Life in the Eyes of John

A blog on life, love, people, cars, and everything I can think about...

Friday, September 17, 2004

Driving Frankenstein

During my lunch break, me and Jerric went to Banawe to buy spare parts. He bought shocks for his Lancer, as well as belts for its 4G63 (Mitsubishi 4-cylinder, 2-liter engine commonly found in a Galant). I tried getting my hands on a torsion bar for the trunk of the car I'm currently using, but they're fresh out, even in surplus.

Was it a sad lunch break? Nah. On our way back, I got to test drive Jerric's Frankenstein Mitsubishi Lancer '89.

So what's in it? The car sports only 945 kilograms in stock form. It's a light car, just like mine (literally). Then, it has a 4G63 inside. Sure, it weighs 50 kilos extra, but has 160 pissed horses and lots of torque under the bonnet. It also has a Fujitsubo sports muffler (which, amazingly, was quiet below 2000 revs).

Shocks were squeaky (that's why he bought the shocks), the shifter was confusing, the clutch gripped too deep too early, and the brakes were too sensitive. Oh, and the seats weren't cozy (at least for me, besides, they were Recaro's - prime sports seats).

And that's all I have to complain about.

Acceleration on this car is effortless. I've driven a Cefiro and this monster runs easier, lighter, much more effortless. Plain splendid below 2000 revs.

After a while, I got along a clear straightaway. Since Jerric specifically requested me NOT to floor the throttle, I did only up to, say, 75 percent.

Wow.

The thing was a rocketship! I shifted at 4000 rpm, but the engine can still take it - as if it wanted more. It was pushing hard at me, harder than flooring anything I've driven before. Another shift at 3500 rpm, and the car is still pulling fast. Another shift at 3500 rpm made me grin with a remark, "Darn... that was fast."

After the test drive, I told him, "Nagrereklamo ka sa gastos mo dito?" He didn't have to.

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