A BETTER PURPOSE
After the event, Wheatley hatched a plan to take the EVO into the single digits. “After damaging the engine, I decided that it was time to step up from street racing and pursue a legitimate nine-second slip at the strip with an NHRA compliant build,” he said. As the top EVOs have demonstrated at the IDRC and Buschur Racing events in Ohio, developing these four-door sedans into single-digit performers requires more power, and Wheatley set a goal of 750 wheel horsepower. He eventually found a second-hand 4G64 engine to serve as his new powerplant. Working with Marco Passante at Magnus Motorsports, labor began on a high compression, long rod build. The block was overbored 0.5mm before receiving a new rotating assembly composed of Magnus Motorsports-spec Ross Pistons, Pauter connecting rods and a Manley 100mm billet crankshaft. Atop the reinforced shortblock, a Headgames Motorworks ported and polished cylinder head equipped with Kiggly Racing springs and titanium retainers completed the longblock assembly.
POWER TO MOVE
Relying on an AEM V1 EMS to manage engine functions, Wheatley acquired a base map from his tuner Adam Blevins to break in the new engine and get the EVO back on its tires. Wheatley made minor refinements to the V1’s tables as he did some minor street tuning with a new Precision Turbo PT6262 turbocharger providing the boost pressure. Once broken in, the EVO took a trip to Auto- Motion in Louisville, Kentucky, for final tuning. The EVO put down 708 whp and 610 lb-ft torque right off the trailer, and after Blevins further refined the tables of his base map, bumped up to 720 whp and 629 lb-ft torque. Although short of the 750 wheel horsepower target due to the flow limits of the turbo, the responsiveness and power delivery curve of the combination more than made up for missing an arbitrary number.
SPECIAL SUBTLETIES
Wheatley prides himself on being different while looking the same. He commented, “There have been dozens of nine-second EVOs built that are unique from one another. I’ve built my cars to suit me. Cleanly done, function over form vehicles that, from a distance, look just like every other vehicle. To me, it’s all in the details.” At first sight, one might dismiss the performance capabilities of this EVO based on its stock and unassuming exterior. But Wheatley concealed many of his improvements beneath the surface. A Fathouse Fabrication custom aluminum fuel tank with sump replaced the stock tank and even makes the connection to the stock filler neck. The tank included the factory fuel level sender, fuel pump hanger and retains full functionality, including the low fuel warning light. At the same time, the reduced capacity and subsequently reduced weight amounts to a 30-pound savings. In addition, Wheatley wanted the benefits of a staging brake without adding an intrusive extra handle to his interior. He modified a CNC staging brake and hid it inside the center console with hard lines to the rear calipers and linkage to the factory hand brake. This enables the hand brake to function normally while providing hydraulic pressure to the rear brakes to load the transmission for better launches at the drop of the handle.