# Mini EVO engine bay make-over



## ChrisJD

After completing a small make over of my engine bay, I thought I would post up a few photos and a brief write-up.

I had been wanting to put a few Spec-R items on the car for some time and when they announced they were going to produce polished Radiator brackets I thought it was the perfect time to get it done. 
The Spec-R items were actually bought for me by my girlfriend Clare, as a Christmas present, which included the manifold heat shield, battery cover and the radiator brackets, though the brackets I had to wait for as they weren't actually in production at the time.
I also took the opportunity to remove the two main HKS hard pipes and give them a proper clean and polish. Having removed them, I also decided to renew the HKS hose couplings and replace them. I was going to stick with Blue, but wanted to make it look a little different, so went for white.
Anyone who has ordered hoses other than blue, will know they take weeks to get, so this was going to be a slow make over, in fact, I ended up having to wait about five weeks for them!

Anyway, a couple of photos of how the bay was:

















I have always kept it clean, but it is amazing how you find dirt hidden in places that you can't get to until you remove parts, so on the surface it's not much cleaner that it was, but I have cleaned up a few of the more hidden areas.

Some parts to go on the car:

































…and how it looks now:

















































I wasn't originally intending to have the carbon cooling panel, but the original airbox 'snorkel' had left wear marks on the slam panel, so I decided the carbon panel would hide the offending area nicely. Unfortunately, I had to wait about 8 weeks for this item to be manufactured as well! It had also gone through my mind to paint the cooling panel blue to colour code it, but still not sure about this at the moment…

After having the parts off the car for so long, I hadn't driven it for ages, so by time the parts were all together and ready to put on the car, I just wanted to get out and drive it. I have been using the car, but without the carbon cooling panel, which was still being manufactured and only arrived last week. Which is why it has taken so long to post this write-up.

Anyway, I am really pleased with the result, though the white hoses don't stand out quite as much as I would like, but I think they do brighten the whole area and look different enough.

Final before and after:

















Thanks for looking.

Chris.


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## borinous

saaaweet!!!!


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## Bratwurst

Looks lovely man :thumb:


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## FiestaGirlie

Can't believe how long it's taken to finally get all the bits. But worth it in the end.


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## zimzimmer

Tres bon monsieur. Well worth the wait.


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## ChrisJD

Thank you all.

It has been frustrating waiting for some of the bits, the radiator brackets, hoses and the carbon cooling panel to be delivered, but finally done.

Chris.


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## dooka

Looking good, loving the white hoses, shame they aren't more visible..


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## Jon Allen

:argie: :argie: :argie: :argie:

That looks stunning :thumb:


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## Strothow

Ooooooooo, now thats nice! :thumb:


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## jonny2112

Fantastic! Well done mate :thumb:


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## Yoghurtman

That's a lovely engine bay......:argie:


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## -tom-

that is just porn on engines :argie: u have one very nice gf


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## ChrisJD

Yep, very happy with my Christmas presents:thumb:

Chris.


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## Tazza

Awesome! Well done :thumb:


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## twoscoops

bit of added bling, look great mate!


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## Damien89

That looks great, but if you want some advice i would get rid of the open air filter element because all it is doing is sucking hot air from the engine bay and you never want that especially on a turbo car.

My advice is you try and find either a carbon fibre shield for it or you can find a high flow airbox which sucks air from a cold intake feed.

Still congrats on the beautiful engine.


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## horned yo

An AMS polished plug cover would finish that off nicely. Looks class though and i like the carbon cover


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## JJ08

Looking good under there m8,do you track it,like all Evos ?
Heres one we own.If on MLR you prolly know the car from sprinting.

E5 DCB




























:thumb:

Jeff


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## ChrisJD

It has been on track, though not as often as I would like.









I was concerned about the hot air near the filter even with the cold air feed, that you can't see, but you'll never stop hot/warm air getting in, even with the standard 'snorkel' sitting close to the exhaust manifold.

Chris.


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## Arun

Oh my, that's great stuff, Chris!


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## Auto Detox

Nice !


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## JJ08

clean as a whistle under there a credit to ya fella.
As for the cone ~ not an issue on the Evo`s,more of an issue on n/a stuff to be honest.
Although we run this setup on the Evo 5
Carbon at gr8 expense and the top aperature is now open vented into the Naca bonnet vent.










Jeff


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## Damien89

JJ08 said:


> clean as a whistle under there a credit to ya fella.
> As for the cone ~ not an issue on the Evo`s,more of an issue on n/a stuff to be honest.
> Although we run this setup on the Evo 5
> Carbon at gr8 expense and the top aperature is now open vented into the Naca bonnet vent.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Jeff


That is a proper high flow air filter setup!


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## ChrisJD

Nice looking carbon set up, not cheap I bet:thumb:

I am most concerned about the hot air during the summer when in traffic with the heat soak.

Chris.


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## garysanderson

Mate, that looks tip...top...


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## MHTexPete

looked good before but after is amazing!!!


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## Dave182

Really nice engine bay mate! Want to get a bit of Samco/Carbon action in mine!


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## ChrisJD

Bit of a quick update, as I have just fitted a couple more quality items from Pete at Spec-R.

Header tank









and Power steering reservoir



























The quality of these really is excellent.

A couple of pics I took yesterday while at Brands Hatch for the Modified Live/Time Attack show


















I also had my manifold heatshield re-polished by Pete, so a big thank you to him for doing that.

Chris.


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## MRGTRSman

Very very nice IX fella,looks minty mint

Evo man through and through myself,and have been for well over a decade now,they are addictive


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## ChrisJD

Thank you. Yeah, still loving the EVO. Longest I've ever owned a car, must say something:driver:

Chris.


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## Dipesh

Very nice! Won't those White samco's be a pain to keep clean?


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## Gaz_jones

That looks amazing mate!


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## shane_ctr

Stunning mate, im in process of doing my impreza engine, I've been looking at spec r stuff think u have made my mind up. Were did u get the radiator clips from?


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## shane_ctr

Have you got any complete pics of the car as was at brands Sunday


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## ChrisJD

Dipesh said:


> Very nice! Won't those White samco's be a pain to keep clean?


They do show the dust unfortunately, so have to keep on top of it.



shane_ctr said:


> Stunning mate, im in process of doing my impreza engine, I've been looking at spec r stuff think u have made my mind up. Were did u get the radiator clips from?


The radiator brackets are Spec-R and like the rest of their pruducts are beautifully made. Not sure if they do them for the Impreza, but give Pete a call (01380724518) and I'm sure he'll look into it if he doesn't already do them.

Was you on the SIDC stand? My dad's STI was there too.

some people had already left by time I took a few photos. I was on the MLR stand.









Chris.


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## shane_ctr

Stunning, i was on the scoobycity stand, next to sidc. What impreza sti is ur dads


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## ChrisJD

He has a MY03, in black. Recently had the Prodrive wheels refurbed in an anthracite/blue-ish colour. Looks different to the Gold as they were.

Chris.


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## shane_ctr

Would he of had the sun screen up like u? If so I was just behind it, very nice


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## ChrisJD

Yes he did, the blue shield.


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## gb270

Nice mate


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## MHTexPete

looks excellent


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## Solvent Sid

Very nice, the best colour imo :thumb:


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## FiestaGirlie

...you missed a spot... Lol!!

Not that I can see the pics, but it looks amazing and the new tanks were definitley a great idea (who's idea were they?). ;-)

Now to do mine... He he.


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## AustCy

Very nice, its good to see engine mods done tastefully, there are so many ruined engine bays chocabloc full of crap - this however, is done in a very stylish way - great job there lad


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## ChrisJD

Thank you for the kind comments



FiestaGirlie said:


> ...you missed a spot... Lol!!
> 
> Not that I can see the pics, but it looks amazing and the new tanks were definitley a great idea (who's idea were they?). ;-)
> 
> Now to do mine... He he.


Cheeky...yes, will get onto yours. Yeah, you did suggest it, glad I took your advice for once.



AustCy said:


> Very nice, its good to see engine mods done tastefully, there are so many ruined engine bays chocabloc full of crap - this however, is done in a very stylish way - great job there lad


Thank you, I have always wanted to keep it fairly original. I agree, some do get carried away.

Chris.


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## Steve220

Chris - nice work mate!! Always been a fan of your motor on the MLR. What do you use on the paintwork in the engine bay? It looks very deep compared to a lot of other engine bays that are 'clean' lol


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## willd0g

AustCy said:


> Very nice, its good to see engine mods done tastefully, there are so many ruined engine bays chocabloc full of crap - this however, is done in a very stylish way - great job there lad


Your engine bay looks terrific. Its meticulous. Its true with some engine bay mods going right over the top that you don't know what to look at, but you've gone and done some very effective (visually) mods that really set it off.

If I had an engine bay like that, i would certainly want to drive around town without a bonet. Maybe even installing a perspex one ahhaha :car:


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## ChrisJD

Steve220 said:


> Chris - nice work mate!! Always been a fan of your motor on the MLR. What do you use on the paintwork in the engine bay? It looks very deep compared to a lot of other engine bays that are 'clean' lol


Thank you very much I used some Blackhole to clean the paintwork then sealant, generally Blackfire all metal sealant, but a few parts have Poorboys EX-sealant on. I often wipe over with some detailer after washing too, usually Meg Last touch, just to wipe away dust etc.



willd0g said:


> Your engine bay looks terrific. Its meticulous. Its true with some engine bay mods going right over the top that you don't know what to look at, but you've gone and done some very effective (visually) mods that really set it off.
> 
> If I had an engine bay like that, i would certainly want to drive around town without a bonet. Maybe even installing a perspex one ahhaha :car:


:lol: yeah that's an idea.

Chris.


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## HighgradeVOzonA

Very Nice IX you have,it looks gleaming fella

All 4G63 for me,not big into the "new breed" 4B11's,maybe in time though


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## gotamintvtr

good work mate. cant say ive seen the car around im only in dagenham and pass through romford quite abit


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## gotamintvtr

didnt realise that was your ar on the stand at brands i had a look at that aswell


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## MHTexPete

the white hoses look great


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## ChrisJD

gotamintvtr said:


> good work mate. cant say ive seen the car around im only in dagenham and pass through romford quite abit


Only really gets used at weekends and then I don't tend to drive around town in it much. Go out on to the open roads

Chris.


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## giblet

ChrisJD said:


> Go out on to the open roads


Thats the best way to enjoy a car like that. Looks lovely :thumb:


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## domino

that looks awesome. i really love a detailed engine bay that is clean like that, great job!!! imo it makes detailing the car that much more special, as you pop the hood and have a look in as you move around the car

i had alot of fun detailing the engine bay on my old 350Z with carbon, custom paint etc, even went through the trouble of replacing all the oem bolts with stainless steel

thinking of doing the same with the GTR now, but the cost for similar parts is about 3 times what they are/were for the Z

my before










and after


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## nickygixer-k5

Hey Chris are you trying to clone my car or what??Looking great butty:thumb: What you need now is a nice Koyo rad to set it off:thumb:


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## domino

braided hoses and cusco stb

^ he wins


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## ChrisJD

nickygixer-k5 said:


> Hey Chris are you trying to clone my car or what??Looking great butty:thumb: What you need now is a nice Koyo rad to set it off:thumb:


Ha! I'll try not to:thumb:

Just got the Spec-R bug now...



domino said:


> braided hoses and cusco stb
> 
> ^ he wins


...and I was going to comment on how nice your 350Z bay looked...

I am in the process of replacing some of the bolts for stainless ones too.

Chris.


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## domino

ChrisJD said:


> ...and I was going to comment on how nice your 350Z bay looked...
> 
> I am in the process of replacing some of the bolts for stainless ones too.
> 
> Chris.


hahaha

do it, the ss bolts will finish off the bay nicely

also, id go the cusco stb.....oh and cusco sways too to match


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## ChrisJD

domino said:


> hahaha
> 
> do it, the ss bolts will finish off the bay nicely
> 
> also, id go the cusco stb.....oh and cusco sways too to match


Then I definately would be accused of copying Nicky.


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## rsdan1984

that bay looks immaculate, credit to you sir.


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## gotamintvtr

thats why its not seen around then. looking good mate


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## nickygixer-k5

ChrisJD said:


> Ha! I'll try not to:thumb:
> 
> Just got the Spec-R bug now...
> 
> Chris.


Yeah I know what you mean ChrisPete's shiny bits cost me a fortunebut I wouldn,t have it any other wayI have the rad brackets on mine and also fitted a koyo rad for a 6 and Spec -r is making me a custom top pipe on the rad to get rid of the top samco hose:thumb:maybe something for you to look into for a future modBut as already stated yours is looking very nice butty:thumb:


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## ChrisJD

nickygixer-k5 said:


> Yeah I know what you mean ChrisPete's shiny bits cost me a fortunebut I wouldn,t have it any other wayI have the rad brackets on mine and also fitted a koyo rad for a 6 and Spec -r is making me a custom top pipe on the rad to get rid of the top samco hose:thumb:maybe something for you to look into for a future modBut as already stated yours is looking very nice butty:thumb:


I was thinking about the radiator top pipe some time ago, thinking that might look rather nice as a polished hard pipe...

You'll have to let me know what you think once you have it installed.

(I can add it the list:thumb

Chris.


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## gazzi123

HOLY [email protected]** That is proberbly the cleanest engine bay ive seen in a very very long time!!

That must take you hours.

Massive thumbs up mate

P.s - It looks even cleaner than my brand spanking new cars engine bay lol!


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## ChrisJD

Just a small update, have been replacing some of the bolts with stainless ones and purchased a couple more items from Pete at Spec-R. Also added some new shiney nuts to my strut-brace.

The pics don't don't show the new bolts too well, but they are there:thumb:


































That will be it for now...

Chris.


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## andy1207

what make is the carbon slam panel if you dont mind me asking?


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## ChrisJD

andy1207 said:


> what make is the carbon slam panel if you dont mind me asking?


I bought through Lee at FQ Performance, not sure who actually manufactures it, but it may be Carbon Goodies.

Chris.


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## Defined Reflections

Stunning! you cant beat a nice engine bay


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## MikeyR

Veryyyyy Nice mate!! How long did that take??


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## HighgradeVOzonA

Stunning IX credit to you.Is it sorn'd over the winter?

Spec-R bits are stunning quality always have been,I religiously put the spec-R bits on my YB's back in the day.

Next on you purchase list should be the newly developed IC & hardpipe kit by [email protected] developments and [email protected] cheap by any means but a stunning piece of kit.
You would need to purchase the hardpipe kit though as the new IC pipes are a 3" bore instead of the 2.5" bore on the HKS IC pipes.


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## yellasei

love it:argie: the battery strap looks amazing and is just the sort of thing i am looking for, where was it from??


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## ChrisJD

HighgradeVOzonA said:


> Stunning IX credit to you.Is it sorn'd over the winter?
> 
> Spec-R bits are stunning quality always have been,I religiously put the spec-R bits on my YB's back in the day.
> 
> Next on you purchase list should be the newly developed IC & hardpipe kit by [email protected] developments and [email protected] cheap by any means but a stunning piece of kit.
> You would need to purchase the hardpipe kit though as the new IC pipes are a 3" bore instead of the 2.5" bore on the HKS IC pipes.


No, it's not sorn'd. At the moment it is now tucked in the garage (moved house a couple of months ago and now have a garage to put it in) 
It doesn't get used much during the winter, but when there's a day when the roads are dry it does come out for air:thumb:

I have seen the new intercoolers from Pete/MA and do look tempting...



yellasei said:


> love it:argie: the battery strap looks amazing and is just the sort of thing i am looking for, where was it from??


That is a Spec-R item. Pete will make it to your battery size too.

Chris.


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## Mr yella

Top engine bay bud ,awesome looking car , mine is fully kitted out with pete's stuff and it's deffo the best out there by miles .:thumb::thumb:


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## Ascona 1.3S

very awesome Engine and the details are very awesome

1A++++


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## centenary

Awesome! You could eat your dinner off that! If you didnt drop any bits of it that is!

Beep, beep:driver:


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## MilesBetter

Looking good as ever Chris :thumb:


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## Empty Pockets

Looks absolutely stunning, if we can get ours half as clean we'll be happy chappies.


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## rsdan1984

some nice mods there, not too bling, just about right!


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## mas

Love those white hoses! would like them on my motor.


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## ChrisJD

st170 dan said:


> some nice mods there, not too bling, just about right!


Thank you, that is quite a compliment actually. I do see many bays with lots of add ons and shiney parts and just think there over the top.

I wanted to keep it fairly standard and original, but stand out enough.



mas said:


> Love those white hoses! would like them on my motor.


Thought the white would be slightly different and keep it bright.

Chris.


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## Rasher

bob on mate


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## rhiggs

Engine bay looks fantastic, great work and attention to detail.

Can I ask where you got the brackets for your bonnet gas struts, I have been searching for something similar for ages with no luck.

Again great work


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## ChrisJD

Rasher said:


> bob on mate


:thumb:



rhiggs said:


> Engine bay looks fantastic, great work and attention to detail.
> 
> Can I ask where you got the brackets for your bonnet gas struts, I have been searching for something similar for ages with no luck.
> 
> Again great work


Thank you. The brackets came with the struts (these were from Indigo-GT), they are normally black, but I painted them in the body colour Blue, so they would look a bit more original and look a little less like I just bolted them on.

Chris.


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## gotamintvtr

great work chris. id be scared to drive the car hard after all that. my mini bay is pretty clean and there isnt alot you can do to it pipework wise etc like the evo but im scared to dirty that haha. you got any external pics? im still yet to see this around. im local and always in romford area.
this is my car you may have seen it about


























not that you see it but as the engine needed rebuilding i thought id paint it


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## gotamintvtr

just seen why i may not of seen you around romford youve moved away haha. i was looking at houses in wickford but ive bought in elm park instead


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## ChrisJD

gotamintvtr said:


> just seen why i may not of seen you around romford youve moved away haha. i was looking at houses in wickford but ive bought in elm park instead


Yeah, moved last October.

Mini looks really nice, got that aggressive look too:thumb:

This was at RallyDay last year:







[/URL] Uploaded with ImageShack.us[/IMG]

This is a few years old now, I do need some more up to date pics:







[/URL] Uploaded with ImageShack.us[/IMG]

Chris.


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## gotamintvtr

cheers thats realy smart. like the colour alot. realy wanted one of those before i got a house or a evo 6 tommi mak. but that house beat it and came up first.


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## ChrisJD

Yeah, buying a house does that. I'll be keeping the EVO a while longer now we have the house. Though quite happy to do that for a while longer:driver:

Chris.


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## NorthernNick

any chance you could pm me with the details of the hydraulic brackets please bud? And also how they were fitted? Id LOVE a set on my car, dont know it itll work though haha!


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## ChrisJD

nothernfez said:


> any chance you could pm me with the details of the hydraulic brackets please bud? And also how they were fitted? Id LOVE a set on my car, dont know it itll work though haha!


Do you mean the bonnet lifters?

These ones I got from Indigo-GT. There are a few retailers that sell them. These simply bolt to existing points on the car, using the hinge bolts on the bonnet.
They're not available for all cars though, what car have you got?

Chris.


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## NorthernNick

just a ford fiesta mk6 haha nothing evo like!
But i could make the brackets in the workshop and fit them..would make things easier haha. its a thought.
they really look crackin' chris


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## ChrisJD

I don't think there are any commercially available for the Fiesta. I did look for the girlfriends ST. You would need shorter ones than I have and there wasn't any existing mounting points that lined up nicely if I remember, but I'm sure some brackets could be easily fabricated.
They are a nice addition.

Chris.


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## ant_s

nothernfez said:


> just a ford fiesta mk6 haha nothing evo like!
> But i could make the brackets in the workshop and fit them..would make things easier haha. its a thought.
> they really look crackin' chris


There are mk6 Fez bonnet lifters, they raise it by 20mm (maybe 30mm) and they are around £30, i'll look for the link now


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## ChrisJD

ant_s said:


> There are mk6 Fez bonnet lifters, they raise it by 20mm (maybe 30mm) and they are around £30, i'll look for the link now


You're thinking of the blocks that lift the hinge so that the bonnet sits higher. The ones northenfez is talking about is the gas struts, replacing the bonnet stay.

Chris.


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## kingtheydon

Nice IX you have!

You on the MLR??


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## ChrisJD

kingtheydon said:


> Nice IX you have!
> 
> You on the MLR??


Thank you. Certainly am, same user name.

Chris.


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## ant_s

ChrisJD said:


> You're thinking of the blocks that lift the hinge so that the bonnet sits higher. The ones northenfez is talking about is the gas struts, replacing the bonnet stay.
> 
> Chris.


Oooo sorry didn't read it fully lol.


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## ChrisJD

ant_s said:


> Oooo sorry didn't read it fully lol.


Easily done. I have seen the same confusion before:thumb:


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## kingtheydon

I'm over on there too, r1chyr14ch is my username. Mines a girls EVO though!


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