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Chapter 8: A powerful blow
The next morning I went to speak with Charlie, the owner of the black S14. The car hadn't been there that long he informed me, the only real problem being the lack of wheels.
"My son took the alloys off of this to put on his Pulsar GTi-R, he then swapped the alloys off that for a set of steel Primera wheels, I just haven't fitted them yet."
" What is the rest of the car like?" I enquired
"The shell is solid, completely rust free. The engine runs without any faults, we were intending to take the SR20DET from this and transplant it into a late, non-turbo S14. The only problem is that theres no interior, apart from a racing seat, the dash and a rollcage. The only thing we really know about the history is that it's an import from Japan and it was fitted with the turbo charged engine from the factory."
We went to the car and put the black steel wheels on it that were hiding in the place were carpet and seats once occupied. Within a few minutes we had the car on the ground and the engine purring away. The next thing was the all important task of actually buying the car.
"How much you want for it then?"
"Two grand and it's yours mate"
"You got yourself a deal there bud!"
Jimmy came and trailered the car back to mine, where we put it at the back of my workshop, ready for me to start preparing it.
The parcel Jimmy had left the night before was a large racing intercooler from HKS, it only took a few minutes to fit and fill it, ready for a thrashing. With all of the new parts I had fitted the engine management system was unable to cope and was letting the engine run erratically. An hour and a trip to Jimmy's later I had a racing chip and a much happier engine that produced even more power. Even though I had the S14 to prepare and set up I took the Supra to a 'Trampdrift' event, where professionals and beginners competed. I signed in and went for a couple of practice runs, the Supra kicking the rear end out perfectly at each corner, under control, yet willing and able to punish the slightest mistake.
My first race against a Honda NSX-R, the first run going well for me, the second resulting in the Honda snapping back and spinning into a gravel trap, gifting me the win. My second opponent didn't turn up for the race at all, a disappointment for me to win by default. My last race was against a silver Nissan Skyline GTS-t, the first run was very close, me keeping a tight line, barely a foot away from the Nissan the whole time. The second run however went disterously for me, the Supra unable to break away from the lightweight Nissan. In the last corner I pushed too hard, going wide before spinning 180 degrees, ending my run. After the race the driver, a tall, pale man walked up to me. Extending his hand he introduced himself as Ryan, taking his hand in a firm handshake I told him my name, told him about the team and how we were open to accepting new members. He asked if he could join as a drift specialist. I leapt at the chance to accept him, giving him details of where we met and what Pedro and I drove. With that sorted we both got in our cars and made our separate ways home, the Supra feeling stable again. We had gained a new member for the team, and hopefully someone who could help set the S14 up for drifting.