Every month Drift Illustrated will be featuring up and coming drivers from around the globe. This month we introduce Efrain Garcia and the Bad Monkey Garage.
1. Let’s go way back to before you got into the sport. Tell the fans how you were introduced to drifting.
I was introduced to drifting in the early 2000’s by watching videos from Japan at a local tuner shop, when at the time I was heavily into the car show scene. I won something at every event that I attended, but I still wanted more of a reward for all the time I put into cars. After seeing how much fun people drifting in the videos where having, and what a total adrenaline rush it looked like, I wanted to find out more. Drifting was something that took skill and style, not just "hey look at my car parked there." At the time my roommate had a very clean, white S13 240SX hatchback. One rainy day he let me borrow his S13 to run my errands. As I sat getting money from the ATM I realized in front of me was something special: a perfect wet parking lot with no cars in sight! After all the drift videos I had been watching I couldn’t help myself. I slid his car around the lot, and that was it, I was hooked. I decided from that point forward I had one goal, to get an S13 and start drifting!
Shortly after getting into drifting I hosted the very first tandem drift event in Central California, called BM Sidewayz Playground. I then joined up with the local Fresno SCCA chapter to kickstart drifting and was able to have multiple events a year added into their schedules. For four years a couple other local drifters and I were all that keep drifting in the Central Valley. I stepped aside from hosting the SCCA events in 2012 to focus on being a driver and developing a drifting program. In the pursuit of that goal and progression, a rebuild of what I call my “Drift-Rod” was necessary in order to be competitive at a pro-am level. So after 2013 I started rebuilding my car and was then finally ready to start having fun. In the last two months things have been moving forward in my drifting program where I have teamed up with Matt Springs with his SR20-powered S13 with a one-of-a-kind E36 front end conversion and we now have a 2,400 sqft shop called Bad Monkey Garage.
2. Now that you have an interest tell us about your first drift build?
My first drift build was a relatively clean, all stock ’89 240SX hatchback. I bought it in 2006 when I really started to get serious about being involved in the drifting scene. I started building it into a drift car and what you see today is the result, as well as the same car!
3. How much off track drifting did you do and where did you do it before you got confident enough to join a competition.
A couple buddies and I were doing a lot of street drifting in warehouse parking lots. With the economy break down in 2009 so many businesses closed, given us the perfect playgrounds to learn the art of drifting. There is nothing like street drifting but to progress you have to start hitting bigger tracks. In 2013 I finally took my daily drift whip off the streets and began rebuilding it to make it a little more drift capable.
4. Tell us about your current drift car?
The car at this point has gone further than I would have ever thought when I bought it. Some of the new goodies are:
Complete Megan Racing suspension, including coil-overs, Tension Rod support bar, front high angle tension rods, front strut bar, and in the rear upper control arms, lower Toe arms, and rear Tension rods
Fully custom high angle with steering rack moved forward with 30mm rack spacer, Tein inners and SPL outers on modified knuckles and LCAs
5 lug conversion with 350z front rotors with 300z calipers, in the rear SVT cobra rear rotors with Maverick Motorsports Dual calipers and stop by Sikky Manufacturing Pull back Hydraulic handbrake
18x9 front and 18x11 rear wheels
And the best part, it is now powered by a 5.7 LS1 paired with a Tremec T56, Clutch Master light flywheel and clutch, installed all with a Sikky Manufacturing LSX stage 2 swap kit, LSX long lines fuel filter kit, and LS1 intake system. It’s a huge step-up from my SOHC and hand-me-down, “whatever” brand suspension arms.
5. Can you tell the fans more about where you work on your car and info about your new shop?
Bad Moneky Garage is in Fresno, California, where we are not just running our own whips but helping pave the way for future grassroots drivers.
6. OK Here's our official obscure question... Flight or invisibility and why?
Easy, Flight!! Because besides drifting and flying has got to be one of the most fun things to do and you can see what you can catch.
7. Now back to drifting. What is your next step in drifting?
My next step in drifting is just too finally start getting back behind the wheel and keep having fun. There is a lot of hard work that has been put in just to get here, that’s why I never want to forget why I do it. So I try to enjoy the crazy ride that is that drift life.
8. If any pro team could pick you up as a driver who would you want that to be and why?
Team Redbull under Mad Mike because Redbull is always on top of the game in every level and Mad Mike’s style I feel it would be perfect home for me.
9. Let’s go with your ultimate drift build. You have an unlimited budget GO?
I would love to do a Aston Martin DB9 full wide body all drift stance out, biggest LSX motor money can buy with a dog box transmission with a winters quick change differential and Sikky Manufacturing sub-frame and all Wisfab suspension with KW full race coil-overs. I think that would be pretty nice build.
10. Tell the fans where they can find your videos pics and events you have coming up
You can find me on Instagram efraingarcia312 and Facebook Efrain Garcia and all for all my old to new videos follow Beyond Mention Youtube channel.
