Worst feeling... biggest determination.

The first weekend of May we were aiming to have a test n' tune. We got the finished mechanical needs done, and threw on an 'even' alignment to test with. Nothing was set in stone, we just wanted to get silly with the new car. I travelled down to Sebring International Raceway where there is a stunt school that holds drift events. Bobby Ore Motorsports uses 2 intersecting runways with huge amounts of pavement, no walls, and 100+ available entry speeds. I was down to get some REAL testing done. As with all of his events, everyone must pass a figure 8 and donut style test. I knew I'd pass, but I threw her into a slide and started my test. Last time here, with the SR20DeT motor, I had to do this in 2nd gear and really ride the throttle to not bog out of power. This time, I started in 2nd and it was like butter. Then I got cocky and tried 3rd on this little tiny figure 8.... and it worked! Amazing power from this smoke dumping beast! I've never had felt this kind of freedom underneath my feet. I did the test a second time, waiting for others to get there cars unloaded and on track and it was still unbelievable that THIS, was my car. Everyone was so unprepared I went out for a 3rd time, giving the friend who gave me this shell to build a ride. All the same and then "Oh $*!% ! Do you hear that?" I asked. Yep, about 8 minutes of actual driving time and I got rod knock. Rod knock is when things are not meshing well in the motor and things become loose. If you continue to drive it takes mere minutes to blow a hole in the side of the motor. So I shut it down, and just stayed to help and instruct thinking the whole time.... "What now???" I didn't get to really slide the car, didn't get to test the brakes, handbrake, alignment, or tire settings. No time to worry about that stuff, I needed a car that could drive.


FormulaD Road Atlanta ProAm check in was Thursday afternoon, and I'm here Sunday, with a blown motor. On the way home I decide that the only thing to do was to take the block I was going to sell (and had a buyer for) and try to do the impossible. I had 3 days to take my unpainted, blown motored car, and get it ready for Road Atlanta in 3 days.

Monday I drove up to All American Street Car Performance, they confirmed the rod knock so I started to take apart the engine bay. They were really busy this week and I was doing 90% of this motor pull outside and the sun was not on my side. I spent about 8 hours pulling apart wiring, exhaust, driveshaft, radiator, and about a million other things. I got the worst sunburn of my life, and with it rolled around on rocks and ants under the trailer getting motor ready to pop out. At the end of the day I rolled the car off the trailer, and into the shop door. We hooked up the lift and got the motor and transmission out. Mission 1 accomplished.

Tuesday I took the shell of the car to R&B so they could paint it during the one day I had no use for the shell. I also placed an order for the vinyls to be cut by them for Thursday pickup. I spent 2 hours there helping prep the car and removing trim pieces and the wing. I left there and went back to All American. Today I spent with my cousin Evan, pulling everything off, and out of (internal upgrades) the broken motor. Seperating the transmission first, we had to swap ALL those goodies you saw me put in when building. Oil pump, timing gears/chain, oil pan, pickup, clutch kit, all the accessories, balancer, headers, spark plugs, coil packs, wiring, and sensors. I gave the spare block a good cleaning before we started to reassemble. Throughout the day we spent about 10 hours swapping, cleaning, and resealing the motor up. The worst is the heavy transmission to snug up at the end of the day when you have the strength to pick up a pencil. Mission 2, getting car to paint and swapping parts, accomplished.

Wednesday was a scary day. Not only was it my last real day to work, the motor we were putting in we didn't have any way to know if it would even run! Picking up the car in the early AM, paint was done, but the kit didn't get sprayed, so I left it with them to pick up Thursday before heading out to Atlanta. Got the car to All American and started to get the motor on the lift and ready to drop in. The headers decided this was their time to step up and be the biggest pain lining up with the rest of the exhaust and after about 2 hours, it finally slipped back into their homes. The motor was now mounted but we still had to hook up all the wiring, driveshaft, and other lines. Time was really short and All American had to close, the car not quite ready. I took it home and it was already dark. Setup some lights, and with the help of my father, we worked on her. Finishing mounting up the exhaust and radiator and wiring bits. We ran into various issues and after several phone calls. It was time to turn the key- at 2:00AM. Like a punch from Mike Tyson to your stomach, car won't start, just keeps cranking over. After an hour checking everything and exhausting all my knowledge, I went home in defeat. Check in for Road Atlanta was less than 18 hours away, and I still had a 9 hour drive to make.

I wake up early around 7:00AM and start researching any issues. Nothing seems to fit. My cousin comes over to help again and we head off to a GM dealer for some input, car in tow. Biggest surprise to me was the front man statement that "None of our guys will be able to look at the motor and know anything." Really? The dealer wouldn't have any idea if a wire is unplugged? missing? broke? Whatever, getting really bummed I head back to All American and have my friend Brett Collins on an hour drive coming to help me. We get to the shop and they can't figure it either. I start searching on the other block and notice a sensor I never had to deal with, under and behind the starter location- a crank angle sensor. Car wouldn't start without one of those! Brett and his magic skills fished that sensor up and in. We crossed our fingers, turned the key... the most beautiful growl came from this motor!! Okay, we heard her purr, put it on the trailer- off to pick up the body kit pieces. Its already 1:00PM and we have less than 6 hours to make the 9 hour drive. No time to worry about that, we pickup the kit, which did not get painted and was still in the box. Then the vinyls, which I find out were not made either. I called Enjuku Racing, my new sponsor, and put in a rather large order of vinyl for the very next morning and they already had their own car to worry about. They said they would get as much done as possible, so I had to have faith.

We get to my house to pack up wheels, tires, and clothes for Atlanta. The kit box was far too large so we had no choice but to mount the kit at the house before leaving. Finally, at about 3:30PM we are leaving for tech check-in that ends at 7:30PM. I had previously kept the StreetWise Team (who is hosting the event) up-to-date on everything and he said my extreme circumstance he would grant me a later tech time, at the hotel. On the way up we note a few things that need to be done to make the car 'legal'. Headlights need power, and an emergency shutoff outside the car. Our trip ran long with stops at the store and such so StreetWise agreed to meet at 6:00AM at the track to get settled. We arrived in Atlanta about 2:30AM and put luggage in the hotel room, and went back to rig. We went to a 24hr gas station, unloaded the car, and started to work. Wiring was handled by Brett, Evan was cleaning up the car, I was checking fluid levels, and making sure all my nuts and bolts were tight. We finished by mounting the only part of the kit left, the rear over fenders. We were 3 guys, pouring effort into this racecar at now 5:00AM, at gas station. We finally get done, and load up the car. It's 5:30AM and we hit the hotel for a round of showers and go to Road Atlanta, finally. Car passes tech with a few minor hiccups we address on the spot.


3 days, unbelievable efforts, and against all odds- we made it, we are here at Road Atlanta, with my LS1 240sx. Now the realization sets in... I never really got to go faster than 20mph with this setup... time to test it all, on the most technical FormulaD track they run.