In April 2007, Mitsuru Haraguchi shocked the North American drifting world by winning the Long Beach round of Formula DRIFT in the Intec Racing Nissan S13.5 240SX. Although the win was a monumental Cinderella story about a team that was practically unknown prior to the win, Intec Racing owner Lawrence Ojas felt that he needed to build a new machine for his driver.

The North American-spec S13 Haraguchi used to capture the Long Beach event was well-built and fully capable of being competitive in Formula D, but Ojas felt that a RHD vehicle would be a better fit for his driver. As soon as Ojas arrived back at his Kent, Wash., shop, he got to work.

As much of Ojas' family lives in Japan, Lawrence has been making yearly trips to Japan not only to visit family but also to build relationships and learn the intricate Japanese tuning industry. Many of those relationships were utilized to build this car to the highest possible spec, and also to make the car easy for the driver and crew.

When planning this build out, Ojas had many things he felt were necessary in a built, the first of which was to convert the North American-spec S14 chassis to RHD to make his driver feel as comfortable as possible. Shortly after the front end conversion was completed, the chassis was sent off to P1 Racing for a full roll-cage. Ojas also had P1 integrate a full airjack system since he planned for the car to be substantially lower than stock, and Ojas has always integrated an air-jack system into his drift cars to ease maintenance and tire changes at the track.

When the car returned from P1 Racing, the Intec Racing crew got to work on the suspension and bodywork. Haraguchi had been perfecting a movement in Japan known as "Drifting on Dubs," and Ojas knew that this would be the chassis to introduce it to North America.

With Ojas's relationship with Japanese suspension builder Silk Road as its exclusive North American distributor, he had a full set of custom camber arms, coilovers, toe rods, and tension rods sent over. The suspension on the car has full travel due to a substantially shorter shock body and custom valving and spring rates were used to keep the suspension stiff but driftable.

Haraguchi's company 326 Power also helped out with the build, supplying his custom steering knuckles for the car, while Peak Performance tie rod ends were mounted to Ikeya Formula tie rods to round out the suspension. The wheel wells in the front and back were given custom tubs to fit the insanely-large wheels, and the whole car was ready for paint.

The entire car was sprayed in Falken livery, complete with the now-infamous teal and blue scallops on the side. Remains of the original paintjob can be found in the engine bay and interior, although the exterior now sports a lab-coat white shade. Under the paint, 326 Power Aero has been paired with 326 Power head- and taillights to give the car its clean lines. Seibon Carbon hood, trunk, and doors keep the weight down, while a Nagisa tow hook allows the car to be towed off track in the case of a mishap.

Inside the car, everything is kept strictly business. The center console was fitted with a switch panel for all the required controls, with a custom-fitted APEX-I AVC-R controlling the engine while in plain view of the driver. Just above the switch panel, the hazard switch acts as the push-to-talk button for the Race Electronics communication system, and switches for the power windows sit just above that. Although this is a race car, Ojas maintains that keeping the driver comfortable in the staging lanes and giving him easy access to clear the smoke after a run was a high priority, thus keeping the OEM power windows.

A quick visit to the "passenger side" to open the glove box reveals the APEXi Power FC controller for small adjustments to the motor while at the track, and the footwell holds a custom access panel to service the transmission fluid. On the S-chassis, the transmission drain plug can be found just behind the transmission tunnel on the left side of the car, but when the steering wheel is located on the left, it is far too dangerous to have an access panel next to the driver's feet.

With the pedals moved to the other side, as in this converted car, this panel is much safer and provides quick and easy access to the transmission and keeps the mechanic from having to lie under the car. This type of forward thinking is just one of many elements reflecting the build's ingenuity through simplicity and experience.

A P1 roll cage encases a pair of Sparco bucket seats and harnesses. Just in front of the drivers seat is the Sparco suede steering wheel and the Stacks heads-up display system. The SARD Stacks system was chosen for its ability to display up to three vital engine sensor readouts in a compact space in addition to displaying a full 10,000RPM tachometer. Although not used for drifting, the Stack cluster also has full lap timer capabilities should the car ever be utilized for time attack purposes. The entire dash has been wrapped in non-reflective suede material to minimize glare for the driver.

Moving into the engine bay, the SR20 engine which currently sits in the car was actually won off of a bet. When the original engine in the car let go during the season finale at Irwindale, Calif., a friendly bet was made by the APEX'I team that the Intec Racing team couldn't remove the blown powerplant in less than 30 minutes. The ingeniously-built car had several quick-access tricks integrated into the engine bay, which allowed the team to remove the motor with minutes to spare, and the new powerplant was provided as payment.

This SR20 has since been built with a full Brian Crower stroker kit to an undisclosed displacement, and matched with BC Cams, valve springs, and retainers. Of course, APEX'I had previously added their 740cc injectors and head gasket, while a Garrett 3076 turbocharger is paired with an ASP turbo manifold, GTi-R throttle body, Silk Road intercooler, and APEX'I titanium exhaust to take care of the airflow.

In the trunk, the custom SARD fuel system including full steel-braided lines feeds the motor with the octane needed for the power. A Koyo radiator is paired with a Greddy/Trust oil cooler to keep fluids cool, with a Silkroad coolant bleeder to keep out unwanted air.

This setup made well more than 400 hp and 400 lb-ft of torque, enough that the original aftermarket clutch couldn't hold the power and had to be replaced with an OS-Giken twin-plate disc and pressure plate. The SR20 transmission is known to be a weak point, but since Lawrence replaced the moving parts with an OS-Giken gear set and LSD, the car has been rock solid reliable.

One of the car's biggest innovations is the wheel sizing. The ability to not only fit 18-inch rolers in front and 20s in back while maintaining full steering lock is a first in North America, and Lawrence claims that if provided with an endless supply of tires, the setup is fully reliable to be drifted on. Lawrence routinely switches between the custom AME 18/20 staggered setup and the Work VS-KF 18/20 staggered setup, but both setups mount to the car and are fully driftable as you see in the pictures - no further modifications needed. Currently, both sets of wheels are wrapped in Falken Azenis RT615 tires for maximum grip.

Bringing these massive wheels to a stop is quite a job, but the rebuilt calipers, Silk Road rear brake conversion, endless pads, and Peak Performance braided lines are up to the task. "Drifting on Dubs" hasn't been seen in competition in the United States yet, but has been refined in practice and we may see it in the near future!

The car originally debuted at the Irwindale finale for the 2007 season, but has since sat dormant. Pacific Northwest locals may recognize the car, as it has made a few selected appearances in 2008 and 2009 to promote Ojas's Intec Racing shop and the Silk Road suspension he distributes, but has been relatively quiet on the drifting scene.

All that will change in just a few weeks, as Irish phenom Dean "Karnage" Kearney will be behind the wheel at the upcoming House of Drift Formula D event. The car will remain largely unchanged, although Kearney will be utilizing Maxxis Z1 Drift tires mounted to 18-inch Buddy Club P1R wheels for the weekend. We're excited to see this car back in action, and hope to see in person what "drifting on dubs" is all about.

MOD STUDY

Lawrence Ojas/Intec Racing 1995 Nissan 240SX

Engine
SR20DET engine swap
Engine stroked with a Brian Crower Stroker Kit
Brian Crower cams
Brian Crower valve springs and retainers
GT3076 turbo
ASP turbo manifold
SilkRoad intercooler
Koyo radiator
GReddy oil cooler
SilkRoad coolant bleeder
OS Giken twin-disc clutch
OS Giken LSD
OS Giken gear set
SilkRoad transmission bushing
Apex titanium exhaust
Intec/Pats Shifter lock out
GTi-R throttle body
Apex Power FC
Apex 740cc fuel injectors
Apex head gasket
Apex AVC-R
Sard fuel pressure regulator
Sard fuel surge tank
Nismo motor mounts

Chassis
S14 240SX with RHD conversion
P1 Roll Cage
Modified tunnel for easy trans fluid access
Air jacks
SilkRoad RMA8 coil-over suspension
SilkRoad camber arms
SilkRoad toe rods
SilkRoad tension rods
326 Power knuckles
Peak tie rod ends
Ikea Formula tie rods
Intec Racing modified wheel tubs
GReddy front strut tower brace

Brakes
SilkRoad rear conversion
Endless brake pads
Peak Performance brake lines

Exterior
326 Power aero kit
326 Power headlights
326 Power taillights
Seibon FRP hood
Seibon FRP doors
Seibon FRP trunk
Power windows retained
Nagisa Auto tow hook

Interior
Race Electronics communications
Sparco steering wheel
Sparco bucket seats
Sparco 5-point harness
Sard Stacks system

Photo Gallery