A Path Less Traveled

The Path Less Traveled. When pure pleasure isn’t enough, there’s this!

We love “Basket Case” projects, as they really allow us to “do our thing.”

This was one the best and most rewarding project we’ve done. The owner’s original intent was an ultra budget build. They spent a lot of time on the cage and body work but turned a bit of a blind eye to the engine, plumbing, and electronics. So the car arrived and the first thing you notice is the peculiar styling. Absent the front windscreen, among other body parts, the car looks, well, different… But when you break it down, it really makes sense. Let’s see, 1,450 Pounds, 300+WHP, Open-Air Cockpit, LOTS of Aero, Forced Induction, EFI Standalone, Nitron Suspension, Full Role Cage with Chassis Stiffening….. I mean, what’s there not to like??????

The owner asked us to focus on the motor, oiling system, wiring, plumbing, and reliability without totally breaking the bank or completely redesigning the entire thing. We were to preserve certain aspects of the system such as the turbo manifold and turbo, but we had a lot of freedom with the EMS, engine, etc…

We started with the motor. We built a new motor sturdied up with Nikasil bores, Race Series Bearings, Arias pistons, ARP fasteners, Costworth head gasket, and JCR race head. In the oiling area, we added one of our Peterson R4 Dry Sump oiling setups. The bodywork was so unique that we had to fashion a custom tank rather than using our standard Peterson tank.

The original plumbing and wiring had a bit of that Sponsored by Home Depot quality to it, so it all came out and went into the souvenir box along with the Hydra EMS. In, went a lot of expensive mill-spec wiring harnesses and a 1.2 EFI equipped with internal memory. We integrated a Phormula Knock Box and wired in an alarm along with a NGK AFX Wideband that feeds the EFI closed loop O2 data and lets the driver clearly monitor the AFRs. The zip-ties, worm-drive clamps, and Home Depot plumbing were largely replaced with AN fittings, AN grade hose, oetikers, and clamps.The motor can now come out of the chassis without cutting zip-ties or fussing with a dozens of worm-drive clamps. Rubber vacuum hoses and various “T” fittings were removed and replaced with a distribution block and silicone hoses. We used a turbo blanket and copious amounts of fyre-guard on the hoses surrounding the turbo to help mitigate long-term heat damage from racing this car in an endurance series.

This list goes on and on, but perhaps the pictures will help to tell the story…