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evolution Feature // possessed
After a couple of high profile projects on the MLR,
(FP Black powered Evo IXGT & Project Evo X “Response”)
which had now been sold Conrad Bailey was getting
evil ideas for something new. The urge to get back
into some form of competition was calling and it
wasn’t long before he became a man possessed!
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evolution Feature // possessed
Words: Conrad Bailey Photography: Simon Miskelly
The urge to build a competition car was a step away
from my normal practice of speccing and building,
testing and finishing then selling for someone else to
enjoy. However, with my work situation keeping me
overseas for more days than I was actually in the UK it
needed to be something I could just do when I got home
rather than compete in a full series. Now the idea of a
drag car had previously crossed my mind, in fact I had
previously had discussions with Norris Designs about a
joint drag car venture but when the overseas work came
up the idea was put to bed for a while and the super long
rod Norris engine that I had built was sold on.
At the back end of 2012 When I could see the end
point of my overseas work appearing i decided to
reinstate the project and time it in a such a manner that
I would have something to drive
by the end of June 2013.
In the previous projects I had learnt so much in
regards to what components work with each other and
give the best results so I knew exactly what I wanted to
buy. A shopping list was created and off I went buying
what I needed. In the past, the project would of been
documented on the MLR but for this one I chose to keep
it under wraps and just turn up with a finished project.
A few people guessed I was up to something and
plenty of pm’s were received with people requesting
information but I refrained from giving anything away.
Some of the speculation floating around was quite
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funny but I just left them to it.
Prior to me giving myself the green light on the
project I had been keeping my eye on Crane Boys drag
car that was for sale on the MLR but after looking at
the spec and realising that I would need to change far
too much to get it how I wanted it I decided not to buy
it. In hindsight with the amount of money i ended up
spending it might of been better option.
The first item that was on the shopping list was
a suitable shell and with luck on my side, Si Norris
had recently bought Crane boys drag car to break
up and sell off in parts. A deal was done and I got
myself a shell with a certified 8.5 second cage, result.
I drove South with a trailer, collected it and brought it
home to the garage to start work on. It wasn’t until I
started looking at it in detail that I realised how many
parts were needed and how much work was actually
involved, Oh well, onwards and upwards.
I formed a base plan which ran along the lines
of buy a shell, buy all the engine parts, buy all the
drivetrain parts, get the engine built and drivetrain
parts strengthened
whilst i worked on the shell. In the short version that
is pretty much how it ran but with lots of running up
and down the country in between to various people.
With the engine parts procured I knew exactly where
I wanted the engine building, non other than Tim Radley
at Race Developments. Tim had been involved in my
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evolution Feature // possessed
EVO X project Response and I liked his knowledge,
quality of work but mostly his attention to detail. I
gave him a box of quality parts that I knew would work
together and I gave him the remit for the engine of what
I wanted and how I wanted it to be and then left him to it
knowing it was in safe hands.
The drivetrain parts had also been sourced and I
needed the same attention to detail in getting these tip
top, after all they were going to get some serious HP
through them and the stress levels would be high with
the proposed drag slicks getting used so there was
only one man in the frame, non other than Clive W. The
parts were dropped off with Clive and I explained what I
was after for a finished product.
So with the engine build under way and the
drivetrain getting some serious attention I was left to
work on the shell and start building it back up again
into a car. The following months seemed to fly by but
during this time the shell had some lightening work,
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got painted, new Robin D drag doors, new Momentum
rear subframe, Clive W rear diff, new drag orientated
suspension and a host of other goodies. By the end of
January 2013 I had taken it as far as I could and it was
ready for the next phase.
A date was set with Norris Designs to get the
engine on the Engine Dyno and Tim didn’t disappoint,
the engine was ready on time. The setup on the dyno
was a little more complicated than a standard 4G63
because of the FF turbo kit (Forward Facing) but
Simon managed to put it together so it would work as
intended. The engine was fired up on Shell VPower
and sounded sweet, the Superflow did its thing with
its running in program the day before Tim Radley and
I arrived. The running in oil was dropped, the engine
checked over and we was good to go.
Day 1 on the Superflow Engine dyno and its onto
the Shell VPower mapping which continued step by
step throughout the day. At the end of day 1 we ended
up with a very nice 800hp at 2.3 bar boost on Shell
VPower and a conservative ignition map. It became
apparent very quickly that the new Precision 6766
CEA BB turbo was absolutely awesome, spooled like a
street turbo but flowed big numbers up top like a Race
turbo. if I ever built another fast road car I would be
putting one of these turbos on for sure. The one thing
that will stick in Simons, Tim’s and my own mind for
a very long time is how we were all cowering behind
a triple plate glass window whilst holding the engine
at 10,200rpm and the dyno ring gear was throwing
sparks in protest... the noise was epic! A video will
surface at some point I am sure.
Day 2 on the Superflow Engine dyno saw the mapping
switch to VP C23, the choice of fuel was a decision that
came about because of my injector choice. Most race
fuels have an additive in them called MTBE and with the
ID2000 injectors I was using I needed a fuel that had no
MTBE hence the C23 choice. The mapping continued
throughout the day and at the end of the day we were
very happy with the results, C23 fuel, 2.8 bar boost,
conservative ignition map and a very healthy 930hp
which peaked around 8000rpm. Despite peak power
being around the 8000 rpm mark we ensured the map
was good at over 10,000 rpm to allow for a push in 4th
gear at the strip and get some decent terminal speeds.
With the engine finished and ready for install it was
time to deliver the car to Simon along with the drivetrain
and a few other parts so that Norris Designs could
install it, unfortunately I just didn’t have the crane, tools
or time to do it myself as I was heading back to Angola.
Over the next few months Simons crew installed the
engine, box, transfer case and a few other items.
When I returned from Angola it was time to get the
wiring done, I had drawn up the wiring so life should
be a little easier or so I thought and then I spent 3
days at Norris Designs chopping up an existing engine
loom and pulling a multitude of new wires in for all the
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evolution Feature // possessed
additional sensors that were going to feed the MoTeC
M800 its data. Once all the wires were in I left Norris
Designs to terminate them and I headed back to work.
The car was eventually started up and finished a
couple of weeks before TOTB (Ten of The Best). One
of the biggest shocks was when it went on the scales,
982kg wet with a small amount of fuel in the tank, the
lightest Evo Simon had ever seen on his scales, maybe
I got carried away with the cutting discs in my garage.
With it now finished we decided to take it to Santa Pod
for a couple of shakedown runs, the main purpose was
to run low boost and just check everything out in terms
of suspension, wheels, tyres and check the data logs
etc. Unfortunately we arrived extremely late in the
afternoon and only managed a couple of runs but it was
sufficient to check out the cars potential. Considering I
had never been up a drag strip and no idea what to do it
didn’t come out too bad with an 11.2 at 138mph with no
launch, and 1.6 bar of boost, happy days.
At TOTB it was the cars first competitive outing and
a chance for us to see what it would do. We filled up
with Shell VPower and did the first run at low boost to
check the car out which netted us an 11.09 @ 134mph.
From this point forward it was time to see what we
could do, switch to medium boost of 2 bar, enable the
launch and let it rip... bingo, straight into the 9’s with
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9.69 @ 144mph! The rest of the day went great as well,
a further 3 mid 9 second runs culminating in a best of
9.55 @ 145mph with a 60ft time of 1.460!
At the time of writing this article the car as been out
a few times, lost another 7kgs of weight with changes
I have made and to date has achieved a personal best
of 9.41 @ 158 mph but more to the point it has produced
over 20 mid 9 second runs with terminal speeds as high
as 163mph. That should be a car which is 8 second pass
capable!. Those with a keen eye will see that the boost
has gone up, the terminal speeds have gone up but the
ET’s remain around 9.41 to 9.55?
A lot of people think drag racing is easy, maybe even
boring which I could understand in a car with no power
but strap yourself into something sub 1000kg with over
900hp and suddenly this sport is a lot more interesting
than it would appear to spectators, but one thing is for
sure, it’s addictive trying to hook up that one perfect
run from launch to finish line and its considerably
harder than it actually looks. I am happy that I have
built a consistent mid 9 second car on my first go but
development continues...
Thanks to: Tim Radley - Race Developments Racing
Engines, Clive W - Transmission Services, Norris Designs
- General Evo Services & Wiring,
MA Performance - Evo Parts.
Engine
Energy Dynamics Spec 2.1 Litre Norris Designs Wastegate to built by Race Developments
Atmosphere dump tube
4G64 block
Norris Designs Aluminium front bumper
Forged pistons
Modified Buschur Racing 1/2 Forged rods
width radiator
Forged crank
Lightweight N/S bar
Race Spec Bearings
Pram Bar Arrangement
Aftermarket main studs
Energy Dynamics Intercooler
Mitsubishi Water Pump
Custom Intercooler Pipework
Balance Shaft Eliminator Kit
Precision Dump valve exhaust
Mitsubishi Oil Pump modified by Race Developments
gearbox Clive W Transfer case
Mitsubishi Sump
Clive W RS Diff
Power Steering Eliminator kit
Clive W 5 speed box
Race Developments 4G63 Head
Momentum Rear Subframe
Aftermarket valves
Modified Rear driveshafts
Aftermarket Springs & Retainers
Stock Front subframe
Solid Lifters
ML Head gasket
interior MoTeC M800 (Gold Box)
Custom cams
MoTeC CDL Kit (dash, shift lights & GPS)
Adjustable Cam Pulleys
Kirkey Drag seat
Aftermarket head studs
5 point harness
Toxic Fab cam sensor shield
OMP Steering Wheel with quick release
Magnus Inlet Manifold
Tilton Pedal Set
Aftermarket Throttle Body
8.5 second certified cage
Torque Solutions engine mounts
Staging Brake
5 speed shifter with cables
fuel system
STM Breather Tank
5 speed quick shifter
M&W CDI System
Electric control panel
Aeromotive Fuel Pump
Electrical Cutoff switch
Summit -AN Fuel Fittings throughout
Cable operated Fire Suppression system
Summit -AN Fuel lines
suspension
Drag orientated suspension
Drag orientated front & rear brakes
exhaust / turbo
Modified Toxic Fab FF Vband Manifold
Precision 6766 CEA BB Turbo
Toxic Fab 02 Dump (Elbow)
wheels / tyres 15” ROTA Wheels
Precision 60mm Wastegate
M/T Drag Slicks
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