Go 200 mph!Win $25,000!Can your latest garage project go 200 mph in the quarter-mile? Well, if it can and if it is the first to do so, Summit Racing will pay you 25 grand. And if you are among the first 10 to hit the bicentennial mark, the company will pay you $1,000. But before you begin strapping that jet engine on top of your CRX, you need to check out all the rules and regulations, which can be found inside Summit Racing's Sport Compact catalog. Call for one today at 800/962-9094.
Finally:A Mirage Evo IVThat the Mitsubishi Mirage is the red-headed bastard stepchild of the company's Lancer Evolution models in Japan is common knowledge. And you can include this staff among the many who have pulled their hair out in efforts to mimic the power levels of the great Evo. The grand challenge spawned by such brainstorming has been the 4G63BT (Eclipse Turbo) engine swap. This is the stuff that automotive wet dreams are made of-in case any of you out there wanted to know.
Well, it has been done. And the operation was a success. Sean Glazer (9-second AWD Talon) of Extreme Motorsports debuted his latest dragster, an Eclipse Turbo-powered Mirage, at Englishtown's Raceway Park earlier this year. At last, living proof that there is hope yet for the Mirage. But before you start scouring the engine yards, Sean warns that the swap is only realistic for those building a designated track car. He says that all the cutting and welding and engine bay restructuring required to make the 4G63BT fit inside a Mirage really renders the operation unfeasible for daily drivers.
Free Stuff From Yokohama!Yes, yes, yes. There is still time to enter Yokohama's Unleash the Beast sweepstakes. This is your chance to win the ultimate import upgrade. That's right, the Grand prize includes a set of four Parada tires, an HKS intake/exhaust/engine system, Eibach springs and suspension kit, a Pioneer CD system, and $2,500 cash from Yokohama to pay for all the installs. Three First prize winners will receive a set of four Parada Tires and an Advan wheel kit. Ten Second prize winners will receive a Yokohama apparel package.
There are four ways to enter. You can log onto www.yokohamatire.com; or you can print your name, address, and phone number (day and evening) on a 3x5-inch card and mail it to Unleash the Beast Sweepstakes, Yokohama Tire Corp., P.O. Box 4550, Fullerton, CA 92834; or you can complete the entry form in the sweepstakes ad in this magazine; or just visit your local Yokohama dealer showroom Discount Tire Centers for an entry form. So hurry up, enter, and ask yourself, "Do I feel lucky?"
Skylines You Can AffordSo you want an R34 Nissan Skyline GT-R but can't come up with the $80,000 that they want to get one into the country for you. Turns out you can get one cheap. Real cheap. Like, $30 cheap. Actually, you can have four for $30.
We recently found these boxed sets by Tomica (the Japanese equivalent of Hot Wheels) imported from Japan at Mr. Small's Miniature Motors (707/431-0727).
The Skyline history set contains one each: GTS-R R31, GTR R32 V-spec, GTR R33 V-spec N1, and GTR R34. Or perhaps the High Speed Runners set is more your style, with an R34 Skyline, silver S2000, blue Supra, and red RX-7 to get your fantasies going. Or there's always the Grand Turismo set, featuring an NSX Type S in attractive copper, a '90-style Miata, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV rally car, wide-body Skyline nismo racer, Supra GT racer in Castrol colors, and a '91-style Silvia K's. Start your shrine today; ours has been building for some months now.
Can't Wait For Hot WheelsAnd in the Too Much Time On His Hands category, we have this one-of-a-kind replica of Stephan Papadakis' AEM-sponsored Honda dragster. Dennis "Small Hands" Soriano of Virginia Beach converted this Civic himself with tiny scraps of vinyl. He also used make-shift wheel spacers to widen the front end. Next stop for this bad boy: eBay. And the bidding starts at 10 G's.