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borrowed from a Daihatsu YRV’s K3-VET 1.3-litre package, the
EF-JL block was bored out from 68mm to 72mm, bringing it up to
a beefy 740cc. Up top, the little head was tickled inside and houses
a custom Kelford Cams camshaft that’s specced to make full use
of more boost delivered by the Subaru-derived IHI VF 13/14 hybrid.
The huffer takes up about as much space in the engine bay
as the long block and made for a tricky fit when it came to cooling.
Thankfully, this isn’t the first power rodeo for a Mira in a global
sense, and a quick look at what was happening over in Malaysia
saw an HKS half-size radiator and size-matched intercooler headed
through Customs with Chris’ name on the box. It’s a similar recipe
to what we’re used to seeing in bigger packages, only on a smaller
scale: the 350cc injectors are borrowed from the Mira’s big brother,
a Charade GTti, the rail is a Tomei piece, pressure is regulated by a
Sard unit, and the party is controlled by a Link G4+ Atom.
On the ST Hi-tec dyno, the Mira made a ton of extra power,
cranking out 63.4kW at the fronts over the 47kW at the engine it
once made, and even churning out an impressive 102.47Nm. All
that on a run-in tune nonetheless, which sees boost currently set
at a sedate 10psi with the intention of turning the wick up later in
the search of 90–100kW! To give you a perspective on how lethal
those numbers really are: when all’s said and done, the Mira weighs
a piddly 550kg without driver — we’ll let that sink in for a second.
To ensure that all this new-found forward motivation didn’t
issue him a one-way ticket to the afterlife, Chris took the time to
upgrade the braking componentry with later-model Mira pieces.
He’s also whipped up a pair of front coilovers and retro-fitted TR-XX
front and rear sway bars to ensure that he sees each corner the
right way up.
Inside the cabin is the complete TR-XX offering, including the
dash cluster, carpets, and back seats — although Chris mentions
that the back seats don’t have much in the way of a spacious
offering; think budget airline and cut some more off for good
measure. Perhaps the best part is that the freshly repainted panels
do little in the way of giving away its secret.
You’d be forgiven for thinking that this Mira is nothing more
than a fuel saver getting your average Joe to work — that is, until
the real prowess of the turbo three-banger is unleashed. So, with
even more power waiting to be brought out of it, we think it’s more
than fair for Chris to call this a kei car with serious amounts of
performance — a statement very few can make!DRIVER PROFILE
DRIVER/OWNER: Chris O’Neil
AGE: 31
LOCATION: Auckland
OCCUPATION: General manager
BUILD TIME: 10 months
LENGTH OF OWNERSHIP:
Two yearsTHANKS: Tim Hart at Compact
Motorsport, for all his hard work
on the conversion, engineering
of the car, and putting up with
my endless questions; Brad
and Josh, for all the hard work,
banter, and the hours spent on
car painting, pipework building,
and finishing touches; my wife,
Lindsey, for putting up with me
and the project; and everyone else
who has helped make this happen
along the way