Last year sometime I was approached by Melissa Miller on Facebook with a friend request. I didn’t know too much about her or her after school activities but in talking with her briefly I started to get a better understanding of what she was about.
If you don’t know who Melissa Miller is then do yourself a favor and check out her site (linked above) Its not every day you see a female drifter on the scene and is engrossed in automotive performance as well. Its quite the pairing actually. Melissa for a little while has been chopping it up with different styling ques and a few engine swaps (replacement VG30s) in her Z32. After many efforts in trying to get what she was after she finally came to the tail end of it all and decided that if she’s going to continue to push the envelope on performance with her Z32 she needs to buckle down and get serious about what can be done. Enter me (EP Racing), while I don’t work on cars anymore nor much of anything else outside of engine machining/building I took on the challenge to offer Melissa a built assembly that will be designed and built to handle pretty much anything she decides to throw at it. We discussed via Facebook messages and phone calls what her plans were and what she wanted to get done and she pulled the trigger on some pretty stout items.
Melissa ponied up for CP Pistons and Carrillo Rods with ARP Headstuds and a few OEM replacement parts. I was aware that she was going with CP based on my article I wrote not too long ago about forged piston comparisons but when I got the box of parts from Melissa and saw some Carrillo rods in there, I was a bit surprised. Its not every day you get to build an assembly with the TOP manufacture of engine components (pistons & rods) in the US for the Z32!
So now we fast forward to Melissa getting her core engine sent out to me. It arrives and the build begins! Tearing down the core engine though yielded some not so good signs. The crank, since it threw a rod bearing is damaged but none to fear a replacement crank is under way!
Here are a few images of where things are right now. Check back for more details as the story unfolds on this Project Drift Monkey!!!!!
Mod List for this build are:
EPR Spec Block & Heads
EPR HSOS Crank modification
EPR 8qt Racing Oil Pan
Carrillo Rods
CP Pistons
Clevite Bearings
ARP Head Studs
New OEM Gasket Kit
JWT Valve Springs
EPR Piston Coating
EPR Bearing Coating
CNC 3 Angle Valve Job
EPR Ported Oil Pump Service
