tsidrift1

iTrader: (46)

Thanks for the reply 3bar! Lots of valuable info in there. I would be able to do all the welding myself, and I would do all the painting as well, so I am really only paying for parts.

To the op, sorry if im cluttering your thread up.

I figured with 15k, I would have just about everything I want for the car. I wouldnt do a crazy build on one, pump gas bb fp green car with supporting mods, get in it and drive it anywhere, anytime I wanted.

3bar_dc2

iTrader: (11)

I am the OP. I sold the car to a guy in New York, who in turn sold it to Rich (wang4u) so no apologies needed

tsidrift1

iTrader: (46)

I juust noticed that when I opened the thread up this time haha. Ive looked through just about every thread I have found on here and mirage forums about these swaps. They dont look to be "hard", just a lot of work more than skill from what I saw. Looks like your avg mechanic/car guy can do it with some time and patience.......and money lol

You got your clip from Jack at Jdm engine world, correct? He has a white evo 6 clip now for sale I have been emailing him back and forth about.

3bar_dc2

iTrader: (11)

If you could turn your own wrenches, do engine swaps, and weld, then it'll be easy. The floor pan is the hardest part. Other than that, it's no different that swapping parts on an evo since 99% of all the bolt holes are the same between evo 4-6 and mirage. I've done a TON of swaps so it wasn't terribly hard. RB25 swap into a S14, Two ej257 sti swaps into 2.5rs, Hondas, etc.

Yeah I got my clip from Jack. He did me right and I got the clip quickly. Is it the one that he's had for a while, with the aero? If so, that one may be a little overpriced. What's he asking for it? If you plan on using the aero, then it's a good price. Otherwise, you'll spend more looking and shipping in OEM panels. If you do end up getting it, a Evo 8 rear floor pan and strut towers will work. It'll save you time and money. However you'll want the 5-6 tank since the 7-9 have the filler neck on the opposite side. Other people have used the evo 8 fuel tank and either modified the filler neck to the correct side, or used a long flexible hose.

Here's a guy parting out a wrecked Evo 4. Depending on the conversion you're doing, you may be able to use some of his parts. Note that the Evo 4 floor pan is slightly different that the 5-6 so if you're going for the 5-6 conversion, you won't want it. He's asking 300 for the complete shell so it's not a bad price.
https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/sa...-complete.html

tsidrift1

iTrader: (46)

Yea, I believe its the same white one. I dont care for the front bumper or the headlights on it lol. He said 7100 shipped to me for the clip, all 4 doors, rear end, trunk, driveshaft, and taillights.

I was planning on doing the rhd conversion, but I dont want any issues registering it, and I dont just wanna swap vin plates either. There are other ways in Illinois to register it as a "custom vehicle", but I wouldnt want to run into issues if I were to move either lol.

I have looked at some of the evo 4 clips. I heard the evo 4 block is a little different than the 5-9, as far as something was changed, so you want the 5-9 block, not sure what exactly it is, something internal was changed. I dont like the 4's hood, or front bumper, so i would be looking at a new hood and bumper as well. They are the cheaper clips though.

I have foung one 5 front clip, comes with a rear end and driveshaft extra, that was it. It was nice though, and I can live with the front bumper, I prefer the TME front end out of all of them lol.

I am definitley looking into just buying a new rear floorpan, or used one out of an evo 8/9. I priced it at just over $500 for a new one through JNZtuning. Seems worth it as it would be clean, and I wouldnt have to hammer/dolly the edges.....hopefully lol.

For the gas tank, I have a real good buddy who is an excellent tig welder. He said he can do tanks, and has done plenty of them. So I would simply relocate the filler neck to the opposite side for that.

I would be using mostly evo 8/9 parts on my build, with the exception of body panels, makes me wonder if the clip is even worth it?? Or would I be better off ordering all my panels from Japperformance in one shipment. I would like to get as much stuff as I can thats already in the states because of the customs bs lol.

3bar_dc2

iTrader: (11)

If you're not planning on using the front bumper or RHD conversion, the clip isn't worth it. Especially for the price. I paid 6000 shipped and mine was a lot cleaner, came with 4 greddy gauges, a Evo 7 longblock, a rare 280km/h cluster, etc.

If you haven't registered for mirageforums.net I would do so. A lot of people selling Oem evo 5-6 body parts in the for sale section. Also, look at this thread. Her username is kazamasan1

http://www.mirageforums.net/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=49404

She bought all of the front end components for a pretty good price and at what point talked about scrapping the project and selling the parts. And they're extremely clean, similar to the one I bought.

Here you can see she was offering the parts to someone else so she may part with them. Also makes mention of having a floor pan and rear drivetrain out of a Evo 9 which would be perfect

http://www.mirageforums.net/viewtopi...736300#p736300

All this stuff is stateside in Washington so no customs BS. Fuel tank, wheel arches, side skirts, trunk, rear bumper and wing would be the only things and all that stuff could be bought from Japperformance. I would also get the rear driveshaft hanger from him as well. Mirages are plentiful at the local Upull so dash is easy to come by.

I made mention in this build on how to repin the Evo5 harness to work with the USDM Evo8 ecu so you can tune using ecuflash and tephra.

The Evo 4 blocks suffer crank walk issues just like the good ol' DSMs lol

tsidrift1

iTrader: (46)

I saw that thread this past weekend after I registered on the forums. It was like a lot of the mirage conversion threads, get all excited and then they just die off lol.

I have wondered if the clip is worth it. The biggest thing is sourcing a harness and the body panels, cause like I said, the powertrain stuff would mostly be evo 8/9 stuff. I have a few more shops that I was going to call about getting a 6 front clip.

Im not exactly ready for everything just yet. I would have to sell my current evo 9 to start this project lol. Im really leaning to selling it to start one, but I havnt really even driven my 9 since I finally got a solid tune on it from Devin @Boostin.

I have seen some wiring stuff on mirage forums. I would want to do a speed density setup on the car and I saw on there where someone mentions what wiring to do to get speed density. I would imagine this might only work for the evo 8/9 ecus. So there I might be talking myself out of a clip even more lol. The nice thing with a clip, is you get one big package, and its all there! lol I guess if I could find the nose cut like she did on Mirage forums, that would be great. The guys at Japperformance act like you can get anything from them, they said they have all the wrecked evo 5/6, and on their website it appears they do. When I emailed them today asking about rear floorpan and a gas tank, they said they had none, seems weird when they have like 15 wrecked evo 5/6's according to the site. What are the chances everyone of them has no tank or floorpan?? lol

I have even seen one mirage in Alabama on CL. Its got the fully body conversion done, but still stock motor, fwd, but the interior is gutted. They are only asking 3k for the car, the kit looks great in pics, but no telling in person haha.

9!'clipseDOHC

iTrader: (7)

Is the Evo V ECU not flashable with ECUflash?

Jush

Evo 1-4 has crank walk issues and evo 5-8 ECU is exactly the same but i'm not sure about the 9 ecu because of Mivec

tsidrift1

iTrader: (46)

Hey man, I was over on mirage forums looking at a build thread. The guy who is swapping all evo 9 powertrain stuff over, he shows cutting into the frame rails in the rear to get the floorpan out, is that something that you have to do, normally? I dont see anyone else making these cuts, but maybe they just didnt document them lol.

Also. the rear brakes, do the factory mirage brake lines stop at the wheel wells, then you add the evo lines in from there to the brembos, I assume?

Just little things that pop in my head haha

3bar_dc2

iTrader: (11)

The evo 5-8 ecu isn't exactly the same, otherwise there'd be no difference in ecu pinouts. The 5 ecu is flashable, but it's easier for speed density tuning with US tuners on the 8 ecu. If you saw a post on how to wire up speed density on the mirage forums, it was probably my thread on there lol. Its in this thread as well. My biggest reason for using the usdm 8 ecu was so it could pass obd2 emissions testing ANYWHERE!!

For the dash/body harness, you'd be using the mirage so you'll have no benefit with the clip. Also engine harnesses can be had for around 200 if bought seperately. Body panels are the main benefit of the clip. Plus the suspension components such as lower control arms, sway bars, etc.
For brake lines I used evo 8 steel braided lines and they worked perfectly.

Cutting the rear frame rail isn't necessary but allows you to get to the spot welds easier on the insideof the frame. When you're on mirage forums, look up username my3awds. He was one of the pioneers for the conversion and his pictures on his build thread shows more detail than mine does. He helped me out a handful of times when I had questions. He's a wealth of knowledge. One you do the swap, you will know these cars so much better and all of the parts interchange. For example, this evo 5 needed front wheel bearings. Dsms and dodge avengers use the same as evo 4-6 lol. So I bought dodge avenger wheel bearings.

I'm evoless so I don't come on here as much anymore. Rich is picking up where i left off and is doing an excellent job. I'm sure I'll be back in one someday, but I've got a skyline itch I'm needing to scratch so that's what I'm working towards haha.

wang4u

iTrader: (3)

Hey Sean! Glad you could answer some questions here. I took a rough stab at what it would cost. You need to consider another Evo! Or if you can do it again, build another 5 or 6. Though I like the idea of a Skyline, esp if its a R32-34. Not this R35 crap lol. Hows the FD comin along?

One thing I want to mention, about the countless PMs and emails Im getting about the 5: I am not ever selling it! No I dont want to trade! I plan to keep this car forever. Unless Sean comes up with our little side deal LOL. Otherwise, I have no interest in any trades, cash, or other. Just know that this 5 is in very capable hands and will stay that way for a lifetime. in 2023 when we are able to bring over 5/6s, I plan to bring one just to park next to this beast. I wont even mod it. Im hoping by then, I would have ran some good track times and prove, conversion or not, its still an Evo.

Latest update is: I finally have the tuned map from Tom! Sadly its been freezin a$$ in Colorado, and havent been able to drive her, to empty the tank. Its just about there. So I think tomorrow, Ill let her idle one more time on 91 before permanently switching to E85. Im hoping there isnt any major issues from here. At some point I need to tackle the brakes. The discs are near toast and the pads are right there as well. Also need to start planning the motor build. I havent found a house yet. I have a buddy willing to loan me his garage for a few months to complete the engine build. This might have to do for the time being. In the meantime, Im still searching for a house, so at very least, I want to get the Black tuned on the stock block. So in the next few days, I should have a graph on hows shes doin. Im guessing it will be like any other Black/Stock block build. 500whp, 400wtq. Should be great fun regardless!

S.Brewer

Beautiful car! Just read almost every page. Would love to do this one day.

tsidrift1

iTrader: (46)

I was kinda going through some parts yesterday. I dont know if its worth it or not to try and piece everything together instead of the front clip lol.

A shortblock, head, trans, tcase, rear diff, rear subframe, then the front body panels adds up pretty fast! haha I dont know if I wanna pay $7k for a front clip, I would def. look around more for a better priced one, especially one I could use the bumper and headlights lol.

3bar_dc2

iTrader: (11)

I'd love to have another Evo 5 and I'm sure it'd be a lot easier the second time around, but I just have no time these days so it'd probably take me a few years to complete the floorpan this time around lol. If I do another Evo, it'll probably be an Evo 3 build.


The FD is coming along okay. Got the engine in a few weeks back and should be getting the turbo and manifold bolted up shortly. I'll post up a couple pics when I get the chance. I haven't done a built thread for this one at all since I have no time to start one.


R32s are making it's way down from Canada, legally, so I may explore that option. I'd much rather own a r33 or r34, but I don't want to deal with the fear of owning a state titled skyline, and not one that's federally legal.


You're gonna have fun with the black, and I'm sure it'll sound bad ***! If there isn't too much 91 left, pull the drain plugs on the bottom of the fuel tank and make the switch back to e85 already lol. Is it e85 or are you guys on a e70 blend for the winter?

Funny you mention all of the countless PMs. I used to get SOOOO MANY pms, text messages, emails, phone calls, messenger pigeons, etc. of people wanting to know how to do the conversion, the costs, where to get parts, if I would sell them the car, you name it. I tried to list all of the places the parts were sourced from. They'd get all pumped about starting the conversion, and then complain about not being able to find a Mirage for under $1500. Then I would politely explain to them that if $1500 is too much to spend on the car, how do you plan on sinking another $10k into it lol. Of all the people that have PM'd me, I don't think a single one has started the conversion.