"I'm gonna build my own car one day."
It's something that goes through all our heads at one point or another. Usually because we've been inspired by a particular ride or event. For Jay Bhee Estacio (aka Jabowski), it was going to Hot Import Nights in Los Angeles a few years ago. And that's when he uttered those very words.
A transplant from the Philippines, now living in San Diego, CA, Jabowski got into cars almost as soon as he stepped off the plane in 2005. "I was exposed to a lot of sports cars that I wasn't used to seeing in my homeland," he says. He previously owned an '06 350Z, but Jabowski is living proof that the pull of an EVO is hard to resist. "Love at first sight," he says of his '08 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X. "I bought it the week it came out." It was a love so strong that this 25-year-old, who had been brought up driving automatics, had to learn how to drive stick, because the only car left in the showroom came with a manual transmission. "I learned to drive it the moment I took it home from the dealership." He spent five months and covered around 5,000 miles with the then-white car still stock. But it's never just about the car. As much as we love them, appreciate their designs and their technical prowess, a car is still a ticket. A ticket that lets us into a community.
Jabowski became friends with Raffy Bautista (sadly no longer with us), who had a modified EVO VIII. That led to a connection with Ben Abutin of High End Performance, who did the widebody kit, which entails custom front and rear bumpers, side skirts, fenders, carbon fiber canards at each end, a Seibon CW-style hood, grille, OEM-style rear diffuser and trunk lid (all in carbon fiber), a Voltex Type V GT rear wing, JUN mirrors, Ralliart tail lights, a Perrin Shorty antenna, and Mitsubishi wind deflectors. The car then went to P.J. Bonifacio in La Puente, CA, to get painted in Aston Martin Racing Green inside and out, but not before some stitch welding in the interior.
A stripped-out, repainted interior needed filling up again. This was done with a Huezo Racing eight-point roll cage, Bride Vorga front seats-with a special, one-off "Kimono Edition" for the front passenger-and a custom Bride armrest and shift boot. The rear seats were ditched completely. Jabowski makes sure he and his passenger are held secure with Takata harnesses, and grabs a Nardi Limited Edition Orido Style steering wheel attached to a Works Bell Quick Release adaptor and a Splash hub. His right hand rests on an Evo-R titanium shift knob and his eyes fall on Defi and STRI Racing gauges set into a custom-made carbon fiber center console.
An HKS Type 1 turbo timer among the car's other instruments hints of the shedload of HKS stuff under the hood, from the GT3240 54T A/R 0.73 turbocharger to the spark plugs, 1,000cc/min injectors, intercooler, plumbing, exhaust system, and the limited-edition D1 radiator cap. Not that Jabowski just closed the HKS catalog and called it a day. He also upgraded the 4B11 with Cosworth cams and valve springs, had the head ported and polished, installed a Beatrush engine roll stopper, then got colorful with purple Samco Sport hoses, gold bolts, and a powdercoated gold valve cover. Oh, and the air conditioning system went the same way as the rear seats. As sure as second gear follows first, a modified transmission has to follow a modified engine. In this case, an ACT six-puck race clutch with a Prolite flywheel.