loved the Evo as much as he did today.



The years he spent owning the Evo became somewhat of a learning curve for Hanif. He had a huge interest in knowing his car well, as the years went by, his home toolbox became bigger and bigger. When it came to simple bolt-on work, exterior parts and wiring, it was done by himself in his car porch. He slowly learned his way around through the car thanks to people like Ah Kit form Cruise Power Garage. He was the person that suggested to Hanif how to arrange the wires in his engine bay. So from his advice, Hanif slowly built up the car to his liking.



 The Evo wasn't suppose to be a large scale project car, but the idea was he wanted to make a full conversion from the Evo 7 exterior to the Evo 9 MR. All the exterior parts were swapped out for the complete Evo 9 MR conversion. The engine valve cover was also swapped for the Mivec Turbo valve cover which is only found in the Evo 9. For the untrained eye, one would already think that this was a legit Evo 9 MR. Of course, the only thing that gives away the fact that it still runs on a five speed manual gearbox.



But if anyone looks closely, it isn't hard to see that this Evo was very well put together and well taken care of. It may have a very stock looking exterior but Hanif made sure that the highlight of his Evo was the super clean engine bay under the hood of his daily driven Evo. While he leaves the more heavier fixes to his mechanic, but when it comes to aesthetics, Hanif knows exactly what he wants. Sadly though, on the day we went out to shoot the Evo was the day he sold it to a lucky new owner. He may no longer have the keys to his Evo, but it was great experience for him owning and refurbishing it.


TUNING MENU
Owner: Hanif Halim
Model: 2002 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution CT9A
Location: Cheras, Malaysia

ENGINE:
2.0L 4G63 Inline-4,
Stock Internals,
Garrett GTX3076R Turbo,
Tonnka T3 Turbo Manifold,
YR Advance Titanium Exhaust,
Tial MVR 44mm External Wastegate,
Tial QR Blow Off Valve,
Turbosmart Boost Tee,
Walbro 255LPH Fuel Pump,
Sard Fuel Regulator,
Sard 850cc Injectors,
Blitz Open Pod Air Filter,
Evo 7 Intercooler,
Custom Intercooler Pipes,
DD Racing Radiator,
Samco Radiator And Vacuum Hoses,
Cusco Battery Tie,
Tomei Plug Cover,
Tomei Forged Piston Oil Cap,
Stock ECU Remap by GT Auto,

DRIVETRAIN:
5 speed manual,
Ogura 559 Twin Plate Clutch,

SUSPENSION, CHASSIS AND BRAKES:
Tein Super Street Coilovers,
Stock Brembo Brakes with Replacement Cross Drilled Rotors,

WHEELS AND TIRES:
Volk Racing SE37K 18 x 8.5 Offset +38 (all round)
Toyo Proxes T1R 245/40/18 (all round)

EXTERIOR:
Full Evo 9 MR Aero Conversion,
Evo 9 MR Headlights,
Evo 9 MR Taillights,
Rexspeed Vortex Generator,
DAMD Side And Rear Carbon Fiber Extensions,

INTERIOR:
Evo 9 MR Steering Wheel,
Evo 9 MR Meter Cluster,
Evo 9 MR Dash Panel,
Evo 9 MR Double Din Radio Panel,
Momo Racing Pedals,
Ralliart 5-Speed Shift Panel,
Sony DVD Player,
Defi Advance BF Gauges,
Apex'i Turbo Timer,

BONUS IMAGES






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