The Countdown

The Countdown

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Most people who follow drifting know about what happened with on Christmas Eve. It was the day that Walker Wilkerson's Formula Drift car and trailer was stolen. Inside that trailer was a huge part of our lives, our personal belongings, parts, and most importantly...our competition car. 

If you don't know the story, you can find it here-> Stolen Formula Drift S13.4 240SX, The Story You’ve All Been Waiting For…

Once you read ^that^ story, or if you have already, the rest of this will make a lot more sense.

What Happened After the Car and Trailer were Recovered?

Within the course of a few weeks of our car and trailer being stolen and recovered, Walker was subpoenaed to court for the trials against some of the thieves who stole them. We were informed that all of them would be let go except for two thieves  Even though there was plenty of hard evidence,  because the jails are 'too full,' therefore, we could only prosecute 2 of them. The 2 thieves we were able to prosecute against. 1 had a recent charge of conduction a chop shop business. The other has never been caught before so who knows how many he stolen cars he has gotten away with. Both thieves had multiple stolen cars and an endless amount of parts at their houses yet the attorney appointed to our case said there was a good chance that the case would be dropped and both of them would get let off on parole. All I thought was man... no wonder people steal cars. There's no consequences of possibly having to pay for the cars if they get caught, let alone not get jail time. Then what the heck am I doing?! I'm in the wrong business! Of course that's not who I am but I can clearly see why this country faces so much crime yet the politicians and government wonder why. Dar dar dar! 

What a complete waste of time going to court knowing these fools get a 'get out of jail free card' no matter how many times they get caught! Instead of working with sponsors and trying to gain budget for our 2013 program in order to help recover part of the $30k of parts that were never found, we got subpoenaed to court. But for what?! I feel like we should have been able to subpoena the thieves into working legal jobs so they could pay back what these 2 slob kabobs stole! Around the same time we were dealing with these useless court hearings, we were also trying to figure out how to get our car and trailer out of impound. Here's how it went down.

> The police department conveniently charged us a few thousand dollars for the towing, prints, and days that both the S13 and her trailer were impounded. Shouldn't this bill have gone to the thieves?!

It gets better! 

-> The police department towed and impounded the S13 in Los Angeles, and towed and impounded the trailer to Carson. 2 separate places yet the S13 and trailer were both found within 100ft of one another!

It still gets better! 

-> THE PRINTS WERE NEVER TAKEN! We called almost every day to see when we could get the car and trailer out of impound. The S13 was released before the trailer, which was fine I guess since she had to be towed on a flatbed because the thieves wrecked the trailer pretty bad so we couldn't use the trailer to tow her anyways. But upon picking up both the car and trailer, we requested the prints as additional evidence even though we already had a thick pile of hard evidence, but regardless, they never took them! The impound code that was checked off on the police report when the S13 and her trailer was found was the impound code that is used for abandoned cars and trailers#@$%& !!! The worse part was no one would talk to us or hear us out. All we heard from everyone was if we want the car and trailer back we have to pay the money or our car and trailer would be auctioned. If you want to dispute your case, and keep your car and trailer, then you have to pay the impound fees and to talk to Los Angeles and Carson police department. LAPD and Carson PD both pointed the finger at one another and told us that we need to talk to the other about the impound codes being incorrect on the police report. Both blamed one another back and forth, and back and forth. 

The icing on the cake...

-> It hardly ever rains in California and during the time the S13 and trailer was impound, it happened to rain. So officially, those black finger prints all up and down the car and trailer were washed away. Sweet, lucky thieves ):

Who Built the S14 and Where is the S13?

About a month after the court hearings, Walker received a call from a good friend, Todd @ Fueled Racing. He had tons of exciting ideas on how to make the S13 more competitive than ever and how to go about cleaning up the mess we were left with from the car being stolen (wires cut throughout the whole chassis, oil everywhere, missing parts that were literally ripped out and needed to be replaced, etc.) Todd then asked Walker who was building the S13 for the 2013 season. He threw the idea out that Kelly and James from Insane Innovations as well as himself would love to sponsor us in building our S13 and felt the collaboration would be a great thing. After Walker and I talked it over, we all agreed. Todd, Kelly, and James are all amazing fabricators and builders and all of their work that we have seen has been extremely unique and overall quality built. They also built the 350Z Corey Hosford drove in Formula Drift during the 2012 season.

From the time we agreed to have Fueled Racing and Insane Innovations build the S13 to the time the S13 was dropped off to them, it took us a few weeks to pull the motor and tranny, order necessary parts they needed to start the build, and fix our trailer that had been hacked up by the thieves who stole it. When we first found the trailer after it had been stolen we had to temporarily fix the back and side door so they wouldn't fly open while it was being towed to the impound yard so you can image what shape it was in by the time we got it back.

So before our trip to drop off the S13, we did the best fix that we could on the doors and locks of the trailer given it's condition, changed the wheel bearings, then we strapped our purple daughter back into her trailer, loaded new parts we bought to replace some of the ones that were stolen off her, and headed to Kelly's shop, Insane Innovations via AZ where she would be built. Loading and unloading had to be the most silliest part. We had to load/ unload mostly in the dark because the thieves stole every light bulb from the trailer. I mean, who even does that?! Or better, what are you going to do with used light bulbs?!.... *laughs*

For those of you who have read the story about the car and trailer being stolen, you may remember the pictures at the end of what the S13 looked like when we got her back. The poor thing had a lot of work to be done to her. When Todd, Kelly, and James saw us unloading her, they were all a bit shocked. They had some sort of an idea but had no clue the S13 was in this poor of condition. 

(Below is a picture of when we dropped her off in AZ)

How and Why We Now have an S14 

It only took a few days for Todd to call us with some concerns. He said that him and the guys started on the S13 and the more they went threw her, the more surprises they found. All of them agreed that for the amount of labor they were putting into her, it just wouldn't be worth it and they wanted to know if it would be ok if they bought us an S14 chassis with zero damage and a straight frame. What a relief to hear. For a second there I thought my heart skipped a beat in fear that Walker and I would be stuck just the two of us building the S13 last minute, let alone the burden of having to pick her back up from AZ. Definitely great news. I remember looking at Walker and asking him, "Do you even know how to drive a straight frame chassis?!" and then we both laughed. 

The S13 has been with Walker for years and years. They've gone through thick and thin. She is the one who he learned how to drift in, the one who helped him earn his Formula Drift license with, and of course the one he drove Formula Drift for the past 2 years. If anyone has a special place in his heart it's her, and I love her just as much. That being said, although she is not ready to be fully retired, she has been on the frame rack numerous times, her suspension is completely off, she's tweaked, and just a tad banged up. But in all, Todd, Kelly, and James were right. Despite our love for our purple daughter, she'll never be a straight, clean chassis again. She needs an extensive amount of work done and a large amount of money put into her in order for her to be a Formula Drift car again. It just wouldn't be fair to anyone for us to put money, time, and dedication into a chassis that won't be competitive in Formula Drift. The good news is, she will remain purple and she will now become a demo car. When? Good Question. It will take a while as most of her parts are now in the S14, but our sponsors have been very supportive so when the time comes, and we win a few podiums, we will take that money and start rebuilding her. 

Immediately after our decision to run an S14 for our 2013 season, we started calling our sponsors to exchange the S13 parts they sent out to us for S14 parts. I also revised our 2013 proposal and notified current and potential sponsors of this change. Since the car was stolen, we were already far, far behind on sending out our 2013 proposal to potential sponsors, in addition to far behind on replying back to potential sponsors and negotiating sponsorship for our 2013 program. We had tons of parts that were stolen that we still needed to order, while trying to calculate our budget, figure out transportation, figure out who will be our pit crew, design of pit/ crew attire, design and ordering supplies for our pit setup, hero cards, and the infamous design of our 2013 car that everyone seems to not appreciate. All of this was just a tiny part of our struggle for this new season. Honestly our life is 99% Formula Drift, 1% everything else. Dedication and passion are the two things you need if you are thinking about becoming a Formula Drift driver. If you have one without the other, find another dream (:

Why We Decided to Run a Twin Turbocharged LS7 

While the new S14 was being gutted in preparation to be built in AZ, Walker and I partnered up with a good friend of ours Yukio from Turbo by Garrett. We decided to go ahead and twin turbo the LS7 and here's why. Although Walker misses his SR20DET (and everyday talks about how he can't wait to drop it into the S13 now that she's a shell) and I personally would prefer a 2JZGTE, we both know bottom line what we're trying to accomplish; we want to win.

SR20DET -> Let's face it, great for ProAm, but good luck being the next Daigo or JR (Vaughn Gittin Jr) I love these motors too and I'm not hating. Just saying there's a reason why the top guys aren't SR powered....not in the USA at least.

2JZGTE -> Possible! But with the car being stolen and how far behind we were on the build, given the amount of money and time it would take to sell the LS7, find a GOOD 2J, change our proposal again...there's just no way we could have pulled it off.

So Twin Garrett Turbo'd LS7 FTW! 

(Below is a pic of when we picked up our LS7 from Granatelli Motorsports)

Fully machined, bored and honed with Darton Sleeves, CP Pistons, Carrillo Rods, ARP bolts, new GM head and base gaskets, new o-rings, new valve covers and seals, new main and rod bearings. The whole 9 yards. LS7's come with titanium rods, and since we knew we'd be pushing a few hundred more horses, we knew we needed to upgrade our internals, therefore, the Carrillo rods are a bit heavier than stock. Same thing with a few other new internals Joey @ Granatelli installed. The flip-side is this required several pounds of Mallory metal to be added to the crank. (Not so cheap and not a fast turn-around!) I know leaving out a grip of stuff that is new to this motor but as I'm writing this, I'm trying not to fall asleep as I've been lacking it for months now, so bear with me.

Mid-Build

I must admit, it felt like we were part of a chop shop operation. Loading/ unloading boxes of parts, bringing deliveries twice a week to another state.  

(Below are some pictures of our S14 in progress)

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How Walker Came Up With His 2013 Livery

Decision making time for the S14's 2013 livery...was realllly hard for us. The transition from 2012 to 2013 livery may have been harder for me than it was for him, but it actually came out so much better than we both thought it would. For our 2013 season we partnered up with our new Sponsor, LA Wraps who designed and wrapped our new car. Both Walker and I had the natural instinct to wrap it purple but due to the somewhat unfavorable feedback we received from potential corporate sponsors, we knew that wouldn't be the best business decision. We decided we would keep the S13 purple and some day/ one day when she is back and running, we would have her wrapped in her signature color. Weeks went by and Walker had no clue what he wanted for his 2013 livery, he just knew it needed to be different than before. I think I almost strangled him 20 times because he was completely lost in what he wanted let alone color scheme. After about 40 renderings from LA Wraps, Walker made the decision night before the deadline that LA Wraps had to print the vinyl which was also the night before we left to pickup the S14 from AZ. (1 week away from Formula Drift Long Beach)  

Why the S14 Didn't Follow in the Footsteps of the Purple S13

iMiss it too! ):

We want to be in Formula Drift from the long run and Walker is an amazing driver with the most incredible drive. Drifting never leaves his mind. His whole heart is in it and he has the talent to prove it. Unfortunately, our plague of car issues, funding, and yes; the livery has all worked against us in our will to succeed. We were told by sponsors and potential sponsors that they expect a drift car to have flare, but ours was a little over the top, and regardless of how we or the fans felt, they have a business to run and if they are going to sponsor an adult competitive car, it needed to at least somewhat look the part. So yes, people are going to say he 'sold out' but to be honest, who wants to be a privateer forever. That's not the 'Formula Drift Dream' now is it?! Besides, everyone has a neon/ bright colored car this year so how is that original anymore anyways?!

Why We Missed Formula Drift Media Day

5 days away from Formula Drift Long Beach, Todd @ Fueled Racing informs us to start heading out to pickup our new S14. He said by the time we come down, the S14 will be ready to load minus the time it takes for them to install our new differential we were bringing to AZ. Ray @ KAAZ helped us with our new ring, gear, and pinion setup in order to lengthen the gears. We weren't too worried though. Once we got to AZ, installation of the diff should take maybe 30 minutes and we still had a few days to drive the S14 back home, get her wrapped, and tuned before Formula Drift Media Day. But by the time we got to AZ, Todd, Kelly, and James discovered new issues.

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Why? -> Because Drift Happens! Welcome to the life of racing, or in this case, drifting.

She sure is pretty, but no matter how hard you try, a racecar will never let you have her that easy.

>Typical female!<

Come mid-day Tuesday, the S14 was ready for take off, it was already Tuesday, which happens to be the day we were supposed to attend Formula Drift Media Day. It was also the day our S14 was supposed to have her Formula Drift Tech Appointment.

We were all a bit torn but in the grand scheme of things, as long as we made Formula Drift Long Beach, missing Media Day wouldn't be the end of the world.

Formula Drift Long Beach was our main focus and happens to be an exciting track for us as it is in our home state. 

Formula Drift Long Beach is also the first event Walker competed in after he earned his Formula Drift license where he qualified 7th and made Top 16. 

Not bad for only being his 6th competition in any motorsports series.

At last, we got the S14 loaded up. Tired as ever, got back on the road. She was now officially our S14 to raise and she needed a lot of work and discipline once we got back to Cali.

Why Walker Didn't Drive in Formula Drift Long Beach

3 days away from Formula Drift Long Beach, the S14 needed to be wrapped, tuned, and had a tech appointment the following day. It was so late, and there was nothing we could do with her except drop her and her trailer off inside of her new home, and no. I'm not saying where it's at. Just know she's in good hands and she's trackable (:

A few hours of sleep, and it's already the morning. 2 days away from Formula Drift Long Beach. Here is our agenda for the day;
1) Get her Tuned
2) Get her Wrapped

Not all of which happened!

The Motec we run is an older Motec and requires older software and an older laptop. Our original tuner was a bit busy the day we went to take her to be tuned and by late afternoon he went to plug-in the wideband and start tuning the S14. That's when he realized he did not have the right pinout or software to tune her. Hours of messing around with out Motec, trying to get it to somehow work with what connectors he had, the tuner finally let us know there was nothing he could do. So here we are, we took the S14 an hour away from home (LA) so this reputable Motec Tuner could tune her on the dyno, and there was nothing he could do, and it was so late in the day there was nothing else anyone could do either. Our girl still needs to be tuned, she has a Formula Drift Tech Appointment the next day, and we have a Mandatory Driver's meeting and driver pictures. Freaked out and worried, we had no other option to leave and move on to Plan B, if Plan B was even still available. Time to get her wrapped!

Thank god for people like Brandon from LA Wraps. We originally were supposed to bring the S14 to him days ago but got stuck in AZ, then we told him we'd bring her mid-day after the tune, and here it was, 10:3o PM. He completely understood the situation we were in and was still willing to pull an all-nighter and get her wrapped with his crew.  As we unloaded the S14 at his shop, what do you know, her knuckle broke! But of course, what did I say. She's not going to let you have it that easy!

1 day away from Formula Drift Long Beach. LA Wraps still had vinyl they needed to apply to the S14 but she had a date with Kevin Wells so Walker went to pick her up while I went to the Formula Drift Mandatory Drivers Meeting in place of him. 

And the second Walker got back, time for his photoshoot. Aka it was time to take Formula Drift driver photos for Formulad.com

Finally it was time to tech our S14. She missed her original tech appointment while we were in AZ,  and she missed her 2nd appointment this morning before the driver's meeting because we couldn't pick her up in time from getting wrapped. We had to wait for all of the tech appointments to clear which turned into hours. To top it off, the S14's battery was dead so I helped push her to jump her battery so she could drive to her Tech Date with Kevin. And to get her on the scales for her tech appointment...And off the scales....And back to her trailer..... 

Hopefully a switch was flipped on by accident while she got wrapped and we just need to charge her battery.

All to find out we failed! Kevin Wells, Formula Drift Technical Manager, gave me a list of things we need to get done in order to pass tech and be able to drive in Formula Drift the next day. Thanks a lot homie! (; I'm only joking. Kevin is a great guy!

Throughout the day, I had been working with our new tuner, Jon, who was holding GMG open so we could use their dyno to tune our S14. We get there around 9:oo PM, put her on the dyno, and here we go! Jon connected right up to our Motec, sat inside the S14, and started doing his magic. The black exhaust smoke from running too rich was gone and she was sounding better and better. Until she died.... and backfired.... and died.... and backfired again...  Then her new tricks were blowing MAP sensors like they were champagne bottles and burning spark plugs like they were cigars. Just what we needed. *sigh*

It was 12:oo AM, we clearly had issues with the S14. She idled fine in AZ, granted that's when we first installed her brand new battery. GMG finally let us know that they've been closed for hours now and they need to pack it up and leave. We didn't even get in one pull on the dyno. 

Luckily Jon's shop was down the street so we loaded her back up and rushed to his shop. We immediately started working on her as if his shop was an Emergency Room and we were trying to keep her alive. The countdown officially had begun.

While driving to Jon's shop our pit crew, Kelly and James @ Insane Innovations called us informing us they were stranded. Their 2007 BMW's water pump failed and they were stuck and needed to head back to fix it. We frantically called around and found them a rental car so they could have the Bimmer towed and drive to Cali instead of having to turn back home to fix it. We needed them. The S14 was having issues and who else better to help us but the ones who built her. They are also our crew for Formula Drift.

Wrenching away for hours, it was now 4:3o AM.  Kelly and James finally made it from Arizona to Jon's shop.

Shortly after, Brandan from LA Wraps arrived to finish the wrap. 
(Below is Pre-Finished Wrap)

(Below is Finished Wrap)

After going the car for hours, Walker and I headed 20 minutes away to the closest 24-hour AutoZone to test the alternator. Hoping this was the issue, we find out the alternator was perfectly fine. We then realized our S14 had wiring issues. I called Kevin Wells to see what the latest time we could bring the car to get tech'd. The city of Long Beach controls the traffic coming in and going out during Formula Drift Long Beach and Kevin said 9:oo AM was the latest they would let us in. We had 3 hours to figure everything out.  Jon's shop was 45 minutes away from the track and we were 20 minutes away from Jon's shop and had the S14's alternator. As we drove back to the shop, we called around trying to find out what parts departments were open that carried the 3-bar MAP sensor that the S14 blew, but the ones that were had none in stock.  

The car was still having it's wiring issues,  the battery was dying 5 minutes after you stopped jumping her battery, she had no MAP sensor, we weren't able finish everything we needed for her to pass tech, etc. We had a good day of work that needed to be done to the S14 to get her up and running. She was un-tuned, and we had less than an hour to make it to the track before 9:oo AM. With traffic, if we left that minute we might have made it. But even then, we wouldn't pass tech, and the car wasn't ready.

All of us stood there, staring at one another. We felt defeated. The most horrible way to start off the new season. Everything we did, and all of our effort couldn't change the world we were facing or frustration we were feeling. We pulled all-nighters about 4 times a week for almost a month and a half straight and were currently running on no sleep for the past 2 days. We knew there was nothing left to do but to acknowledge we just weren't going to make Formula Drift Long Beach. We knew we had failed, and we hated every minute of it.

To Be Continued...