THE AUTO BUILDER

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Boaters who traveled from as far away as Houston to participate in the first Smokin’ the Sound Poker Run were not disappointed. They enjoyed excellent weather, great hospitality at all of the Poker Run stops and they got up close and personal with the best spectator venue on the Offshore Super Series Powerboat Racing Association circuit.

Because there were several who were experiencing their first Poker Run, the basics were outlined in a morning meeting. Participating boats would each receive a card in a sealed envelope at each of the stops on the Poker Run route with the top three hands winning the prize money.

Survivor Status: The 1958 Impala That Defies Time

Nineteen fifty-eight was certainly a year of change for our nation with the formation of NASA and the launching of the United States’ first spacecraft, Explorer I. This was also a year of jet power, as Douglas introduced the DC-8 that year shortly after Boeing’s 707 went into regular service, offering transatlantic flights between New York and Europe. In addition, Elvis began his service in the U.S. Army.

Interior Design

When Jorge Torres was young he would help his father around his shop. Named after the senior Torres, Armando’s Custom Upholstery in San Jacinto, California, opened in 1989 when Jorge was still in high school. In 1992, he began working full time with his father and brother, Armando Jr. He stared doing old cars and went to a few shows to promote their work. During this time he mentioned to his dad that he wanted to build a 1969 Chevy pickup. It turned out that his dad had a friend who owned one, but he was told that the truck was in pretty rough shape. All Jorge heard was that the price, at $1,500, was in his range.

Spotlighter

SUM OF THE PARTS

A Little Of This, A Little Of That And Pretty Soon They Created A Monster Wagon

Jason Whitfield never intended to hot rod a station wagon. It just sort of happened. You see, he had this Mitsubishi Diamante wagon that Rage Performance and NuFormz used as a parts-getter. After a few runs, the guys decided that the car needed some better tunes. As the parts pickup runs got longer, they decided to add TVs. When a few extra parts were lying around—like a Turbonetics T04/T03 turbo and an intercooler—they just sort of made their way onto the car. The parts were already paid for, so why not use them?

Author

Bob Carpenter

Words & Photography

From Stock to Serious Horsepower

Before long the engine was blown—as in scattered. The crew didn’t want to just do a stock rebuild, but thought it should build the engine for strength. For about five minutes, that is.
Since the shop could get good parts cheaply and do the work in-house, there was no reason to build anything under 500 hp. With the car so fast, the crew then had to get better brakes and then some wheels … and why not paint it so that it looks the part of a car of this caliber?
Before they knew it, the parts wagon was a serious car. No one ever expected it to go this far, but we’re sure glad that it did. Maybe the Rage/NuFormz crew is on the leading edge of a new tuner trend and we’ll start seeing more hopped-up wagons. Or maybe this is a one-and-only “use-what-you’ve-got” that can pull it off no matter the body style. Time will tell.

Exterior Styling and Paint Detail

Since the exterior is what everyone sees first, let’s take a look at the car from that perspective. Whitfield at Rage has relied on Jason Gamble at GAMPRO for most of his big projects and every time the results are spectacular. The car was painted Tuscany Silver Metallic on the bottom, contrasted with DuPont Midnight Black on the upper portion. A quarter-inch band of Ferrari Red separates the two body colors.
As a nod to the complete detail that GAMPRO gives to every car, a multitude of parts were painted to match the wagon’s color, including door handles, side mirrors, corner lights and front grille. It makes a big difference when all the details are done right. Case in point: the rear taillights are painted candy-apple red.
Hyper Industries supplied the purple HID kit. Flat black RH Evolution GT-5 wheels are huge 19x8s with a polished lip that really sets them off. The hood, of course, is a major attention-getter too, with the unusual scoop all cockeyed on one side. Everyone who sees the car wants to know what’s going on there and the answer is horsepower. The scoop feeds air into the intercooler that is mounted in the engine compartment.

Under the Hood: Serious Turbo Power

Under the hood, Whitfield installed a Turbonetics T04/T03 turbo with an Accel DFI Gen VII computer to control the 3.0-liter SOHC V-6 engine. MSD’s 6A SCI ignition provides the spark and with 550cc RC injectors fed by an in-tank Holley fuel pump, you know there’s a bunch of fuel flowing through this engine. Crower rods and JE pistons are up to the task of spinning the 520 hp and 380 lb-ft of torque. An ACT six-puck clutch ensures that all the power gets to the Mitsubishi 3000 GT five-speed transmission.

Interior Comfort and Entertainment

The interior is very comfortable for those long parts runs. Full gray leather makes the ride nice and it looks good with all the plastic parts painted to match the exterior. Transonic Car Audio took over the task of making the stereo/entertainment system special. A custom center console houses an Alpine TV and DVD player. A 10-inch flip-down TV entertains the backseat passengers and the four Rockford Fosgate 10-inch speakers and dual Rockford Fosgate 1,000-watt amplifiers flood the car with music.

More Than a Parts Wagon

Far from a disjointed collection of odd parts, this Mitsubishi wagon is a well-thought-out car that changes what a lot of us may think a wagon should look like—and drive like. And that’s the idea.