4-10-12
The engine is actually together and bolted into the FC!!

So, after getting the head torqued down and installing my oil pump, I installed the cams and cam gears along with a new timing belt and bolted on the existing water pump. Yes, that weird looking intake cam gear means I will be running variable valve timing in order to optimize the power band throughout the RPM range AKA smoke the tires whenever I want. It's basically Toyota's VTec, just a little different.

Also. there is a modification done to the oil pump by Sound Performance to keep the seal from blowing out under heavy load and boost. Pretty trick and cheap insurance!

In order to fit a 2jz into a Mazda, I had to find an oil pan, sub-pan and windage tray from a Lexus SC300. It's a direct bolt in, besides the fact I had to drill out a spot for the turbo's oil return. There is actually a spot cast into the sub-pan, it's just not drilled out or tapped. No big deal, just a small hole saw and a sander to smooth it out.

Here it is installed with a new oil pickup.

I finished up with the timing covers and alternator. Since I won't be using AC and I don't like power steering,I had to cut the stock drive belt, route it this way and measure it. I called the parts store near my house and told them I needed a six rib belt in this length and they actually had something in stock that would work! Sweet, one less thing to worry about! So here is the "custom" belt without running AC or PS.

Bolted on the Intake manifold...

Installed this bad ass mount kit from Tech 2 Motorsports! Basically, these mount brackets bolt to the engine block, the engine mounts bolt to those and a heavy duty bracket ties both of the mounts together and bolts to the RX7 subframe the the stock location. This kit is really nice and easy to install. Very nice quality stuff!

Behold!!

3-24-12
Getting closer! Long hours out in the garage are paying off.
I always like to double-check everything, so after I got the block back I removed the oil galley plugs and ran a magnet through them, and then used compressed air to make sure there wasn't any debris from machining.

I went through and figured out what bearings I needed for the mains and rods. I installed the new Toyota bearings and checked all the oil clearances with Plastigauge just to be sure and then installed the crank using ARP fasteners.

I'm using custom 10:1 compression forged pistons with super heavy duty wrist pins and forged H-beam rods. I can't wait to hear this thing!

Checked all the ring gaps...

Applied engine oil to the cylinder walls and installed the rings on the pistons, making sure to have the gaps properly positioned. I then installed all 6 into the block with this nifty ring compressor.

Finally got the bottom end put together, so time to move on with installing the head. Again, I'm using ARP stuff here. So after installing the 14 studs and setting on a new OEM head gasket, I torqued down the head. Ta Da!!












3/14/12

I finished up the head today!
After cleaning the carbon off the valves on the wire wheel, I added a bit of valve grinding compound to the valve seats and lapped them. This ensures the valves seal perfectly with the seats.

Installed the new Toyota valve seals

Make sure to use assembly lube when building an engine! Bad things happen without lube...

Dropped in the valve spring washers

Brian Crower valve springs and titanium retainers!

Unlike my V8, these valve springs can be compressed by hand. It isn't that easy but we got it done. Shiny!

3/12/12
I should be getting my block back tomorrow, so I worked on the head for a bit today. I did a preliminary cleaning in the parts washer and started taking it apart. I removed the valves, springs, and retainers with this fancy Toyota special service tool. I use it at work to replace valve springs on the GS350 and IS350 but it also works perfectly on the 2J! Just push down, and the keepers pop out and are held along with the retainer by a magnet. It makes life a lot easier having the right tool for the job. I'm using Brian Crower valve springs and titanium retainers. Light weight parts can rev higher without worry and the stronger springs will make sure the valves close in time at very high rpm.

Popped out the valve seals which is done with a pair of needle nose pliers. Nothing fancy.

It is really important to take the time to check measurements when building an engine. Even though the engine I bought didn't have any known issues, you must check for yourself or be sorry later. Thankfully, there is no sign of warpage here and all that's left for the head is another cleaning and assembly.

Ok, so I've never sprayed anything myself so I didn't really know exactly what I was doing, but I went for it anyway! The thought of saving a ton of money made it worth trying. I picked up sand paper, some plastic, acetone, a cheap spray gun and a disposable water separator to use with it, paint, reducer, hardener, primer, tack cloth and, most importantly, a respirator.
The next step was to remove everything from the engine bay and proceed with the most boring and labor intensive part of painting, the prep work. Luckily, my friend Bert stopped by to help out with sanding and cleaning!

A couple of beverages later, we were ready to set up our "Dexter-style" spray booth.

After laying down the primer and letting it dry, I sprayed two coats of single stage blue to match the rest of the car. It's not perfect but I'm really happy with it and there was no way I was going to put my new engine in my car without making it look good. The block will be back either tomorrow or tuesday and I have everything to start putting it together!

After weeks and weeks of deliberation, I've decided on an engine package for the 2012 and 2013 season. This past season with the power level of my LS6, I had to actually take grip out of the car in order to make the car drivable and safe at high speeds. Several of the events last season required 4th gear and the engine just didn't have the torque to keep the tires spinning or the HP to gain RPM at higher speeds. With the grippy tires I had, I was forced to make changes to the suspension and settings to make the car work. Now, as much as drifting is about going sideways and style, here in America it also means going fast. Drift racing, if you will.

After considering reliability, powerband and the expense of achieving my power goals, I've decided to go with the Toyota 2JZ-GTE (no shit).

This is a bullet proof engine with a huge window for tuning. I will be able to better tune the chassis for speed and I will have absolutlely no worries about the power and torque that I will need at the different tracks. I'm building this engine with head and main studs, custom high compression pistons, rods, springs and retainers, a quick spool valve and stand alone engine mangagment, variable valve timing, and a lot more! This 2JZ will also be running E85 (go nature!). More info to come! It was a no-brainer to team up with Sound Performance, a very well known tuning shop located in the Chicago suburbs. Sound Performance has set numerous records for street legal, full weight cars. First 300ZX TT into the 10's, first MKIV supra to run 9.5 with stock Toyota Automatic transmission (a record still held today!), fastest full weight supra in the world 8.45 1/4 mile, most powerful daily driven supra-1520 RWHP and now the fastest daily driven full weight Lexus SC300 in the country 9.59 @ 143MPH.

Sound Performance will obviously be handling the engine tuning as well as some custom fabrication and wiring.

Not a day goes by in which the Sound Performance garage isn't crammed with Surpas, Nissans, Corvettes, Mustangs, Vipers and other cars, along with engines being built, turbo kits being assembled, electronics being installed and cars being dyno tuned. I'm really excited to be working with these guys!

Brian Peter Racing has also teamed up with Tech 2 Motorsports for all the custom parts needed to install this beast into my FC RX7. Tech 2 Motorsports is the go-to place for everything 2JZ swap related for a variety of different chassis.

That's not all! We will also be working closely with THMotorsports for just about any part we need for the build this year. If you have a project car, check them out! You won't believe the prices and they have free shipping! Another no brainer. These guys are awesome and really know their stuff.

As I build this engine and make progress with the car I will be updating my site with details of the build and anything else interesting going on. We are really excited for what's to come so please check back to see the step-by-step of what it takes to build this car!

Here is the beast before I tore it down. The engine was sourced from a Toyota Aristo.

Like most car guys, I can never leave well enough alone... especially when winter hits and the racing season is over.

My V8 is coming out....



I can't tell you what is going in the engine bay yet, but it is going to be awesome. I also have a few other improvements planned in the next couple of months. Exciting stuff is about to happen!


I will update as my build continues, so stay tuned!

After winning the midwest series, Midwest Drift Union, I was invited to the Formula Drift All Stars event at Toyota Speedway in Irwindale, California AKA "The House of Drift". This would be the event for the top Pro Am drivers and it would take place during the final round of Formula Drift - Round 7: "Title Fight," October 7-8th. My long-time friend and fellow hodag, Ryan Hagen, and I headed out about 4AM Tuesday from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and got to the hotel near Irwindale, California Wednesday afternoon. Nothing crazy happened on the way there which is generally a good thing. It was (obviously) a super long drive, but I am getting pretty good at driving across the country for drift events, so I wasn't too phased.

After sleeping a good 13 hours (I only got a couple hours of sleep max on the way out there), we headed to the track Thursday morning and got our pit area picked out. It was then on to performing the ritual of checking the fluids and tires on the race car, filling it with gas, dusting it off and generally making sure it was ready to rock.

Last year, as some of you may remember, I did not have a great ending to my drift event at Toyota Speedway. During the first round of XDC's 2010 season I crashed hard at this track (you can find videos of it on youtube). I had to make sure I was keeping my mind off of that, because as any driver can attest, coming back to a track after a hard crash isn't easy.

On the brighter side, I was feeling pretty confident about this course since I competed on essentially the same layout at XDC last year. I tried doing the same thing, running the outer bank in 4th and downshift to 3rd just before entering the inner bank. I kept trying and trying and my line just wasn’t right and I wasn’t able to stay on throttle long enough. This was the case throughout the first day of practice and even though I had a couple of good runs I wasn’t feeling very good.

Another thing on my mind was tire wear. Formula Drift had added a “power alley” after the inner oval and then a long decreasing radius tire-killing right turn before the finish. Don’t get me wrong, this layout is by far the most exciting for the driver and crowd, but I definitely hurt on tires. I brought with me enough for the old track but not this new one. Luckily with the help of ASD and Falken, I was able to make a trip to the Falken warehouse the following day (yeah, I was kind of in heaven) and pick up a few more tires! This was huge and it absolutely saved my weekend!

Friday was a little more practice and qualifying. Funny side story: While waiting in the grid during my practice runs, Hagen looks down and happened to see a bolt that looked like it could have come off my car. We decided to give my a car once over, and while it wasn't my driveshaft bolt (it must have been someone else's), we found some major issues my car's driveshaft - specifically, it was falling out. Of the three driveshaft bolts, one was missing, the nut had fallen off a second bolt and the third bolt was halfway out. During my little bit of downtime, we drove to three different hardware stores in the area until we found the right bolts and I installed them just before qualifying. Disaster = averted.

I was driving about the same, maybe a little better than Thursday, but the truth is my car wasn’t the same as last season. After consulting with Ian of ASD, I made some changes. The sun went down and so did track temperature, which made a huge difference in grip. My fiance, Mal, was watching the live stream and texted me to say she could tell the grip level had changed based on how the pro drivers were doing, and to adjust for it. What a good spotter back in Wisconsin! I was watching FD practice and we saw one of the scariest crashes in drifting. Jim Guthrie, a well known road race driver and now drifter, lifted off the throttle on the outer bank and his car immediately went straight into the wall. The track was shut down for over an hour while they cut away the car to get him out and took him to the hospital. Being a driver, it was unnerving and I felt terrible for him and his crew.

Once the track was cleaned up we started qualifying and I changed the settings on the car to compensate for the change in track conditions. I was still not driving the way I wanted to, but luckily I qualified 4th. Not too shabby, I guess.

Saturday was the big show and the crowd was crazy! Record attendance and not an empty seat or place to stand anywhere! We had a short practice session before the competition and I decided to try staying in 4th gear until the power alley where I’d make my shift. It worked perfectly!! I had figured it out just in time and my runs were 10 times better.

My first battle was against Orlando Gamez and I lead first and got the advantage. During his lead run, he spun out in front of me and it was a near-collision but I squeezed through for the win. Next up was my battle against Enrique Mendoza and I was able to beat him and move on to the FINALS! Hell yeah!!

Julian Jacobs qualified a spot ahead of me so he got to lead first. I stayed with him and I’m not sure who had the advantage. I lead the second run and it ended up even, as both of us had mistakes, so the judges had us go one more time. Both our cars were severely overheated at this point and thanks to Ryan Hagen, Bill Cook and his crew, and Dave Briggs and his crew, they were able to get all my tire changes done after every battle and they kept the engine from melting down(THANKS GUYS!). My engine was running so hot when I was at the line the radiator overflow tube blew off and all of the water boiled out. The tube got reattached, but we didn't have any water to add so I just crossed my finger I could make it out there one more time. Both our cars should have died at the line but mine kept going and even though Julian was running rough, he lined back up with me. He lead again and was slower than before because of mechanical issues and I had a heck of a time following, but it worked out and it was my turn to lead. The judges told us to try to pace each other so he took off first and then I took off and passed him before the entry. I threw down a solid run, putting my car in all the right places, and when I came back in I got word that I took first place!!

The rest was celebration and all I can say was how proud I was to take the victory for the Midwest. I didn’t at all mind leaving from the track that night soaked in champaign and driving the 40+ hours home! It felt great and this win will definitely keep me motivated and excited through the off-season and winter build.

I’d like to thank all of the companies I have partnered with for an outstanding 2011 season. I truly would not had as much success as I had this year without the help and support I received from ASD, Falken Tire, Enkei, EMS World, Mechanix Wear and Race Design (CHECK OUT ALL MY SPONSORS BY CLICKING THEIR LOGOS ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE PAGE - YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED!). Not to mention, a huge thank you to my friends and family who have been everything from my pit crew to my biggest fans.

I also want to throw big shout out to Exedy Racing Clutch!! Their products are awesome! Check 'em out - you know you need a new clutch.

So with the 2011 season officially in the books, I'm now on to finding a way to make 2012 an even bigger and better year for supporters and myself. Contact me at brian@bpdrift.com or find me on facebook if you want to be a part of something that promises to be really awesome for the 2012 drift season!