Another new '03 Evo
 

Well, Brad beat me to it posting up about buying an Evo, although I wanted to keep it a secret until the DB meet, but I also picked up an Evo this week. Of course this changes my big plans of enjoying my GSX all summer, since this will now become my new toy and the GSX will be for sale soon. But I got some bad news tonight.

A little backround on the car, some of you might know about it since it's a local car. It's black with 75k miles, built 2.3 stroker, built head, FP Red, ACT clutch, blah blah. Nice shape overall and I'm very happy with it. But I bought it knowing it needed a headgasket. I was hoping that's all it was and I'd have it at DB on Saturday, but my luck dictates that it's never that simple. I pulled the head tonight and found this. Obviously the head is trashed and needs to be replaced, which sucks since it's got stainless valves and upgraded dual springs. The block has a bit of damage as well but is still useable as is.

I have to decide if I want to slap another head on it knowing that it's not 100%, which is definitely not my style, or do I pull the engine, deck the block and have it rehoned with a torque plate. The bad part of this is that I already have three other cars that also need work to be in running shape. Luckily my GSX is done except for cosmetics and runs like a champ. And I might need this as my only daily driver as early as next Monday. Oh well, it's going to be a lot of fun when it's done. :D

Re: Another new '03 Evo
 

Are any of the valves bent? If not, why not just throw them and the springs in a good head? Also, congrats to both of you on the Evos! I love them in BBY

Re: Another new '03 Evo
 

The valves are in good shape, so yeah, a bare head would be even better, still need a valve job though. Or maybe a MIVEC conversion. :D

Re: Another new '03 Evo
 

Thats some pretty nasty damage. The car actually ran pretty good considering how messed up that head is. Do you have any pics of the block side? I guess I should have just pulled it to my house.

Re: Another new '03 Evo
 

Ouch! Welcome to the Evo game :D ...and welcome to the Evo game :(

Re: Another new '03 Evo
 

LOL. I was going to say, same shit, different toilet... :rollinglaugh:

But Congrats to you, Steve!

Re: Another new '03 Evo
 

Congrats on the Evo, too bad on needing to tear into already.

Re: Another new '03 Evo
 

Well congrats on getting the Evo, but don't sell your GSX man, you are one of about 10 1g owners in the state that isn't a hack haha


LOL

Re: Another new '03 Evo
 

That sucks about the head!

Congrats on the new car though!! I'm sure you'll have no problem fixing it and fixing it right!

Re: Another new '03 Evo
 

Thanks guys. Yeah, the car actually ran pretty well considering how bad the head and gasket are. The block is almost perfect, shaving it a couple thou would take care of it completely. The damage isn't directly on the edge of the cylinder, so I'll probably leave it as is because I know I'll want to do some major upgrade on it in the future anyways, I can't ever leave well enough alone. :D

The nice thing is besides a lot of extra crap around the engine, the basics are very similar to the DSM's, so the learning curve is pretty light so far on doing a headgasket and timing belt. Overall, I'm very happy with the car, it's my favorite color, the mods are done well, and it looks completely stock except for the JdM yO exhaust, which will get replaced sooner than later.

If I get this job I interviewed for again yesterday, there's a possibility I'll keep the GSX as well. The Lotus is definitely going though, too many cars, not enough room.

Carl, you funny. :rollinglaugh: And thanks for the tow. If anybody needs cars trailered, Carl's your man!

Re: Another new '03 Evo
 

Buschur exhausts look the best on Evo's IMO, very mild looking I guess you could say.

Re: Another new '03 Evo
 

Congrats on the purchase, sorry to see the head situation. Cores aren't cheap, but we've got a few here I believe if need be just let me know.

Re: Another new '03 Evo
 

Very nice. hopefully you get it up and roaring soon :D

Re: Another new '03 Evo
 

is that damage from blowing the head gasket or from continued driving after it blew. it looks like 123abc's head on his 1g

Re: Another new '03 Evo
 

Sweet!!! Lemme know if you ever need a hand!

Re: Another new '03 Evo
 

Steve Hill with a car that isn't as old as he is, I never thought I'd see the day. ;)

That's some crazy detonation. Any chance of it being welded up and milled down?

Re: Another new '03 Evo
 

Thanks d-bag, this car is just as old as my GSX was when I bought it. :D

Well, after some diagnosis at MAP, we've decided to start with a used core and transfer my springs, valves and such to that and give it a performance rebuild, so I should be back on the road by next weekend.

Wow, coming from the ultra cheap world of DSM parts, the sticker shock on Evo stuff stings a little, but you gotta pay to play. And it's still cheaper than Lotus stuff, so it's all good. Can't wait to get this baby on the road. :drive:

Re: Another new '03 Evo
 

Any pics of the outside of the car? Where did you find it anyways? Private sale? I don't recall seeing this on evomn or EvoM?

Re: Another new '03 Evo
 

Sure, here's it's current state, and as suggested by Carl, a full shot with my collection, all cleaned up ready for the show circuit. :D

Re: Another new '03 Evo
 

It wasn't advertised that I know of. I found out about it and happened to be in the right place at the right time. I owned a black 2005 SSL for about two hours before this, but this will be my first chance to actually get to drive one.

Re: Another new '03 Evo
 

Badass, congrats steve!

I say get the head welded up and decked and slap it back on. Any aftermarket parts come on the car? Any plans for e85 on stock turbo (STS!) or just gonna keep it mild and reliable?


*edit* LOL I forgot you said 2.3L, fp red etc. Sounds like a fun-ass combo!

Re: Another new '03 Evo
 

I say weld it and deck it too. Then do the 400 grit sand paper wraped around a 2x4 to deck the block. Treat it like a DSM.

Re: Another new '03 Evo
 

Treat it like a DSM and it will behave like a DSM...food for thought :)

Re: Another new '03 Evo
 

Exactly, I'm ready to be an EVO snob now. :D A different head is getting the treatment down at MAP to go back on here. To reweld the head properly, it ends up being almost as much, and it takes longer, and I'm impatient, I want to drive this thing.

Re: Another new '03 Evo
 

The only things it doesn't have are a proper front mount and cams. Per your recommendation in another thread, I'm probably going with the S2's. I already priced them with Chris today while I was there. :cheer:

Re: Another new '03 Evo
 

I'm shure if Steve treats it like he treats his DSM it will be just fine. Might as well put new cams in while the head is off.

Re: Another new '03 Evo
 

I'll probably wait until spring for the cams, I need to let my bank account recover first. :D

Re: Another new '03 Evo
 

Awesome man, you are gonna gave a fun-ass DD setup come spring! Just drive the dsm a few days a week as a spare car, no harm in that. If you need any help with ecu tweaks don't hesitate to ask. A basic, gaugeless wideband is damn cheap and with an ecuflash cable you can do pretty much anything. Rock the stock maf for as long as you can, and switch to SD if you demand extra smoothness.

Re: Another new '03 Evo
 

shoulda just fixed the lotus. ;)

Re: Another new '03 Evo
 

That's being done currently as well, I just don't have as much enthusiasm for it as the Evo, so it's a slower process.

Re: Another new '03 Evo
 

The lotus will be awesome but the Evo will be something you can drive any day or every day.

Re: Another new '03 Evo
 

The Lotus will be up for sale on the first day of spring.

Re: Another new '03 Evo
 

Did you have a build thread for the lotus? I can't remember what you were doing to it.

Re: Another new '03 Evo
 

Not really. I bought it to keep possibly, but after looking into it a bit more, decided that if I'm going to have one, it would have to be at least a year newer with the newer ECU and EFI, as well as the stronger tranny. I had a lot of work done at a local exotic shop, and now I'm finishing all the other things it needs, like rebuilding the fuel system, redoing the interior, and have a few things on the body touched up. It's definitely a cool car, it just doesn't fit my need for speed.

Re: Another new '03 Evo
 

Hmm, this talk of selling your GSX. Please, let me know if you make a decision.

Re: Another new '03 Evo
 

Will do. Please keep in mind that while I'm realistic that it is a 20-year old car and should be priced accordingly, it's also not a $2500 car that's been driven to death either. I've probably got another several thousand into just bringing it back to a 16G daily driver with the new engine and such, and I've got another $700 worth of paint work and touch up detailing I'd like to do before I sell it. That being said, I'm not asking anywhere near what I did when it was a 600whp car. I wanted to lay this out there because I've had some interest in it and want to lay out realistic expectations of what I'd be looking for out of it. I am about 95% sure I'm selling it, this time. :D

Re: Another new '03 Evo
 

evo for sale?

Re: Another new '03 Evo
 

^idk where this came from....

Re: Another new '03 Evo
 

steve is a salesman... if he can make a deal? thought I would trow it out there... :)

Re: Another new '03 Evo
 

Sorry Chris, unless a C6 Z06 comes along for $15k, I'm keeping this little baby all to myself.