From rolling shell to a competition drift car meeting FIA rules
It was cold day in mid-February in Sioux Falls. Gladly not as cold as it can get in South Dakota. I was sitting pretty much torn apart in the backyard waiting for some attention. Well, on that day a girl showed up, taking a good look at me and suddenly I found myself sitting on a trailer on my way to Rapid City. Alex seemed to be pretty excited about me, I wondered why… I didn’t have an engine - not that my original 4-cylinder engine would win any hearts – I got two different looking doors, paint faded and blistered all over, missing rear window, rusted trunk lid and a rusted rear fender flare. As well as my interior equipment either not existing or in 24-year-old shape.
The next days I was torn apart even further… Alex turned me into a roller car with nothing else on it. She showed up with this strange material called dry ice. Mixed with some liquids that made some funny smoky clouds. Sure, was exciting to watch, but that stuff was cold! It made the insulation stuff go crack. Alex always calls it the very old hardened black chewing gum. It being called like that; I don’t want to have it on me anyways.
Alex disappeared for some time and I dozed off in the cozy garage I was sitting. When Alex came back in April, so came some new parts with her. Is that shiny GFK trunk lid for me? Man, sure looks nice and feels good! Alex cut the inside of my doors and gave me Lexan windows. My front and rear windshields were taken from me too. I got a neat black remanufactured SN95 rear axle with four orange painted brake calipers and then I also got new fancy front legs. Steve came by to help getting his steering angle kit assembled with FEAL coil overs and Maximum Motorsport caster camber plates.
With my new shiny legs, I had to hop onto the trailer. Road trip! Ten hours later we got to Brooklyn Park in Minneapolis, where I got to meet Bryan and Gary. They run PMF – Patience Metal Fab. My big brother Saleen has been with them too and got a really fancy roll cage meeting FIA rules.
In June Alex picked me up. She was very happy about the FIA roll cage PMF made for me. Back on the trailer, back to Rapid City. Here I was stripped again, this time completely naked, not even shoes allowed. I was brought to that guy, who sprayed sand all over me. That tickles! Now I really feel naked, not any paint left on me. But Sean would help me with that. He runs SAC Auto Body in Rapid City. Here I would get a Reef blue skin with a panoramic Lexan rooftop, but first I only got a primer coating, so Alex could continue working on me and not scratching up any paint.
When Alex came back in September, she told me “We got three weeks to get you as much done as possible, then you are coming home with me to Germany”. I don’t know what that is, but the next days I barely got to sleep. Starting early in the mornings and lights still on at 3am. In those three weeks so many exciting things have been happening! For example, this huge 5.0 V8 Coyote engine! That is for me? Will that even fit? That engine is sooo much bigger than my old 4 cylinder one! It was still a hassle to unite me with my new engine. First tried from underneath, but the sway bar brackets were in the way. Well then from above. That looked scary with the tranny mounted to the engine, but it worked! Now everything else came together, FIA fuel cell, radiator, fans, KRC steering pump, fuel pressure regulator, manual brake adapter, brake lines and fuel lines.
Back to Sean’s for that Reef blue skin. That was my original color too. Feeling all new, shiny and badass now! While I was at Sean’s’ getting spoiled with all that nice outside Reef Blue and inside white paint, Alex was getting me a dashboard together with lots of gauges, switches and wires.
Being back home I got front and tail lights, front and rear windshield put in, as well as a hood and the bumper covers put on, starting to look like a car! Alex spent the last nights with me, getting all them colorful wires figured out and crimped together. And then the big day came! All exhausted I got to sit all on top of this huuuge semi-truck, what a view!
Welcome to Germany
Less than two months later I finally got to see Alex again. Now everything was about getting me ready to run. I got all them yummy liquids, and at the end of November my engine started for the very first time! Being so excited about it I made my steering wheel go jump left and right. Alex fixed that by correcting the steering line circuit, so no more fooling around with the steering wheel.
In the months to come I got an ASD ebrake with its own brake calipers, I got an FIA fire extinguisher system, I also got a new kill switch, since the first one wouldn’t work in the way they are required in the FIA rules.
In March finally the day came, I could go out and run for the first time! Still needing a proper tune, I wasn’t allowed to go sideways, but man, that was really itching to do so!
To be continued …