Build, smash, rebuild, destroy, repeat... My "build" thread.. here we go

fivehunsky

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So, I figured since we "ice dancers" got our own subforum I should take advantage of it and start my build thread over here.

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Some of you guys might have seen the "drifting pictures" thread I started a while back. If not, check it out. There are alot of cool pics and a few cool vids as well :)

http://www.s197forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=55419



Anyway, So, Ive been sliding my mustang around for almost two years now. Its really a great platform for our sport. Its very stable while drifting once its properly set up. And while it is low on power compared to the cars I normally drive against it makes up for it with good grip and smooth line control. I love it.

Driving with Doug VDB at Texas Motor Speedway
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Last year was pretty big for me. I havent been in the drift biz for very long. Only a few months before I purchased the mustang. But, this car helped me have a fast learning curve and I progressed quickly. I competed in the "Lone Star Drift" Texas series put on by www.fabricatedmotorsports.com as well as one round of the Extremedriftcircuit series. I also got invited to go to the final round of Formula D at Toyota speedway of irwindale for the ProAM competition. That was a pretty big deal seeing how FormulaD is the NASCAR or drifting. It was a pretty awesome year overall. But, at irwindale I learned the hard way the the concrete in California is just as hard as the Concrete in Texas.

Here is the result:
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It was a very hard hit. I over-rotated into the inner bank and went from around 60mph to zero in about 10 feet. Thats not including the all four wheels off, almost tried to leap a k rail, jump the car did. I tried to get it put back together for the competition as the wreck happened on day 2's practice but it just didnt drive right and I failed to qualify. Pretty expensive trip overall lol. But, I had alot of fun and met some really great people.

I brought it home and did one more round of lone star drift before I decided to put it up and rebuild it.

Marty at Autocomp Racecars in Haltom City TX (Dallas/Fort Worth) Has been behind me and this car since day one. He is a super awesome dude with some crazy fabrication skills. The shop is mainly a road race oriented joint but he likes drifting and since we met has helped alot of guys in the local scene out with everything from tire mounting to full builds. He is the motivational force behind anything that actually happens to the car. I love it and I am doing alot of the fabrication work but he is responsible for all of the welds and definitely has alot of swing on decision making. Just wanted to thank him before this thread really goes anywhere. :)

So, now that you know why its cut up I can move on to what Im doing with it. :)

I dont have a bunch of pics at the moment but I will definitely update as I go.

First thing that happened was all of the dead material was trimmed off of the rear of the car.


trunk for sale

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cleaned up a little

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Once we got it cut down we could start figuring out what exactly we needed in the rear. So far the plans are to tube everything from whats left of the frame rails back. We are going to make a subframe type setup that is easily replaced if it gets bent. The rear panels will be hung with dzus fasteners and very small tubing. Just enough to hold them up. I will make a larger push bar to support the bumper and help reduce impacts that everything else will be built off of. The panels themselves will be either trimmed factory quarter cuts or the fiberglass ones being used in the similar s197 being built in canada in here. Havent decided. I have alot of parts to replace and not so much cash lol The rear window will be a plexy unit.

The interior of the car was already stripped and caged after the car started drifting. I have updated it with different bar setups for different sanctioning bodies as well. As of right now the cage is beefy and legal for just about anything lol.

I also finally decided to gut the doors as well. Im searching for a magical sub 3000 pound mustang but Im not sure how possible it is because nothing I pull off ever weighs anything. We will see.

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Thats actually all I have at the moment. I will post up some more when I get back up to the shop and have pics to go with what Im typing.

Till then. Here is how she sits at the shop.

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DRock

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I was at the Irwindale event with the beach cities mustang club in the VIP area. It woulda been nice to see you run
 

fivehunsky

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Thanks alot guys. I might get some more work done today and update this a little more.
 

fivehunsky

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Hey again guys. I thought I would come in here and post up about my setup in general. I get asked about it alot so I figured I might as well write it down in here while Im updating the rebuild.

Anyway, Here we go.

The car is a 2006 gt. I picked it up for the wife to daily and after a small fender bender I decided to get her something else and turn this into a track car.

Contrary to popular belief a drift car isnt purposfully set up to be less grippy. (unless you are down on power alot then higher psi/smaller rear tires would be applicable) A good drift car is one that can move through the corners in a controlled way. So, you kinda start with a nice road race style setup and modify it.

Suspension wise I am running BCracing BR coilovers. They are a great out of the box entry level coilover. The quality is pretty high and the car is very forgiving on the track. We swap cars at events from time to time and its hilarious that I sometimes dont realize there are bumps or holes on the track till Im in another car :) Im also friends with Chelsea Denofa who works for BC and just happens to be the Current XDC champ. Its nice to have someone at the company who can help you out if you need it.

As far as the rear of the car goes the suspension is your standard stuff. Steeda lower control arms with bmr relocation brackets. che adjustable upper control arm and double rod end panhard bar.

The front of the car is where I get most of my questions.

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As you can see the front end obviously has alot more steering travel then a stock car. This is due to two things. First thing is I removed the two small rack spacers from the steering rack. They are just two little five millimeter plastic rings that ride on the steering shaft and limit travel. I pulled them out and picked up a few degrees.

The second difference is that I run modified knuckles/spindles. This subject is hard for people to understand at times and I have an entire thread about it here:

http://www.s197forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=47698

Basically the part of the spindle that attaches to the tie rod has a section cut out and is then rewelded. My friend Derrick Rodgers of Bubba Drift fame does the work. This is THE most influential modification I have done to my car. The knuckles allow up to 63 degrees of steering angle at full lock. Obviously in a motorsport thats all about driving sideways thats pretty good. Also, for anyone that is concerned about the welds being weak or breaking Im not. I have bent a lower control arm, two tie rods, and front sway bar link from hitting crap and the knuckles are still solid. Derrick has been doing them for a while and they last :)

Moving along. Performance wise the car has very little done. I have added a violant/tunable induction intake system and maf, bbk longtubes and offroad x, and a 93 octane tune. Thats it. Car dynoed at 285 to the wheels back in Nov. I thought I would be over 300 but no dice. Im hoping to get some more power once the rebuild is done but till then I guess I will have to just be happy as is.

Drivetrain wise the car is stock. yes STOCK. Stock clutch, transmission, flywheel, driveshaft, and diff. the rear gears were changed to some 4:11's and one axle shaft has been replaced but everything else is bone stock and has worked great so far.

Interior wise I have been running a pair of corbeau seats with the stock steering wheel. I cut up the dash and all that was left was the upper panel and the center section. Everything else trim wise was removed.

Brakes are factory but I will be upgrading to some two piece front rotors and a hydro ebrake this season.


Anyway, I was bored so I thought I would fill in some blanks since I didnt have any new pics. If anyone has any specific questions or whatever feel free to post. I dont mind sharing.
 

Dreadknought

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Can't wit to come back out and drive with you and the other guys again this year. I hope to put up a better showing then last year but I doubt I will be competing as my car is my daily, and a 10 point cage gets a little impractical for that. But definitely watching what you do with this. Wish i could get enough practice to get to your level...
 

3VPOWA

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I remember watching you back in August up in Mineral Wells. You definitely have bad ass skills!
 

stang389

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Man i would love to get a ride once your all pack together.
 

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