Gaz86's 1994 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo II RS

svensktoppen

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Don't know about the 2, but there were only like 400 Evo 6 RS ever made. "Rally Shell", there's a hint there πŸ˜‡

A lot of them ended up as rally cars, sprint and hill climb cars, all around the world. Few survived. But a surprising number were also run as private cars in Japan, in RS spec bar adding maybe a radio, two speakers, and manual aircon. Now that's commitment 😎
 

Gaz86

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Gaz86
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Last week while browsing Instagram I came across a reel someone had uploaded of their Clio Williams II interior. The owner got in and stuck a cassette in the stereo and played some classic 90's tunes while going for a drive which sparked some inspiration 😎 It got me thinking that could be me in the evo and loved the idea.

Now I know this isn't the exact same model of stereo that would've come with the Evo 2, those seem to be completely unobtainable these days, a friend of mine has been hunting for one for years to no avail so this is likely to be as close as I'll ever get. I had a gander on eBay and Jauce to see what was going and added this to my watchlist. Yesterday the seller sent me an offer which sweetened the deal enough to sway me. Ties in well with the Mitsubishi triple gauge pod I bought in September. Now I just need to buy some blank tapes and an old hifi to make some oldskool mixtapes 😁 I do still have a big box of mix tapes from the 90's though.


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purplea4T

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Last week while browsing Instagram I came across a reel someone had uploaded of their Clio Williams II interior. The owner got in and stuck a cassette in the stereo and played some classic 90's tunes while going for a drive which sparked some inspiration 😎 It got me thinking that could be me in the evo and loved the idea.

Now I know this isn't the exact same model of stereo that would've come with the Evo 2, those seem to be completely unobtainable these days, a friend of mine has been hunting for one for years to no avail so this is likely to be as close as I'll ever get. I had a gander on eBay and Jauce to see what was going and added this to my watchlist. Yesterday the seller sent me an offer which sweetened the deal enough to sway me. Ties in well with the Mitsubishi triple gauge pod I bought in September. Now I just need to buy some blank tapes and an old hifi to make some oldskool mixtapes 😁 I do still have a big box of mix tapes from the 90's though.


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Rebadged Kenwood?
 

svensktoppen

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I have the original nineties headunit in the Volvos. The analogue sound is fantastic, they built proper electronics back then.

And then a Grom dongle that does BT audio, calls, etc. It plugs into the CD changer port and integrates with controls, display, and so on. It's brilliant, and tucks away behind the head unit in the centre column.

You can also get BT adapters that plug into any AUX input.

Best of all worlds 😎

Or... You could get Blaupunkt Bremen... Just happen to have a brand new one of those left over and just sitting here... πŸ˜‡
 

Gaz86

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Gaz86
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I have the original nineties headunit in the Volvos. The analogue sound is fantastic, they built proper electronics back then.

And then a Grom dongle that does BT audio, calls, etc. It plugs into the CD changer port and integrates with controls, display, and so on. It's brilliant, and tucks away behind the head unit in the centre column.

You can also get BT adapters that plug into any AUX input.

Best of all worlds 😎

Or... You could get Blaupunkt Bremen... Just happen to have a brand new one of those left over and just sitting here... πŸ˜‡

I'm not sure this has an aux input, I can't see one anyway. Just phono outputs for an amplifier. It's no biggie, like I said I'll just embrace the oldskool vibe. I still have quite a few of the old Intelligence tapes 😎 I still have some of the Kenwood gear I bought for the Mazda here, crossovers, sub, top of the line Phoenix Gold cables and 10" sub. There are no speaker holes in the doors being an RS and the dashboard has 10cm speakers, parcel shelf speakers were a 6x9 design as standard. I have OEM grilles for the rear shelf so it'll all look original.
 

Simon998

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I'm not sure this has an aux input, I can't see one anyway. Just phono outputs for an amplifier. It's no biggie, like I said I'll just embrace the oldskool vibe. I still have quite a few of the old Intelligence tapes 😎 I still have some of the Kenwood gear I bought for the Mazda here, crossovers, sub, top of the line Phoenix Gold cables and 10" sub. There are no speaker holes in the doors being an RS and the dashboard has 10cm speakers, parcel shelf speakers were a 6x9 design as standard. I have OEM grilles for the rear shelf so it'll all look original.
There's this voodoo that I was looking into for the jag - https://www.amazon.co.uk/arsvita-Bl...r-auxillary-Black/&qid=1709070496&sr=8-2&th=1
 

TheDaniel

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Had one of those aux tape decks plugged into my MP3 player in my first carπŸ˜‚ simpler times.

I've seen some classy blaupunkt radios @svensktoppen mentioned. That old school look but have all the modern gizmos in them. Was thinking of one of those for the Silvia... but also need to get all new speakers too. Then I need the triple gauges to fill the hole above the radio..... Bloody rabbit hole πŸ˜‚

Either way I'm glad you're sticking to the classic look. I've a double din touch screen in my Silvia that i had from my MX5 and it's just the wrong radio for the car entirely. Good to see these wee touches!πŸ‘πŸ»
 

Gaz86

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Had one of those aux tape decks plugged into my MP3 player in my first carπŸ˜‚ simpler times.

I've seen some classy blaupunkt radios @svensktoppen mentioned. That old school look but have all the modern gizmos in them. Was thinking of one of those for the Silvia... but also need to get all new speakers too. Then I need the triple gauges to fill the hole above the radio..... Bloody rabbit hole πŸ˜‚

Either way I'm glad you're sticking to the classic look. I've a double din touch screen in my Silvia that i had from my MX5 and it's just the wrong radio for the car entirely. Good to see these wee touches!πŸ‘πŸ»

I had looked at all sorts but none of the modern stuff looked or felt right. It had to be a Mitsubishi branded one to fit the bill in the end. But yes it is a rabbit hole lol Originally this was going to get the very expensive Kenwood double din touch screen unit from the Mazda but that got left in the car as part of the deal. Buying the triple gauge set then limited me to a single din unit... then this.
 

svensktoppen

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The Volvo headunits from the nineties were also Mitsubishi πŸ˜‡ Entirely different part of the company.

People used all sorts back then too. An RS wasn't "supposed" to have radio or aircon, rear seats, fancy dials, etc. But people bought them as road cars too, so some did.

They were literally a shell with all the magic happening underneath, intended for customers to customise. So just do whatever makes you happy.
 

Gaz86

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The Volvo headunits from the nineties were also Mitsubishi πŸ˜‡ Entirely different part of the company.

People used all sorts back then too. An RS wasn't "supposed" to have radio or aircon, rear seats, fancy dials, etc. But people bought them as road cars too, so some did.

They were literally a shell with all the magic happening underneath, intended for customers to customise. So just do whatever makes you happy.

Which in turn is probably a Kenwood unit too lol

I know, I should do that. I'd love to paint this Ruri Blue but being an RS it might be seen as sacrilege πŸ˜‚ I had also considered the wide arch kit when I first bought it but again thought I should probably keep it fairly original.
 

Simon998

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svensktoppen

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In the Evo and the Lotus I just ditched the radio altogether. Have a Stack clock instead in the Lotus, and three Stack gauges in the Evo. The RS has no sound deadening or anything else, and obviously in the Lotus the engine is two inches behind your head and open sky above, lol. No point with a radio in either.

I use noise cancelling BT earplugs on longer runs, or maybe the Intercom headsets with a passenger if we want to have a conversation or share some tunes on the move.

Even in the Honda I use the BT earplugs on longer journeys/motorways. They're so good and comfortable.

Except of course when you just want to hear the engines screaming πŸ˜‡
 

Gaz86

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In the Evo and the Lotus I just ditched the radio altogether. Have a Stack clock instead in the Lotus, and three Stack gauges in the Evo. The RS has no sound deadening or anything else, and obviously in the Lotus the engine is two inches behind your head and open sky above, lol. No point with a radio in either.

I use noise cancelling BT earplugs on longer runs, or maybe the Intercom headsets with a passenger if we want to have a conversation or share some tunes on the move.

Even in the Honda I use the BT earplugs on longer journeys/motorways. They're so good and comfortable.

Except of course when you just want to hear the engines screaming πŸ˜‡

I couldn't do without music while driving, it's all part of the driving experience for me. If it was still a track car then sure.


I could just power it off one of those usb ciggy lighter plugs I'm sure.
 

cauld1

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Do you not feel that headphones in while driving takes away from the whole awareness aspect?

Appreciate a noisy engine or radio turned up may do similar but just seems like an extra level of removing a sense when driving?
 

svensktoppen

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If on a track or down a nice stage. But then I wouldn't use radio or music either. Just the engine and the car. And speakers would be all but useless.

On a motorway, or just cruising along, or on a 200 mile run to get somewhere nice, it's nice to just float with some tunes. The BT earbuds I use have enough flexibility that you can choose how much of a "bubble" you want to be in.

But sure, everything is compromise. Just options. Turning on a radio when hitting traffic or something is handy too. Whatever works for you.
 

Gaz86

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Head unit arrived all the way from Lithuania and I'm very happy to see it's in near mint condition too 😁

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I'm already planning a few other audio upgrades but keeping tight lipped about it until the deal is done.

Also got a few hours today. Mostly sitting on the floor with a grinder getting showered with flying seam sealer lol almost got one more wheel arch stripped back to bare metal before my trusty grinder shat itself. Then I moved back onto stripping paint from the engine bay. I used some Steyer heavy duty paint stripper so it was easier to remove paint in the hard to reach places.

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Gaz86

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Still working away on the bodywork, making decent progress on that front. I also got the gearbox mounted onto an engine stand and cleaned down however I'm going to get it vapour blasted and the hardware yellow zinc coated. In preparation for this I have ordered a full compliment of seals etc. Waiting on another order arriving any day now with some brackets for the tape deck and new caps.

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Also ordered a few more Cusco bits from Nengun Performance, a catch can and drain plug for the gearbox once it's refurbished. There'll be a nice suite of Cusco parts under the bonnet at this rate 😁


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