“To be honest with you, I built this car in reverse,” admits Aucklander Suben Moodley. “Wheels are usually the last thing a person buys when building a car, but I bought mine first, then found and built a car to fit them.” So what’s the big deal? Buy a car, bolt them on, right? Not in Suben’s case, since his wheels happened to be three-piece Japanese PIAA rims, measuring 18 inches high and 10 inches across on all four corners, while his car of choice was a late-model Evo. For those who are not au fait with the finer details of Japanese cars and wheel sizes, there is simply no way that car and wheel combination will work without huge amounts of customisation. So began the epic build on Suben’s 2001 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII, dubbed EV HOE.

“The bodywork was by far the biggest headache in this build,” says Suben. “Because of the width of the wheels, the guards needed to be seriously widened for them to fit.” Unlike most other widebody cars, which use fibreglass for the extra girth, Suben’s Evo has been given the all-steel widening treatment. It was a much more difficult and time-consuming exercise, because all the panels needed to be custom made. The results are well worth it. The Evo is now a good deal wider but still retains that factory steel body, without the addition of decidedly more flimsy and less dependable glasswork.

After many headaches with the bodywork, including modifications to the C-West bodykit in order for it to match up to the new dimensions of the car, the Evo began to take shape. With a re-spray in the original French Blue Mitsubishi paint and a large helping of carbon fibre thrown in for good measure, the Evo was soon looking about as tough as an Evo can. It was time to pop the bonnet and get the rest of the car up to scratch.

Suben turned to Dinh Pham and the team at Spec 2 Development in East Auckland. Dinh is no stranger to big-power Mitsubishis, having a hand in a large number of Auckland’s quicker diamond-backs, including Brendon Nguyen’s recently completed VR-4 drag machine. Unlike the VR-4, Suben’s Evo was destined for the streets and the odd trip to the strip, and therefore needed to be fast but manageable at the same time. Over the next few months Spec 2 built just that, a full-house HKS-spec 4G63, absolutely filled to the brim with the best power-making hardware money can buy.

Currently on a brutal 341kW at the wheels 'running in’ tune courtesy of Speedtech Motorsport’s Andre Simon, the motor remains 2.0 litres in capacity but is now force-fed by a decidedly larger HKS TO4Z turbocharger. Combined with water/methanol injection, some serious head work and all the mods needed to support the system, it makes for a potent mix, and will be easily capable of unleashing more than 400kW at all four wheels once the motor has a few miles on it.

To fit with the Evo’s street car status, Suben has tailored the rest of the vehicle to suit. Inside, things remain essentially standard and decidedly comfortable not that gear from the likes of Recaro and Momo is anything to turn your nose up at.

The driveline has also been kept fairly streetable, albeit a little noisier courtesy of an Ogura Racing Clutch twin-plate clutch, and a little more brutal thanks to a very cool Ikeya Formula sequential shifter fitted to the factory 5-speed gear box. Although Mitsubishi makes extremely tough drivelines, this is the only part of the car that concerns Suben. “I think the driveline is definitely the weak point,” he says. “Obviously it’s all right on the street at its current power levels, but I do worry about what will happen once we run some more boost and take it to the track. If the big 265s hook up on the VHT during a launch, I’m thinking the transfer case isn’t going to like it much.”

Like most builds of this magnitude, there have been plenty of headaches and problems encountered along the way, not to mention a serious monetary injection.  Given that, does Suben regret embarking on this methanol-injected journey? “Honestly, I don’t regret it in the slightest,” he says. “The Evo is exactly how I want it now; it’s finished. And the thing is, ever since I first became interested in cars, having my own on the cover of NZ Performance Car magazine has been the ultimate goal.” In that case, glad we could help, Suben. It looks like you’ve got exactly what you wanted from this crazy street build. Now can we interest you in an NZPC 10-Second Club sticker?

2001 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII (CT9A) – Specifications

Engine: Mitsubishi 4G63T 2.0-litre DOHC 16V, HKS forged pistons, HKS rods, HKS 280-degree cams, HKS adjustable cam gears, HKS valve springs, Crower titanium retainers, Crower oversize stainless steel valves, extensively ported head, HKS 1.2mm head gasket, Ralliart custom intake box, 80mm billet throttle body, custom intake plenum, water/methanol injection, HKS TO4Z turbocharger, Spec 2 exhaust manifold, HKS GT2 50mm wastegate, Trust Type R blow-off valve, Spec 2 front-mounted intercooler, Spec 2 alloy intercooler piping, 3-inch stainless exhaust, A’PEXi fuel pump, Sard 1000cc injectors, Sard fuel rail, Sard adjustable fuel pressure regulator, HKS F-Con V Pro engine management system, HKS Pro ignition, HKS EVC V boost controller, alloy radiator, aftermarket oil cooler, braided lines
Driveline: Factory Evo VII 5-speed gearbox, ORC twin-plate clutch, Ikeya sequential shifter, factory diffs
Suspension/Brakes: HKS Hipermax Pro coil-overs, factory Brembo callipers, aftermarket slotted rotors
Wheels/Tyres: 18×10-inch PIAA 3-piece wheels, 265/35R18 tyres
Exterior: Custom all-steel widebody, modified C-West bodykit, carbon fibre bonnet, carbon fibre boot lid, carbon vortex generator, carbon mirrors, Evo IX black HID head lights, Evo IX black tail lights
Interior: Factory Recaro seats, Momo SRS steering wheel, Blitz DC meters, Ralliart 300kph speedo, A’PEXi RSM, A’PEXi turbo timer
Performance: Dyno Power — 341kW (451hp) @ wheels (run-in tune)

Suben Moodley – Owner Profile

Age: Young enough
Occupation: Manager
Previously Owned Cars: Mazda RX-7 S4 FC3S, Mazda RX-7 S6 FD3S, Mitsubishi GTO, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo II, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V
Build Time: 8 months
Time Owned: 3 years
Suben Thanks: Dinh, Chris & Allen @ Spec 2 Development, Eric & the boys @ Onehunga Panel & Paint

Words: Peter Kelly Photos: Dan Wakelin

This article is from Performance Car issue 151, click here to check it out.