Pontiac GTO 2004-2006 - Build Thread: 2004 Drift GTO

Now I know many of you probably couldn't care about drifting at all, but it's my passion. There are few things I enjoy more than sliding a car. I came from the run-of-the-mill imports (as you'll see) I'm brand spanking new to the domestic scene. After getting a job at GM I bought myself a GTO for a daily driver and I love it.

longtube headers, K&N intake, ported TB, header tune. It's fast, although it doesn't 'feel' as fast, it's strange not having boost lag. Well an event popped up while I went to visit a friend and I just couldn't resist taking this thing for a slide.

my old car:
http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc3/30736_428547925699_749035699_6069349_1279183_n.jpg

my practice car: 1987 corolla (first car i ever owned, was a $300 POS when i started with it).
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/308865_10150431581360700_749035699_10607588_155931 7010_n.jpg

The GTO in action.
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/315601_10150450545015700_749035699_10701600_106646 6204_n.jpg
http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/384875_10150450545275700_749035699_10701602_170628 0493_n.jpg
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/383643_10150450545385700_749035699_10701603_213691 5799_n.jpg

for a stock car it slides pretty well, very stable and the on-demand torque is fantastic. I don't want this to turn into an all out track car. I plan on keeping as much interior as I can. I want to be the guy that's killing it on track, but in a stock looking, full interior GTO with the AC running. However it does have some issues that need to be addressed.
-Steering angle: The stock 17" wheels were rubbing on the outer tie rods at full lock. The inner lips of my wheels are all gouged up.
-weak hand brake: This is really really important especially for tandeming, it's a requirement to have a consistent and strong clamp on the rears.
-weak drivetrain: I've heard the Driveshaft and axles are weak points.
-weird steering wheel: The wheel was awkward to slide with. It seems like it doesn't rotate around the center and it's just HUGE.


Well first on the list I bought the driveshaft, axles and steering knuckles off this car.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4140/4770809256_cf01728fea_z.jpg

Bought myself an ASD handbrake. It's been sitting in my closet for a while.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6120/6277305003_bd17621ea6.jpg

I also just ordered an Autopower bolt-in cage. Will update with progress.

Cool lookin' project!

A buddy of mine just picked up an old Bondaraunt racing school drift GTO. From what we've gathered the car has a bear big brake kit up front and HSV 13" brakes in the rear, also a one piece drive shaft and a Kaaz rear diff.

I'm guessing they went through all of those pieces trying to get the car to go sideways. But I would definitely start with some bushings, shocks, sway bars and maybe some subframe connectors, that should eliminate most of the body roll.

Here's an old video of the local GTO club attempting a free for all drift night. Hilarity ensues.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q89Pzq74c_w&list=UUAvXO9QpVaWQMiXdGkZ7fCg&index=26&feature=plcp

Nice plans.

I would WAAAAAY rather see a V8 smoking tires sliding than some annoying lawnmower.

i think thats pretty cool.

Most that do any sort of racing with these cars build them to go down the 1/4 quickly. It's neat to see somebody do something different for a change. Should be a cool project! You might look into some BC coilovers or Pedders and ditch the garbage stock suspension. I'll be keeping an eye on this thread. Good luck and have fun!

I agree with the guys above, you need to get a full poly bushing kit....these cars were built to compete against the BMWs, so to get a better ride quality they used big, supersized, soft bushing.

Next after or at the same time as the bushing I'd get a set of good springs.

If you pull the rest rotors you will see why the hand break doesn't hold well, its just a anal round peice of C channel with a 5/8"-+ strip of brake pad around it, so you might want to look into another option you could swap in for the handbreak.

Sweet project man!

Another possiblity would be to get a small second caliper to mount on the rear rotors with that new handle you have running a second master cylinder and lines just for drifting....I know Wilwood makes some nice compact units that could work great and they have good prices too.

The GTO's are starting to get pretty popular in the drift scene, we have a few drift customers that really love the cars as drifters.

Thanks
Chris

Gtose: do you know if they changed the axle stubs at all on the boudrant cars? As for those guys in the video. Gotta love that they're giving it a try!

Appreciate the advice guys! A nice coilover kit is on the wishlist. I'm going to wait on that until mid season. I would like some adjustable sway bars ASAP, that don't impede steering angle. Anyone have recommendations? Bushings are a must for a comp car, but like coilovers that will also have to wait. I don't want to give up too much daily driver comforts..... yet.

For the ebrake. I just realized my hydro will not work easily. it needs to be plumbed inline but we have four channel abs (correct me if I'm wrong). So I would need to join both rear lines. That would drive the ebcm crazy during an abs stop. I want to retain abs so I'm going to do the seperate caliper method mark mentioned. As far as I know there is no bolt on kit for a GTO. I will need to modify a set or rear uprights for two calipers. :( more work but at least there's no need to hack the car up if I get spare uprights.

Gforce. What are some of the commons mods your customers did?

That's how I would do the rear handbrake, just take your time and fab all the brackets up....and have some shine on hand to get it all lined up lol

Got some stuff in the mail. I've been sick these past two days otherwise I'd install these.
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/Englshmadesimple/IMG_0063.jpg

Removed engine cover since I heard they interfere with the fuel line. And lo-and-behold, my fuel line was getting cut up by the cover! Those are staying off. Also thinking about putting the accusump behind the strut bar above the intake.
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/Englshmadesimple/IMG_0054.jpg
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/Englshmadesimple/IMG_0053.jpg


Also tried to adjust the ebrake
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/Englshmadesimple/IMG_0061.jpg
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/Englshmadesimple/IMG_0062.jpg
The adjustment screw for the parking brake shoe on the 240 would turn 5-6 times and I could get plenty of adjustment. The GTO only gets half a turn, so it's useless. It was strange the right side locked well, when I tested it in the air, driver side did not lock at all. On the ground can't hold the car on a 1* incline.

Also scoped out where to put the secondary calipers
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/Englshmadesimple/IMG_0060.jpg

yea thats problem with GTO they dont have E-brake only parking brake. It wont allow you to lock wheels. You would have to or build your own Ebrake system or get modified one. I think there was a guy who build one on LS1GTO.com

Sounds good. I'll try to pick up some bar stock before hand.

Tried to install the driveshaft, but ran into some issues.
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/Englshmadesimple/IMG_0080.jpg
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/Englshmadesimple/IMG_0081.jpg
Hardware is on the way from DSS. So look at these bolts, they thread into the adapter plate, but the holes in the flange are too large. There will be some slop when bolted up. I called DSS and they said they'll send me the 12.5 grade bolts they use. Didn't even know those existed, but I'm still not enthralled having slop around those small four bolts. The impact from loading then unloading those botls worries me. In addition the part that carries the shear low is threaded which is a huge stress concentration. If it were my design I'd have the nonthreaded shoulder carry the shear load and not have such loose holes on the flange. We'll see how it holds up. I mean grade 12.5 is pretty ridiculous.

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/Englshmadesimple/IMG_0084.jpg
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/Englshmadesimple/IMG_0087.jpg
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/Englshmadesimple/IMG_0089.jpg
The halfshafts were also a little troublesome. The aftermarket shafts are a little thicker and thus the bolts didn't have much thread remaining. Had to ditch these plates.

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/Englshmadesimple/IMG_0091.jpg
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/Englshmadesimple/IMG_0093.jpg
Old knuckles vs. new. Notice the steering stops of the 2005 (bronze new) are very different from the 2004 (old). I need to grind down those steering stops.

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/Englshmadesimple/IMG_0095.jpg
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/Englshmadesimple/IMG_0100.jpg
Old steering angle for reference

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/Englshmadesimple/IMG_0106.jpg
new knuckles on. However I'll need longer outer tie rods. So I'm making some.

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/Englshmadesimple/IMG_0107.jpg
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/Englshmadesimple/IMG_0108.jpg
Drilling and tapping out the inside to M16 x 2.0 to match the inner tie rods. Waiting on the tap to arrive from Mcmaster.

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/Englshmadesimple/IMG_0109.jpg
Also I didn't know these knuckles I bought were for an 2005. They use a larger caliper bolt. So I had to drill out the mounting holes on my extra set of 2004 calipers.


Can't wait to see what angle these knuckles will get me after i grind down the stops (actually think I reduced my steering angle ATM). I'll also be making a backup/more ridiculous set of knuckles with my two pairs of 2004 spares.

Sounds good. I'll try to pick up some bar stock before hand.

Tried to install the driveshaft, but ran into some issues.
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/Englshmadesimple/IMG_0080.jpg
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/Englshmadesimple/IMG_0081.jpg
Hardware is on the way from DSS. So look at these bolts, they thread into the adapter plate, but the holes in the flange are too large. There will be some slop when bolted up. I called DSS and they said they'll send me the 12.5 grade bolts they use. Didn't even know those existed, but I'm still not enthralled having slop around those small four bolts. The impact from loading then unloading those botls worries me. In addition the part that carries the shear low is threaded which is a huge stress concentration. If it were my design I'd have the nonthreaded shoulder carry the shear load and not have such loose holes on the flange. We'll see how it holds up. I mean grade 12.5 is pretty ridiculous.
......
The halfshafts were also a little troublesome. The aftermarket shafts are a little thicker and thus the bolts didn't have much thread remaining. Had to ditch these plates.



I'd get 60mm (10mm longer) bolts for the axles. We keep them in stock if you need some.
The 12.5 grade is the metric equivilant for standard grade 8.
You can put a 7/16 bolt in the driveshaft companion flange, most places use 3/8 bolts but the holes are actualy a perfect fit for 7/16 bolts. You would have to drill and tap the adapter out.

Thanks
Chris

Thanks for the tip Chris I will definitely tap out those holes to 7/16. I'll probably order bolts this week. They make me really uneasy right now.

Thanks for the tip Chris I will definitely tap out those holes to 7/16. I'll probably order bolts this week. They make me really uneasy right now.

No problem, I just happen to be in the middle of designing some new driveshaft adapters, otherwise I probably wouldnt of thought of it LOL

Thanks
Chris

Always cool seeing something different, do work playa!

I ended up tapping the holes in the plate to 7/16

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/Englshmadesimple/IMG_0111.jpg

New tie rods installed
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/Englshmadesimple/IMG_0113.jpg

need to do something about the sway bar... it pulls the whole assembly staright when at high steering angle
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/Englshmadesimple/IMG_0117.jpg

Also l learned that the knuckles I bought where made to be used with a big brake kit....
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/Englshmadesimple/IMG_0126.jpg
So i need to make my own or modify these anyways... #FACEPALM

pretty disappointed in myself for not checking this/noticing it earlier. But other than that the new driveshaft is in. I'll test it out tomorrow. Then going to work on seats (maybe new knuckles now too) this weekend.

Looks like a really cool build!
Good luck!

I ended up tapping the holes in the plate to 7/16

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/Englshmadesimple/IMG_0111.jpg

.

Good idea! :D

nice car and a cool build.

just seems strange to me being an old guy. we used to call it "power sliding"...as apposed to "brake sliding"...another maneuver. the actions were generally in response to entering a corner to slow or too hot, but now....its "drifting" and you can get paid for being good at it!

what I wanna know is what do they call the 2 wheeled version? Both power or brake sliding is also possible on two wheels....is it drifting too? What do you call what the dirt track bikes and cars are doing....dirt drifting? :lol:

*these are just some things I find myself thinking about.. and are not to be used as an indicator that I think drifting is not a sport. It does take a certain talent...

I hear ya oldschool. Drifting is hard to define. Some say it's like figure skating vs hockey. I tend to disagree with that analog. To me it's more like freestyle skiing vs racing downhill skiing. Or freestyle motoX vs enduro racing.

I've never Ever call it racing since that's not the point of it. Is it a sport? I don't know. But to me it's never mattered cause the only reason I do it is because it's the most fun I've had in a car.

There have been some videos recently about motorcycle drifting. Not too familiar on what they call that. I mean sliding is a part of lots of Motorsports: motoX, rally, ice racing, dirt oval. I don't have the answer for you there old school.

I always thought of drifting as a practice of skill to beable to stay "just" on the verge of under control without losing it :)

Hey guys lots of updates. Been lazy and haven't gotten around to keeping this updated.

So for those of you interested in drifting you GTO, I just did a FormulaD ProAm event and qualified 10th on a stock car. Only modifications were a racing seat and roll cage (plus driveshaft/haftshafts). So these cars are driftable STOCK!!! just make sure to fill up your oil over the top.

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/Englshmadesimple/dualcaliper.jpg
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/Englshmadesimple/IMG_0161.jpg
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/Englshmadesimple/Knuckles-1.jpg
^these broke!! I've broken one, my friend has broken 2! the cast iron on GTO knuckles may not like welding (240sx knuckles took to welding pretty well and I never had an issue with braking a knuckle). We did different techniques. I TIG'd mine, he MIG'd his. He used a blow torch before and after... So for now I recommend do not cut/weld your knuckles.

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/Englshmadesimple/458676_719861998796_17507116_34029446_2109546812_o .jpg

reparied my ebrake:
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/Englshmadesimple/IMG_0141.jpg
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/Englshmadesimple/IMG_0142-1.jpg
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/Englshmadesimple/IMG_0143.jpg
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/Englshmadesimple/IMG_0144.jpg
holds good now

DRIFTING!!
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/Englshmadesimple/149344_10150787635408620_308456043619_9590187_5751 2827_n.jpg
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/Englshmadesimple/154548_10150787630348620_308456043619_9590162_8014 56664_n.jpg
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/Englshmadesimple/554316_10150787630818620_308456043619_9590165_6997 56191_n.jpg
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/Englshmadesimple/465011_395275013828787_158379810851643_1336068_104 2011495_o.jpg
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/Englshmadesimple/535768_10150772776229801_704694800_9274922_1513072 868_n.jpg
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/Englshmadesimple/562405_10150787629843620_308456043619_9590159_6366 80302_n.jpg

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/Englshmadesimple/546562_10150784472198620_308456043619_9581868_1937 309522_n.jpg
one more :)

now tomorrow I'm driving in a demo on the streets of detroit, so I felt I needed to step up my style game a little. If anyone is in Michigan, it'll be at the old Model T factory: 411 Piquette. Should be fun. Say hi, I'd love to talk to other GTO owners and gain some more insight (still very unfamiliar with domestics)

Here are some E60 BMW 550i wheels (Style 124). 18x8+20 and 18x9+32
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/Englshmadesimple/IMG_0178.jpg
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/Englshmadesimple/IMG_0183-1.jpg
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/Englshmadesimple/IMG_0179.jpg
Will probably need to roll the inner a lip a couple mm. But it's ok without roll/grind.

I also picked up a more aggresive set of BMW wheels (a secret of now). Can't wait to put those on.