Evo 8.5 - Intro

Earlier this year I started doing a little research about the evo IX swap into the evo VIII. I know they make a good bit more power (not to mention more area under the curve on a dyno plot) then the VIII when setup for SP. I also thought about getting out of the evo and maybe building an STR S2k as a change of pace. When it came down to it there was talk about getting rid of our 3rd car, so having a 4 dr "family" sedan made more sense. Plus the evo is the funnest car I have ever owned, that was the whole reason I bought one.

So the VIII motor was about due for the timing belt service and I would have had to fork out $$ for that and the IX swap wasn't too outrageous, so I pulled trigger. This was May.

Then we put the house on the market. Had it under contract pretty quick and thats when the fun began. We now have a great new home, kids are in school and we are settling in. That's my cue to start in on the winter project.

Gonna back date a little here to October. Hadn't washed the car in over a year. Powerwashed after the Stafford Rallyx, but not really washed. Well it cleaned up real nice, better than I thought.

Prepped the OR for surgery. Not the biggest or cleanest, but totally adequate.

Patient is on the operating table!

So the car was finally in the garage. It had been sitting out for months, dead battery (Thanks Grant!) and hadn't really been driven since the Stafford RallyX anyway since the tranny makes funny noises (Grrr grumble grumble). Was pretty excited about this moment though as the real work would soon begin.

More coming soon. Gonna have some detailed stuff too for the evo guys.

J