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Brake failure on the back straight


djhedges

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I wanted to share this here as well so that everyone can give their a car a good once over. The one lesson I learned is in the event of a fire, kill the fuel pump. After the roll I wasn't ready for a fire and panicked the first second. Then I said to myself "calm down, net, steering wheel, belts and dive."

 

Someone else pointed out that it is possible to wire the fuel pump to a oil pressure switch and the starter which would've prevented the fire.

http://www.how-to-build-hotrods.com/electric-fuel-pump.html

 

Here are some pictures of the car after the wreck.

https://goo.gl/photos/pffn89VWPWHoDE599

 

This one in particular shows the fuel line connector that snapped. The fuel lines were always taught so some slack might have prevented the fire. If you have these skinny connectors you might want to find something a bit beefier.

NBaIA_B4LOCcUvB6vXvPHMXQ7Wxa9Ue_f6ZI7tYv3Mjx=w1359-h765-no

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Why didn't they use your battery disconnect switch? That would have shut they fuel pump off. It was clear that the fire was being fed.

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I read a discussion elsewhere of this incident that said the particular way the flames were blowing around the car it was difficult for crews to get to the cutoff switch location

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You can watch my 240Z do a similar thing in the latest June 2015 NASA SpeedNews, but for different reasons (fire only).

Not all stock master cylinders will have separate Front and Rear brake circuits.

AN type fittings are neat and light but they tend to break when stressed. As a pilot, aircraft owner I have seen a few engine failures due to AN-vs-Steel conflicts.

Steel wins.

 

Tear it down and build it again better...

 

Tj

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The battery kill switch is located near the passenger A pillar. The wind was blowing in that direction which is why it took them so long to get to it.

 

Inertia switch, I'll have to read up on that.

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  • 5 weeks later...
The battery kill switch is located near the passenger A pillar. The wind was blowing in that direction which is why it took them so long to get to it.

 

I've seen battery kill switches mounted in various locations - sometimes on the cage just to the front left of the driver, sometimes on the center dash, and sometimes on the passenger side. What I'm wondering about, is why not just mount the kill switch where the driver can reach it while still strapped in? My kill switch is mounted in the center dash, so I can reach it while strapped in, plus it can be reached from either side of the car from the outside. - Jim

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there's advantages and disadvantages to every kill switch location - depends on the type of incident as to what's best.

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  • 2 years later...

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