It was the early 2000’s. My first car was a 1996 Ford Mustang V6 Automatic. Some people thought I thought I was cooler now because I had a Mustang. Not so much. The transmission slipped horribly, and everyone I talked to about the issue just told me it had a shift kit installed on it. Why a stock V6 Mustang would ever have a shift kit is beyond me, but I replaced the transmission, just to get more slippage down the road.
However, when the transmission wasn’t slipping, I had the need for speed. Me and my friends weren’t too far apart on this idea with our various shit boxes. My friend Matt had a 1996 Chevrolet Beretta GT. The thing was raggedy, and was a complete budget build all around. Logitech computer subwoofer, DIY sunroof, Cherry Bomb Turbo 2 muffler. The thing wasn’t super nice, but it was fast, relatively speaking. Fast forward a few years and he traded up to a 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP. That’s a supercharged 3.8 liter V6. Paired with now 2 Cherry bomb glass packs out the back, this thing was lightning compared to the Beretta. This is where we started our competition for speed.
Simplify, and add lightness.
– Colin Chapman, Founder of Lotus Cars
We would find ourselves at the local track on Friday nights doing the “run what you brung” events. Most nights were the same. Sit in line, run a few runs, park and watch the higher horsepower guys break their cars at the starting line, and laugh at the 16+ second Honda’s blowing the dirt off the track for us. One night in particular stood out for me though. See, my buddy Matt was super confident in his GTP. Back then he would tell you his butt dyno said his GTP was fast. But on track, it would maybe touch 14 seconds in a quarter mile.
Since we were grudging pretty hard on our “American Muscle”, we raced, and to nobody’s surprise, he beat me. A supercharged 3.8L boat beat another naturally aspirated 3.8L boat. Him 14-15 seconds, me 16+. I was broken hearted and hated how slow my car was. After that monstrous ass whooping, I parked it in shame and watched for the rest of the night. Matt decided to see who else he could challenge. That’s where he messed up, and my view of cars changed forever.
The car he matched up with was a green EG Civic Hatch. At first, we laughed at the Civic as if it wasn’t going to put a pass down in less than 20 seconds. But then, something amazing happened. We watched that tin can of a car gap the soul of my friend. He passed him so easily it was almost embarrassing. 12 Seconds. The Civic lines back up in the lanes, and my friend pulls up and parks his car, absolutely fuming from the race.
“He’s running nitrous! He’s got to be running nitrous!” Not sure why it would matter if the Civic was running nitrous, since the GTP was supercharged. We all scramble to go find the Civic to validate what he encountered on the track. When we found the driver, he happily obliged. He popped the hood, opened the hatch and revealed what the tinted windows could not, nothing. Absolutely nothing. The car was completely gutted. One seat, a gauge cluster, and shifter. Nothing else. An absolute troll. Under hood was simple too. K Swapped, no turbos, superchargers, or anything fancy. Truly a KISS car. It was beautiful. What was more beautiful, was watching my friend notice the same things I did, and his reaction to it. He stomped off to his car so fast, it was almost comical. Do not pass go, do not collect $200.
It was at this moment, everything changed. I wanted my own K Swapped Hatchback. Cheap, simple, debauchery. Now, just shy of 20 years later, Junk, my K20 Turbo Swapped EG Hatch is almost done. Following the same recipe of Colin Chapman and the guy that crushed my friends ego, I gutted everything minus the dash. Now, I have my own upset machine waiting to take to the streets. The only thing missing, is another GTP upset. Which my friend Matt is coincidentally building as well.
As for the Mustang, well it was eventually traded for a 2004 40th Anniversary 3.9L Automatic V6 Mustang (Yes, I know, horrible trade deal) which was eventually wrecked, then repossessed during the fallout of the 2008 recession. Turns out a 20 year old can’t afford $800 a month in car payments and insurance when the economy is in the crapper.