Bad luck for Joe's 00 Cobra R
- Thread starter 13 Cobra Toy
- Start date
I'm just thankful it went out racing rather than sitting in a garage! Too bad, though. I can't wait to see what it looks like when it's fixed! Probably good as new!
Knowing Joe, that car will be up and running in no time, better than ever... :rockon:
466
I can feel his pain. This is just the real shits! Hope he is ok, pride intact. He was my first instructor at Hallett. Joe, if you need help, give me a call. Glad you are physically ok. Scott
I can feel his pain. This is just the real shits! Hope he is ok, pride intact. He was my first instructor at Hallett. Joe, if you need help, give me a call. Glad you are physically ok. Scott
very sorry to hear the news.. looks like it must have been very scarey. Thankfully he is ok though
Joe, I was shocked when I got an Email from Tony of SCMC about the news. Then I saw this post. So sorry to hear about your misfortune. Having suffered the same problem (June 05 @ BeaveRun) it makes me wonder why both our cars developed a fuel leak and caught fire. I am glad you are OK and the good news is that the car can be rebuilt. Good luck and keep us posted.
Joe:
Sorry to hear about the R.
Glad to hear you're ok.
Good luck with the car.
Bruce
Sorry to hear about the R.
Glad to hear you're ok. Good luck with the car.
Bruce
Joe, glad to hear your OK. You will get the R back together hang in there....
Guys,
I just talked to Joe about this a few minutes ago. He is obviously very dissapointed this happened, but seemed to be taking it all in stride. It appears the car can be fixed.... and of course the most important thing is Joe is alright!
Joe,
So sorry about the R, but I/we are really glad you are ok buddy!!
I just talked to Joe about this a few minutes ago. He is obviously very dissapointed this happened, but seemed to be taking it all in stride. It appears the car can be fixed.... and of course the most important thing is Joe is alright!
Joe,
So sorry about the R, but I/we are really glad you are ok buddy!!
Joe,
Im glad your ok. Sorry about the R but I know you will get her all sorted! They don't die just get better with the rebuilds. I m still working on the roof on mine
see ya at the track soon
Im glad your ok. Sorry about the R but I know you will get her all sorted! They don't die just get better with the rebuilds. I m still working on the roof on mine
see ya at the track soon
kevin
New Member
a real bummer joe. glad you are ok tho. just keep smiling and know it can be fixed. you are more important to us than a car.
sorry to see that but the important thing is you survived it and the R will live to fight another day
WOW!!
I'm VERY sorry to hear about your car Joe.
I sure am glad you are unhurt!
Is this a Cobra R thing??? related to the fuel cell?
I remember hearing of another Y2K R fire that was fuel cell related I think.
THAT IS SOME SCARY STUFF RIGHT THERE!!!
Man am I glad you are OK!!!!
I'm VERY sorry to hear about your car Joe.
I sure am glad you are unhurt!
Is this a Cobra R thing??? related to the fuel cell?
I remember hearing of another Y2K R fire that was fuel cell related I think.
THAT IS SOME SCARY STUFF RIGHT THERE!!!
Man am I glad you are OK!!!!
You are correct Jimmy - it happened to me (see my post above). Not to downplay Joe's tragedy, but I sure am interested in hearing theories from those more mechanically knowledgeable than I. I orginally thought my incident was a fluke, but then Joe encounters the same problem 2 years later. Who is to say it won't happen again? In fact I think anyone who drives a 2000R on the track should be wary. The only thing I have going for me currently is that there are 2 nozzles attached to 5 pounds of Halon pointed at the fuel line. That may save me from significant damage in the future, but I would still like to know what the problem is so it can be fixed/avoided.Jimmysidecarr said:
I wonder if it is a fuel leak at the neck or maybe the weep hole.... then when entering a corner the sloosh spews the gas on the rear brakes or rear hub.
OR it could possibly be a rear hub that the bearing has gone bad in the heat builds up to a point that the bearing actually catches on fire and then the fire spreads..... I had this happen on a company work truck years ago.
Have ya'll compared notes as to what was going on right before and as the fire started. I.E. cornering, high speed straight, was fuel tank full, rear diff. temperatures high, extreme braking, any odd noises etc etc?????
OR it could possibly be a rear hub that the bearing has gone bad in the heat builds up to a point that the bearing actually catches on fire and then the fire spreads..... I had this happen on a company work truck years ago.
Have ya'll compared notes as to what was going on right before and as the fire started. I.E. cornering, high speed straight, was fuel tank full, rear diff. temperatures high, extreme braking, any odd noises etc etc?????
I was not at the event nor have I seen the results or maintenance details of either car. However I do have experience with the Fuel Safe Fuel Cells. IIRC the cell in the 00R's are made by Fuel Safe and they should be removed and sent back to Fuel Safe for re-certification of the bladder and can every 5 years, most sanctioning bodies require a val. cert. for race use. These cells have several other gaskets that should be inspected for leaks on a regular basis.
This is one of those things that can be overlooked when dealing with a "street" cars on track.
I was glad to hear that Joe, safety crew and everyone else was OK.
The Safe Craft RS10AAA is a very nice system for Mustangs run on track. It has enough Halon to buy some time even with 3 nozzles (trunk, cabin, and engine).
This is one of those things that can be overlooked when dealing with a "street" cars on track.
I was glad to hear that Joe, safety crew and everyone else was OK.
The Safe Craft RS10AAA is a very nice system for Mustangs run on track. It has enough Halon to buy some time even with 3 nozzles (trunk, cabin, and engine).
Flying Fred said:
Bruce mentioned over at SCMC that ....
ac427cobra said:Jimmy:
The opening in the top of the fuel cell (where the bladder and fuel pump are accessed) has a tendency to leak in stock form. I'm not sure why. I had to reseal mine, and then had to go back in because I was having fuel delivery issues with starvation in left hand turns.
If that thing starts leaking and you don't know it, you're just a time bomb.
I just finished a PPRV delete and internal hose change on a normal Cobra tank/pump set up. So this really jolted me a little.
Plus Joe has been my instructor before and I always enjoyed talking to him. He even was good enough to give my daughter Faye a real ride with him in a real Cobra R at MSRH.
Needless to say I was SOOO relieved to see he was unhurt during this incident.
Guys,
Thanks for your concern and comments. Wayne and I will be back in Texas on Wednesday evening. I will be dropping the car off at Bob Hahn's body shop on Thursday. We will put it on a rack and see if we can determine the failure point.
We believe the failure was caused by the pressuring up of the fuel cell due to the hot track temps (135 deg), high altitude, and the exhaust dumps in front of the rear axles. This caused the seal on top of the fuel cell to fail. (Initual inspection of the car)
I tried to fill the tank with gas after two sessions and was unable because the fuel cell was pressured up. Bruce Griggs said he had seen this before on fuel cells due to high temps and running in high altitudes.
l really want to wait until I get all the facts before stating what happened for sure. I know one thing, I had a fire suspression system installed (10 lb helon) with one nozzle aimed at the fuel cell. When I fired it off, it did nothing to reduce the fire. It was only when the fire truck arrived and hit it with foam that the fire was put out. I will update everyone when I know more. Thanks for your concern for my safety..I am fine. Just a bit bummed out to see my beautiful car damaged. But it will be repaired as good as new.
Thanks for your concern and comments. Wayne and I will be back in Texas on Wednesday evening. I will be dropping the car off at Bob Hahn's body shop on Thursday. We will put it on a rack and see if we can determine the failure point.
We believe the failure was caused by the pressuring up of the fuel cell due to the hot track temps (135 deg), high altitude, and the exhaust dumps in front of the rear axles. This caused the seal on top of the fuel cell to fail. (Initual inspection of the car)
I tried to fill the tank with gas after two sessions and was unable because the fuel cell was pressured up. Bruce Griggs said he had seen this before on fuel cells due to high temps and running in high altitudes.
l really want to wait until I get all the facts before stating what happened for sure. I know one thing, I had a fire suspression system installed (10 lb helon) with one nozzle aimed at the fuel cell. When I fired it off, it did nothing to reduce the fire. It was only when the fire truck arrived and hit it with foam that the fire was put out. I will update everyone when I know more. Thanks for your concern for my safety..I am fine. Just a bit bummed out to see my beautiful car damaged. But it will be repaired as good as new.
Guys,
If you want to see a sequence of events on the fire go to the following web site for pictures.
http://groups.msn.com/SVTCobraR/cobrarfire.msnw?Page=2
Regards,
If you want to see a sequence of events on the fire go to the following web site for pictures.
http://groups.msn.com/SVTCobraR/cobrarfire.msnw?Page=2
Regards,
Joe,
I'm truly sorry to hear about your accident at the SAAC event. I am however glad that you are alright and in good spirits despite this setback, I'm sure the car can be repaired as I have seen and restored a lot worse than what I have seen so far. Here is wishing you the best, you are a class act.
Sincerely,
Bill S.
PS: You might want to consider ditching the halon system if it did not do it's job and consider an AFF system (foam). Firefreeze is one company I used to deal with, they make the Coldfire systems. A couple of other company's also make these types of systems, just do a search on AFF + fire system and they will all pop up for your perusal.
I'm truly sorry to hear about your accident at the SAAC event. I am however glad that you are alright and in good spirits despite this setback, I'm sure the car can be repaired as I have seen and restored a lot worse than what I have seen so far. Here is wishing you the best, you are a class act.
Sincerely,
Bill S.
PS: You might want to consider ditching the halon system if it did not do it's job and consider an AFF system (foam). Firefreeze is one company I used to deal with, they make the Coldfire systems. A couple of other company's also make these types of systems, just do a search on AFF + fire system and they will all pop up for your perusal.
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