Special Ops student Sgt. Bill O'Brien of Fayetteville, N.C., from the Fort Bragg area has been in the U.S. Army for seven years. He bought his '03 EVO in early 2004 after a deployment to Iraq. (At least that extra combat pay was good for something!) Bill has had a "car sickness" for as long as he can remember.
He started with small bolt-ons and then things kept progressing. Now his setup is a Full Race GT35R kit using a 44mm TiAL wastegate, AEM EMS with wideband UEGO, 272 cams, ARP head studs, SMC methanol kit, Clutch Master clutch spec flywheel, poly urethane lower bushing and B&M short shifter. Fuel is fed via 255lph Walboro fuel pump and 1,000cc injectors. The factory calipers have been powdercoated for a custom look. Porterfield pads, Stoptech rotors and Goodrich braided brake lines add to the stopping power. Inside holds a four-point rollcage and a four-point Team Tech seat harness. On the pillar is an Autometer boost and EGT gauges. Doug at TopSpeed Performance in Georgia aided the car build. This EVO pumped out a staggering 511 whp at 26 pounds of boost.
Future plans for the Mitsu consists of upgraded rods, pistons and valvetrain components, which Bill has already started. He yanked out the motor and is waiting on a headgasket with the rebuild kit to tear into it. He's hoping to make 650 whp on the Dynojet at TopSpeed. With the stock block Bill's best time is 11.4 at 126 mph.
Bill says, "Turbo is the only REAL performance mag out there - period." Well said, Bill. We hope your Special Ops training goes well.