Lime Libero
After hitting a cow… yes, a cow, leaving his car written off, Jono brought his Libero back off the wreakers and decided to give it a complete new makeover. From paint to panel, phat kit to sounds, its got it all.
Lets start with the panel work. With the help of the guys from Matamata Panel Works, the job started by straightened out the cow shaped panels. In order to help reduce weight new front guards and bonnet were constructed out of fibreglass. To complement the FATWGN plates, it has to look phat, so on went the Tommi Makinen Evo 6.5 full body kit. Riding on some big Enkei 18″ chrome G-Zeros and lowered on custom shocks and Lovell springs its not to be messed with.
The paint job, Jono decided to get it painted at Matamata Painters, with a custom lime green coming out of the gun, with a hint of yellow when the light hits it. With the complete strip of the vehicle, including interior and engine, the whole shell was painted.
Pop the hood and out jumps a nice shiny engine. The rebuilt 1.8l DOHC Turbo powers this beast, pumping out 8psi of boost, chromed and colour matched to the car. Sucking in the air is a K&N pod, which sits in the battery bay.
The battery now relocated to the boot. Not to be missed is the EVO1 intercooler tucked in nicely behind the front kit, with polished pipes to match the cover. Pumping the unwanted gases from the engine is the 2.5″ big bore, which gives it a nice rumble. The strut brace helps reduce the body twist on those sharp corners.
Now to the boot. Who needs a boot anyway, they’re over-rated. Jono didn’t want a boot, so in went four 12″ Alpine Bass ZR subs, powered off an Alpine MRV-1505 2ch amp. All purchased from Tonezone in Matamata.
The install was done by Matamata Electrical, the subs are housed in MDF boxes with vinyl for a good looking finish. Providing the music is a Pioneer head unit and to get the sound up front there are some Sony 2 way speakers in the stock door positions, running off the head unit.
Jono has entered many soundoffs, with his highest reading being 142dB, which he pulled in his hometown of Matamata.He entered in the Hamilton Motorshow back in March, and also entered in the Auto Salon in May where he won an award for ‘Driver With Attitude’. You can also see FATWGN in Issue 80 of Performance Car Mag.
While studying the vehicle audio course at Waikato Institute of Technology, we decided to give Jono’s boot a makeover. The photo here is the start of the process, for a final shot check out Issue 81 of Performance Car mag (The photos were sent in too late so made it into the next issue). We got it looking pretty styley with the subs in a ‘V’ shape and the amp flush with the false floor. We would like to thank Rob from Rapid Radio in Auckland for supplying the refreshments, good on ya.
Jono also tells me that he would consider selling his wagon for $25,000, (which is a bargain if you ask me, considering all the work that’s gone into it). So if you would like to own one of the phatest wagons around give him a yell at fatwgn@hotmail.com.
Owner Details
Name: Jono Payne
Age: 19
Car Details
Year: 1994
Model: Mitsubishi Libero GT
Engine: 1800 DOHC Intercooled Turbo
Car Audio
Headunit: Pioneer CD Receiver
Front Stage: Sony 2way
Amps: Alpine MRV-1505
Subs: Alpine Bass ZR 12″ x4
Special Thanks
Matamata Panel Works
Matamata Painters
Tonezone
Matamata Electrical
Jo (My missus)
My brother David… oh yeh and Mum & Dad!
