[bersh]

Toyobaru,
My name is Bersh.
This is my story,
my quest be a professional drifter.

I am one of the thousands of stupid kids that think they have "skillzz"
I intend to be different. I will fight my way in, no matter what it takes.
I am however a stupid kid, i have no clue what im doing, and will learn from my mistakes.

Mabey someday someone like me can look back on this and say "He did it, why cant I?"

The Beginning:
It all started when i was seven years old. My father drove out to the middle of NJ, and stopped the car on some random fire break in the pinies. Tossed me the keys and said "DRIVE"
Well... that ended about 30 seconds later when i couldnt reach clutch, and by the time i had it pushed in, i stalled it.
Started crying, refused to try again.
Over the next few years, i got it. I owned the sandy backroads of NJ.
In a 1998 toyota rav4... poor thing..
I had that lil SUV three feet in the air, up to the windows in mud, stuck between trees, you name it i did it with that little 5 speed toyota.
(My dad stills dailys it. Says he will never get rid of it, to many memories in it. 215k miles and still going. Original clutch too)

I drove some other stuff, slid around a bit, crashed a bit, got in some trouble.
But then i turned 15. Woke up one night and said, "I wonder if i could make it in motorsports"
Went to the Internet. Researched, Saved, lurked.
Turned 16, got permit on birthday. Anytime anyone went anywhere, i drove.
Got a job at a bus company workin nights, dropped out of school, went to cyber school, bought s13 with a ca18det swap (kinda) got it inspected(kinda)
Got my piece of plastic that says i can drive legally. /END WALL OF TEXT

The s13, Why?
1. Lightweight/RWD/Cheap
2. Huge aftermarket
3. S-chassis have a huge following which means lots of info and help available.


trailored it home..
bad condition overall really.
rust, spraypaint, wiring issues, the normal nasty
BUT the engine. CA18det swapped into it 9 years ago, and then sat in a shed untill i bought it. It was perfect, or so i thought.


edit. this is the day of its first inspection. look at that ricer pos. wow.

[bersh]

Okay,
well i was forced to become an auto mechanic due to this car.
Did body work

Had to hammer stuff, Cut stuff, set things on fire.

you know, the normal 240 stuff..
after that.. started a lil upgrade/refreshing.
spring strut combo/ j30 brakes/ some cheap horrible fitting wheels with brand new tires.



Spent alot of money. Got it running and wiring fixed.
sard fpr, intercooler piping/small intercooler core, relocated battery, got an optima, cheap bracing. little stuff.

ignore the bungies...

Stuff started to come together.
I learned the car. I learned about myself.
I was itching to go to my first event.

[Cal]

Wait someone swapped in a CA that clean in 2001?

[West]

Very nice, I love the cars that need lots of love. Necessity is the mother of knowledge too!

[bersh]

the swap was pretty clean. that was the big selling point. i had no room to do a swap on my own. most of the problems were with the vac/boost lines/wiring. so thats all fixed now.

ya know.. i thought this might bring a lil conversation into this forum...
but its not really working...

[Cal]

Go into more detail about you drifitng. Where you are now, what event you have done, how the car is running now, future mods, etc.

[bersh]

Things where going great.
I had a drift school event coming up i was stoked for, and thought i was prepared.
The weekend before,
I ran up to one of the locals guys work place, advance auto, so he could check everything over for me once more.
he gave me the O.K.
I was sooo happy.
On the way home, and the rest of the week, i acted like a stupid teenager.
Speedo was maxed out the entire highway ride, Patches at every stoplight, Sliding every turn. I was living fast and furious.
HAHA fail... stupid me.
THE DAY BEFORE THE EVENT.
I was flyin home, right at redline, engine drops a cyl. GREATT.
No event for Bersh.
I WAS PISSED.
After days of swearing, bloody knuckles, and phone calls.
I got it fixed.

Stupid wiring clips. That one clip kept me from an event. Such a simple thing, yet i had no idea that was the problem.
I decided i needed more knowledge before i was to attempt to enter a real event.
I ripped into the car, ground out rust, painted stuff, did more body work.

I bought some paint.


Cleaned up my vacume lines.

Everything was becoming legit, safe, and simple.

I Made my own subframe braces,

Basically just built the car, while dailying it everyday back and forth to work.

I had lost every friend, missed family events, spent all of my money.
I had no idea if it was worth it or not, but i learned more in a few months than i had in 10 years of schooling.
All i had was my wacky night job, the 240, and a dream.
Sounds epic... but it really just sucked.

[Cal]

Why did you lose all of your friends? I would think they would be down for you instead of leaving you in rough times. It is good you learned yiur lesson about assing off on public roads. It is better for you to have dropped that cyl than get pulled over.

What happens next, this is interesting.

[bersh]

So... Tonight is the first night ive had off work in weeks.
Im beat. This paycheck should be good. Over 80 hours on the clock.

To answer your question sir,
I have no clue. Everyone just kinda forgot about me due to the crazy work hours, and not going to school.
Its okay though, I quickly made friends with all the locals, which i was shocked to find out that everyone treated me as an equal instead of just some stupid kid.

Back to story time,
I basically spent all my time under my car, or at work.
The car was getting closer and closer to track worthy everyday.
I even started to PREP FOR PAINT.
ahhhh poop photobucket account is under maintence.
so ill put this part on hold till i have time to write it.

[Cal]

Originally Posted by bersh

So... Tonight is the first night ive had off work in weeks.
Im beat. This paycheck should be good. Over 80 hours on the clock.

To answer your question sir,
I have no clue. Everyone just kinda forgot about me due to the crazy work hours, and not going to school.
Its okay though, I quickly made friends with all the locals, which i was shocked to find out that everyone treated me as an equal instead of just some stupid kid.

Back to story time,
I basically spent all my time under my car, or at work.
The car was getting closer and closer to track worthy everyday.
I even started to PREP FOR PAINT.
ahhhh poop photobucket account is under maintence.
so ill put this part on hold till i have time to write it.

Imageshack > photobucket

Still waiting on continuation. I find this really interesting btw.

[bersh]

I HATE WORKING ALL THE TIME. excuse the randomness and sidetracking in this part, im tired.
i spent money like crazy. little things came together. got a bucket seat and bracket. to use on track days. its 4 bolts. i dont wana dd with a bucket seat.

when i had bought the car it came with a megan downpipe and invidia catback.

thats all the clearance i had on STOCK springs and struts.
i had it on the tokico blue and sportlines and it was down to like 2inchs of clearance.
it had to go.
i went to scotts exhaust in lancaster, they hooked my up with new stainless steel piping. and tucked it up above the frame only thing from the old exhaust that was saved was the catco "cat" and invidia muffler.

i went with 2.5 inch piping so i could get better response out of the ca.
my entire build is focused on response and simplicity.
this is why i run no blow off valve, a tiny intercooler, and an sr t25.. incase anyone was wondering.

i started talking to a guy in maryland, BJ, who was starting to import a company called DAIYAMA coilovers. he is trying to start up his own shop, so i decided to help him out and buy one of the first two sets he imported. (the other set is for a z33 nissan if anyone wants to try them pm me)




pretty good stuff. front pillows, fancy dampening adjustment that clicks. andd... ya idk. its a version 1 coilover. not perfect. but pretty darn good.



fronts are perfect coilovers. pillowballs are tucked in there, for all you pbm guys who are used to them sticking out.

rears need some work. id like to see rear pillowball and ability to go lower. (mine are maxed and i still have 4 inches clearance on the diff)
but BJ is looking into getting the rear improved and ill get updated ones when they are ready.
yay. now im super cool and low.. ish.

i do have pepboys wheel clearance issues :/

the final front setting turned out to look like this.

sketchy isnt it? and thats WITH a spacer.

lugnuts dont have many threads, ugh.



my mom got sick of parts everywhere and got me a lil tuperware shed thingy.
but it has to sit next to the trash cans...


i dont know what im going to do with my money once the car is track ready.
i need to find a girlfriend or something.

[West]

Im jealous! I dig the coilovers, very impressive.

[bersh]

so at this point i was still working like crazy.
i was driving around, stopping every 5 miles to tighten my lugnuts.

car looked super weird being kinda low, with horrible fitting wheels.
it was really dangerous to drive, and i knew it.
one day, i drove to work. got out. and i was missing 2 lugnuts.
i decided to park the 240.
and that was it. everything started to happen at once.
/
Will continue when site grows, and interest is shown. lol.

[West]

Unsink them wheels! sorry, must carry on the tradition here.

What's the issue with the lug nuts? Spacers and questionable lug nut = danger.

[Cal]

I beleive I have been showing interest from day one 1 sir. Lol

[bersh]

well... fine.
since my lugs wouldnt stay on i looked for wheels.
i needed em fast. i found some xxrs with 10 tires over in windber pa. a 3-4 hour drive.
left work at 4 am after an 8 hour night.
arrived at about 8am while it was still dark and payed 600 dolla for the wheels and tires.
i was being ripped off and i knew it. but i needed them badly.
so back in amishville later that day i took a closer look at the tires.. they were all trashed. a mix of uniroyals and yokahams. i put em on the car anyway. sold off/gave away the other 6.
225/55 16 tires on 16x8 0 offset wheels. horrible sizing.
only pic i have of this.. a local buddys sr'd hatch facing mine.




the tire sizing was infact so bad. i still could not drive my car.

[bersh]

you alive toyobaru?

[West]

Originally Posted by bersh

you alive toyobaru?

LOL, that image captures the essence of every car enthusiast whom tackles any project desired, despite the hurdles that will be met along the way.

Major props

[Cal]

Most definitely alive. Moar story!

[bersh]

alrightyy.
Well i took off those wheels so i could atleast move it around my garage and driveway and put studded tires on the back. and my drift 17s up front.
Then one day my paint guy called and said have the car ready by the weekend. I was stoked!
I was finally gona be free of that flat black curse.
20 mins later he calls me back.
"oh i wont be able to do it after all, im going to atlantic city"
I was PISSED. Like 20th time he did that to me. NOT KIDDING
So off to harbor frieght i went and got a couple orbitals and every 220 grit sanding disc they had. (about 70 of them)
I just went to town for 3 days, 8 hours everyday sanding, and sanding.
I didnt take pics cause i was too dirty. lol.
EDIT!! FOUND SOMEEEEE


i have no idea when these wer taken. prolly day 2 of sanding? idk. moms cell phone ftw.
Then after all the orbital sanding i block sanded it by hand with 400 grit.
Then it sat in my garage for a week,
waiting for mr, paint to get home from atlantic city.

Friday finally comes and i call him up.
"oh i never did go last weekend, im about to leave now tho"
SOBMFAPFAPCSBA!!!!
I called up this guy i met twice who has an old rx7.
"dude you got a place to paint?"
"ive got a barn"
edit found pic of it.

20 mins later we were at harbor frieght, buying giant rolls of plastic, a paint gun, all kinds of china product.
We loaded up 4 cars with stuff and rolled out with a caravan of a van, a hyundai and an rx7 with a sanded, bondod, no bumper or lights 240sx in the middle. The police followed us a few times. It was epic.
Arrived at barn in the middle of nowhere.

After cleaning up the barn a bit, i pulled the car in.

We hung plastic all night, ate some pizza, wondered what the hell we were doing.

It was awsome, we were in a barn, at 2 am. sliding around like idiots in our socks in our little plastic room,

Taped the car up.
and thats where this pic is from..

Finished up really late at night.
Went home. slept for an hour or so, and then went to work at 7am to clean 2 busses.
Then off to the makeshift paintbooth around 10am.

[bersh]

My good friend from work and i left the bus depot and went to the barn,
We wiped the car down with prep-all stuff,
and mixed up the paint.
1 coat high build/self etching primer reduced alot to make it double as a sealer
2 coats color
3-4 coats of clear
40psi at the gun, 110 degrees in the barn.


It took about 2 hours to spray it with the flash times, circuit breakers blowing out, and me sweating all over the car.

Keep in mind, this was all done with harbor frieght paint gun, a compressor full of water with the drain rusted shut, horrible lighting, no experience doing any of this, and 2 hours of sleep tops.

Then we closed up the barn to let the paint cure, and i went back to the bus depot to work all night.

[Cal]

Damn that is hardcore. It's pretty crappy what your friend did to you.

[SUPRAtruc2JZGE]

Damn what a history for me to remembered I used to be like you bro! But I used to had 11 RX7 FC3S, from built from ground and up except for paint work, never done any of that. Didn't used for tracks or drifting, was used for street racing(illegal) and sell them like hot cakes. I ended stopped doing that and saved up, got me my dream car the MK4 Supra. I had a hard time debating either getting S15 or Supra back in the days, chose Supra because all the parts are here and easy to get with.

Great quest of your journey, bersh! Have you check driftday.com I don't know if there one out there but here in Cali., they let you rent s13s, truenos, miatas for practice and school there with Formula D professional teachers, however you have preserved ahead of time. Cuz they filled up fast. There's alot of guys out there are doing the same thing as you. Some guys come out with no money and some other guys have been rich or already have motorsports. What's coming out of goods and bads times/quest, all those used for experienced and live n' learn. So, your going the right track regardless. I always tell people this, " always love what you do and never give up on it"

Truc

[Cal]

Moar story!!!!

[West]

Originally Posted by Cal

Moar story!!!!

+1!!!!!!!!!

[bersh]

wow that seems like so long ago i painted the car.
so after the paint dried and no sleep once again. went back over to the barn of doom to see how it turned out.
it was nifty.

drove it home in sketchy status.. again.
and proceeded to have a bbq where everyone showed up and we started putting stuff together and eating food.


car looked pretty sweet now.
i maxed out the coils so i had a 2 finger gap to the front lip. this pic makes it look higher than that. but somehow this pic made the car famous around here?

the bumper wasnt lined up right, the intercooler was crooked, but it was low. shiny. and built in a garage using hand tools and the internet.

[Thesteveo]

After months of coming to this forum, almost daily, I finally registered. This story made me register, Fuggin legit bro. I'm sure there are alot of awesome shops out there that could use your skills. I'm jealous, I wish I could do what you did to your car.

[ProZach626]

I started reading this thread yesterday, because I thought it would be dumb. However, it turned out pretty interesting. The only part I didn't like was the part where you quit school... passionate about something or not, it's always a good idea to have an education behind you. Especailly these days. Education = more money = more parts and more cars.

Either way, I'm in for more story.

[Cal]

Originally Posted by ProZach626

I started reading this thread yesterday, because I thought it would be dumb. However, it turned out pretty interesting. The only part I didn't like was the part where you quit school... passionate about something or not, it's always a good idea to have an education behind you. Especailly these days. Education = more money = more parts and more cars.

Either way, I'm in for more story.

I thought the same when I first started reading, it is pretty interesting. I will have to threaten ban if he keeps leaving us hanging.

[Thesteveo]

I have mad respect for Bersh.