Crashed on the track

[alga]

I've crashed my roadster!

Here's the video: http://youtu.be/V-S0JveBBsw

And here's the result:

https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/1069307_10152040739043332_2128469822_n.jpg

From a preliminary inspection, RS1 has buckled beneath the wishbone bracket, and the camber adjuster has sprung a crack at the seam. The fact that all the chassis seams held is very reassuring :-)

Also, due to lack of clearance both the lower outlets of the thermostat housing have broken off on contact with the chassis.

I haven't gotten the roadster back home, but I'll post more photos as I go along fixing it.

[Talonmotorsport]

Does the expression 'oh bollocks' translate at all?
At least the parts will be cheap to replace or fix, well maybe not the rim. :rolleyes:

[Davidbolam]

That looks like quite a large ditch to have at the side of the track! At least you are ok

David

[PorkChop]

Oh dear. At least you seem OK in the video, that's the most important thing.

[Stot]

I'm most impressed with the lack of swearing. I would have turned the air blue!

Cheers
Stot

[TheArf]

Oops its a good job your quicker with your fabrication than your film editing, its only taken 5 1/2 years to post it

Arfon

[CTWV50]

So that's why you need a few bits from me. I'll get them packed and posted today. Looks like the backend lost traction as you came over the top of that hill turn. Glad everyone is ok.

[alga]

Oops its a good job your quicker with your fabrication than your film editing, its only taken 5 1/2 years to post it

I have one of those £20 cameras from the bay. It claims to support cards up to 16 GB, and I had a 32 GB one. For some time it appeared to have worked, but then the file system got corrupted. Maybe the impact had something to do with that, as the video stream had a glitch at the moment of the impact. I managed to extract the video from the corrupted card with a forensic tool (scalpel). I didn't get around to playing with the broken card for a couple of days, I thought I didn't have the footage of the accident at all, that's why it took a while.

CTWV50, both rear arches had by then lost pieces of gel coat due to voids in the edges anyway (yay NTS), so I was already contemplating strengthening and repainting them, after the crash it would just take more GRP and body filler. But having structurally sound ones to start with is better. ;-)

David, yes, the track is hideously dangerous, but that's the only one we have in the country.

[skov]

Bad luck Albert. Looks like good fun up until that point!

At least having built the car you're in a good position to be able to fix it without too much trouble!

[baz-r]

good to see your not hurt at least the car fixes quicker :rolleyes: .

[alga]

Here's the photo of the obvious chassis damage:

http://www.locost.lt/pic/795

Another place was the upper wishbone, both tubes were bent.

With some friends and lots of brute force we got the geometry roughly back in line and I drove the roadster home.

[jason 82]

That is way mad way to test your welds !:D

[alga]

Fixed her up about 2 weeks ago. Now got around to uploading the pics:

Here's the assessment of how the chassis was deformed (click for large):

http://locost.lt/pic/808 (http://locost.lt/download/file.php?id=808&mode=view)

I cut out and replaced the whole rail that was bent:

http://locost.lt/pic/809
http://locost.lt/pic/810

[alga]

The right lower brackets still looked parallel to the centreline, even thouth it's hard to gauge it. So I made jigs to weld the opposite brackets parallel to those two:


http://locost.lt/pic/811

http://locost.lt/pic/812

I also replaced the rear upper wishbone bracket, as it's been bent to the outside by ~5 mm. Cutting the old bracket out was tricky, but possible.


Afterwards I painted the new metal, then it took me 3 nights to reassemble the car from this state:

http://locost.lt/pic/813
http://locost.lt/pic/814

And I mean nights, from midnight till 5-6am! But I had it done in time for that slalom event!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbR0QetHxIs

[flyerncle]

Steering wheel is on the wrong side,that explains everything :p
Seriously,it shows how well made your car is Albert and how strong the design is.