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**chixwithtrix** · 09-30-2015, 10:42 AM

November 2013
The stock 2 piece driveshaft carrier was toast so I replaced it with a 4" aluminum one from driveshaftshop.com. Went ahead and replaced the leaking pinion seal while I was in there.

Before the oil pan baffle

After the Improved Racing baffle

The pan baffle install was a PITA!

Got the BC ER Series coilovers installed and signed up for another drift event.

The install went pretty smooth outside of the learning curve for the GTO’s rear suspension and thinking we weren’t sent the front swaybar endlinks (found them in the last box). Went ahead and reused the aftermarket upper shock front bushings that had been installed when the Eibach lowering springs were put on last time. BC supplied new bearings and endlinks for the front coilovers.

The rear suspension was a pain in the ass. Not BC’s fault, just the weird separate shock/spring setup. Had to fight with the rear spring and ended up getting a spring compressor and leveraging the things out. Made things more difficult for ourselves when we were chasing a ride height issue. Had the e-brake locked and transmission in gear, which caused the back end to sit higher than normal on the lowest ride height setting. We discovered it dropped about 2 inches when we took it for a test drive. Yay. Initial feel is stiffer than the Eibach springs with stock shocks. Much less squat on acceleration and braking.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9V8zdz3hK8"]GTO Dyno Tune Pull - Bolt Ons - YouTube[/ame]

**chixwithtrix** · 09-30-2015, 10:46 AM

April 2014
I visited a friend's shop in Ft. Worth TX and had my spare differential welded. Removed the knuckles to be sent off to Shane cutting and shortening for more steering angle. Installed ARP extended studs all the way around as well as put in the Whiteline adjustable caster radius rod bushing.

**chixwithtrix** · 09-30-2015, 10:47 AM

May 2014
Worked on a 3QT Accusump install from Canton Racing and will be posting more detailed photos and video once I get farther in the project. Jeff at Canton Racing has been super helpful answering my setup questions, don't hesitate to contact them for your oiling and filter setups.

I received my cut knuckles and tie rod ends from Shane Whalley and got them mostly installed this last weekend. The caliper paint came out pretty nice too.

Finally bit the bullet and ordered a cam from Texas Speed. Decided on a 233/239 .595"/.603" cam, dual valve springs, LS7 lifters, ported LS6 oil pump, ARP harmonic balancer bolt, and the trunion lifter bearing upgrade.

**chixwithtrix** · 09-30-2015, 10:51 AM

June 2014
Canton Racing Accusump installed and started the cam swap, lots of video!

The Accusump and AN lines were pretty straightforward, all the fittings and remotes went together easity. Came out to 32 feet of braided -10 line.

**chixwithtrix** · 09-30-2015, 10:51 AM

July 2014
Progress!

Valve springs

LS6 oil pump

Cam install

Trunion upgrade

Heads on

Intake on...probably would have had it running had the pushrods not been too short. Have new ones on order.

Untuned idle clip:
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsVBZsgV8wA"]TSP 233/239 112 LSA 2004 GTO untuned idle - YouTube[/ame]

**chixwithtrix** · 09-30-2015, 11:00 AM

August 2014
Finally got around to getting it tuned!
397whp
388tq
Mustang dyno

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlclGow3tDg&list=PLJg654_U8yhhwgkq7W4qn0rGkyLeXLwlh&index=1"]TSP 233/239 112 LSA 2004 GTO After Dyno Tune Idle - YouTube[/ame]

**chixwithtrix** · 09-30-2015, 11:01 AM

November 2014
I took it to it's first drift event with the cam, cut knuckles, proper alignment, and Accusump setup. I let the engine sing to 6k RPM and killed some tires with 4 or 5 hours of seat time, was super nice having the Accusump setup for piece of mind. Had a lot of fun this event - the car is a completely different machine. I still need spacers since the front tires are rubbing at full lock with the cut knuckles.

**chixwithtrix** · 09-30-2015, 11:04 AM

January 2015
Here is the POV install video to accompany my Canton Racing Accusump install write-up
It's not super difficult so if you were on the fence, get it!

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaHkJn0Yl9o"]Canton Racing Accusump Install - Chix Garage Ep 01 - YouTube[/ame]

April 2015
Got to install my Hotchkis swaybars and solid engine mounts I got for my birthday back in December.

Got a pretty cool feature on EngineLab's website about my Canton Racing Accusump install.

**chixwithtrix** · 09-30-2015, 11:06 AM

April 2015
I just want to hug Pipsqueak after I beat on it a few weekends ago at the first Lone Star Drift event of the 2015 season. The GTO held together despite having issues with the newly installed welded differential and a lot of changes since the last drift event last year.

The welded differential made the car SO much different to drive and I spent most of Saturday trying to re-learn how the car needed to be driven. I had developed bad habits from the crappy stock limited slip differential that was on it’s last leg. The welded diff really helped the GTO step out sideways and transition smooth. And the Hotckis swaybars…wow, the car had none of the transition sway it had before.

I think my ‘Squeak is growing up and turning into a real drift car! I have a lot of work to do to improve my skills, but at least I have a new understanding of what mods the car needs to improve.

Oh and a big thank you to Canton Racing’s Accusump. The LS was on the rev limited a lot this weekend and no oiling hiccups!

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8IYCTnDW9M"]Who Says a GTO Can't Drift? Chix's TXSL + ProAm R1 Lone Star Drift Compilation! - YouTube[/ame]

My custom, fully adjustable Shane Whalley front suspension arms came in a few weeks ago and I had a chance put them on yesterday. All I can say is wow, they made a bigger difference than I expected.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24MQIzQEkBI&feature=gp-n-y&google_comment_id=z12wcncpry3dghc1x231h5pxhm24czmy g04"]GTO Adjustable Front Arms by Shane Whalley - Chix Garage Ep 07 - YouTube[/ame]

Not only are they works of art compared to the stock arms – they are functional and fully adjustable. This may not be ‘sick’ angle for a modified drift 240sx, but it is for a GTO compared to the appalling amount of minimal steering angle you get from the factory. The arms have more angle to give, my limiting factor now is the tie rods hitting the inner wheel lip. Shane achieved even more angle on his drift GTO.

The install was straightforward and required minimal modification to the front subframe. I, as usual, had the GoPro running for the install and will post the video once I finish editing it. The car still needs a serious alignment, but the swaybar endlink relocation was immediately noticeable when I was able to go from lock to lock with no binding from the BC endlinks. I drove the car home with the arms unaligned and I could still feel an improvement. Can’t wait to try it on the track. If you are looking to take your GTO to the next level definitely check out these arms from Shane.

Last weekend was a garage party installing fresh new parts on ‘Squeak.

We started off with the Whiteline rear camber bushings install. That was a pain in the ass because we could not find a bushing removal tool anywhere local. Instead, we ended up having to make our own out of some plumbing pipe and all-thread. After hours of drilling and wrestling with the rear outer control arm bushings, we got them removed and installed the Whiteline adjustable units.

Once the worst was over we buttoned up the rear subframe and started on the NRG quick release and steering wheel install. This was not only for aesthetics, but function as well. A removable wheel will allow me to get into the seat easier – especially with a helmet on. The stock GTO wheel also wobbled when I swapped from lock to lock since the mounting point was not centered. The NRG wheel will rotate in a perfect circle so that should allow me to handle it more accurately. Or that’s what I’ll convince myself it will do haha.

Finally we got the Rocket Bunny style rear spoiler ready to go by removing the old wing and previous owner’s wing mount. We cleaned the truck and applied close-enough colored vinyl over the unsightly old drill holes. The S14 240sx spoiler install was straight forward, but required some muscle to get it to form to the GTO’s body lines and be riveted. Too bad there isn’t a RB style duck-bill spoiler available for GTOs off the shelf…

Last-but-not least I plastidipped the rear wheels to match the rest of the black OEM wheels, did some camber and caster adjustments to the front arms with the addition of 20mm front wheel spacers and pressure washed the underbody.

**chixwithtrix** · 09-30-2015, 11:15 AM

March 2015
We attended Round 2 of Lone Star Drift TXSL + ProAm event last Sunday April 27th. It was a helluva drive from Houston to Mineral Wells after a long work day on Saturday, but with a few thumbs up and many cameraphone pics from other motorists we trucked through the night.

We got up Sunday morning at the hotel and moseyed out to the track a few miles down the road at an abandoned helicopter area next to the airport. The weather was nice in the morning, but the sun came out and it got hot inside the car while in grid. Fortunately it clouded up around midday, sprinkled off and on, but the awful stormy weather mostly held off until after the event was over.

Pipsqueak performed phenomenally with the new Shane Whalley arms, fresh alignment, perfectly round steering wheel (stock one rotates off center), and Kenda tires on all four corners.

This was my first time to drive such a high speed/large track so I took it slow and entered late until I felt more comfortable with the track. After the competition finished up the practice drivers had only an hour left to drive. I so played harder, entered earlier, and saw 94mph on one of my entries. Dayum. I did have my moments of suck when I understeered and straight up plowed cones.

There was a significant improvement in my driving and the car’s handling. I think this GTO is on its way to becoming a nice drift car.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Az7u8nXGEg&feature=player_embedded"]GTO Drifting - R2 TXSL + ProAm Lone Star Drift in Mineral Wells - YouTube[/ame]

The only real carnage was to the front end – I mangled the passenger side fender on the first run. These new arms achieve some serious angle, never had this issue before. We borrowed a hammer and did a pretty good job of rolling the fender the rest of the way. I’m thinking flares are going to be a future mod.

In other news I captured some awesome video of my front and rear suspension in action with some old GoPros. They both actually stayed on the car so no cameras were harmed!

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFSRtW-l_Sg&feature=player_embedded"]GTO Front Suspension in Motion - YouTube[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfoISJ4mYcc&feature=player_embedded"]GTO Rear Suspension in Motion - YouTube[/ame]

**chixwithtrix** · 09-30-2015, 11:17 AM

June 2015
GTOs are notorious for not having enough space for larger, lower offset wheels. Because of my Shane Whalley suspension arms and knuckles I needed lower offset in the front to clear the tie rods�as y�all probably saw in my suspension in motion video.

The front fenders required a roll and pull which was achieved with an Eastwood fender roller and a high temp heat gun. I did run into some paint cracking on the edge, but I have some color matched paint on the way to fix it right. The rear was already cut by the previous owner so I rolled back what little was left to make a bit more room for the wheel.

I decided to go with some BMW wheels � 18�9.5 +30 offset all the way around. I added 20mm spacers on the front for even more suspension clearance.

**chixwithtrix** · 09-30-2015, 11:19 AM

June 2015

The third round of Lone Star Drift TXSL + ProAm was epic.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXpWkBZSHJA"]Gonna Get Louder, Better - Chix's GTO Drifting Compilation - YouTube[/ame]

I would say we were about 10% prepared for this event. The plan was to meet up with a photographer of a popular automotive magazine the morning of the drift event. That meant waking up extra early after pushing it later into the night washing and loading the car on the trailer. I managed to get the new, wider wheels to fit only a few days before. The power steering rack was on it’s last leg…or gear. It popped, crunched, jumped and made all kinds of unhappy noises. I bought a remanufactured unit earlier in the week, but no time to swap it out with a full week of work and rain ever day.

After forgetting one of the wheel centercaps and having to turn around – we made it to Gulf Greyhound Park on Sunday in time to get the photoshoot done. Rick was a really cool guy and I look forward to seeing the final product in the magazine in the coming weeks!

I took some of my own photos before the drift carnage took it’s toll on the car. Which it did.

Despite being quite unprepared, the GTO did amazing. The new wheels gave me access to the angle I needed. The front fenders started self-rolling themselves while adjusting the the larger wheels and increased steering angle. I must say they do a great job!

The Kenda KR20s were consistent the whole event and provided grip all the way down to the end. I even did some drifting after the rain on the small track and didn’t spin once. The only issues I had with the new setup was the steering rack going over center and locking in the full lock position. The overcentering messed up more than a few of my runs, however it might be due to alignment issues. Next time around I hope to throw the car on the rack and get another true alignment. Like I said…about 10% prepared.

**chixwithtrix** · 09-30-2015, 11:20 AM

September 2015
New aluminum radiator installed in under 1 hour. First drive in 3 months!

**kofi** · 09-30-2015, 11:31 AM

fucking dope af. Best thread i've seen in a while

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Pipsqueak the Goat Drift GTO

Pipsqueak the Goat Drift GTO

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