Aloha! This will be my progress thread for my 1989 Chevy IROC-Z Drifting Project. This thread will cover the car from the beginning when I first got it, the mods I'm doing, and what I'm doing with the car itself (Drifting!). The car is a hardtop 1989 IROC-Z with the L98 / 700r4 / 2.77 9 Bolt. It was originally a budget project for the domestic drifting club power//slideways. The goal was to show that a domestic drift car can be built on a budget, $5000 inc the car. Here's a picture of the car a few days after I bought it for $2500. As you can see in the picture we already started on some of the bodywork and we're getting ready to paint the car. The IROC was painted in my Uncles garage (by my Uncle and I) and cost a total of $350 for everything. The color is a custom PPG mix we named 'Gangreen.' The reason we painted it at night was because there was a drifting event the next day and we wanted the car to stand out at the event. We were cutting it close!! This is a race car paintjob, so not a basecoat/clearcoat type of paintjob. Let me know what you guys think since this isn't a normal type of paintjob, more of a quick and dirty single stage job meant for bumps and bruises. The idea is that its easier to color match after crashing and doing bodywork. After the car was painted, I drove it on the freeway to dry it off, went home and wet sanded the bugs off (hahah!) and then put on the stickers. I wanted to run stickers since this is a track car. Here's some pictures of the car in action the very next day, Jan 31 2004 at the first Drift Session of the year (www.driftsession.com)

Cool looking racer man. I can't seem to get the vid to work on my puter but I'll figure it out somehow...

Looks cool, well for a street car I'd say no, but since it's used for actual motorsports it gets a from me.

What are the specs (suspension, chassis, brakes, etc.)

And nice naming on the Gangreen haha, We got a custom mix in my class call "Baby Sh*t Green" it's alot lighter then your Gangreen, with some pukish brown in it. One of the grossest colors I've ever seen.

That was pretty cool!

Looks like a fun, crazy ride.

Drifting sounds like it would be expensive, burning up all those tires.....

Nice man. No frills all thrills purpose built cars are cool by me.

Drifting is fun and crazy!! Its so addicting!! The car is stock for the most part. I wanted to leave it mostly stock in the beginning to prove that the stock motor, stock tranny, stock rearend, stock brakes, and stock suspension was drift worthy (going along with the budget project thing). The only mods I have done so far are:

1. Paintjob
2. Spohn adjustable Panhard bar w/ poly bushings
3. Grant steering wheel

Previous owner did the following:

1. B&M Megashifter (hate it! but it was free! lol)
2. Borla XS Exhaust system (stock manifolds, still has a CAT).
3. K&N Filters for the L98

Here's some pictures from the Feb 2004 Drift Session with 17's in the front. I think this is when the transmission started to break!





This was the second Drift Session the IROC has gone through and its holding up very well considering the miles! The stock FE2 IROC suspension package feels really good when compared to my stock RS suspension, not alot of bodyroll, but still somewhat sluggish. I give it a thumbs up for a 114K mile car. I did crash the car at the last Drift Session on Jan 31, thats why the fender on the drivers side is pushed in (hello tire barriers!!). We will pull it back out before we re-paint the car again. We didnt get to put as many coats of paint on the car as we wanted to since the neighbors called the cops on us while we were painting. So we plan to repaint it the same color again (but this cost will not be added to the budget drift car project cost). So far we are $3200 into the project and the car is a blast to drift. Almost everyone compliments me on how much power the car has, and I love to drop their jaw by telling them its STOCK. I have a feeling that the 700R4 will go soon since second is starting to slip, so I'm looking to swap in a TH350 or a TH400 soon. Combined with the rest of my planned mods, and finishing the servicing of the car, we should be able to stay under the $5000 limit.

Drifting does use alot of tires, but there are budget ways to do it. For practice sessions, we usually hit up the local tire shop's trash bin, and look for tires with worn tread, no punctures, no bubbles, and matching the size we want. I was able to get 6 tires and mount them on 6 wheels for $60. Thats about $5 a tire and $5 to mount. But these are only good for the practice session which are short portions of the track. For the lapping sessions (like the one we were doing when you saw the video) its a better idea to get good tires that are not used so that they last longer and are more consistent and reliable. Maybe buy the lowest grade tires, but keep the sizes, compound, and tread depth consistent. This is when it starts to hurt the pocket. I can see myself spending $400 on good rubber for an event. But I wouldnt do it for practice or sessions. Only lapping session for practice or main events when the guys from Japan come down and compete. Hopefully I can get a tire sponsor soon!! hahah!!

thats really cool man...id love to see some more videos

Id love to learn how to drift someday too

revlimit's car sounds pretty nice, do you think you might post a pic? don't be gay and flame it if he does

Alright, here's a pic of Revlimit hitting it up on the track. This was the last time his 91 RS will see the track. I believe the car is now down'd and everything is being swapped into a different shell. I also believe he is going to redo the bodykit before he paints the new car, but I'm sure it will be the same style (that I like alot). He uses sheetmetal because it lasts longer than fiberglass when you get bumps and bruises. Cant wait to see his next creation. I think the inverted cowl might also make a comeback (????).

If you dont have anything nice to say about it, then please move to the next thread. Thanks.

Cool pic.
Looks like he's got his new front GFX torn up all ready. Whats with his hood in that pic?

what did he hit with the nose? that thing is really messed up to be pointin that low.

on the project car, im not sure if i like the green. it needs something to break up all that green, maybe some silver stripes.

ive been lookin to get into drifting over here but kinda on a budget even though i only got one car

Hey CrazyHawaiian, what weekends of the month are the drift sessions. I've been meaning to go check it out. My co worker keeps bugging me to go check it out. He's building up an FC right now & is practicing with someone elses car. Can't remember what group he hangs with but he said he met you & revlimit..I think. His name is Kell. He's also with Tom Brown on the drag racing side if that helps. They ran the blown alcohol dragster at Southpac.

The front lip gets damaged when he accidentally slides off the track. The surfaces are uneven, and since his car is so low, the front lip gets smacked around. It happens to alot of people who run low front lips and highly modified suspension with a very low ride height. Drifting is a very risky sport, so you have to accept the fact that the car might get messed up if you mess up. Even the Pro's crash, its just a part of drifting. The key is to recognize what mistake you made, and learn from that mistake. Most of Revlimits troubles are caused by tuning. He is a really good driver, but he likes to experiment with his suspension tune which causes unwanted effects sometimes. I remember once he jumped into my 89 RS when it was mostly stock with the L03 and he was RIPPN IT UP!!! I guess what I'm trying to say is that you shouldn't think any less of his as a drifter because his car has bumps and bruises. Everyone crashes at some point or another when you push the limits or try something new, its just how drifting is. I think his hood is the stock hood from the shell he got. Not too sure.

The drift sessions are usually the second saturday of the month. There is a full event schedule on the Drift Session Website. If you ever want to come check it out, look for me in either the black or green 3rd gen and say wasap. Bring a Helmet, long pants, shirt, and shoes if you want to ride. I know Kell, he is doing the S2K/FC Project. I think my Uncle also knows him from working at the Bus Company or something. Lates!!

I have to admit, that looks awfully fun. I can't imagine it could be better than scuba diving...but I'd sure like to have-a-go at it!

Very cool! Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to seeing how Gangreen evolves...

looks good.....nice action pics. wouldn't pass for a nice street car but why would you want it to? for it's purpose i think it's sharp.

I want to see some more pictures of Revlimit's car. It looks badass.

CrazyHawaiian: Your web site looks good so far! Finish it up.

Inside of the rear fender after a session

You're website looks great, CrazyHawaiian.

So where's the full vid?? I gotta see it

Yeah, a vid sounds good to me

Poor revlimit's car, looks like a true trooper

you must go through tires like crazy.

I'll get you guys some vids soon. Found some more pics at www.driftsession.com from the Jan 31 event.

The man himself giving the thumbs up ...


Friend of mine, Kyle lets the mainland drifters know whats up


Shameless plug ...

Some random donuts in the skidpad

That looks like so much fun. I wish I had a place to do it around here. That site is cool too!

not too fond of the shade of green on the iroc..... i would prefer something darker.

but it does give it a purpose-built look, and i think that its awesome how you guys are proving the capability of the thirdgen platform at drifting events.

I like revlimits sheetmetal gfx.... i think it was a good idea of his to make them out of sheetmetal so he can bang 'em back out if he needs to.

Drift on!

I'd like to see an outside view of the drift, its hard to tell whats going on in the posted video......perhaps if you do another inside video, have him sit in the back so we can see you turning the steering wheel......just an idea from someone else in the midst of producing a vid

i love revs car man.....and thats what he looks like!!

nicely done lads, im glad to see not everyone on this site is into the same thing...

keep it up

iroc2nv

so what is the difference b/t powersliding and driffting? i'm just wondering.

the ROH ZS look very cool !!!:hail:

Thanks for the support guys! I have so much footage of us drifting, its nuts. I do have some footage of what the steering looks like, as well as alot of outside shots. I'll be sure to include some of these things in the trailer for the website. We will have a DVD out in a couple of months that will include alot of action, as well as the buildup and appearance touches (painting, ride height, etc) performed on some of the cars. This sport is very daring, but believe it or not, the appearance of the car is also factored into your score (this is why the appearance is important too). Our next Drift Session is on March 13th and I hope to have at least 1 car mounted camera by then. Check out my website for updates. I recently uploaded the page explaining the difference between drifting and powersliding. Check it out if you are interested.

Just in case you're interested, there's a pretty informative news article about drifting here:

Grace has its turn in the new motor sport of drifting

We had a cruze for the Pacific Region forums and I snapped some more pics of the IROC with my friends Camera. This is the only one I have right now (more coming soon)

Here's some more pictures from another drifting event:













Kill some tires at the end

Man. Drifting is so cool. I need to get me a beat-up RWD that I don't mind beating on.

I definitely want to see some external vids! Has been a while since you guys've posted one. I still have the one of Revlimit doing donuts for minutes on end.

I think the Green 'Roc looks good!

And I actually kinda like Revlimit's body kit... his car looks a lot better than it used to IMO. Too bad it's gotten a lil banged up, but that's how these things go. And I always wondered what he looked like, lol

How often do you use the e-brake when you drift, Crazy? Do you almost always use it to initiate a drift, or do you usually just "power over" using torque and use the e-brake only if you get in a spot?

Also, do they ever have drifting events on the mainland? Seems like the only ones I hear of are in Japan and Hawaii. I'd love to go to one sometime but I can't go all the way from Ohio.

Sorry Shawn, I'm not hijacking your thread but just wanted to add one more pic of your track Camaro. (Had to include one with my Camaro in it too you know lol! )

I am not too fond of the green, but I'm a stock color nazi. If a car didn't come with a certain color (well a variation of one works), it doesnt fit to me. Overall tho, I like what u guys out there are doing with the 3rdgens!

nice......

"No Walls No Balls"

Nice slogan and nice car!!

Hey thanks for the compliments. I almost have our video done. I was about 99% complete when my HDD failed and I lost all my work. So I had to start over but I'm almost done again. Revlimit swapped all his parts to a new chassis, so hes running the stock 86-90 GFX for now and pushing over 400hp. I think he is going to replicate that bodykit and then repaint his car. When I first started out I would use the E-Brake to initiate the slide, but after doing it for a while I now prefer weight transfer. I really think these GM E-Brakes suck for drifting. I dont think they were designed to lock the rear wheels for split seconds while at speed. Even with the most adjustment possible they still dont grab as hard as some of the import cars E-Brakes. So thats something I'm looking into (not using an import E-brake, but doing something about the GM parts). The E-brake is really usefull to extend a slide or correct while sliding (more oversteer). They are starting to have lots of Drifting events on the mainland US, but I'm not sure if there are any in Ohio. Check out the event listings on www.driftingforums.com when the forums get going. I'm going to have every event in the USA listed.

Dark Bowling Green Metallic is a C5 Corvette Color. It was a pretty rare color, used for 1 or 2 years and only about 1000 C5's were sprayed with that color. I wanted to go with a GM green so my choices were narrowed down to the stock 91-92 3rd Gen Green, Fairway Green Metallic from a C5/S10 or this Dark Bowling Green Metallic from the C5's. My former S10 truck was Fairway Green Metallic (I loved it), but I want to try something different this time. If you want to see a pic of what the color looks like click here.

The 'No Walls, No Balls' thing is a tease at the mainland US drifters that practice in parking lots with cones. Hehe.

Sweet deal. An event doesn't have to be in OH but if it's remotely close I'd definitely be interested in travelling to watch one. I know that I would have a group of people from MotorSportConnect.com that would want to travel to such an event.

Definitely let me know when DriftingForums.com is up and running.

Here's a high res action shot I found online from the May 30 Drift Session (same event as the last series of pictures). I cant believe the paint actually looks good! This is that same paintjob we did in a garage @ 9pm!! hahah! Pic was taken at dusk (maybe thats why haha)

The mods begin ...

First I clean up the brakes, budget style. Turned the rotors, new pads, new lines, new fluid, and painted some of the parts to look good:



Next up some suspension mods ..









New Suspension Specs for the 89 IROC-Z Drift Project
----------------------------------------------------
HMS Billet Strut Mounts
Tokiko Illumina Struts/Shocks
Ground Control Weight Jacks Front/Rear
Front 775# 8" Eibach Roadrace Springs
Rear 175# 10" SSS Springs
Coleman Racing Solid Tierod Adjusters
PST Rear Swaybar
All PST Bushings Everywhere
Spohn Tubular Adjustable Panhard Bar

Great pics! How's the site coming along?

Here's the most recent picture of the 89 IROC-Z Drift Project. The hood is an 82/82 SMC hood with the vents cut out. Its painted 03 Toyota Tacoma Black w/ Green Pearl. Since this picture the trunk lid has also been painted this color. The car is now running the ROH ZS wheels, 17x8.5 fronts w/ 235/40/17 Dunlop FM901's and the rears 17x9.5 with 235/45/17 Kumho's (in this pic, rear 17's has since then been blown up and replaced w/ different tires). Interior has been gutted. Still alot of mods to do ...

love the progress guys! Still an SR20DE fanatic at heart, but this thread got me thinking about all the crazy sliding I used to do in the winter with some work friends of mine, late at night in iced over parking lots(no cones,cones are for wussies IMO).

To be honest, drifting is a kick *** sport, but more of an art as you learn control of your slides. Sorta like the time on that rainy day when I turned the corner but hit an oil slick and spun 360* and stopped 3 inches from the car in the next lane....thank *** for the leasons of sliding.... dicipline & sliding do have their benefits, even when you least expect them to be used!
-G
:rockon: :rockon:

P.S guys, is your video/DVD gonna be buyable through Options Vidoes(AKA: OptionsAutoSalon.com)!?!?....or what?!?
-G

Attachment Removed - Why post this picture?

Very nice car...but ill never get drifting. Looks fun to do, but watching seems to be about as entertaining as a nascar event.

PS: why use the ebrake? imho i think the weight transfer and throttle control would be alot better. Ive tooled around with a little drifting and locking the rear wheels seems like a terrible idea to me.