Drift Tengoku — October 2013
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About this issue
188 available scans from Drift Tengoku — October 2013, in right-to-left reading order. Japanese OCR and English translation drafts are available throughout. Drafts have not received exhaustive image proofreading; unreadable source remains recorded in the archival data.
Page 131 — English draft translation
“I was amazed that the alignment reading came in around 2,” Akuzawa said. That kind of figure would not be unusual for an ordinary drift car and is within the range that alignment adjustment can handle. But transplanting suspension members from a different car and getting it this close—is that experience and intuition? It really is a miracle! The key is using a substantial portion of the Silvia frame. Looking at the construction photos shows how much work went into it. “I thought through strength and rigidity thoroughly,” Akuzawa said. At this point it can hardly be called a monocoque body: like an RC car, the chassis and body are separate, joined by welding so they cannot come apart. It is bold, and it opens up possibilities. As with the Pao, the important thing in this kind of two-car build is preserving as much of the lateral structure as possible to retain rigidity. He said the three longitudinal rows are important. On this Beetle, that means the first crossmember, bulkhead, and transmission tunnel …
… the three longitudinal rows of the transmission tunnel. Keeping this section intact during the transplant made a body capable of withstanding hard driving. The remaining question is wheel placement: the tires need to sit at the center of the fenders. How far would the suspension towers be offset from the Beetle’s original positions? If they were not moved, how different would the alignment geometry be from the Silvia’s? The rear was simpler: they cut the floor, made a base, and welded the Silvia member directly to it. For the Pao, they cut out and joined the Silvia floor as well, if I remember correctly. No one is likely to copy the build even if we describe it in detail, but this kind of modification is fun. I wish it could have been built with road registration so we could drive it on the street. Some people may frown and say, “Isn’t this too dangerous?” But knuckles and control arms can be dangerous too if mishandled. It makes no sense to impose arbitrary limits on modifications just because they exceed our imagination. The New Beetle sold very well in Japan and is common around the world …
Captions and page details
The suspension tower sits close to the center!
HKS
Because of space constraints, the upper mounts were moved 4 cm outward compared with the Silvia. The lower arms were lengthened substantially to make up the difference. The body around the suspension towers was joined to the Silvia structure for strength. The finish has a cycle-fender-like look.
The multi-link suspension was retained and grafted in.
As the steering turns, caster and camber change in a pattern similar to the Silvia’s. That lets the car self-steer and hold angle. This is where front-drive-to-rear-drive conversions often go wrong: the movement becomes too quick.
They built the foundation from a series of steel beams and plates, then welded the multi-link suspension into it. It is simple, but there was little alternative. The rear suspension towers also had to be rebuilt, and balancing the available space with good suspension movement was difficult. Without a miracle, it would not have worked.
The hubs and brakes are all Silvia parts, as expected. The coilovers are Final Konnexion S13 units. Spring rates are front 12 / 10 …; this was only a provisional choice and has no deeper significance.
Unexpected machines
JADE Akuzawa’s …
World of extreme modifications
CRAZY DRIFT MODIFY WORLD
Ride it and it’s an “Ichiyon”!
Because the Silvia floor was cut from the bulkhead to behind the front seats and joined in, the seats, shifter, and handbrake are in the same positions as in a Silvia. The driver position, however, ended up farther back. Moving dashboards is familiar territory for him—he once earned the nickname “Dash Border” for that work.
“One improvement since the Pao is that I wanted to make it possible to install the rear seat. The fuel tank is a stock Wagon R unit, and the Silvia’s stock pump fits right into it. We filled in the fuel filler opening on the fender. The tail lamps have heart-shaped LEDs for a playful touch.”
… it is out there. Many people modify them, but I have never heard of one converted to rear-wheel drive with a high-power engine. The first-generation Beetle has been freely modified for drag racing, gymkhana, and other uses, but there are very few radical builds of the New Beetle. That makes this a modified Beetle Japan can be proud of worldwide!
With the Beetle dashboard removed, you can see the S14 bulkhead joined in with caulking/sealant.
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