1,300HP Mercury Comet brake failure crash

[dennishoddy]

My son showed me that a week or so ago; I've got a '65 convertible, and the though of sourcing parts for a *decent* example makes my stomach turn. That one is toast.

The 64-65 had the coolest lines of any 60s car - the '65 (to me is one of the best looking cars of the 60s.

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I had a 65 Ford Fairland GT 390 with the NASCAR heads. I hated to get rid of it because it was a beast on the drag strip and got 16 mpg.
The frame around the rear wheels was cracking in several places. I put it for sale and took each wannabe buyer to the rear end and showed them the cracks. One guy took it, pulled the motor and put it in another vehicle scrapping the original body.
Looking at what prices are now for a vehicle like that, I'd have been better off putting it in the barn and saving it for a later sale but money was tight back in the 70's so off it went.
Same with the 56 chevy coupe with the first factory in dash AC I sold for $50 because the slush box 2 speed tranny went out.

 

[Chief Sapulpa]

I had a 65 Ford Fairland GT 390 with the NASCAR heads. I hated to get rid of it because it was a beast on the drag strip and got 16 mpg.
The frame around the rear wheels was cracking in several places. I put it for sale and took each wannabe buyer to the rear end and showed them the cracks. One guy took it, pulled the motor and put it in another vehicle scrapping the original body.
Looking at what prices are now for a vehicle like that, I'd have been better off putting it in the barn and saving it for a later sale but money was tight back in the 70's so off it went.
Same with the 56 chevy coupe with the first factory in dash AC I sold for $50 because the slush box 2 speed tranny went out.

Yeah, if i'd kept all my cars and motorcycles over my lifetime I'd not needed a 401k.

 

[Jack Shootza 50]

Interesting to see how he breaks down all the warning signs that took place before the crash. It’s a good reminder that not everyone maintains or pays attention to their equipment.

The operating word he said that caused this "CHEVY" A Merc with a Chevy engine would be blasphemous. It's like trying to breed an old milk cow with a thoroughbred racehorse.

 

[Stewie]

I sent this video to a buddy because it looks EXACTLY like something he would do during one if his builds/project cars. He's constantly "cutting corner" so to speak. Like taking the car for a test drive once he's gotten it running using a milk crate as a seat since the seats hadn't come in yet.

It's sad that these guys received life long injuries and the car was so heavily damaged by completely avoidable circumstances. Learning the hard way for sure.

 

[Michael M]

Interesting to see how he breaks down all the warning signs that took place before the crash. It’s a good reminder that not everyone maintains or pays attention to their equipment.

Did not mention if he had upgraded the brakes but that should have been the first thing after deciding to put in a 1300 hp motor in vehicle.
Agre with the others as if you have shoulder harnesses, use them.
Seems like guy narrating didn’t mention what happened to the other driver/people in the van.
Thought that was self centered on his part.

 

[Stewie]

Did not mention if he had upgraded the brakes but that should have been the first thing after deciding to put in a 1300 hp motor in vehicle.
Agre with the others as if you have shoulder harnesses, use them.
Seems like guy narrating didn’t mention what happened to the other driver/people in the van.
Thought that was self centered on his part.

The brakes are discussed at the 2:00 minute mark. They were installed 17 years prior to video and not upgraded to more modern solutions.

What likely happened here is while riding the brakes to account for the sticking throttle, the brakes overheated and caused the fluid to boil. Which, if it were also old, had likely absorbed a lot of moisture and reduced it's boiling point.

 

[wawazat]

lol i love videos where people are like
>heres me f'ing up
and then they use the rest of the video to just lecture the audience.

kinda lost any authority you had there bruh.

In a professional environment, we call it a lessons learned review. Those that were there in person along anyone that had to review/investigate are the best authorities on presenting the chain of events that led to an undesirable outcome. I hold them every time we have something come up that is bigger than just a quick coaching moment for the people involved. The difficult part is making sure the tone is set to encourage your team to want to share the lessons learned and not feel like it is a public shaming which it should never be.

 

[SoonerP226]

In a professional environment, we call it a lessons learned review.

Yeah, there are few people who have credibility like someone who owns his mistakes and candidly tells you what happened so you can avoid making them yourself.

 

[Two Gun Warrior]

Motor heads did not know about kill switches. Slam it in reverse. Should be charged with reckless endangerment! Like others what about the ones in the van?

 

[SoonerP226]

Motor heads did not know about kill switches. Slam it in reverse.

If you kill the engine, you also kill power steering and power brakes. If you watch closely, you'll see that he did shift; the way it was grinding, it sounded like he shifted into Park, but the parking pawl couldn't catch.