This is a guest blog from Rob Gooley, owner/driver of the Hairy Lemon Evo, gearhead and all-round good guy. We asked Rob to tell us a bit about his experience in the car scene, and he’s been kind enough to agree. The story will be punctuated by shots of his current Evo VI racecar, and other cars he’s owned. -M
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It was 1995 when I got my license.. Back then I had been saving for years working part time at McDonalds to buy my first car – my parents would not let me get a loan so I had to save all the money. I wanted a Toyota Corolla Twin Cam with the infamous 4A-GE motor, which I eventually picked up.
I kept this car for about 4 years, before I had my eye on either a WRX or turbocharged SW20 MR2. While studying at uni my parents once again would not allow me to get a loan for a car (they wouldn’t sign as a guarantor). WRXs were way too much money and even though I was working 3 jobs and studying, I decided to look into importing an MR2. In 1999 there were only 3 people in Australia that had the rights to comply MR2s, and each of them could only comply 15 per year. To comply an MR2 in 1999 was $12,000, which made the final price of the car over $30,000. I found a flood damaged one that had gone through fresh water in Japan, so I bought this and stripped it to a bare shell before putting it back together with a new import motor.
The car scene was just as big 15 years ago as it is today. Social car meetings took place on a Thursday night at Market Square or Riverside at West End, and on a Friday night Harry’s Diner on Newmarket Rd was the place to be. Carparks on both sides of the road filled with people. Aspley McDonalds & Hypermarket was where everyone went to after 10-11pm… On Saturday night, the Broadwater at the Gold Coast was where everyone went.. The laws were certainly more relaxed and modifications to cars were certainly not as advanced as now. These location saw hundreds of cars turning up on particular nights, with all different types of cars. This car scene was what I did most weekends for a number of years. I then started to doing more and more track events in my cars from sprint days to going to the drags and hill climbs. This was a great environment: being a car enthusiast, I could put my car through its paces, but more importantly in a controlled environment.
Over the last 10 years I have had a number of different types of cars: 2002 Subaru WRX STi, Audi A4, BMW E46 M3, HSV VE GTS, Mazda RX-8, a twin turbo 3 series BMW, to a Porsche 911 Turbo.
And of course, my pride and joy – my 1999 Mitsubishi EVO VI.
I have always been involved in motorsport since I have had my license and driven at the track in all the cars I’ve owned.. It was about 7 years ago when I started looking for a clean Mitsubishi Evo 6. It took me about 9 months to find a blue Evo with log books and 59,000km and perfect condition. I liked this model as the performance was impressive, but more importantly the aggressive look of the car with the bumper, bonnet & rear flared guards, the Evo VI was what put Mitsubishi on the top of the ladder in 2000 & 2001 in the WRC.
After purchasing the car it was not long before I took the car to QR to do a few laps. It was fair to say for a standard car the car was great at the track, but that was the start of the car becoming what it is today.
The Evo has evolved from a street car into a purpose built race car to compete in all types of motorsport events. The main focus was for World Time Attack, but over the next couple of years I also plan to compete in more door-to-door events, hill climbs and streets sprint events in it. The Evo over years has seen extensive development to be one of the fastest privately owned track cars in QLD. 2014 will be a great year with Japanese Nationals as the next big event on the calandar at QR on the 24th of May.
Please like and support Gools and his Hairy Lemon Time Attack Evo! keeping you upto date with all things local and interstate regarding his time attack campaign, including his return to the 2014 World time attack challenge!
The modifications to the Evo:
ENGINE
Built by JHH Racing
Crank: Nitto 2.2L 4G63
Rods: Nitto Billet I Beam Rods
Pistons: JE Forged Nitto Spec Pistons
Rings: JE Rings & ACL race bearings
Camshafts: Kelford Cams
Cylinder head mods: JHH CNC ported, blended, bronze inserts fitted
Sump: AMS Moroso baffled Sump
Oil pump: OEM with Moroso Accumulator
Fuel pump: 400l Walbro with custom surge tank and Bosch 044
Injectors: Bosch 2000cc
Turbo: Forced Performance Black ball bearing
Intercooler: Plazmaman 90mm Race core
Oil cooler: PWR
Exhaust: Custom 3” system
Ignition system: OEM EVO 6
Engine management:currently OEM EVO 7, Haltech is going in
Boost control: GReddy Profec B
Fuel: Sucrogen E85
PERFORMANCE
Power: 330KW @ all 4 wheels
Torque: 520nm @ the wheels from 4400rpm
Best times:
0:53.8 @ Lakeside
1:37.9 @ Eastern Creek
0:52.6 @ QR Sprint Track
DRIVELINE
Transmission: PPG 5spd dog box
Front diff: mechanical Cusco LSD
Rear diff: Evo 9 with mechanical Cusco LSD
SUSPENSION
Springs: King Springs
Shocks: MCS Silver series
Swaybar: Standard Bars
Bracing: Cusco front braces, Race Fab rear subframe, as well as adjustable lower arms
BRAKES
Discs: 350mm 2-piece Performance Friction rotors
Calipers: Brembo EVO X calipers
Pads: Ferodo DS 3000
WHEELS & TYRES
Rota DPT in 18×10”
Hankook Z214 275/35/18
Hankook Z221 295/30/18
BODY
Custom front bar & splitter
Canards and vents in the front guards
Varis widebody rear
Custom rear diffuser from the rear diff back
GT twin blade rear wing
DRIVING HISTORY
2001 Total Driver training
2002 BMW M3 Driver training
2004- Circuit Track Days
2010 Top 10 Fastest at Lakeside
2010 1st Place Ralliart Evolution Nationals Track Day – Semi Modified
2010 1st Place Ralliart Evolution Nationals Hill Climb – Semi Modified
2010 2nd Place Time Attack AWD class at Lakeside
2011 2nd Place V-Sport Evolution Nationals Track Day – Modified
2011 1st Place Time Attack AWD Shoot out
2011 Superlap Open Class competitor
2012 1st Place Time Attack AWD Shoot Out
2012 1st Place Mercury Motorsport Time Attack series QR
2012 1st Place 2012 SUBI EVOLUTION LAKESIDE TIME ATTACK SERIES
2012 6th Place at World Time Attack Club sprint Class
2013 2nd Place Evolution Nationals Outright Class Track Day
2013 1st Place Evolution Nationals Outright Class Mt Cotton Hill Climb
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