Tuner4life's 1991 Cressida Drift Build

[Billyhoo 0]

Y'all are nerds, comp drifting is awesome - do the JZ and jump right in, lmk if you need any jz stuff

 

Also, I wish your car was oem burgundy again, it would make it even more hilarious battling shit like that RX8

[ChriSOL 0]

as someone who has spent a lot of stupid money keeping their car "nice" w stock body: fuck it. next time i get hit or a hail storm passes thru im gutting the car and looking for curbs.

 

bet it would be easy to stick the drivetrain in a $250 fc shell.

[tuner4life 0]

I'm sure I'll be begging around here plenty enough for JZ parts when the time comes lol. I had thought about doing one of those rusty/patina wraps just for shits and giggles..

 

 

Do I wish that this car would stay perfect? Sure, but it was never going to happen. I have nice cars and built this one so that I wouldn't have to feel guilty messing up the others.

[tuner4life 0]

Always have to make sure to drive my green car on earth day.

 

 

 

 

 

[tuner4life 0]

I have been sucking at Cressida stuff lately and haven't touched the car since spring.. Between the kids and spending all my time/money on the van, I haven't messed with the Cressida. I finally got around to breaking it out of storage, changed the fluids, and took it to a bash event at Grissom AFB in Peru IN. It rained almost the whole day and was cold, but I only used 1 pair of tires all day (probably over 50 runs) so that's cool I guess. the car was rock solid as it has always been.. No issues whatsoever after hot lapping for almost 6 hours. I was able to give some Servicemen from the base rides as well which was pretty cool.

 

I wanted to drive one last event with the car as it has been because (now that the van is mostly done) I can refocus on drifty things. I will be pulling the Cressida apart and upgrading and changing a lot of things. 2JZ swap, trans and differential upgrades, some more cage and chassis work, weight reduction, and exterior changes. It may take a year or so, but I'll be documenting stuff along the way.

 

So anyways, here are a few pictures from the event.

 

 

Instagram video of the boating. I mean drifting.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BnhbSMWA2CB/

 

 

 

 

 

My little brother has become quite the photog lately so he has been practicing on my stuff. (If anyone cares he is @jturner.photog on instagram). Anyways here are some pics of the car and the van that he has taken.

 

 

[Okidriftjr 0]

Digging that can. Good to see you're still sliding this thing.

[Tbone 0]

Fuck yeah!

Im digging the purple bang bus!

Good to see your still in the mix man!

[Gordo 0]

You should paint it camo, all the dents would be less noticeable.

[ChriSOL 0]

HDR should be used in moderation.

[tuner4life 0]

 

 

Been working on cleaning/organizing the shop.. Not done yet, but this thing is in it's long term home now. Going to be doing a lot of things to it and undoubtedly going to take forever to get them accomplished.

The basic list is going to include:

-Tube Chassis work front and rear and cage modifications, weight loss.

-Some body changes including wide-body, Aero, color change, less metal and more fiberglass. Modular approach for easier fixes.

-2JZ swap with undecided transmission and differential. 

-Rear radiator setup and fuel cell.

-More angle, more track width. refreshed suspension.

-FD rule-book compliance.

 

Like I said. It's going to be a long project. I'll post updates if I actually make progress.

Maybe I should just get a 240, but I love this thing and want to see it to it's full potential, even if it takes me until retirement.

The UZ will be getting a once-over and be put into my RA65 eventually.

[LUMBERZACK 0]

Yes! Gonna be good content to have more active projects. That tow rig you have is rad. Nice pictures.

[battleaxe 0]

why you doing tube frame stuff in the front and rear tho? rear rad?

weight loss is always a plus. with my longer LCAs/tie rods and stock knuckles, i turn to max lock and drive and i make a circle, its mental how much angle from stock they have, why you want..need..more?

[tuner4life 0]

Thanks Lumberzack!

Battleaxe: Yeah, the biggest handicap for these cars is weight and wheelbase. I don't remember the exact numbers, but my car in current form (which is pretty gutted already) still weighs nearly as much as a stock S13, and combine that with the longer-than-average wheelbase makes the car look like it transitions slower from outside the car. In the car it feels right, but I can't make the sharp snappy changes in direction like you see with shorter cars like FCs and S13s.. Granted the Cressida is smoother and more consistent, but I feel like if I get the weight down some and move everything inside the wheelbase as much as possible, it should help the situation.

I am planning on moving the battery inside the car, moving the radiator to the back, and also using an aftermarket fuel cell that is over the rear axle (or as least more forward than it is now). I have a few other ideas I want to play with, but basically if I keep the weight as centered as much as possible, it should transition quicker and be more nimble. 

The other way for a long car to have the same "illusion of angle" as a short wheelbase car is to be able run more angle. I have the Xcessive kit up front, and the angle is already pretty good, however, I am still limited by things that should be fairly simple to improve.

This picture is basically at lock. My tires rub on the inner fame rail and front inner tubs (will be fixed by widening the track and tube framing the front), and after that, the lock will be limited by the actual wheel hitting the tie rod I'm going to play with a combination of inners/outers where the outer tie rod ends have a "notch" for the wheel to fit into. All together I don't need a ton more angle, but when you are up against Wisefab cars, anything helps. The other thing I want to try (and I've heard rumors that it works, although no pictures for proof) is to see if S13 Wisefab could be adapted to the MX83. People use S13 front suspension all the time on these cars there's a possibility that the Wisefab may fit or at least be close enough to adapt to the MX83. All theory at this point, but I'm trying to find some one with an old worn out S13 Wisefab I could borrow to try it out..

Anyways.. It's all just ideas at this point, but I've been thinking about this stuff for years now and it's time to start experimenting. I feel like the car is as good as it can be in it's current form and I've learned so much with it. I just want more.

[battleaxe 0]

but you literally do not need all of that angle. my x8 weighs 3200lbs and my s13 weighs 2600. if youre around a s13s 2600, congrats on knocking out 600 flippin lbs out man.

iunno, you do you, but this sounds like a cookie cutter "fd build" and they do it for weight placement and cooling i guess but is completely unnecessary..however, doing all this stuff, you will learn a bunch. iunno why you would want so snappy transitions...guess ive been driving these tanks all year that ive forgotten what a "snappy" transition is.

[tuner4life 0]

I don't "need" that much angle but if I can get it, it will save me a few spins here and there and maybe I'll be able to nail a reverse entry here and there. That will make it worth the effort for me. At the end of the day, I mostly just want to see this thing through how I've been building it in my head. Sure, some of the stuff is "cookie cutter FD", but they do it that way because it works and every little thing is for a reason. It will also make the car much easier to work on at the track. Important stuff will be relocated away from potential crash damage, more room to work, and modular design will make adjustments and repairs so much easier than they are currently. 

Snappy transitions are more appreciated from the judges stand than inside of the car, but I rode in a nicely set-up FC early this year and It was a wake up call on how un-nimble the Cressida is in comparison. I want to do everything possible and see how far I can take it.

Who knows, maybe I'll get done and the thing will drive like garbage, if so, I'll have one hell of a bash car.. Or maybe I'll sell it to some Fuckboy on facebook for $25k.. Only time will tell. 

It's also going to be a good way to improve my fabrication skill set, which is never a bad thing.

[WhoreMouth_Jr 0]

BattleAxe is against anything that makes drifting easier ❤️ haha

 

[Demesio 0]

cressidas don't "need" to be swapped

 

just stay in the past with gordo😄

[tuner4life 0]

7M, W58 with some sequential shifter worth more than the car, stock angle, stock ride height..

iF yOu CaN't DrIfT wItH A bLoWn hEaD gAsKeT, oPeN dIfF, aNd sAiLbOaT sPeC bOdY rOLL, tHeN 1000hP aNd wIsEfAb iSn'T gOiNg tO hElP yOu!

JK. Love you Gordo.

[battleaxe 0]

22 hours ago, WhoreMouth_Jr said:

BattleAxe is against anything that makes drifting easier ❤️ haha

 

Hey now, I did knuckles on the supra because it was a nessesity as stock angle was a sneeze. I now have stock ish s13 angle I think lol. I'm all about keep it simple stupid. FD cars are setup a certain way and outside that they're pretty useless...like an F1 car..they're specifically designed around being the best at certain things.  Adding a rad to the back to me, isn't making it easier. A surge tank for fuel, man, this is something I'd like to implement in my cars but I drive to and from events and I would lose all my trunk space 😕 I think the angle mods are crutches more often than not, teaches you to be a better car setup person when you see why a car does what it does. But that's besides the point.

[tuner4life 0]

Cool... I figured this place would be shut down by now. Cliffnotes is that life has sucked for the last couple years and I haven't worked on much of anything with the Cressida. Then with Covid, work situations, and a pending divorce that I hope to God will be over with soon, There hasn't been much energy, time, or money left. 

Life and mental health really hit the fan a couple months ago and I needed to get away for a little while. A good friend suggested I come down to NC for the weekend to get away and convinced me to bring the car. I had a great time. This car has been basically sitting for over a year and I took it straight from storage, to the trailer, to the track. Then proceeded to thrash it for 6+ hours with no real issues, The suspension is worn out and clunking and the rack pisses fluid out of both ends faster than I would prefer, but otherwise, it's still kicking just fine. It never fails to impress me the absolute beating that this car can take.. 

I still have all of the same plans that I posted about before, but the timeline is unknown at this point. Just patiently waiting for this shit year to be over with. I'm ready to hibernate. Maybe I won't feel so beat down next year and get some of the fire back. 

Instagram video:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CF93tzTncWv/

 

And here are a couple pictures from the trip..

[LUMBERZACK 0]

Hoping life quality improves for you buddy. Shit sounds rough, but I commend you for pushing through it and getting out there to keep your mind off of shit. 2020 has been such a year and I'm not even surprised at the increase in suicide and domestic violence cases. It's saddening. Looks like you had good time driving though, that's rad!