Daniel Willie, the owner of Batlground Motorsports LLC has been in Japan for a few days now and has been purchasing parts to bring back the the United States to sell. He is purchasing motorsets, coilovers, body parts, front clips, exhausts, headlights, taillights, etc, etc, etc. Some of the engines and parts that can be expected are for Nissan s13 and s14 sr20det, toyota aristo 2jzgte, honda and acura type r and sir b series engines, 2.0 liter subaru engines, and a few other odds and ends. You can keep updated by adding www.facebook.com/batlground to your liked groups on facebook or personally add Daniel Willie as a friend to follow his journey at www.facebook.com/batldan
Batlground in Japan, buying cars and parts !!!
Tuesday, August 31st, 2010Breathe Fiesta, Breathe!
Friday, August 20th, 2010
Today I finished up the cold air intake for the Fiesta. It was pretty simple and we only had to go a short distance to put the filter into a fresh air stream. The custom milled mass air flow adapter was a pain to make but it all turned out to look real good.
I also gathered some measurements for the wheels. It looks like I might be able to fit a 10 inch wide wheel in there with a 2 inch widebody kit. I would say that is plenty of meat to keep this light car on the road.
Fiesta… Fiesta… Forever… Forever…
Thursday, August 19th, 2010
Click here for more pics. http://batlground.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=238
Yea, I like that song.
Batlground received its Ford Fiesta SEMA car yesterday and wasted no time ripping into it. We are planning a widebody kit for the car, coilovers, big brakes, front racing seats in leather trim, a removable carbon fiber stereo box, cold air intake and exhaust system. We measured everything today, ordered the stereo equipment, worked on the cold air intake, got the coilovers and brakes ordered, and arranged the leather upholstery to be installed onto the racing bucket seats. Tomorrow is another day and we are trying to knock this thing out as quick as possible.
Preparing for the land of the rising sun.
Tuesday, August 17th, 2010
After years of procrastination and fear of the unknown Daniel Wilie is stepping outside of his comfort zone in order to expand Batlground Motorsports LLC. Daniel Willie, owner, tuner, engine builder, fabricator, driver, etc, will fly out on August 27th and stay for 2 weeks for the purpose of bringing back container of the highest quality used JDM, thats Japanese Domestic Market for all you newbies, parts for resale purposes. Daniel Willie will be accompanied by a consultant that has been in the importing business for a number of years. More details on our partnership will be announced at a later date. If you want any items please contact us with your requests and deposits. Stay tuned for more updates and for blog posts while Daniel is in Japan.
Old School Celica Supra Restored
Thursday, July 8th, 2010
This week a rare example of a Toyota Celica Supra Mark II stopped by for a dyno run. These vehicles are getting very hard to find these days, especially in this immaculate condition. This car has had a complete frame up restoration and you could not miss the attention to detail. From the pristine interior to the fresh paint on the exterior, not a flaw was to be found. The motor and drive train were removed for a complete rebuild, and the engine bay received a good cleaning and painting during the process. New tires, hoses and belts were added to finish off the project. The owner was very proud of the completed project and wanted to see how much horsepower the newly completed motor was able to produce. At just 213 miles since the full revival of the Supra it was pushing out 132.74 horsepower and 141.94 foot pounds of torque. Very commendable for a NON TURBO 30 year old stock vehicle, even in the earlier years the Supra was very nicely equipped.
LS6 350Z Rockers Arrived!
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010
After literally months of testing different configurations and verifying tolerences, we finally received the correct rockers for our LS6 motor. Once these get installed we can measure and order the push-rods. After that its just a matter of bolting on the manifolds, valve covers, and accessories till its fully assembled. Then we can let er’ eat! Thanks to the guys at Thunder Racing for all their help. Our new goal for the car is to have it done and track ready by March 6th. Still lots of work to be done but if we can get all the mechanical tasks knocked out the car can be shook down. Stay tuned!
Batlground: Monster Jam!!!! EXPLOSIANS!!!!
Wednesday, January 13th, 2010
Saturday! Saturday!!SATURDAY!!! Thanks to Tracy and her connections she made while trying out to be a driver for the Grave Digger team and Live Nation, we had the privledge of going behind the scenes at Monster Jam this past weekend. IT WAS AWESOME! I had been to Monster Jam once before and it was a great time even in the nose bleed seats. There is just something deeply gratifying and carnal about watching 10,000 pound trucks crush cars and jump 40-50 feet in the air. Mix in some pre-party (as well as some during) cocktails, 8 grown adults acting like kids, and some flannel: What you get is a hootin and hollerin good ol’ time! I mean lets be honest, 65,000 screaming fans can’t be wrong. Monster jam is a great time. Special thanks to Mike, Henry and Dan for the access and information. It was very insightful hanging out and getting the inside information on how the trucks are built and maintained. See y’all next year!
Check out Tracy during her monster truck driver ed-u-ma-cation. HOOOO YEEAAAHHH!!!!
Batlground: Hitting the ground running
Wednesday, January 6th, 2010
It is the first week of 2010, and we are starting the year off with a bang. We had taken off for the holidays on Dec. 23 and returned on Jan. 4. There were SO MANY messages left on the answering machine! It took me nearly half a day just to listen and return all of the calls. On top of that we had appointments pre-scheduled before the break. Needless to say it has been pretty crazy here.
We are finishing up on an Evo 8 that will be a pretty amazing car. A full built race motor with Buschur pistons and aluminum rods, pushing a Garrett 6776 turbo. We have a Subaru Legacy with a JDM EJ20 motor and rotated turbo kit. Megasquirt engine management will be controlling the very unique car. There is an 03 Honda Accord getting an engine swap. A 99 Honda Prelude turbo getting some much needed motor upgrades, including custom .040 over pistons from Mahle. There is also a S13 with SR20det swap that has some eletrical gremlins to be figured out. That before we upgrade the injectors to the Nismo 555 cc’s, upgrade the MAF to the Z32 , and tune with an AFC Neo. Finally a Honda Prelude H22 motor getting Darton sleeves installed before it gets a turbo. All that is here now and being worked on, not to mention the dozen or so tuning appointments scheduled for the next week and a half.
On tap for the next coming month is a built Subaru EJ257, a manual conversion on a Lexus SC300, and a 02 RSX type S getting motor upgrades before we install a Full Race turbo kit. These customers all come before the shop cars which have been in progress for what seems like an eternity! The LS powered 350z has been in the shop taunting us, begging us to finish it. It is so close you can almost hear that nastiness breathe through the headers with turn downs. My poor neglected Sanchez needs to be finished as well. Still waiting for a fresh stock bore KA24de block before he can be put back together. We’ll see what he can do with a fresh motor, upgraded rods, custom intake manifold and 35 psi! Mazworks z32 tranny upgrade after that, as well as an E85 conversion, should put that one in the realm of 700whp.
So while I’d love to sit here on my ass and listen to myself talk, I must get back to work. Stay tuned as the month has just begun and we are full steam ahead. February will be here before we know it and then the fireworks begin. Tracy makes her debut on Bullrun season 3 and Team Batlground will be appearing on a BIG cable network for a brand new tv series. Hope everyone had a great holiday!
Batlground: December to Remember
Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009
So after an amazing December we are winding down a bit for the Holiday. Filming for a TV show the first half of the month took us all the way to our charity dyno day on the 19th. A lot of work has been put into the future of our little shop. With the state of our economy and the other small shops around the Atlanta area struggling to keep their doors open, we feel especially fortunate for our relative stability. Some of it is luck, but mostly I think it is because of who we are. The pride we have in ourselves is reflected in the work we do. We want nothing but the best for our customers and we will do everything in our power to make sure that they have best possible product for the cost allowed. This of course is nearly impossible to achieve %100 of the time, so we do have our share of detractors. I have a statement for everyone listening though: I will take the “Pepsi Challenge” against any of our competitors. I stand behind every car that has passed through here.
Batlground isn’t going anywhere. We have been around as long or longer than our competitors. We have toured the country racing at the professional level. We have had feature cars in magazines and displayed at SEMA. We have built 5 “shop” cars, in synch with the latest models and trends. There is a 6th on the way. The best part is we haven’t lost who we are and where we started. The same small project cars grace our shop today that got Dan started in 2001. We have a long list of return customers, some that started out doing just a GSR swap in their civic. They now return to make 600 whp in that same car. Some are customers that first came in with an entry level tuner project, that have progressed up to a 06′ Mustang with a Blower, Z06, or Viper. To be able to work on those types of projects, and to be able to have those long term relationships with our customers is a great feeling. Its something that keeps me going, and drives me to do better.
2010 is almost here, this is the year that the economy is supposed to turn around. We have weathered the storm and are stronger now, ready to take on the next challenges. The reason, in my opinion, that we are strong is because we have been the same for so long. Dan, Tracy, and Brandon. Now there have been plenty of other employees come through here. Some with big names and reputations, that ultimately didn’t work out in our system. We have been the same 4 for over a year and a half with the addition of Justin. That is not something you see at other shops, there is always such a high turn over. When you deal with us, you have some sense of accountability. You know that when you come in you won’t have to hear ” Oh, well, so-and-so did that and he don’t work here anymore”. I can’t wait to see what the new year brings. What new project or trend is around the corner? Alternative fuels? Land Speed Records? A new Fast and Furious? We got that.
Batlground: Toys For Tots dyno day
Monday, December 21st, 2009
First of all I would like to say how proud I am to be a part of this great cause. How proud I am to be a part of Batlground. How proud I am of this great community of car enthusiasts.
This was the best dyno day we have had, its was cold, it rained a little, and these are tough times. Yet we had a total of 38 cars dyno, and nearly 200 people come through during the course of the day. We asked that anyone wanting to dyno bring a toy or make a donation, and that would have yielded 38 toys. Instead we had people bringing in multiple toys for one spot. We had people, who were there only to spectate or volunteer, bring toys. We had people literally bring in BAGS of toys and leave! I cannot explain how wonderful I feel to be able to be a part of this event and how wonderful I feel about the people I call friends and/or customers. I am hoping that this leads to an annual event. Lets see if we can do even better next year!
Enough with the mushy stuff, lets talk cars! We had almost an entirely fresh line up of cars this event. Everything from a MKIV Supra to a Chevy Pick-Up to a Mercury Sable! This may have been the most diverse event we have ever thrown. There was an informal competition and we were giving out a couple $100 gift certificates to All Or Nothing Tattoo. There were a bunch of categories and we even had to make a new one mid way through the day! Our winners and cars they were in…
4 Cylinder: Alex, SR20DET powered Datsun 510 (284.60 whp)
4 Cylinder N/A: Dee, H22 powered Civic Hatch (189.00 whp)
5 Cylinder: Zach, Evolve Volvo (241.51 whp)
6 Cylinder: Chris, MKIV Supra (477.68 whp)
6 Cylinder N/A: Anthony, Mustang (164.55 whp)
8 Cylinder: Lee, C55 AMG (296.27 whp)
8 Cylinder N/A: Zach, Charger (351.49 whp)
AWD: Drew, STi (431.34 whp)
Overall: George, S/C Mustang (494.93 whp)
Special thanks for a couple people. Dan and Tracy from Batlground, Kevin and his Fiance Ashley, Anthony, Andrew, Justin. For all of your help and support. Jarvis at All Or Nothing Tattoo. For his donation of prizes. Daniel and his wife Kristin from Wilkins Media. For the amazing amount of toys they brought. Everyone from Import Atlanta, ASAP car club (sorry guys!),WRX Atlanta, 240 Atlanta, MyIS, Club Lexus, G35Driver, My350z, Supra Forums. For all the views, feedback, support, and friendships. Without all of you this would not have happened! Without you there would not be as many happy children for the Holidays!
