I finally finished getting the gunk off the side of the car after removing the side skirts. It’s not a hard job, but does take some time. After the skirts come off, there is a band of rubbery glue on the quarter panels. At first, a chisel is used to pry off the largest chunks, taking care not to gouge the paint. The eraser wheel is then applied on a drill. It gradually rubs the gunk away. I slowly got the hang of it, finding that a slow speed was better. I damaged the paint at one stage from letting too much heat build up (yellow discolouration). The finished result is not perfect but neither is the paint overall, so it will do.

I am booked in on Saturday for my first drift meet with this car. I was gong to do a night event with the Australian Drift Club, but then discovered Driving Sports were holding an all day event for the same price. An easy choice. I’ve paid a deposit and will pay the balance on Saturday morning for a CAMS Level 2 Speed license, club membership and fees for the day. I can’t wait to spend a whole day with this car sideways.

All that was missing was some tyres to burn on the day. I’ve spent the last week scouring forums, Facebook marketplace and Gumtree for some second hand wheels and tyres. Today I picked up what I consider to be a bargain. For $350 I purchased a set of four Rota Grid Rs in 17×9 inches. This is the exact same size and offset (+12) as the wheels that came on the car. Two have decent tyres and two have some inner camber wear. An ideal purchase in my opinion.