what if drift build?

Been watching videos of both pros and everyone else with cheap builds for cars for drifting. Been wa ting to get into drifting for years and been wierdly thinking of a type of build after watching lots of people crash thier rides a lot of times and end up writing off lots of cars. Here is where the thinking gets out side the box just a little bit. Thinking meybe a b-body 80s gm meybe or other big tank in crappy shape to start, or a full size 2wheel drive pickup truck. The start Iis stripping it down and doing a demo derby style build for something that if you bend it, who cares, does it still move? Then bend something back to get it to move and run it some more. The redneck in me really wants to something very silly and different like this and it could be very cheap to build besides lots of welding I think.

Biggest thing I'd be worried about in a B-body is the moment of inertia. The cg of those cars is near one's feet or knees, depending how fat one is. Once that J-Lo sized ass starts rotating, it wants to keep rotating. i should know. But I rocked a 95 9C1 for 12 years and I've thought about doing exactly what you're describing.

Boxed control arms

Poly bushings (who care about binding?)

Figure out a way to swap a Muncie or Super T-10 into it.

Gut everything (doors, inner fenders, hood springs, dash, etc...)

L33 truck motor (not necessary, but the all aluminum engine can't but help the weight dist.)

Last generation 9C1 disks on all 4 corners.

Used Impala SS wheels.

Stupid stiff springs somewhere in the 6-800 lb/in range

Used circle track dampers

I like the truck idea. The entire rear half uses simple sheet metal shapes that can be made easily replaceable in sections, or as a whole. It sounds kind of redundant, but basically build a redneck-nastruck. I've also wondered if a sacrificial (strong, but not too strong) exo-cage aft of the rear axle would help when making contact with a wall.

The few drift events I happen to see online, I don't really see guys drifting any American makes, so any one would be out of the ordinary. The 2nd biggest problem with a B-body is that I don't think they came with a manual trans from the factory, and a manual is probably mandatory for drifting. The biggest cars I would go with would be an A or G-body GM car. They should handle better than a B-body, and theoretically use less fuel and tires.

9C1 vs P71 DRIFTOFF!!!

Cheapest way is to find a failedish drift project and fix.

Example. http://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/cto/4868830671.html

In reply to Fueled by Caffeine:

If you're going to start with an anemic powered vehicle, at east make it a car. My '85 Celica slides for days! Purchased for about 1,000$. Suspension, tires, and a ford 8.8, now she drifts well, even with that NA 22re with 200k on the clock.

Small jap trucks would be better suited and should be cheap enough. Pretty boxy, full chassis, light. If you were to bin the cab or tub bad enough they can be unbolted from the chassis pretty easily and replaced. Only downer would be power. Though Nissan hard bodies have ka24 and vg30 engines available which are both pretty well know platforms and boost well. A Toyota Tacoma with a boosted 22r ot a Mazda bseries with an f2t or a boosted f2 would all be very very drift happy.

Food for thought.

As I said, just musing right now for ideas. Thanks for advice. As for the trans, you can an auto, bubbu drift in thier elcomino was running a auto in thier ride, a bit under powered even with a super charger.

I had a g-body in high school and controlled drifts in the snow were very easy to execute. It's been pointed out before that there are a ton of cheap parts for these from the circle track community, too.

I have never done it, or heard about it being done for drifting, but if you had a manual valve body in the autobox + hydraulic handbrake + torque you might be OK without a manual gearbox.

At an amateur level I dont see any issue having well under 500hp.

At the pro level its become an absurd hp war and if you dont have well over 500hp you're left in the dust. 700-1000 hp is common.

A friend of mine has a supercharged LS RX8 for formula drift, goes to local drift days with a 240sx with a stock KA motor. You dont need a lot of power just skill

5.0 with a T5 in a Ranger is really easy and well docomented.

An 8.8 will hold up (I was told my 7.5 would be ok with a mild 302 by a fabricator who wanted to do mine)

A 5.0 is happy spinning the higher RPM's that you'd need as well.

I'd imagine the V8 up front can only help with "bad" weight distribution.

In the wet, I could easily hold a slide as long as I didn't run out of room with my 2.0 Lima '88 Ranger 5spd.

I think an XJ Cherokee would make a decent Dorifto vehicle. I drove one for a while with the 2.8/5-speed combo and was shocked at just how driftable it was. Of course back then my DD was an '86 Mustang GT so almost anything was likely to feel like it handled surprisingly well.

I'm very impressed that this thread hasn't digressed into arguing over the virtues of drifting. I've never done it but I think a weekend drift class would teach anyone nearly all they need to know about car control. I mean, autocross and trackday events are all about keeping the car near the edge; a drift class teaches where that edge is. I say go for it.

But drifting isn't racing.

I agree with kb58: nothing taught me car (truck) control better, faster and more completely than snow-drifting in an as-yet unfinished development behind my house.

That and there were a few enormous parking lots that cops never kicked us out of we used I learn Chitwood-style moves.

Drifting would definitely help learn control. (In powerlifting, they call it chaos-training ie; training for when the E36 M3 hits the fan.)

https://youtube.com/watch?v=E56fxJAj3c8

ebonyandivory wrote: But drifting isn't racing. I agree with kb58: nothing taught me car (truck) control better, faster and more completely than snow-drifting in an as-yet unfinished development behind my house. That and there were a few enormous parking lots that cops never kicked us out of we used I learn Chitwood-style moves. Drifting would definitely help learn control. (In powerlifting, they call it chaos-training ie; training for when the E36 M3 hits the fan.)

No but it doesn't make it any less fun!

In reply to fidelity101:

I just hope my "not racing" post was taken in the context of the autocross thread and in jest at that.

ebonyandivory wrote: In reply to fidelity101: I just hope my "not racing" post was taken in the context of the autocross thread and in jest at that.

Actually you were correct on that, and autox isn't "racing" either.....but its closer to racing than drifting is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKyeWVcjR9o

http://www.bubbadrift.com/

Why not find an old circle track rolling chassis and dump whatever power plant you please into it? They're designed to get beat up and have body panels replaced. They're also designed to carry ballast for racing so once that's gone they don't weigh much, which should keep the power requirements low.

A quick search turned up this, so you have a ballpark for price.

Rolling chassis on racing junk

I've thrown around the idea of picking up an 80s boxy b body with a 305 and swapping in a spare WC T5 I have for my thirdgen. Add a lsd of your choice in the 10 bolt and you'd have a cheap drift/track day car that can haul 5 people and a set of spares/tools to a drift event comfortably.id look at seeing if you can modify the front to get more steering angle somehow. I assume you could do the same with a crown Vic and a mustang manual but I don't know as much about Ford's

I think taking anything and doing something unintended with it sweet! You will definitely stand out at an event like that!

I would look at a S-10 that has already been swapped with a chevy 350. They are $2500-5000 in my area. Used performance parts are cheap for the motor and swapping in a rear end with a LSD will be easy with leaf springs, or just weld the diff. As far as steering angle you will have to make/mod your own parts.

Just make sure yo keep s in the loop if you start into a build!

CarRacer wrote: Why not find an old circle track rolling chassis and dump whatever power plant you please into it? They're designed to get beat up and have body panels replaced. They're also designed to carry ballast for racing so once that's gone they don't weigh much, which should keep the power requirements low. A quick search turned up this, so you have a ballpark for price. Rolling chassis on racing junk

I was thinking circle track car too. It seemed like you were basically proposing setting up a circle track racer to drift in both directions instead of one.

As someone with a box b with a manual transmission and those 800 lb springs someone mentioned, I approve haha. They can actually be made to handle fairly well, though they will always be heavy. I have a quick ratio steering box in mine, which would be a necessity for you. 9c1s and later SSs had them.