Evo 8 restoration discussion
Feb 29, 2016, 11:54 AM
#1
Evo 8 restoration discussion
DISCLAIMER: This post will be primarily opinion based and that's fine. However, I would like to expect that all replies here will be helpful, informative, and in general positive. I'm coming to my evo community for advice, thoughts, and general help. Thank you!
I've owned my 2003 evo 8 since June 2010 and loved every minute of it. It has primarily been a daily driver / weekend warrior the entire time and has racked up some miles and some issues. I've always done necessary maintenance to keep it running. However, over the years, the overall condition of the car has deteriorated and now that I have other cars to drive, I would like to take some time to clean it up and make it something to be proud of. My history with cars has usually been I own it for a few years (maybe 2-3), then sell it. This has been a dream car of mine and would like to keep it, especially since now i have the means to do so.
To that end, my first goal is to try and put together a budget of both time and money. Many things I can put together a cost and figure out how long it will take, but there are some things I am sure I will need to speak with a shop to determine what can be done. In the meantime, I am coming to you with ideas and thoughts and I'm looking for input, experiences, thoughts, etc. Please feel free to contribute as necessary.
So the biggest thing I would like to address is cosmetic / body issues. Even when I purchased the car, it had some blemishes. It had a break in attempt that left a small dent above the driver's side door. Some scratches in the paint, minor surface rust, etc. Additionally I've noticed recently that the pinch welds at the jack points all around the car are deformed, bent, rusted, etc and would like a body shop to clean that up. The trunk has had the wing removed, but the holes need to be filled and the trunk painted again. Ideally I'd like to get the whole car resprayed, but that may be costly I would imagine. But then again, I'd like all the scratches and dents removed too!
Otherwise the interior is ok. I'd probably get new floor mats and maybe even a new carpet. Otherwise a good cleaning should suffice. I've been running evoscan / ecuflash off my Windows tablet and would like to mount it in the dash where the radio is and attach a small 4 channel mini amp behind it to drive the speakers. Then I would move the climate controls to the bottom cubby. Right now I have boost and wideband gauges on the a-pillar, but I may want to relocate them as well.
As for the suspension, I'm pretty happy with my Bilstein / Tein s tech springs combo and will keep that. However I have a complete bushing set I'd like to install and this seems like the right time to do it!
I started removing emissions equipment, and would like to finish that endeavor. I'd also take the motor and drivetrain out. This way I can (or the body shop can) clean up the engine bay and underneath and respray or clean. The motor is in fine condition, just needs to be de-greased and cleaned up. The transfer case and rear diff are Shep stage 1 rebuilds with less than 2 years and not many miles on it. The trans is used with unknown miles, so I may send that out for a rebuild. I'd like to get DSS stage 0 axles all the way around and get new wheel bearings too.
As for the engine itself, I literally just had the cylinder head rebuilt (stock), so that's fine. I'll probably get mild cams for the head. For the short block, I don't really plan to rebuild it as everything looks good! I may just take all the accessories and stuff off to clean and put all new gaskets on. I'd like to run push lock fitting or AN lines where appropriate and generally just make the engine bay look nice. I'll set up a catch can as well.
These are all just some preliminary thoughts. I'd like to keep this to a $5,000 budget, but I doubt that will happen. I hope to hear some interesting feedback from you guys! Cheers!
I've owned my 2003 evo 8 since June 2010 and loved every minute of it. It has primarily been a daily driver / weekend warrior the entire time and has racked up some miles and some issues. I've always done necessary maintenance to keep it running. However, over the years, the overall condition of the car has deteriorated and now that I have other cars to drive, I would like to take some time to clean it up and make it something to be proud of. My history with cars has usually been I own it for a few years (maybe 2-3), then sell it. This has been a dream car of mine and would like to keep it, especially since now i have the means to do so.
To that end, my first goal is to try and put together a budget of both time and money. Many things I can put together a cost and figure out how long it will take, but there are some things I am sure I will need to speak with a shop to determine what can be done. In the meantime, I am coming to you with ideas and thoughts and I'm looking for input, experiences, thoughts, etc. Please feel free to contribute as necessary.
So the biggest thing I would like to address is cosmetic / body issues. Even when I purchased the car, it had some blemishes. It had a break in attempt that left a small dent above the driver's side door. Some scratches in the paint, minor surface rust, etc. Additionally I've noticed recently that the pinch welds at the jack points all around the car are deformed, bent, rusted, etc and would like a body shop to clean that up. The trunk has had the wing removed, but the holes need to be filled and the trunk painted again. Ideally I'd like to get the whole car resprayed, but that may be costly I would imagine. But then again, I'd like all the scratches and dents removed too!
Otherwise the interior is ok. I'd probably get new floor mats and maybe even a new carpet. Otherwise a good cleaning should suffice. I've been running evoscan / ecuflash off my Windows tablet and would like to mount it in the dash where the radio is and attach a small 4 channel mini amp behind it to drive the speakers. Then I would move the climate controls to the bottom cubby. Right now I have boost and wideband gauges on the a-pillar, but I may want to relocate them as well.
As for the suspension, I'm pretty happy with my Bilstein / Tein s tech springs combo and will keep that. However I have a complete bushing set I'd like to install and this seems like the right time to do it!
I started removing emissions equipment, and would like to finish that endeavor. I'd also take the motor and drivetrain out. This way I can (or the body shop can) clean up the engine bay and underneath and respray or clean. The motor is in fine condition, just needs to be de-greased and cleaned up. The transfer case and rear diff are Shep stage 1 rebuilds with less than 2 years and not many miles on it. The trans is used with unknown miles, so I may send that out for a rebuild. I'd like to get DSS stage 0 axles all the way around and get new wheel bearings too.
As for the engine itself, I literally just had the cylinder head rebuilt (stock), so that's fine. I'll probably get mild cams for the head. For the short block, I don't really plan to rebuild it as everything looks good! I may just take all the accessories and stuff off to clean and put all new gaskets on. I'd like to run push lock fitting or AN lines where appropriate and generally just make the engine bay look nice. I'll set up a catch can as well.
These are all just some preliminary thoughts. I'd like to keep this to a $5,000 budget, but I doubt that will happen. I hope to hear some interesting feedback from you guys! Cheers!
Feb 29, 2016, 01:00 PM
#2
Evolved Member
Looks like you got it under control, If I was doing a body patch up I'd probably do a 3m vinyl wrap to the front, they call it a track wrap, does half bonnet, bumper front panels and mirrors, all in clear.
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