This project has been sitting in the back of the shop for a couple years. This is one of two cars that GWR acquired a long while ago from a Formula Drift team. Many are familiar with the sister car which was stripped down and built into Brian’s yellow “NC Light” AKA the Banana. That car was all about low weight and tons of mechanical grip. It used a naturally aspirated 2.5L built for World Challenge racing and went on to set several track records with Brian behind the wheel.

While the Banana was being raced, this second car was getting built in the background, but this one with a turbo. If the Banana was a ridiculous assembly of awesome stuff, this turbo car is perhaps even more ridiculous (In a good way). However, it’s never been to the racetrack. It made good power on the dyno and needed more fuel to go higher, but as sometimes happens at a busy shop, the project got sidelined.

Fast forward to now and here she is, just dragged out into the sunlight:



We're going to dust this thing off and finish it. We’ll update the fuel system, feed it some corn, and see what it’ll do. Whatever power it makes, we’ll call it good and take it racing.

Because the car never made it past the dyno testing stage, there are a lot of loose ends to be tied up. My task is to take this awesome assembly of parts that it currently is and give it some purpose and direction, some elbow grease and perhaps a bit of my own flavor and make a finished, fast car out of it.

The (short) list of what we’re working with: stripped/seam welded/caged tub, Cosworth 2.3L dry sump engine, Jenvey intake manifold/TB, turbo system, side-exit exhaust, Motec ECU, custom wiring harness, rear-mount oil cooler, AIM Dash, Tilton pedal set, Ohlins R&T Race coilovers, Enkei RPF1 18x10s…

We’ll be able to apply much of what was learned with making the Banana fast directly to this, but with more power and more aero it should be quite a recipe for some fun!

She is now on a lift in the shop, parts are being ordered, and a plan of attack is forming.

 

 

Have to admit that I always liked the NC. Looking toward to seeing the results.

 

Turbo AllTheThings!

Can't wait to see how it turns out!

 

Work began on the car yesterday, will get some pics of the stuff being done soon. In the meantime, here are a few shots of the interior as it sits.

It's a bit rough, but I can hear Han Solo faintly.. "she may not look like much but she's got it where it counts"

 

In for the pics.

 

Couple questions on another forum about the backstory on the car so I'll copy that here:

Basically, Intl Allstars (is that a name from the 90's or what?) was a formula drift team with backing by Mazda N.A. which explains the budget level of the build. We're talking about the early days of drifting in the US a decade ago. If you look them up they still have old vids with the cars, with a super cheesy fast and the furious feel to it all.



Underneath the drift/show paint and stickers though were carbon bodywork and a drivetrain and chassis that were full-on race car. Through mis-management the program fell through and so GWR ended up with two of those cars back in 2007 when the team couldn't afford to keep them. I'm not sure what happened to the third car. After GWR acquired them, the first car evolved into the "NC Light" or what some affectionately call the Banana, which Brian beat up on Vipers with at SCCA and NARRA events:



Original plans for this second car were to go after the big guns in XP autocross with the turbo, but the project got sidelined a few years ago. Last week we were discussing some of the upcoming events that we want to participate in - and which cars would be best suited for them - and the idea to finish this car up and give it a purpose came about.

 

So what's first on your agenda to get it up to snuff?

 

Excited to see this thing going again!

 

This is so awesome!

 

tell me more about "bananas" side pipes... seriously

 

Update all of the safety equipment plus bring the car up to current safety regs, new injectors and pump for the E85, tow it to the dyno and tune the Motec, get all the bodywork on, and lots of little fabrication-related bits and bobs to just tie up loose ends, make sure nothing will fall off the car, etc. then do a shake-down at the local autocross in a week and a half.

If the above goes well, we add aero and prep to go to the track.

... And if there's time, wrap the car (because I am not about that red/yellow combo).

 

I like the F&F look.

 

Passes through the px footwell, hence the cover on that side in the interior shot. Obviously this wouldn't work for a "V" engine that needs exhausts on both sides, that would have to be done with more finesse.

 

Lots of little bits and bobs on the to-do list to tie up loose ends and get this car fit for track use. Not all of it is exciting/fancy stuff, but equally necesssary:

New battery went in the car, we went with a standard NA/NB unit as it's a bit smaller than the NC version. No need for a lightweight battery as this helps with weight balance. The old battery box was thrashed so I made a new one:



Apparently drifters don't need mirrors? Because the car didn't have one. Welded in brackets for the convex mirror. We'll likely run without side mirrors on the exterior of the doors for lower drag:

 

Sure. If you want to know what's in front of you, you look out the side window. If you want to know what's behind you, you look out the other side window.

--Ian

 

 

Touché

 

Took this for you:

 

As we go through the car to double check systems, the wiring schematics from Motec come in very handy. I'm nerding out a bit here - there's an easy $10-15k here in just the ECU, wiring harnesses, modules and sensors.

This is what you get from Motec when you order a custom pro-built harness for your car. Top two pages are the chassis-side harness, and bottom two are the engine-side harness: