Autocross Build Evo 1 - Going Overboard

[GSXbooster]

You drove the car on track a long time ago I think. Besides resto, were you going to use it in motorsports again?

 

[Canadian_CD9A]

You drove the car on track a long time ago I think. Besides resto, were you going to use it in motorsports again?

The car is becoming a trophy build but I intend to, yes. The spec would be a lot of fun on track or around cones, and probably fast enough to get kicked off the drag strip. Parts were chosen to make it fast anywhere, but just barely passable that it would be pleasant on the street.

 

[DSMReviver]

Looks like you, me, and Jon from TRE are the only ones left on planet earth with Adelia Magic on our hands. Oh also have the Cusco 35/65 diff as well.

Don't give up man, if this car is your dream, giving up is not an option. You can always find another transmission and keep the build going. When everything is running on electric motors in the future, you will be glad you finished your car. Then, taking out and going out for a Sunday cruise with the irreplaceable petrol noise that it makes.

 

[Canadian_CD9A]

I appreciate the support, thank you. The gears are all sourced as of this morning after squeezing my contacts, we’ll slowly trudge forward. Hubs/sliders are no problem, rails/forks look to be a done deal soon. All of the bearings and synchros come up as available from Mitsubishi. It’s going to be nearly all new, and hopefully just a sliver better than what I would have built before. Tim is building me a damn transmission some day .

 

[DSMReviver]

I appreciate the support, thank you. The gears are all sourced as of this morning after squeezing my contacts, we’ll slowly trudge forward. Hubs/sliders are no problem, rails/forks look to be a done deal soon. All of the bearings and synchros come up as available from Mitsubishi. It’s going to be nearly all new, and hopefully just a sliver better than what I would have built before. Tim is building me a damn transmission some day .

See it's not all doomed and glommed after all. Haha

 

[ileagleracing]

Wasn't it you I bought the 35/65 Cusco from 5 or 6 years back? I'd never seen this thread before, good stuff, got a sinking feeling when you said your trans was at Tim's, don't give up.
I still haven't put the dif in yet, but after my built trans stripped out 2nd gear, I'm looking for a replacement Evo 3 first gear, you willing to set me up with your contact?

 

[Canadian_CD9A]

Wasn't it you I bought the 35/65 Cusco from 5 or 6 years back? I'd never seen this thread before, good stuff, got a sinking feeling when you said your trans was at Tim's, don't give up.
I still haven't put the dif in yet, but after my built trans stripped out 2nd gear, I'm looking for a replacement Evo 3 first gear, you willing to set me up with your contact?

Yeah, that was me. I don't know of an Evo 3 first gear that is absolutely available, but I can look around. I might have a spare Evo 1 first gear, but that's not going to help you if you don't have the Evo 1 input shaft.

 

[ileagleracing]

was

Yeah, that was me. I don't know of an Evo 3 first gear that is absolutely available, but I can look around. I might have a spare Evo 1 first gear, but that's not going to help you if you don't have the Evo 1 input shaft.

Yeah, my input shaft is trashed too, I'm not familiar enough with Evo 1 vs Evo3 to know if they are compatible. Plus, you probably should hold on to your spare.

 

[Canadian_CD9A]

Yeah, my input shaft is trashed too, I'm not familiar enough with Evo 1 vs Evo3 to know if they are compatible. Plus, you probably should hold on to your spare.

They're not compatible, unfortunately. The input shaft is the toughest piece out of all of them to get, I'd be more worried about that than anything else. Myself, I prefer the Evo 1 input/1/2 combination with longer 1st and 2nd gears, which turns it into a closer ratio box (2.571 1st, compared to 2.750 and 1.600 2nd, compared to 1.684) and would be the best option for a 16G car that autocrosses when paired with the 3.909 rear diff ratio combination. There is a user here that has an Evo 1 RS box without LSD; it sustained some damage, but should have many useable parts, including the input shaft and gear set. Or, you could throw the Tarmac into it and it should make a complete, functional transmission. I'm sure he'll make himself known if someone shows interest.

 

[bastarddsm]

I appreciate the support, thank you. The gears are all sourced as of this morning after squeezing my contacts, we’ll slowly trudge forward. Hubs/sliders are no problem, rails/forks look to be a done deal soon. All of the bearings and synchros come up as available from Mitsubishi. It’s going to be nearly all new, and hopefully just a sliver better than what I would have built before. Tim is building me a damn transmission some day .

I will have billet steel shift rail ends to replace the nla mitsu forged steel evo ones. I'm going to try and get one in my summit project for testing if the timeline works out so I should have them spring time. If not i will be summer time before I can test in my talon.

 

[Canadian_CD9A]

I will have billet steel shift rail ends to replace the nla mitsu forged steel evo ones. I'm going to try and get one in my summit project for testing if the timeline works out so I should have them spring time. If not i will be summer time before I can test in my talon.

I saw you had the 1/2, but you’re developing the 3/4 and 5/R as well? One of the 5/R part numbers for Evo still shows as available from Mitsubishi if you need one for the design phase. This would be really handy, the platform is going to need them.

 

[bastarddsm]

Not the forks, the rail ends. And yes I do have billet aluminum 1/2 shift forks. If you don't have the evo steel ones, I strongly reccomend the billet one. When the stock cast aluminum one breaks it usually breaks the case too, and the cases don't weld good. I'm gonna have a billet replacement case soon too, but you are not gonna like the price of that.

 

[Canadian_CD9A]

Not the forks, the rail ends. And yes I do have billet aluminum 1/2 shift forks. If you don't have the evo steel ones, I strongly reccomend the billet one. When the stock cast aluminum one breaks it usually breaks the case too, and the cases don't weld good. I'm gonna have a billet replacement case soon too, but you are not gonna like the price of that.

Derp, that'll teach me to surf the forum while working. Rails are even more useful - a set of forks could be put together with your 1/2, the Magnus 3/4 and OEM 5/R. I'm not going to settle for the weak DSM stuff, I'd go with used Evo stuff first. I'd be up for a set.

 

[bastarddsm]

I'll have 3/4 shift forks soon too . The magnus ones kinda suck, the roll pin hole is drilled in the wrong spot

 

[Canadian_CD9A]

I'll have 3/4 shift forks soon too . The magnus ones kinda suck, the roll pin hole is drilled in the wrong spot

So I've heard. I'll order up a 5th gear fork while it's still available, please make it more public when you come out with the rails and 3/4. I somehow didn't even know about your 1/2 fork until the TMZ benefit auction.

 

[Canadian_CD9A]

And I'm back. Kind of. A lot of my transmission parts have arrived, the rarest stuff that I wanted to get sooner rather than later since stock is disappearing FAST. Here's what I've gathered:

MD741636 - Evo 1 input shaft - used. These things are really hard to find, got this one in Germany.

MD740202 - 2.571 ratio Galant VR4 Evo RS 1st gear - new. Supersedes to the same part number that Evo 1 supersedes to (MD748095) so I assume it works. Bought from Japan, seller didn't know what he had.

MD743176 - 2.571 ratio Evo 1 1st gear - used. If this experience has taught me anything, spares are really nice to have.

MD744839 - 1.600 ratio Evo I 2nd gear - new.

MD744839 - 1.600 ratio Evo I 2nd gear - used.

MD747250 - 1.160 ratio Evo II/III 3rd gear - new. Bought this in Japan a couple of years ago thinking a spare would be nice. These are now sold out from Mitsubishi, unfortunately.

MD747376 - 0.862 ratio Evo III RS 4th gear - new. Bought this with one of my latest shipments of parts from Mitsubishi thinking a spare would be nice. Now sold out from Mitsubishi, so thank goodness I did.

MD743956 - 0.617 ratio Evo III RS 5th gear (intermediate) - new. Still available from Mitsubishi.

MD744807 - 0.617 ratio Evo III RS 5th gear (input) - new. This is the hard one to find. I bought it as a spare from Japan a few years ago.

MD748831 - Evo III RS intermediate shaft - new. Just bought from Japan at an unholy price - now listed as unavailable.

MD743361 - Evo I/II/III front differential pinion - used. These are required when using the Evo 63 or 64 tooth front differential crown wheel. Surprisingly hard to find.

MD745060 - Evo I/II/III reverse idler gear - used. Evo specific and I presume necessary. People usually junk these, really hard to find.

MD743281 - Evo I/II/III reverse idler arm - used. Evo specific and necessary to clear the Evo I input shaft. Also usually junked.

MD735035 / MD735036 / MD741187 - Evo II/III all-steel shift forks - used. None of that plastic pad business. Costly.

MD743278 / MD743279 / MD743280 - Evo II/III forged shift rails - used. Came with the shift forks from Lithuania as a matched set.

Not pictured: Evo I front differential crown wheel. It's somewhere in storage.

Not pictured: I bought a ton of used Evo transmission parts from Japan in unknown condition that haven't arrived yet. There is a full set of hub/sleeve assemblies in the kit, it will be interesting to see if they're useable. Big bonus if they are.

Still need: 2G DSM core transmission, front LSD (still undecided on building another Ralliart LSD or just getting a Cusco RS), Boostin' output shaft, 4-spider center differential, synchros, bearings and all the small stuff.

So yeah, there you have it. I didn't just want to buy a core Evo II/III transmission and hope for the best, I wanted something I could trust. What I assembled here is the ultimate Mitsubishi-geared transmission, in my opinion, and most of the parts that matter are new. This produces a close ratio box that gets a lot of speed out of 1st and 2nd gears, and has double-synchros everywhere it matters. The other gears/shafts are Evo III RS spec, which likely have some additional magic to keep them alive since these transmissions were the most likely to take a lot of abuse.

With that said, I'm taking a step back from the Evo for a while. Costs are out of control, it really strained my finances (with no end in sight), and most days it's just not fun anymore. I'm going to back to my roots to try to appreciate cars again. Before I bought my Evo in 2008, I was into Dodge Neons. No, seriously. I bought this 1998 Plymouth Neon ACR 'Competition' around 2009 for $225, saving it from the scrapper. It was the stereotypical winter beater Neon with like 200,000 miles and careless/abusive owners, but looks presentable again after bodywork and paint. It's stock with the exception of a Mopar ECU, slightly quicker steering rack and some poly bushings, and it has a new set of ACR Koni struts on it. I've got a bin full of rare period racing stuff like the Mopar 'High Rate' autocross springs and it still needs a bunch of work to make it bulletproof, but it will be nice to work on something that just needs some maintenance and minor parts replacements. I want to re-learn to love a car for what it is, flaws and all. Sure it had like 120 horsepower on the best day of its life, but they are a lot of fun to drive and they're really easy on the wallet. So other than more parts arrivals for the Evo on stuff that I already ordered, it's going to be a Neon summer and the Evo is going on ice.

Merry Christmas, everybody. I hope you have a wonderful holiday season filled with warmth and joy. Take care.

 

[Canadian_CD9A]

I’ll be moving (again) to a more expensive city, and my first project when I get back is to dust off my 1998 Plymouth Neon ACR. It’s 1 of 52 ACR coupes in this color for 1998, I paid $225 for it at a salvage auction in 2010 and saved it from the scrapper. It was bad.

I have only driven my automatic Infiniti G37X tank for the past few years, and since the Evo is nowhere near done, this is the right answer to get me in a fun car again.

It needs:
Clutch (ordered from RockAuto, $42!!)
Clutch cable (ordered)
Engine coolant pipes (ordered) and cooling system overhaul
Mild rebuild on the 2.0 DOHC, basically timing belt and head gasket job
And a bunch of odd jobs to make it useable daily

I already have a new set of Koni struts, 14:1 steering rack and poly bushings on the car, it handled quite well. The interior was done and looks really nice, just needs an audio upgrade.

With a few minor upgrades, basically to STS autocross spec, it should be a fun 135whp car to boot around in while I gather the funds to continue on the Evo. I can’t tell you how nice it is finding needed parts in junkyards, and I can’t believe how low the prices are on fixing this thing.

I have an odd update that crosses over into 420A territory, so I guess it's fair game here.

I haven't been to a junkyard in forever with my second life, so while in town for the holidays, I hit the Chrysler section of the local U-pull to get some cheap 2.7L rockers for the Neon, intending to keep it to reliability mods and basic, cheap breathing upgrades. I managed to find a useable set after picking the front bank of two 2.7L V6 Sebrings (or something), and caught what looked like a DSM in a snowbank at the end of the line. Well, that's how you get my attention. It's either a 4G63 car may have fun stuff in it, or it's a 420A car and it's got the pretty "2.0L DOHC" valve cover that I can use for arts & crafts.

This car sucked. It was under a foot of snow, the body was trash, it had ugly ass wheels and bald tires, it had rust cut out on the quarters, the shock towers were rotten beyond belief, the interior was fully stripped and just thrown back in. It was an abysmally failed project. And there sat the lowly 420A.

I unearthed it and noticed that someone already took the manifold and cam gears off of it, chopping the timing belt. Odd. The valve cover came off without a fight, and I saw something verrrry strange underneath.

You're probably thinking what I'm thinking. Why does a stock 420A DSM have titanium retainers? It was at this time I noticed that the cams were quite shiny, not the crummy cast look of stock cams. I pulled the cams and went home for the day, since I didn't have the tools to finish the job. BC0167 Stage 2 N/A 420A cams from BC. Score!

I was worried that the car was going to be scrapped while I was gone, since it was just about the longest tenured car on the lot and nobody seemed to care about it. I was prepared to take an extended weekend to pull a whole motor if necessary. I got back in the morning, argued with the car for a few more hours (not fun in a snowbank), and pulled the head. Stock pistons. Stock everything. What a weird car.

I got the cylinder head back to home base and took a good look at it. I couldn't believe what I had pulled. I see the springs & titanium retainers, new 2.0 style lifters & rockers (bad choice, but nice), aftermarket stainless steel valves, ARP studs and FULL PROFESSIONAL PORTING! HOLY S**T!!!!

So, for the low, low price of $105.00 CAD ($78.07 USD), I now have one of the baddest 420A heads I've ever seen, plus some ARP studs, 2.7L rockers and a 420A valve cover that I can paint. The problem, though - the Neon's intake & exhaust sides are switched relative to the 420A. I can't use this head on my car. I can use the cams (with modification), the valves, the springs/retainers, the studs, and it would go HARD on a well-supported 2.0L Neon (180whp, 7,500+ RPM woodchuck buzzbomb!), but I can't use the nice ported head. And it would almost be a shame to cannibalize it for my purposes. I would've been happy stock, I would be really happy with a built/ported Neon head, but I really don't know what to do here.

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

Nice find! Those exhaust valves are aftermarket too. To slightly raise the compression ratio. Hold on to that head and I'll probably buy it from you one day. I seem to need a new one every few years, couldn't imagine why

 

[pauleyman]

I have an odd update that crosses over into 420A territory, so I guess it's fair game here.

I haven't been to a junkyard in forever with my second life, so while in town for the holidays, I hit the Chrysler section of the local U-pull to get some cheap 2.7L rockers for the Neon, intending to keep it to reliability mods and basic, cheap breathing upgrades. I managed to find a useable set after picking the front bank of two 2.7L V6 Sebrings (or something), and caught what looked like a DSM in a snowbank at the end of the line. Well, that's how you get my attention. It's either a 4G63 car may have fun stuff in it, or it's a 420A car and it's got the pretty "2.0L DOHC" valve cover that I can use for arts & crafts.

This car sucked. It was under a foot of snow, the body was trash, it had ugly ass wheels and bald tires, it had rust cut out on the quarters, the shock towers were rotten beyond belief, the interior was fully stripped and just thrown back in. It was an abysmally failed project. And there sat the lowly 420A.

View attachment 684165
View attachment 684166
View attachment 684167

I unearthed it and noticed that someone already took the manifold and cam gears off of it, chopping the timing belt. Odd. The valve cover came off without a fight, and I saw something verrrry strange underneath.

View attachment 684163
View attachment 684181

You're probably thinking what I'm thinking. Why does a stock 420A DSM have titanium retainers? It was at this time I noticed that the cams were quite shiny, not the crummy cast look of stock cams. I pulled the cams and went home for the day, since I didn't have the tools to finish the job. BC0167 Stage 2 N/A 420A cams from BC. Score!

View attachment 684164View attachment 684170

I was worried that the car was going to be scrapped while I was gone, since it was just about the longest tenured car on the lot and nobody seemed to care about it. I was prepared to take an extended weekend to pull a whole motor if necessary. I got back in the morning, argued with the car for a few more hours (not fun in a snowbank), and pulled the head. Stock pistons. Stock everything. What a weird car.

View attachment 684172View attachment 684171

I got the cylinder head back to home base and took a good look at it. I couldn't believe what I had pulled. I see the springs & titanium retainers, new 2.0 style lifters & rockers (bad choice, but nice), aftermarket stainless steel valves, ARP studs and FULL PROFESSIONAL PORTING! HOLY S**T!!!!

View attachment 684173View attachment 684174
View attachment 684178
View attachment 684175View attachment 684176View attachment 684177View attachment 684179View attachment 684180View attachment 684182View attachment 684168View attachment 684169

So, for the low, low price of $105.00 CAD ($78.07 USD), I now have one of the baddest 420A heads I've ever seen, plus some ARP studs, 2.7L rockers and a 420A valve cover that I can paint. The problem, though - the Neon's intake & exhaust sides are switched relative to the 420A. I can't use this head on my car. I can use the cams (with modification), the valves, the springs/retainers, the studs, and it would go HARD on a well-supported 2.0L Neon (180whp, 7,500+ RPM woodchuck buzzbomb!), but I can't use the nice ported head. And it would almost be a shame to cannibalize it for my purposes. I would've been happy stock, I would be really happy with a built/ported Neon head, but I really don't know what to do here.

Can't tell if it's trashed but the 2gb body parts would sell. 2gb talon front bumper and side strakes.

 

[Canadian_CD9A]

Can't tell if it's trashed but the 2gb body parts would sell. 2gb talon front bumper and side strakes.

The bumper was pretty trash and I didn't see any of the side trim. Nobody wants to pay shipping on a bumper from my neck of the woods, either...

 

[Canadian_CD9A]

I may have overdone it on transmission parts a bit. This is over and above what is posted above

 

[Canadian_CD9A]

By my count, I think this is what I have now with both collections combined. Eagle-eyed transmission parts experts, feel free to correct me if you see something I don't. I think my center diff is Galant VR4 (no oiling grooves), and I'm fairly certain one of the input clusters and the loose 1/2 gear set are Evo 1 parts. I need to do full gear counts, clean-up and condition inspection, but I'm overloaded with stuff no matter what.

Edit: I have no clue. One of the input shafts has a 14-tooth first gear like Evo 1, but has the thick double-synchro hub/sleeve on 3&4 like the Evo 2/3. The other input shaft has the thin-style hub/sleeve for 3&4, like Evo 1 is supposed to be. Both first gears have 36-tooth counts (Evo 1), despite different identification on the gear ("G6" and "79"). This is going to take a while.

Input shaft​	Evo 1​	2x​	​
First gear​	Evo 1​	2x​	​
Second gear​	Evo 1​	3x​	1 New​
Third gear​	Evo 2/3​	2x​	1 New​
Fourth gear​	Evo 2/3​	3x​	2 New​
Fifth gear pair​	Evo 2/3​	​	New​
½ Hub & sleeve​	Evo 2/3​	2x​	​
¾ Hub & sleeve​	Evo 2/3​	2x​	​
½ Fork​	Evo 2/3​	​	​
¾ Fork​	Evo 2/3​	​	​
5/R Fork​	Evo 2/3​	​	​
Shift rails​	Evo 2/3​	​	​
Intermediate shaft​	Evo 2/3​	​	​
Output Shaft​	Evo123​	​	​
Front diff pinion​	Evo123​	​	​
Reverse gear​	Evo123​	​	​
Reverse arm​	Evo123​	​	​
Center diff​	GVR4?​	​	​
First gear​	GVR4 Evo​	​	New​

 

[Canadian_CD9A]

Not much to report, but these are done now. I'm hoping I don't regret the color choice.

I also started to circle back to the idea of keeping the v1 HTA68 instead of the EFR 7670 to match the period correctness of a Group A car and because it's much easier. The EFR rocks really hard, but it's tough to argue with the below photo. Or am I an idiot?

 

[curt-s]

Hard to keep track of where you are -- what yard was that where you pulled everything? It reminds me of Buck's.

 

[Canadian_CD9A]

That is Buck’s Winnipeg! The Evo, the Neon and my family are all in Winnipeg, I’m further west but drop in every few months.