The build up to teesside NYE (project thirteen)

Over the years I have spectated many event around the country, seen many styles and layouts in drifting but one thing i have always wanted to do is drift Teesside on new years eve. Although I have drifted Teesside before on other practice days I have always felt that the NYE event was something special and it had landed itself on my bucket list so the big question is would this be my year?………..

So the road to Teesside started very early in 2018 I pushed myself to learn the national track on the May practice day. After a successful day of drifting I knew I had exceed the car’s ability and knew that I needed to start working to improve it.

I started off with some lock mods as I felt that the car was on the bump stops for most of the last drift day and really had limited my progress. I managed to pick up some 30mm extended lower control arms with removed bump stops. All new bushes and ball joints were installed ready. To add to the lower arms I also fitted the GKTech rack spacer, just for the record you need to get longer boots as my old one ripped as soon as I turned it onto full lock.

Whilst upgrading the lock I also managed to land my self some Z32 front brakes from the wonderful eBay. Sadly the brakes had seen better days so I had them shot blasted and ordered a rebuild kit to give them a fresh leash of life. I would recommend having a go at this yourself I saved money and learned something new but in all honesty it was a really straight forward task. The new arms had massively changed the stance and with inspiration from the low american style cars I pushed it as low as I could.

So with the ride height, lock and brakes sorted the inside was next on the list. Teesside Autodrome does not have many rules but one rule they do stand very firmly by is the NO CAGE NO TANDEM. I can respect their concern for the safety of the people in the car but as I want to progress I needed a cage.

I picked up a Cusco dash dodger off a friend that had door bars already fitted, it was perfect. A quick shoot of purple paint and it was bolted in, and yes it really was that easy it was so easy to fit. As I had the carpets out already it seemed like a good time to relocate the battery, screen wash and make a fuse panel. Most of these parts where universal kits from eBay but as you can see they really do look like they where ment to be there.

By this point your thinking dam Craig you have been busy……. well it would only get worse. After talks with lee the founder of Death Or Glory it was agreed that I could rep the brand for another year so the new design was well underway. Driftnuts designed and made my new decals ready for JAE but I wanted to fit them myself, was it brave or stupid?

With the help of two others and lots of pizza we worked through the night to apply the decals which although it was time-consuming I really enjoyed doing it. That all being said it was not a one man jobs and I strongly recommend that you seek help when trying this yourself. The final product came out amazing.

After JAE it was time for the big push. I had purchased a new rear subframe as the old one was bent(yes i crashed……). I realised it would be hard to fit in the street as I jack the car up on the diff so it was time to make a rear jack bar. I bought a kit and welded it up myself, which came out so much better than I thought so I took it to get powder coated. The guy asked what colour would I like, when I said the most ridiculous purple you have he really did knock it out of the park don’t you think?

as the car could now be lifted easier it was time for a subframe change. I very quickly ripped out the old unit ready for a refurbished frame.

Before I fitted the new frame it was treated to Driftworks poly bush mounts but more importantly a R33 GTST 4.1 diff. I decided to weld the diff as I couldn’t afford a LSD, I look forward to diff skip……..

I have now fitted this and this is how the car currently stands I have refurbished everything I could.

As you can all clearly see I am along way from being done and still havent started to remove the turbo to replace the blown gaskets. I have still managed to keep the budget low on this work as most of the parts were sourced second-hand or refurbished. If your also on a budget but need parts driftworks forum and eBay will keep the dream alive don’t rush to buy things just take your time bargains do come up.

  With only 3 weeks today until the event the pressure is increasing, will I get it done in time?

Keep an eye on the blog page and my Instagram @project_sthirteen to see if I make it.