Crashed my Fastback - The rebuild thread

[fvike 173]

So, your worst nightmare just happened to me.

 

Here's how:

I was at the local racetrack, going out for my first session of the weekend. Started slow, planning on a warm-up lap. So in the 3rd corner I just spin out ca 100 degrees and hit the armco. The car is then recoiled out and according to the driver behind me a 1/2 to 1 meter in the air. I then did a 360 degree spin in the sandtrap and a 180 on the tarmac before I rolled to a halt on the other side of the road.

 

 

 

Both doors didn't open. So I roll down the window and crawls out. A guy comes up to me and tells me he blew a oil pressure coupling and left oil on the track. Boy, did I give him the evil eye. :cursing: Here I got my car ruined because of him not having his shit together when he got out on the track. I was very frustrated. I was later told that he had been wrenchin' the whole day, and had a loud knocking in his engine in the pits. Which he ignored. I also heard he blew the oil hose in the second corner but didn't stop, he ignored it and drove on, oiling the track. A guy (who's an driving instructor) in an M3 told me he only got saved by the ESP system in his car. I was frustrated that the actions of one guy who didn't consider the safety of others on the racetrack cost me my car. On the other hand I was glad that I didn't have fault in it. The guy in the car behind me said there was no way I could have saved the car in that spinout. He actually destroyed all his tires when he was breaking to stop for me.

 

Crashsite as seen from ontop the salvage truck. There was a lot for oil on the track all the way down the hill and I spun out where the two people is standing.

 

Back In the garage

 

The shocktower bracing did a good job stopping the impact. I also believe the subframe connectors helped resist body twist. I also have the TCP X brace under the car between the subframe connectors.

 

 

 

It's only metal.

 

So begins the rebuild. Luckily, I was covered by insurance, but I'll probably invest some extra money in the car anyway - I already have thanks to Ebay - you know how these projects go!

Luckily I didn't have a scratch on me. I did get a minor swelling from the shoulder belt (using the originals), but it was very minor. Just like 3 zips in row on my collar bone. Luckily I didn't carry much speed when I spun out, because it was only the warm-up lap.

[JTG 10]

I'm glad you're OK. Damn that really sucks. I don't know if I would have been able to show as much restraint as you did when the guy told me he leaked oil all over the track.

[70Nightmare 20]

Sorry to hear that man glad that ur ok. We can rebuild her and make her stronger. Good luck

[turboclevor 10]

I'm glad you're OK. Damn that really sucks. I don't know if I would have been able to show as much restraint as you did when the guy told me he leaked oil all over the track.

 

i second that

[Restomod 10]

Ouch man! I was at Watkins Glen this weekend for the Vintage races and saw more of the same thing, more crashed cars than I wanted to see for sure. Glad you are ok cause that looked hard, oil with no warning is hard to brace for.

[69gmachine 15]

Yep, that would be my worst nightmare all right. I'm glad you're OK. I don't think I would have had as much self control once I knew the idiot who caused the problem ignored several warning signs.

 

I've taken myself off the track three times now when I had mechanical problems so i didn't risk endangering anyone else. It sucks, but I'd much rather go home early than ruin someone's car (or possibly kill somone).

 

Good luck with the rebuild. I'm sure it will be even faster and safer than it was before. You will get a 4 point harness before you get out on the track again now right?

[gsxrken 21]

Wow, he loses his oil line on the warmup lap no less. Someone once said "Hell is other people at breakfast" and I often recall that when I'm impacted by the behavior of increasingly inconsiderate others. There is something to be said for driving to the track after a thrashing-for-track-day session or off-season set of upgrades- if nothing else it serves as a shake-down prior to getting there.

 

Too bad you're not in the US: I have two mint original Ford fenders and a nice repo hood I removed when I went the Anvil carbon fiber route. I would rather see them go to an enthusiast than some guy flipping cars for a buck.

[fvike 173]

Well, I do have to give the guy credit for being man enough to tell me it was his fault. He did not look comfortable, and it probably wasn't an easy situation to be in. But it's not only his fault. The track officials should never have let his car out on the track.

But it is what it is.

 

Gotta focus on the possibilites, not the loss.

 

69gmachine: That has a been the plan a while now, but I also need to get some better seats than the hi-buckets. No lateral support in them.

 

gsxrken: Probably gotta get parts from the states anyway; I'll get back to you on that. There is a shipping company in New Jersey I use frequently, so don't sell them off yet ;)

[Ash 145]

Ouch! Glad you are ok though.

 

What a sweet looking track, looks like loads of fun. I've never been on a track on in car but have plenty of times on motorbikes, I can say it is quite scary once you start drifting onto the grass and no the end isn't going to be great.

 

Love the colour matching Mustangs in the shed! I have the same two cars in my my shed except mine aren't colour matching. Not yet anyway, hehe.:001_smile:

[dbennett 10]

Dude that sucks I'm sorry to hear it and see it, that's painful. Your not replacing both fenders are you? Seems the drivers side is still good.

[Mike65 475]

Ouch, that hurts. Glad you are OK. Been there, done that unfortunately to a 68 GT Coupe I once owned. I was going over a bridge in the dark in traffic at about 50 MPH & came upon an idiot stopped on the bridge (he broke down) & didnt even have any lights on or any flares out & I hit him & tore up the front of car almost like that. Needed hood, r/s fender & extension, bumper, grille 1 fog light, all chrome trim, radiator support & r/s front inner fender panel. Good thing I did all the work myself & then got it completely re-painted & pin striped.

[fvike 173]

Ash: The 64 1/2 isn't mine, it belongs to afriend of mine. And it isn't colors matching eiter; only in that light. Mine is usualy alot darker. But it's a beautiful Mustang, restored only 3 years ago.

 

dbennet: I don't know yet, I'll let the body repair shop decide that. It did get pushed back over the door a bit. We'll see how it lise up when the car is straigthened and the frame bits and a new front support is installed.

Edited September 13, 2012 by fvike
Spelling

[LindenBruce 27]

Number one thing, you are okay.

 

Number two thing, kick that Adam Henry with the broken oil line (that's P.C. for A hole) in the nuts!!!

 

Bruce

[fvike 173]

Sheet metal has been bent

 

I don't know if the Crane ignition box is working. It had popped out. It was mounted in the battery Pocket. Battery is in the back, which I now can higly recommend.:tongue_smilie:

 

Just to the right of the red charge wire you can see where the frame is bent.

 

Radiator frame support is split

 

[Junior2561 10]

i'd be furious - glad you are okay though...

 

With you doing so much racing, any thoughts of one of those tubular fronts? Where its from the fire wall forward?

[fvike 173]

Nope, it's a street car, but I enjoy taking it to open track events now and then. It's not a race car.

[SM69Mach 68]

Man that hurts to even look at, but glad you are ok. Cars can be fixed. Good luck with the rebuild.

[70mstang 11]

Glad you're allright... she'll be purdy again .. and better, faster, safer! Good to have insurance that covered track time!

[fvike 173]

70mstang: Yeah, it was an open track event, so road laws applied to the race track. And as such, my incurance applied. If It had been a compitition race, or training for an compitition (ie. I'd have to buy a licence to participate) it wouldn't have been covered.

 

SM69Mach: What wheel size/tire combo is it on the car in your sig pic? The stance is unbelivable!

[gsxrken 21]

I really dig your car, mishap aside. Looks like you know what you are doing. Hydroboost with remote reservoir, nice oil cooler, coil overs, heim-jointed arms, serpentine system, remote battery, deep sump pan. Nice mods.

What valve covers are they?

[gsxrken 21]

Ouch, that hurts. Glad you are OK. Been there, done that unfortunately to a 68 GT Coupe I once owned. I was going over a bridge in the dark in traffic at about 50 MPH & came upon an idiot stopped on the bridge (he broke down) & didnt even have any lights on or any flares out & I hit him & tore up the front of car almost like that.

 

Reminds me of a very close call I had years ago. I was riding my GSXR1100 late one evening going north on the twisty Henry Hudson parkway. It was dark, my face shield was tinted, and I was traveling at a rate that rendered my low-beams fairly useless. By the grace of God, I thought I saw something odd in my lane and quickly switched lanes. It wasn't just something in the road, it was a Chevy van broke down in the center lane, with both of his rear doors open which were blocking his taillights. I missed the left door by inches. I would have hit it at 80MPH+, sailed through the interior and out it's windshield from the inside. Still freaks me out how very close it was.

[fvike 173]

Damn gsxrken; that's scary. There just isn't any cure for stupidity.

 

Anyway, the valvecovers are http://www.fordracingparts.com/parts/part_details.asp?PartKeyField=12960.

I've built/building a pro-touring type car, so you probably recognize a lot of the parts. I also got an Moroso accusump in the back, and an oil thermostat at the oil filter, so that completes the oil system. It's to bad I wrecked on the first lap, I was really looking forward to monitor the performance of the accusump system, but it has worked great for pre-lubing and on the street. Do you have a thread about your car somewhere? I've been curious about it ever since I saw a picture of it in a magazine years ago. (Was it HOT ROD or PHR?)

[gsxrken 21]

I've built/building a pro-touring type car, so you probably recognize a lot of the parts. I also got an Moroso accusump in the back, and an oil thermostat at the oil filter, so that completes the oil system. It's to bad I wrecked on the first lap, I was really looking forward to monitor the performance of the accusump system, but it has worked great for pre-lubing and on the street. Do you have a thread about your car somewhere? I've been curious about it ever since I saw a picture of it in a magazine years ago. (Was it HOT ROD or PHR?)

 

Thanks for the link. I am looking into oil coolers right now. The larger 3" mains on the Windsors are tough on oil and really do need something for any track runs longer than 15 minutes or so. I've been relying on synthetic oil, good cooling system, and a larger reservoir in the Canton pan, but I want a better safety margin. Many of the air cooled turbo guys on Pelican use Setrab radiators so I'm looking there. If you have any pics of your filter-to-cooler routing, I'd love to see them. I have a 7 year old thread on pt.com... my car has led several lives. http://www.pro-touring.com/showthread.php?7168-69-Mach-1-intro&highlight=

 

Sorry for the multiple hi-jacks. Your car will be better than ever I'm sure. Get some big-block shock tower reinforcements in there while you're at it... something I wish I did.

http://promotorsportsengineering.drgas.com/mustang-shock-tower-repairreinforcement-kit/

[fvike 173]

No problem, it's good to get new ideas at this stage. I will definitly use the Boss \ Big Block shock tower braces!

 

I got an MOCAL oil filter sandwich plate.

This is the thermostat sandwich plate. I've written "ut" on it, which means "out". This is wrong, it was actually the in port, but I found that out before I ever had oil in the system.

 

This is the return line from the cooler, and the Accusump is T'd in with a one way filter in between so that oil from the accusump goes to the engine, and not the cooler.

 

The oil cooler return line

 

The oil cooler

 

The Accusump. I got an pressure sender at the block that opens up the valve if pressure drops.

[stangnet33 88]

almost threw up lol, sad to see. I'm surprised of insurance covering it, most cover only from hot spot to hot spot, not while the car is performing in an event.