Vorshlag Motorsports Forum - Forum https://www.vorshlag.com/forums/ en Tue, 26 Nov 2024 22:34:25 GMT vBulletin 60 images/misc/rss.png Vorshlag Motorsports Forum - Forum https://www.vorshlag.com/forums/ So you crashed your race car - now what? https://www.vorshlag.com/forums/forum/product-details-read-only/seats-safety-gear/59241-so-you-crashed-your-race-car-now-what Wed, 20 Nov 2024 21:38:46 GMT SO YOU CRASHED YOUR RACE CAR - NOW WHAT?

On Friday October 25, 2024, I was racing our S550 Mustang (that we call "Trigger") at the SCCA Time Trial Nationals, which is an event that has competition times taken over 4 days at a track called NCM. This was a new track to me so I was trying to learn the course, but lost my first 2 sessions Thursday to other cars spinning, crashing, or traffic. I literally could not afford to waste a single lap on track, as I had much to learn but this big car really falls off after lap 1, due to the way Yokohama A052 tires heat up.



After this first Friday session (below, my 4th total session) I had barely gotten 4 laps unencumbered with traffic or yellow flags, and was really trying to zero in on the leaders in my class. I was having a pretty good time up to that point, and was within reach of a win, if I had more time...



In the very next session, on lap 1, I crashed in Turn 17 and impacted the outside wall at about 40 mph, with the left front of the car taking the brunt of the impact, but also hitting the left rear as well.



From the moment that I crashed I knew that I needed to record this - as I had good data logging and video recorders going. My hope now is to share what I have learned in this incident, as well as the last 36 years of track events and Time Trial competition, and fixing crashed customers' cars at my shop - so others can learn from my mistakes and be prepared for this end result, should it happen to them. If you do track driving for long enough, it is a statistical probability you might "join the club".

This article will start moments after the crash and cover the exit from the car, unloading from the roll back, loading the busted car for the trip home, damage assessment, parts ordering, the in-house repairs and final alignment work on the fixed race car, then track testing. Hopefully we can ALL avoid using The Money Gun if this happens to you!



1. DURING AND RIGHT AFTER THE CRASH

Nobody ever wants to contact a barrier or another car when you are on a race track, but if it happens to you, there are things you can do to minimize damage to your body - which is your FIRST concern. WEAR THE RIGHT SAFETY GEAR. I was wearing a HANS device, had brand new Lifeline 6-point harnesses that I had tightened well, was in a FIA / SFI 3.2 A/5 racing suit / gloves / shoes, and I could see the crash coming for a couple of seconds. I knew it was going to be a hit.

It is easy to say this, but harder to do: DON'T TENSE UP! That's how you pull muscles or break bones.



The steering wheel can whip in your hands, so be ready for that (unhook your thumbs). The data from the impact showed a 2.5g shock, which in the grand scheme of things wasn't very high. This car regularly sees 2.0g stops and cornering, with sticky tires and big aero. What you need to worry about is 10-20g+ impact loads that last for more than a few milliseconds. That sort of BIG impact flings arms and legs around and can break bones, for sure, but a brain moving inside a skull can be a real problem at those loads. This is getting more attention lately from boxers and football players, ie: Traumatic Brain Injury



Not the case here, I never blacked out. After the impact on the left front corner and side of the car at around 35 mph, I still had some forward momentum. Once I found that I still had some steering and stopping power, I traveled a little further along the side of the track, to better clear a potential second car's impact zone. I traveled slowly straight along the wall, through the grass and away from the impact site. The video below shows the crash and the aftermath - I turned the video off right before the EMT and wrecker showed up, which took about 5 minutes.



In case I had slipped off in someone else's fluids, moving ahead clears me from a potential second racer, who might join the party. By all means try to NOT make another impact with anything solid. If you can keep the car OFF the racing line, and even the entire racing surface if possible (sometimes dry grass means getting to the edge of the track). Stop moving safely and quickly, of course.



Once the car was fully stopped, it was time to KILL THE POWER. I shut off every system by hitting the main Cartek battery isolator (kill switch), which we have located in three places - one in the center gauge panel (for me to use) and two more buttons on both the left and right sides of the dash, within easy reach of a corner worker (if I am incapacitated or if I get out in the hurry and forget to shut off the power). These buttons have the required "lightning bolt" decal, both inside and outside of the car.

Then it was time to LOOK FOR SMOKE, and while I did see some brake smoke from the left front, it went away quickly. I could tell by the smell it was just tire klag on the brakes. I had the fire suppression system pulls within reach - with pulls located at both lateral edges of the dash, so I or a corner worker could get to them from either side. Luckily I didn't have to discharge the Lifeline AFFF system.



Next up you need to let the corner workers you are OK with the universal RAISED ARM OUT THE WINDOW WITH A THUMBS UP! This is important to remember, as the nearest corner worker is also likely furiously waving YELLOW FLAGS until other cars on track are gone (black flagged) or otherwise clearly informed that that they have a crashed car ahead. DON'T LEAVE THEM HANGING - get that arm out, over and over, with a thumbs up each time until you hear an audible "THANK YOU - WE SEE YOU!" from the corner worker. And that is exactly what happened.

By all means STAY IN THE CAR and tighten your belts UNLESS the car is ON FIRE. If you smell or see fuel leaking, get ready to exit, otherwise stay belted in. Belted in keeps you protected if another racer goes off in the same spot and impacts you.

2. GETTING OUT OF THE CAR + AMBULANCE RIDE

After the wrecker arrived on scene, someone came to the door and asked me if I was OK. I was still belted in and helmet on. I had already done a quick assessment of arms, legs, and head in the 5 minutes I waited until they arrived arrive, and said I was fine and had no pain. Of course you will have BUCKETS of adrenaline flowing through your veins, so don't trust this feeling fully. You will need to re-assess how you feel with the EMTs.



Getting out of the car can be easy, or maybe not. In my case this caged car has a fully functional door that opens, but a head restraint style containment Sparco seat which makes things harder. It helps in my case if I can slide the seat back (Sparco sliders) to get out of the open door quickly. Once the wrecker and EMTs arrived I unstrapped harnesses and started to get out. The slider was jammed AND the door wouldn't open more than a few inches, as the front fender had been shoved back into the door. And as you can see, with the door closed my helmet will not fit through the side window opening (this is common in modern cars with high shoulder lines).

This type of "restricted exit" was clearly something I should have practiced. Removing the helmet and HANs inside the car, maybe blindfolded, then climb out the window with the seat in the normal position IS MUCH HARDER THAN IT SEEMS. What followed was a less than graceful exit - with the help of the track official we opened the door partially, I got my head and back out the now wider window opening, then we re-closed the door, I sat on the window sill, and shimmied my body out. I will work on practicing this before I go back out on track.

Then I was taken to go to the nearby ambulance where EMTs did a quick assessment and asked me to go to the nearby hospital for examination. I knew my body was fine, no soreness or double vision, and I never blacked out (unlike a previous crash 10 years earlier). I refused the hospital visit and had to fill out a form stating that. I really wanted to go help with the cleanup and make sure we got all of the pieces that broke off the car, but they will NOT let you. The track workers will load your car with the front or rear tow hooks that your car (hopefully) has.

3. HOW TO UNLOAD FROM THE ROLL BACK IN PITS

The ambulance got back to my paddock spot and dropped me off before the wrecker arrived. The first thing I did was FIND MY PHONE and call my wife. She was on site and a bit frantic, but I got her calmed down and asked her to meet me at our trailer. I quickly got out of my fire suit and Coolshirt vest and got ready for the dirty work to follow.



When the roll back wrecker arrived moments later I could finally see the extent of the damage - the left front corner was pretty smashy, and the left front suspension, wheel, and steering were pretty tanked. This National TT Championship event was over for me, which was a real gut punch.

We needed to remove the rear diffuser to get the car off the wrecker. I knew what tools were needed, and I along with some buddies got to work quickly. With the diffuser off, the wrecker driver slid and tilted the flat bed back and dumped the car onto the pavement near my trailer. Plop!

4. TIPS TO LOADING A BUSTED RACE CAR INTO YOUR TRAILER

The car would not roll, as the left front wheel and suspension was flopping around like a badly broken limb. With the car on the ground, it was time to figure out how to get this busted mess into our trailer, which was no small matter. This wide car barely fits between the fenders inside this 8'6" wide trailer, so we needed to get that left front wheel off. At this point I regretted not having a "slider plate" (a big plastic panel that you can slide a car around on) or a wheel dolly.



We took a full sized floor jack and got to work - but it was too low to slide under the side with the busted tire. Some other racers pitched in and within a few minutes we had the front bumper cover plastics removed, which gave us access to lift up on the front bumper beam. We put a jack stand on the bumper to secure everything and allow me to work.

In the future we might add some "pockets" and a slip-in jack pad on the side, to help get a car with a flat tire up off the ground - as the jack would not fit under the side skirt, and we couldn't exactly "drive up on a board" to get some height. With the front off the ground, I removed the camber plate from the strut tower, which dropped the rest of that corner's suspension down. Then after cutting a few zip ties and disconnecting one brake line, the whole front left wheel, brake, and suspension came off.



The wrecker driver brought back part of the splitter, so we were able to salvage some of the splitter strut parts and one "tunnel". The wheel was deformed and stuck around the brake rotor and caliper, so that was set aside with a hope that we could re-use some of these pieces during repairs.



To get the car to roll we ran to Harbor Freight and paid $64 for a pair of 1500 pound car dollies, placing one under the front subframe. That allowed the car to roll, and I actually drove the car about 20 feet towards the trailer like this (see video below left).



Once lined up with the trailer, we used a jack and the dolly to get the car up onto the ramp, and the trailer's winch to pull the car in. Without the winch it would have taken a LOT of strong backs to load this car (have done it that way for a friend and it was terrible). A winch is a MUST inside of any race car trailer - you will thank me later. Spend the $300 to get you an 8000-12000 pound winch with Nylon cord that runs off a 12V battery. It is worth every penny.

Now that the car was in the trailer we could strap it down, then load and secure all of the broken bits we removed - the wheel / strut / brake assembly, the diffuser, remains of the splitter, and all of our normal track gear.

5. ONCE HOME - ASSESS THE DAMAGE QUICKLY

After the long 700 mile, 11 hour tow back to Texas, I got out of the truck and rested for a full day - just didn't touch anything inside the trailer. I was frustrated from the crash and tired from the trip back.

JUST DON'T GET IN A FUNK!

Do not let depression or procrastination sink in. What you do NOT want to do is "let the car sit" while you lick your wounds and think about racing again. Look, even if you lose your nerve and get out of the sport (a very small but real chance, in some cases) you can never sell a wrecked race car for any amount of money. And even if the unibody or chassis is damaged beyond repair, it is always better to know that sooner rather than later, and start to part out the good stuff quickly.

I've had customers that crashed a race car only to leave them in the trailer for a year or two, or shove them in storage and forget about them. Once you do that you can lose the momentum to ever want to work on the car again. I've seen wrecked cars sold after letting them sit and fester, and it is always at a huge loss. By any means possible FIX THE CAR as soon as you can, or at least do a good assessment and figure out if the chassis is a write off.



Some buddies of mine ran an endurance car for ten years, but nearly 18 months after a crash that wiped out the chassis, it took some pressing timelines on their new race car build to force them to strip the usable safety gear and electronics off the wreck. YES, it hurts to look at a wrecked race car, especially one that is totaled and not rebuildable. Still, the sooner you can get the valuable bits off and junk or sell the chassis, the better it is for your soul.

On the Monday after I got back, I was in a real funk. We removed some busted parts from the trailer, took a look at what could be seen without unloading, and started ordering some parts. By the Tuesday after returning, I was getting pressure from the crew, so we had to unload the car. Unfortunately our facility doesn't have a "fancy paved parking area" yet, so that act took some plywood, some pushing, and a winch to pull the car over gravel and up the slight ramp and into the shop.



After 45 minutes of work doing this, it was in the shop. Getting the car quickly onto a lift, removing busted bits, and assessing the damage was VERY cathartic. We noted broken control arms and some other things right away, but as more pieces came off the more we realized how GOOD the actual chassis looked.

Sure, there are some obviously bent and busted parts, but in any impact the ENERGY from the crash has to be absorbed somewhere - like through the wheels, fenders, control arms, spindles, dampers, and other parts. These are at the extremities and easily replaced, unlike the subframe, chassis, firewall, cage, and other core structures inside the car.



Now it was time to look at all of the load paths from this crash. The control arms that broke, where do they mount to? The splitter and diffuser that came loose or broke off, how do those mounting points look? In a big impact the mass of the engine and transmission can bend or break mounts or mounting points, so those need to be looked at.



The video above was taken on day 2 and 3 of repairs and shows our assessment and some of the main fixes done over that 48 hour period. I will touch on some of those things from the video throughout this post.

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Fair! https://www.vorshlag.com/forums/forum/product-details-read-only/seats-safety-gear/59241-so-you-crashed-your-race-car-now-what
Vorshlag BMW E36 Development + Project Hellrotten https://www.vorshlag.com/forums/forum/vorshlag-motorsports-discussions/vorshlag-project-cars/59232-vorshlag-bmw-e36-development-project-hellrotten Mon, 04 Nov 2024 21:13:41 GMT Project Introduction - July 31, 2024: Some of you are reading this "new" E36 thread might be wondering, how is this new? The E36 chassis has been out for 33 years - the 1992 model brought the E36 chassis to our shores, and 1995 model brought the E36 M3 - but we don't have a single unified "E36 Development" forum thread that is still active.


This is a teaser of where we are with Project Hellrotten in October of 2024 - full suspension upgrade, 4-point bar, seats, & 265mm tires

All of our old E36 forum threads are now lost or just fizzled out about 14 years ago, when we last owned one and quit making updates to those threads. Of course Vorshlag has worked on countless E36 cars, and even owned several examples of the E36 chassis. We have even written project threads for each of those and most of them are "lost to history" now (on forums we no longer frequent).



The "for sale" thread for our unicorn "no sunroof / M-technic interior" Silver 1997 M3 coupe (top left) is still around (here). I thought we got good money for that car when we sold it in 2011, but the new owner saw this red M3 build and offered to sell it back to me!


Don't ever look at a car in the rain - the paint ALWAYS looks great when it is wet. The paint was totally fried on this 1995 M3 once dry

We now have a "new" E36 project in the shop, the 1995 Hellrot red M3 coupe shown above. I figured it was a good time to start an E36 "Development" thread, which ties in old projects and new, and we have already made numerous new E36 related parts using this car. We will gather the data we have from working with this chassis over the last 20 years and put it into one easy to search forum thread.


This is what we started with on the "barn find" we now call on Project Hellrotten - a ratty 1995 M3 that had no clear coat and a lot off issues

We rescued this car from a long term "non-running" status and have turned into a street legal track car in a couple of months of work. If you want to learn more about this barn rescue to race car, and about other E36 tricks we have done over the years, maybe this is your forum thread. We will keep updating our 1995 M3 build here but also bring back some previous E36 chassis work we have done - and sometimes E46 work, which is often nearly the same.

And while this was posted in November 2024, I mostly finished this update July 31st - and that is where the project updates mostly stop.

PROJECT HELLROTTEN - INITIAL INSPECTIONS

Back in July of 2020, a customer reached out about this red 1995 BMW M3 his brother had owned, which was parked in a military barracks lot for "a number of years" in the sun, and not running. It ran when parked, but we know how that usually turns out. I first looked at the M3 on a rainy day (some of the pictures in the section above), and was somewhat smitten...



But I know a wet car always looks good, so we went back on a dry day and saw the poor condition of the paint in a better light. We haggled over price, I let the seller think about it for a few days, then once we came to a number we could all live with, Amy and I hauled it back to Vorshlag HQ. We were SLAMMED at the time so we left it next to our many "potentials" parked outside the shop, under car covers.



Somehow FOUR. YEARS. WENT. BY. That's right, time snuck up on me! On July 10, 2024 we finally had room in our schedule to bring this car in for a look. We dragged it over to the shop with my tractor and realized that the extra 4 years waiting outside had done the car no favors. We washed it off then pushed it into the shop to take a closer look - to see whether this could be a restored M3 or a race car candidate. Once I saw that it had 214K miles on the odometer, plus the condition of the paint and interior, the restoration plans were thrown out.




We looked closely at the interior, the exterior, engine bay, underneath, and more. I began factoring in costs to fully restore this car, and researched what they are bringing on the market with 214K miles. It became clear that restoring this in stock form made no sense from a financial perspective. It needed too much time / parts / money for what it could ever bring in a sale. It would be a Money Loser.

But a race car doesn't care about paint or mileage! Vorshlag had hired a new technician earlier in the summer that was good at diagnosing problems, so we threw this M3 on his schedule and he got busy. This car had so many issues to sort through that it would tie him up (between other projects) for a good three months. But what could we do with this race car build?



My wife Amy had sold her 2023 Subaru BRZ in early 2024 (above left) after racing it for a year in SCCA Tuner 3 class and winning the regional T3 championship - and we used it for developing a lot of new 86 parts. She had also just finished the 2024 SCCA TT season in our region winning 6 of 6 events in her 2024 Mustang Darkhorse (above right), on which we also developed new products on and it was going for sale in August 2024. So she needed a Time Trial car for her to run through the 2025 season, while we finished her 2013 FRS widebody LS swap build.



We started bench racing different classes and builds for this car, and settled on SCCA Time Trial Max4 class for the 2025 season. This lets us upgrade all of the suspension, add some aero, and put on as wide of a 200TW tire as we want. We can also do a cold air intake / full exhaust and header, plus a tune, and stay in one of the "slower" Max classes with the 2993 cc stock S50B30 engine.

And perhaps we can develop some NEW solutions for this 30 year old car - using techniques and solutions we have developed over the last 13 years since we last campaigned an E36 on track or autocross courses.

INITIAL TRIAGE + PARTS LIST

There were a number of things likely wrong with this car, and as the seller told us 4 years earlier it wasn't running then. Some tires were flat (time does this to tires), all but 1 of the 5 undertray pieces were gone, there was a lot of oil residue underneath the chassis,



We knew the battery would be junk, and since the car had sat for at least 7 years, we knew the gasoline would be trashed after only about 24 months. So I asked Christian to check the fuel pump wiring, and then pull the pump housing and the secondary fuel level float on the other side of the saddle tank.



With 12V applied to the pump nothing happened - it was shot, so Christian pulled the pump and float and sure enough, it was all ROTTEN. This car sat for a very long time. The fuel pump submersible fuel hose was broken, the electrical wiring was frayed, one of the floats had disintegrated, and the seals were trashed. A parts list was started.



The battery was junk, so that was added to the list. He then pumped out all of the old fuel from both sides of the stock saddle fuel tank, then wiped the insides clean. It saved time over just dropping the tank and power washing it. We looked closely at the brakes (junk), front hubs (junk), suspension (trashed), and many other areas.



Before throwing money at this rotten mess I asked Christian to do a compression check - and it actually came back pretty healthy. So the parts list was compiled and the credit card came out...

FIRE THE PARTS CANNON!

This is one of my favorite times in any restoration or race car build - the first round of parts ordering. We had some known bad parts and some unknown as well, and the fastest way to get a mess like this going is to "fire the parts cannon". This is a somewhat derogatory term used by hack mechanics to fix problems - just throw enough new parts at a car until you stumble upon a fix. But it works!



Five days after rolling this mess into the shop we had parts arriving. And with all of the rotten parts we had found on this car, and the Hellrot Red color this was painted, the name for this project was found: Project Hellrotten.




Some of the first parts to arrive were the "blue" fuel pump assembly and fuel level float assembly. These were relatively inexpensive and immediately installed into the now cleaned fuel tank. We hadn't replaced the battery yet but with regular charging it was good enough for initial testing.



Of course with a car that has rotten fuel you always replace the fuel filter as well. We filled the tank with 5 gallons of fresh 93 octane premium fuel, as well as some Lucas Fuel Treatment, to hopefully clean anything downstream from the fuel filter - like the injectors. We had some Lucas Oil Treatment as well, which I will discuss later.

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Vorshlag Project Cars Fair! https://www.vorshlag.com/forums/forum/vorshlag-motorsports-discussions/vorshlag-project-cars/59232-vorshlag-bmw-e36-development-project-hellrotten
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<![CDATA[ SO YOU CRASHED YOUR RACE CAR - NOW WHAT? On Friday October 25, 2024, I was racing our S550 Mustang (that we call &quot;Trigger&quot;) at the SCCA Time Trial Nationals, which is an event that has competition times taken over 4 days at a track called NCM. This was a new track to me so I was trying to learn... ]]>
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<![CDATA[ <span style="font-size:18px"><b>SO YOU CRASHED YOUR RACE CAR - NOW WHAT?</b></span><br /> <br /> On Friday October 25, 2024, I was racing our S550 Mustang (that we call &quot;Trigger&quot;) at the SCCA Time Trial Nationals, which is an event that has competition times taken over 4 days at a track called NCM. This was a new track to me so I was trying to learn the course, but lost my first 2 sessions Thursday to other cars spinning, crashing, or traffic. I literally could not afford to waste a single lap on track, as I had much to learn but this big car really falls off after lap 1, due to the way Yokohama A052 tires heat up.<br /> <br /> <a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/Vorshlag-2015-Mustang-Trigger-Phase-2/i-mbr8Jb9/0/NVp5H4RwtJsNpPHPMsHdv8RwfxT26BxKfT3jBzmrW/X2/2024TTNATS-3230-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="400" height="267" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/Vorshlag-2015-Mustang-Trigger-Phase-2/i-mbr8Jb9/0/NVp5H4RwtJsNpPHPMsHdv8RwfxT26BxKfT3jBzmrW/X2/2024TTNATS-3230-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/Vorshlag-2015-Mustang-Trigger-Phase-2/i-mbr8Jb9/0/NVp5H4RwtJsNpPHPMsHdv8RwfxT26BxKfT3jBzmrW/S/2024TTNATS-3230-S.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/2024-SCCA-TT-Nationals-NCM/i-RGpJpK8/0/NbFFwqn3PwzPQjGpZvzLWTJnBZ5kSvF6BkNxdrBtf/X2/IMG_0094-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="400" height="267" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/2024-SCCA-TT-Nationals-NCM/i-RGpJpK8/0/NbFFwqn3PwzPQjGpZvzLWTJnBZ5kSvF6BkNxdrBtf/X2/IMG_0094-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/2024-SCCA-TT-Nationals-NCM/i-RGpJpK8/0/NbFFwqn3PwzPQjGpZvzLWTJnBZ5kSvF6BkNxdrBtf/S/IMG_0094-S.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><br /> <br /> After this first Friday session (below, my 4th total session) I had barely gotten 4 laps unencumbered with traffic or yellow flags, and was really trying to zero in on the leaders in my class. I was having a pretty good time up to that point, and was within reach of a win, if I had more time...<br /> <br /> <a href="https://youtu.be/4JiaKfQXecw" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="800" height="450" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://youtu.be/4JiaKfQXecw" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/2024-SCCA-TT-Nationals-NCM/i-XFqTwSn/0/MWT8xsmV7pcZNgFD24xmWvTV88zqx69d6nNx9ScFX/L/Splash-fri-ses1-L.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><br /> <br /> In the very next session, on lap 1, I crashed in Turn 17 and impacted the outside wall at about 40 mph, with the left front of the car taking the brunt of the impact, but also hitting the left rear as well.<br /> <br /> <a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/TechArticles/Track-Maps/i-6v832qH/0/KGDrzHZBfh2G5pVSQhXzq2QbnHTR84T363Cw7TmSX/X2/NCS-course-map-simplified-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="800" height="273" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/TechArticles/Track-Maps/i-6v832qH/0/KGDrzHZBfh2G5pVSQhXzq2QbnHTR84T363Cw7TmSX/X2/NCS-course-map-simplified-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/TechArticles/Track-Maps/i-6v832qH/0/KGDrzHZBfh2G5pVSQhXzq2QbnHTR84T363Cw7TmSX/L/NCS-course-map-simplified-L.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><br /> <br /> From the moment that I crashed I knew that I needed to record this - as I had good data logging and video recorders going. My hope now is to share what I have learned in this incident, as well as the last 36 years of track events and Time Trial competition, and fixing crashed customers' cars at my shop - so others can learn from my mistakes and be prepared for this end result, should it happen to them. If you do track driving for long enough, it is a statistical probability you might &quot;join the club&quot;.<br /> <br /> This article will start moments after the crash and cover the exit from the car, unloading from the roll back, loading the busted car for the trip home, damage assessment, parts ordering, the in-house repairs and final alignment work on the fixed race car, then track testing. Hopefully we can ALL avoid using The Money Gun if this happens to you!<br /> <br /> <a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/Vorshlag-2015-Mustang-Trigger-Phase-2/i-Ksz9bxZ/0/MjDLvvwbjWgVCkR5HFbFntqKtHSJCnqX4FscpgLZt/X2/IMG_3484-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="799" height="533" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/Vorshlag-2015-Mustang-Trigger-Phase-2/i-Ksz9bxZ/0/MjDLvvwbjWgVCkR5HFbFntqKtHSJCnqX4FscpgLZt/X2/IMG_3484-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/Vorshlag-2015-Mustang-Trigger-Phase-2/i-Ksz9bxZ/0/MjDLvvwbjWgVCkR5HFbFntqKtHSJCnqX4FscpgLZt/L/IMG_3484-L.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><br /> <br /> <span style="font-size:18px"><b>1. DURING AND RIGHT AFTER THE CRASH</b></span><br /> <br /> Nobody ever wants to contact a barrier or another car when you are on a race track, but if it happens to you, there are things you can do to minimize damage to your body - which is your FIRST concern. WEAR THE RIGHT SAFETY GEAR. I was wearing a HANS device, had brand new Lifeline 6-point harnesses that I had tightened well, was in a FIA / SFI 3.2 A/5 racing suit / gloves / shoes, and I could see the crash coming for a couple of seconds. I knew it was going to be a hit.<br /> <br /> It is easy to say this, but harder to do: DON'T TENSE UP! That's how you pull muscles or break bones.<br /> <br /> <a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/2024-SCCA-TT-Nationals-NCM/i-xpTNZcd/0/Mtm2ZjhwMV8BrsBwBz5Cjzd65xCkTdwh4xvC2hBcS/X2/crash-impact-screenshot-X2.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="444" height="250" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/2024-SCCA-TT-Nationals-NCM/i-xpTNZcd/0/Mtm2ZjhwMV8BrsBwBz5Cjzd65xCkTdwh4xvC2hBcS/X2/crash-impact-screenshot-X2.jpg" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/2024-SCCA-TT-Nationals-NCM/i-xpTNZcd/0/Mtm2ZjhwMV8BrsBwBz5Cjzd65xCkTdwh4xvC2hBcS/S/crash-impact-screenshot-S.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/2024-SCCA-TT-Nationals-NCM/i-tntnWDt/0/LnBt454DM22hgKV2cX9ZJkJtG5nQCzNqnnTPdB3rW/X2/IMG_0091-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="375" height="250" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/2024-SCCA-TT-Nationals-NCM/i-tntnWDt/0/LnBt454DM22hgKV2cX9ZJkJtG5nQCzNqnnTPdB3rW/X2/IMG_0091-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/2024-SCCA-TT-Nationals-NCM/i-tntnWDt/0/LnBt454DM22hgKV2cX9ZJkJtG5nQCzNqnnTPdB3rW/S/IMG_0091-S.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><br /> <br /> The steering wheel can whip in your hands, so be ready for that (unhook your thumbs). The data from the impact showed a 2.5g shock, which in the grand scheme of things wasn't very high. This car regularly sees 2.0g stops and cornering, with sticky tires and big aero. What you need to worry about is 10-20g+ impact loads that last for more than a few milliseconds. That sort of BIG impact flings arms and legs around and can break bones, for sure, but a brain moving inside a skull can be a real problem at those loads. This is getting more attention lately from boxers and football players, ie: <b>Traumatic Brain Injury</b><br /> <br /> <a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/2024-SCCA-TT-Nationals-NCM/i-9dPZwD5/0/Kkt9vHRhXf8GLvFP392LWTzHhMQ38vdFxkxzcZswq/X2/Fri-Ses2-crash-min-max-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="799" height="352" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/2024-SCCA-TT-Nationals-NCM/i-9dPZwD5/0/Kkt9vHRhXf8GLvFP392LWTzHhMQ38vdFxkxzcZswq/X2/Fri-Ses2-crash-min-max-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/2024-SCCA-TT-Nationals-NCM/i-9dPZwD5/0/Kkt9vHRhXf8GLvFP392LWTzHhMQ38vdFxkxzcZswq/L/Fri-Ses2-crash-min-max-L.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><br /> <br /> Not the case here, I never blacked out. After the impact on the left front corner and side of the car at around 35 mph, I still had some forward momentum. Once I found that I still had some steering and stopping power, I traveled a little further along the side of the track, to better clear a potential second car's impact zone. I traveled slowly straight along the wall, through the grass and away from the impact site. The <b>video below</b> shows the crash and the aftermath - I turned the video off right before the EMT and wrecker showed up, which took about 5 minutes.<br /> <br /> <a href="https://youtu.be/ytqnxEvg9Yc" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="800" height="450" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://youtu.be/ytqnxEvg9Yc" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/2024-SCCA-TT-Nationals-NCM/i-9LK7Jjb/0/LP4423FTWfTMPbgwT9NFmLv73KXh5dnJ8WGQD7nX5/L/Splash-crash-video-final-L.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><br /> <br /> In case I had slipped off in someone else's fluids, moving ahead clears me from a potential second racer, who might join the party. By all means try to NOT make another impact with anything solid. If you can keep the car OFF the racing line, and even the entire racing surface if possible (sometimes dry grass means getting to the edge of the track). Stop moving safely and quickly, of course.<br /> <br /> <a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/Vorshlag-2015-Mustang-Trigger-Phase-2/i-fMHKLBp/0/K3n7pBKnP3CHkppsr6GnfxK5kCWJrrc6b34LL5vHK/X2/IMG_3192-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="400" height="267" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/Vorshlag-2015-Mustang-Trigger-Phase-2/i-fMHKLBp/0/K3n7pBKnP3CHkppsr6GnfxK5kCWJrrc6b34LL5vHK/X2/IMG_3192-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/Vorshlag-2015-Mustang-Trigger-Phase-2/i-fMHKLBp/0/K3n7pBKnP3CHkppsr6GnfxK5kCWJrrc6b34LL5vHK/S/IMG_3192-S.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/Vorshlag-2015-Mustang-Trigger-Phase-2/i-PxDX4Wr/0/MbhFNj46mW9g9dTxpv6t7jv6dzdWXCnsmvnsXZb6C/X2/IMG_3188-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="400" height="267" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/Vorshlag-2015-Mustang-Trigger-Phase-2/i-PxDX4Wr/0/MbhFNj46mW9g9dTxpv6t7jv6dzdWXCnsmvnsXZb6C/X2/IMG_3188-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/Vorshlag-2015-Mustang-Trigger-Phase-2/i-PxDX4Wr/0/MbhFNj46mW9g9dTxpv6t7jv6dzdWXCnsmvnsXZb6C/S/IMG_3188-S.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><br /> <br /> Once the car was fully stopped, it was time to KILL THE POWER. I shut off every system by hitting the main Cartek battery isolator (kill switch), which we have located in three places - one in the center gauge panel (for me to use) and two more buttons on both the left and right sides of the dash, within easy reach of a corner worker (if I am incapacitated or if I get out in the hurry and forget to shut off the power). These buttons have the required &quot;lightning bolt&quot; decal, both inside and outside of the car.<br /> <br /> Then it was time to LOOK FOR SMOKE, and while I did see some brake smoke from the left front, it went away quickly. I could tell by the <b>smell </b>it was just tire klag on the brakes. I had the fire suppression system pulls within reach - with pulls located at both lateral edges of the dash, so I or a corner worker could get to them from either side. Luckily I didn't have to discharge the Lifeline AFFF system.<br /> <br /> <a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/Apex-Lap-Attack-MSR-17-062224/i-rfXFfgS/0/MnZVsjm4Qgs8Nv6T7BtC232RRxMR999chP7b9jg2v/X2/3Q3A2302-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="799" height="533" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/Apex-Lap-Attack-MSR-17-062224/i-rfXFfgS/0/MnZVsjm4Qgs8Nv6T7BtC232RRxMR999chP7b9jg2v/X2/3Q3A2302-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/Apex-Lap-Attack-MSR-17-062224/i-rfXFfgS/0/MnZVsjm4Qgs8Nv6T7BtC232RRxMR999chP7b9jg2v/L/3Q3A2302-L.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><br /> <br /> Next up you need to let the corner workers you are OK with the universal RAISED ARM OUT THE WINDOW WITH A THUMBS UP! This is important to remember, as the nearest corner worker is also likely furiously waving YELLOW FLAGS until other cars on track are gone (black flagged) or otherwise clearly informed that that they have a crashed car ahead. DON'T LEAVE THEM HANGING - get that arm out, over and over, with a thumbs up each time until you hear an audible &quot;THANK YOU - WE SEE YOU!&quot; from the corner worker. And that is exactly what happened.<br /> <br /> By all means STAY IN THE CAR and tighten your belts UNLESS the car is ON FIRE. If you smell or see fuel leaking, get ready to exit, otherwise stay belted in. Belted in keeps you protected if another racer goes off in the same spot and impacts you.<br /> <br /> <span style="font-size:18px"><b>2. GETTING OUT OF THE CAR + AMBULANCE RIDE</b></span><br /> <br /> After the wrecker arrived on scene, someone came to the door and asked me if I was OK. I was still belted in and helmet on. I had already done a quick assessment of arms, legs, and head in the 5 minutes I waited until they arrived arrive, and said I was fine and had no pain. Of course you will have BUCKETS of adrenaline flowing through your veins, so don't trust this feeling fully. You will need to re-assess how you feel with the EMTs.<br /> <br /> <a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/Vorshlag-2015-Mustang-Trigger-Phase-2/i-XWsNLdP/0/KgWKrSzCX5N6rmJX89gJPNzMs96DKxWCWhZTwBgRR/X2/IMG_3565-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="400" height="267" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/Vorshlag-2015-Mustang-Trigger-Phase-2/i-XWsNLdP/0/KgWKrSzCX5N6rmJX89gJPNzMs96DKxWCWhZTwBgRR/X2/IMG_3565-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/Vorshlag-2015-Mustang-Trigger-Phase-2/i-XWsNLdP/0/KgWKrSzCX5N6rmJX89gJPNzMs96DKxWCWhZTwBgRR/S/IMG_3565-S.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/Vorshlag-2015-Mustang-Trigger-Phase-2/i-xFrcrnK/0/LWt6BfpGZqP6zGCZ7K3nRr3rqGv836CsmFhRVMsW8/X2/IMG_3563-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="400" height="266" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/Vorshlag-2015-Mustang-Trigger-Phase-2/i-xFrcrnK/0/LWt6BfpGZqP6zGCZ7K3nRr3rqGv836CsmFhRVMsW8/X2/IMG_3563-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/Vorshlag-2015-Mustang-Trigger-Phase-2/i-xFrcrnK/0/LWt6BfpGZqP6zGCZ7K3nRr3rqGv836CsmFhRVMsW8/S/IMG_3563-S.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><br /> <br /> Getting out of the car can be easy, or maybe not. In my case this caged car has a fully functional door that opens, but a head restraint style containment Sparco seat which makes things harder. It helps in my case if I can slide the seat back (Sparco sliders) to get out of the open door quickly. Once the wrecker and EMTs arrived I unstrapped harnesses and started to get out. The slider was jammed AND the door wouldn't open more than a few inches, as the front fender had been shoved back into the door. And as you can see, with the door closed my helmet will not fit through the side window opening (this is common in modern cars with high shoulder lines).<br /> <br /> This type of &quot;restricted exit&quot; was clearly something I should have practiced. Removing the helmet and HANs inside the car, maybe blindfolded, then climb out the window with the seat in the normal position IS MUCH HARDER THAN IT SEEMS. What followed was a less than graceful exit - with the help of the track official we opened the door partially, I got my head and back out the now wider window opening, then we re-closed the door, I sat on the window sill, and shimmied my body out. I will work on practicing this before I go back out on track.<br /> <br /> Then I was taken to go to the nearby ambulance where EMTs did a quick assessment and asked me to go to the nearby hospital for examination. I knew my body was fine, no soreness or double vision, and I never blacked out (unlike a previous crash 10 years earlier). I refused the hospital visit and had to fill out a form stating that. I really wanted to go help with the cleanup and make sure we got all of the pieces that broke off the car, but they will NOT let you. The track workers will load your car with the front or rear tow hooks that your car (hopefully) has.<br /> <br /> <span style="font-size:18px"><b>3. HOW TO UNLOAD FROM THE ROLL BACK IN PITS</b></span><br /> <br /> The ambulance got back to my paddock spot and dropped me off before the wrecker arrived. The first thing I did was FIND MY PHONE and call my wife. She was on site and a bit frantic, but I got her calmed down and asked her to meet me at our trailer. I quickly got out of my fire suit and Coolshirt vest and got ready for the dirty work to follow.<br /> <br /> <a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/2024-SCCA-TT-Nationals-NCM/i-h4sPnfd/0/LWF2kfpnVvF3x6QncP9PhPrG4WGkqtXkLwbRJ4Stv/X2/IMG_0092-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="400" height="267" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/2024-SCCA-TT-Nationals-NCM/i-h4sPnfd/0/LWF2kfpnVvF3x6QncP9PhPrG4WGkqtXkLwbRJ4Stv/X2/IMG_0092-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/2024-SCCA-TT-Nationals-NCM/i-h4sPnfd/0/LWF2kfpnVvF3x6QncP9PhPrG4WGkqtXkLwbRJ4Stv/S/IMG_0092-S.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/2024-SCCA-TT-Nationals-NCM/i-THhsjMp/0/NJGWsj3dH6HtBsL6BhVBJjHHBh7RSMnpwsZn5FRSP/X2/IMG_0093-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="400" height="266" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/2024-SCCA-TT-Nationals-NCM/i-THhsjMp/0/NJGWsj3dH6HtBsL6BhVBJjHHBh7RSMnpwsZn5FRSP/X2/IMG_0093-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/2024-SCCA-TT-Nationals-NCM/i-THhsjMp/0/NJGWsj3dH6HtBsL6BhVBJjHHBh7RSMnpwsZn5FRSP/S/IMG_0093-S.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><br /> <br /> When the roll back wrecker arrived moments later I could finally see the extent of the damage - the left front corner was pretty smashy, and the left front suspension, wheel, and steering were pretty tanked. This National TT Championship event was over for me, which was a real gut punch.<br /> <br /> We needed to remove the rear diffuser to get the car off the wrecker. I knew what tools were needed, and I along with some buddies got to work quickly. With the diffuser off, the wrecker driver slid and tilted the flat bed back and dumped the car onto the pavement near my trailer. Plop!<br /> <br /> <span style="font-size:18px"><b>4. TIPS TO LOADING A BUSTED RACE CAR INTO YOUR TRAILER</b></span><br /> <br /> The car would not roll, as the left front wheel and suspension was flopping around like a badly broken limb. With the car on the ground, it was time to figure out how to get this busted mess into our trailer, which was no small matter. This wide car barely fits between the fenders inside this 8'6&quot; wide trailer, so we needed to get that left front wheel off. At this point I regretted not having a &quot;slider plate&quot; (a big plastic panel that you can slide a car around on) or a wheel dolly.<br /> <br /> <a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/2024-SCCA-TT-Nationals-NCM/i-RGpJpK8/0/NbFFwqn3PwzPQjGpZvzLWTJnBZ5kSvF6BkNxdrBtf/X2/IMG_0094-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="400" height="267" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/2024-SCCA-TT-Nationals-NCM/i-RGpJpK8/0/NbFFwqn3PwzPQjGpZvzLWTJnBZ5kSvF6BkNxdrBtf/X2/IMG_0094-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/2024-SCCA-TT-Nationals-NCM/i-RGpJpK8/0/NbFFwqn3PwzPQjGpZvzLWTJnBZ5kSvF6BkNxdrBtf/S/IMG_0094-S.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/2024-SCCA-TT-Nationals-NCM/i-4QNxHXF/0/KLnZGq9CJVrSwGL2jTRf8VD5JZdCmDb89RF6LbszW/X2/IMG_0106-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="400" height="267" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/2024-SCCA-TT-Nationals-NCM/i-4QNxHXF/0/KLnZGq9CJVrSwGL2jTRf8VD5JZdCmDb89RF6LbszW/X2/IMG_0106-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/2024-SCCA-TT-Nationals-NCM/i-4QNxHXF/0/KLnZGq9CJVrSwGL2jTRf8VD5JZdCmDb89RF6LbszW/S/IMG_0106-S.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><br /> <br /> We took a full sized floor jack and got to work - but it was too low to slide under the side with the busted tire. Some other racers pitched in and within a few minutes we had the front bumper cover plastics removed, which gave us access to lift up on the front bumper beam. We put a jack stand on the bumper to secure everything and allow me to work.<br /> <br /> In the future we might add some &quot;pockets&quot; and a slip-in jack pad on the side, to help get a car with a flat tire up off the ground - as the jack would not fit under the side skirt, and we couldn't exactly &quot;drive up on a board&quot; to get some height. With the front off the ground, I removed the camber plate from the strut tower, which dropped the rest of that corner's suspension down. Then after cutting a few zip ties and disconnecting one brake line, the whole front left wheel, brake, and suspension came off.<br /> <br /> <a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/2024-SCCA-TT-Nationals-NCM/i-frwLvBP/0/M87mrn3w8PrHK79gT96g5rGnhsz8hCjMKSQCS6bgL/X2/IMG_0095-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="338" height="450" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/2024-SCCA-TT-Nationals-NCM/i-frwLvBP/0/M87mrn3w8PrHK79gT96g5rGnhsz8hCjMKSQCS6bgL/X2/IMG_0095-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/2024-SCCA-TT-Nationals-NCM/i-frwLvBP/0/M87mrn3w8PrHK79gT96g5rGnhsz8hCjMKSQCS6bgL/M/IMG_0095-M.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/2024-SCCA-TT-Nationals-NCM/i-CqWKMSG/0/NDPVvPQhfqCw5hfM32nPJ8t3N7fnCWPjWhzXwNPhx/X2/IMG_0107-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="355" height="450" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/2024-SCCA-TT-Nationals-NCM/i-CqWKMSG/0/NDPVvPQhfqCw5hfM32nPJ8t3N7fnCWPjWhzXwNPhx/X2/IMG_0107-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/2024-SCCA-TT-Nationals-NCM/i-CqWKMSG/0/NDPVvPQhfqCw5hfM32nPJ8t3N7fnCWPjWhzXwNPhx/M/IMG_0107-M.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><br /> <br /> The wrecker driver brought back part of the splitter, so we were able to salvage some of the splitter strut parts and one &quot;tunnel&quot;. The wheel was deformed and stuck around the brake rotor and caliper, so that was set aside with a hope that we could re-use some of these pieces during repairs.<br /> <br /> <a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/2024-SCCA-TT-Nationals-NCM/i-bC9CGBw/0/M59stfzPbCGk6snHKKNhCSjQ6gVrmKhgtPrNQJ5Pr/X2/IMG_0103-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="400" height="267" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/2024-SCCA-TT-Nationals-NCM/i-bC9CGBw/0/M59stfzPbCGk6snHKKNhCSjQ6gVrmKhgtPrNQJ5Pr/X2/IMG_0103-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/2024-SCCA-TT-Nationals-NCM/i-bC9CGBw/0/M59stfzPbCGk6snHKKNhCSjQ6gVrmKhgtPrNQJ5Pr/S/IMG_0103-S.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/2024-SCCA-TT-Nationals-NCM/i-RVMJxbr/0/MSDkLPmbcRJxBtCzx7mLdCMjzwBctgmnB5gs9nSJQ/X2/IMG_0134-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="400" height="267" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/2024-SCCA-TT-Nationals-NCM/i-RVMJxbr/0/MSDkLPmbcRJxBtCzx7mLdCMjzwBctgmnB5gs9nSJQ/X2/IMG_0134-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/2024-SCCA-TT-Nationals-NCM/i-RVMJxbr/0/MSDkLPmbcRJxBtCzx7mLdCMjzwBctgmnB5gs9nSJQ/S/IMG_0134-S.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><br /> <br /> To get the car to roll we ran to Harbor Freight and paid $64 for a pair of 1500 pound car dollies, placing one under the front subframe. That allowed the car to roll, and I actually drove the car about 20 feet towards the trailer like this (see video below left).<br /> <br /> <a href="https://vorshlag.smugmug.com/Projects/Vorshlag-2015-Mustang-Trigger-Phase-2/i-mcWD9hj/A" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="197" height="350" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://vorshlag.smugmug.com/Projects/Vorshlag-2015-Mustang-Trigger-Phase-2/i-mcWD9hj/A" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/Vorshlag-2015-Mustang-Trigger-Phase-2/i-mcWD9hj/0/LMRJpVmf6MqnqN3HgGVp6VghFLVgLgcrJpFc9LDGV/M/HPKT9723-M.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/2024-SCCA-TT-Nationals-NCM/i-sSRs44H/0/NC3vKhgMDw94TKDG5C6NNmxV4CNsdhZSDTgZkzKrr/X2/IMG_0116-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="525" height="350" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/2024-SCCA-TT-Nationals-NCM/i-sSRs44H/0/NC3vKhgMDw94TKDG5C6NNmxV4CNsdhZSDTgZkzKrr/X2/IMG_0116-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/2024-SCCA-TT-Nationals-NCM/i-sSRs44H/0/NC3vKhgMDw94TKDG5C6NNmxV4CNsdhZSDTgZkzKrr/M/IMG_0116-M.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><br /> <br /> Once lined up with the trailer, we used a jack and the dolly to get the car up onto the ramp, and the trailer's winch to pull the car in. Without the winch it would have taken a LOT of strong backs to load this car (have done it that way for a friend and it was terrible). A winch is a MUST inside of any race car trailer - you will thank me later. Spend the $300 to get you an 8000-12000 pound winch with Nylon cord that runs off a 12V battery. It is worth every penny.<br /> <br /> Now that the car was in the trailer we could strap it down, then load and secure all of the broken bits we removed - the wheel / strut / brake assembly, the diffuser, remains of the splitter, and all of our normal track gear.<br /> <br /> <span style="font-size:18px"><b>5. ONCE HOME - ASSESS THE DAMAGE QUICKLY</b></span><br /> <br /> After the long 700 mile, 11 hour tow back to Texas, I got out of the truck and rested for a full day - just didn't touch anything inside the trailer. I was frustrated from the crash and tired from the trip back.<br /> <br /> <span style="font-size:14px"><b>JUST DON'T GET IN A FUNK!</b></span><br /> <br /> Do not let depression or procrastination sink in. What you do NOT want to do is &quot;let the car sit&quot; while you lick your wounds and think about racing again. Look, even if you lose your nerve and get out of the sport (a very small but real chance, in some cases) you can never sell a wrecked race car for any amount of money. And even if the unibody or chassis is damaged beyond repair, it is always better to know that sooner rather than later, and start to part out the good stuff quickly.<br /> <br /> I've had customers that crashed a race car only to leave them in the trailer for a year or two, or shove them in storage and forget about them. Once you do that you can lose the momentum to ever want to work on the car again. I've seen wrecked cars sold after letting them sit and fester, and it is always at a huge loss. By any means possible FIX THE CAR as soon as you can, or at least do a good assessment and figure out if the chassis is a write off.<br /> <br /> <a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/99-firebird/i-mBDKZQ8/0/LjnbNd8sZQNqsvSF2rqJbCkwMHVnBRQg4qRhjQr99/X2/IMG_8448-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="400" height="267" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/99-firebird/i-mBDKZQ8/0/LjnbNd8sZQNqsvSF2rqJbCkwMHVnBRQg4qRhjQr99/X2/IMG_8448-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/99-firebird/i-mBDKZQ8/0/LjnbNd8sZQNqsvSF2rqJbCkwMHVnBRQg4qRhjQr99/S/IMG_8448-S.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/99-firebird/i-5HH2tdc/2/LTngCCVg3mrtjHxdHQNBXDkSCHJ4csrXd7RZf2cGN/X2/IMG_0531-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="400" height="267" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/99-firebird/i-5HH2tdc/2/LTngCCVg3mrtjHxdHQNBXDkSCHJ4csrXd7RZf2cGN/X2/IMG_0531-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/99-firebird/i-5HH2tdc/2/LTngCCVg3mrtjHxdHQNBXDkSCHJ4csrXd7RZf2cGN/S/IMG_0531-S.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><br /> <br /> Some buddies of mine ran an endurance car for ten years, but nearly 18 months after a crash that wiped out the chassis, it took some pressing timelines on their new race car build to force them to strip the usable safety gear and electronics off the wreck. YES, it hurts to look at a wrecked race car, especially one that is totaled and not rebuildable. Still, the sooner you can get the valuable bits off and junk or sell the chassis, the better it is for your soul.<br /> <br /> On the Monday after I got back, I was in a real funk. We removed some busted parts from the trailer, took a look at what could be seen without unloading, and started ordering some parts. By the Tuesday after returning, I was getting pressure from the crew, so we had to unload the car. Unfortunately our facility doesn't have a &quot;fancy paved parking area&quot; yet, so that act took some plywood, some pushing, and a winch to pull the car over gravel and up the slight ramp and into the shop.<br /> <br /> <a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/Vorshlag-2015-Mustang-Trigger-Phase-2/i-TZL2cdB/0/KjRCNtJKjmhMDGFrMdNDx6GV8S3zJgK7ZMDWqLm8j/X2/IMG_3417-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="400" height="267" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/Vorshlag-2015-Mustang-Trigger-Phase-2/i-TZL2cdB/0/KjRCNtJKjmhMDGFrMdNDx6GV8S3zJgK7ZMDWqLm8j/X2/IMG_3417-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/Vorshlag-2015-Mustang-Trigger-Phase-2/i-TZL2cdB/0/KjRCNtJKjmhMDGFrMdNDx6GV8S3zJgK7ZMDWqLm8j/S/IMG_3417-S.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/Vorshlag-2015-Mustang-Trigger-Phase-2/i-NswSJbN/0/LbSb4WfD52d8QPNnf6vgs8vTqxHqgf8GqkzHcJt9K/X2/IMG_3419-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="400" height="267" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/Vorshlag-2015-Mustang-Trigger-Phase-2/i-NswSJbN/0/LbSb4WfD52d8QPNnf6vgs8vTqxHqgf8GqkzHcJt9K/X2/IMG_3419-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/Vorshlag-2015-Mustang-Trigger-Phase-2/i-NswSJbN/0/LbSb4WfD52d8QPNnf6vgs8vTqxHqgf8GqkzHcJt9K/S/IMG_3419-S.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><br /> <br /> After 45 minutes of work doing this, it was in the shop. Getting the car quickly onto a lift, removing busted bits, and assessing the damage was VERY cathartic. We noted broken control arms and some other things right away, but as more pieces came off the more we realized how GOOD the actual chassis looked.<br /> <br /> Sure, there are some obviously bent and busted parts, but in any impact the ENERGY from the crash has to be absorbed somewhere - like through the wheels, fenders, control arms, spindles, dampers, and other parts. These are at the extremities and easily replaced, unlike the subframe, chassis, firewall, cage, and other core structures inside the car.<br /> <br /> <a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/Vorshlag-2015-Mustang-Trigger-Phase-2/i-3PhrXfq/0/Lhj2rNd7bwpbshW3bw8fzMrBStqfkR2dcJrnsBGZp/X2/IMG_3420-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="400" height="267" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/Vorshlag-2015-Mustang-Trigger-Phase-2/i-3PhrXfq/0/Lhj2rNd7bwpbshW3bw8fzMrBStqfkR2dcJrnsBGZp/X2/IMG_3420-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/Vorshlag-2015-Mustang-Trigger-Phase-2/i-3PhrXfq/0/Lhj2rNd7bwpbshW3bw8fzMrBStqfkR2dcJrnsBGZp/S/IMG_3420-S.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/Vorshlag-2015-Mustang-Trigger-Phase-2/i-8jkD9F3/0/Mh4KbNTXp6nfKLrtcmPhcZDqWwVK9RDXxGFfJ58rW/X2/IMG_3430-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="400" height="267" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/Vorshlag-2015-Mustang-Trigger-Phase-2/i-8jkD9F3/0/Mh4KbNTXp6nfKLrtcmPhcZDqWwVK9RDXxGFfJ58rW/X2/IMG_3430-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/Vorshlag-2015-Mustang-Trigger-Phase-2/i-8jkD9F3/0/Mh4KbNTXp6nfKLrtcmPhcZDqWwVK9RDXxGFfJ58rW/S/IMG_3430-S.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><br /> <br /> Now it was time to look at all of the <b>load paths</b> from this crash. The control arms that broke, where do they mount to? The splitter and diffuser that came loose or broke off, how do those mounting points look? In a big impact the mass of the engine and transmission can bend or break mounts or mounting points, so those need to be looked at.<br /> <br /> <a href="https://youtu.be/11RQUxCvucs" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="800" height="450" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://youtu.be/11RQUxCvucs" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/Vorshlag-2015-Mustang-Trigger-Phase-2/i-HWHrR85/0/Kksv2Kxcmcwk4qP8H6CGv5NbCMNjc5r59tPBstJkM/L/Splash-crash-assessment-103124-L.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><br /> <br /> The video above was taken on day 2 and 3 of repairs and shows our assessment and some of the main fixes done over that 48 hour period. I will touch on some of those things from the video throughout this post.<br /> <br /> <i>continued below</i> ]]>
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<category domain="https://www.vorshlag.com/forums/forum/product-details-read-only/seats-safety-gear">
<![CDATA[ Seats &amp; Safety Gear ]]>
</category>
<dc:creator>Fair!</dc:creator>
<guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.vorshlag.com/forums/forum/product-details-read-only/seats-safety-gear/59241-so-you-crashed-your-race-car-now-what</guid>
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<item>
<title>Vorshlag BMW E36 Development + Project Hellrotten</title>
<link>https://www.vorshlag.com/forums/forum/vorshlag-motorsports-discussions/vorshlag-project-cars/59232-vorshlag-bmw-e36-development-project-hellrotten</link>
<pubDate>Mon, 04 Nov 2024 21:13:41 GMT</pubDate>
<description>
<![CDATA[ Project Introduction - July 31, 2024: Some of you are reading this &quot;new&quot; E36 thread might be wondering, how is this new? The E36 chassis has been out for 33 years - the 1992 model brought the E36 chassis to our shores, and 1995 model brought the E36 M3 - but we don't have a single unified &quot;E36... ]]>
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<content:encoded>
<![CDATA[ <u><b>Project Introduction - July 31, 2024:</b></u> Some of you are reading this &quot;new&quot; E36 thread might be wondering, how is this new? The E36 chassis has been out for 33 years - the 1992 model brought the E36 chassis to our shores, and 1995 model brought the E36 M3 - but we don't have a single unified &quot;E36 Development&quot; forum thread that is still active.<br /> <br /> <a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/Track-Test-1-Hellrotten-101724/i-6QFBMfh/0/MJ6DJJ7vpGjbHBqv5HrVXwWMGrms3sjCCRTJj3Fj6/X2/IMG_9964-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="799" height="533" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/Track-Test-1-Hellrotten-101724/i-6QFBMfh/0/MJ6DJJ7vpGjbHBqv5HrVXwWMGrms3sjCCRTJj3Fj6/X2/IMG_9964-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/Track-Test-1-Hellrotten-101724/i-6QFBMfh/0/MJ6DJJ7vpGjbHBqv5HrVXwWMGrms3sjCCRTJj3Fj6/L/IMG_9964-L.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><br /> <i>This is a teaser of where we are with Project Hellrotten in October of 2024 - full suspension upgrade, 4-point bar, seats, &amp; 265mm tires</i><br /> <br /> All of our old E36 forum threads are now lost or just fizzled out about 14 years ago, when we last owned one and quit making updates to those threads. Of course Vorshlag has worked on countless E36 cars, and even owned several examples of the E36 chassis. We have even written project threads for each of those and most of them are &quot;lost to history&quot; now (on forums we no longer frequent).<br /> <br /> <a href="http://vorshlag.smugmug.com/photos/156764487-X3-1.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="399" height="266" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="http://vorshlag.smugmug.com/photos/156764487-X3-1.jpg" data-size="full" border="0" src="http://vorshlag.smugmug.com/photos/156764487-S-1.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><img data-align="none" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://www.vorshlag.com/forums/core/image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" />&#8203;<a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/BMW-E36-LS1-Alpha-car/i-gKqFtbc/1/K63JC2bSQxwfbnPkNBQkXxXng8DBxX4nTTV93nGvN/X3/DSC_6763-X3.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="400" height="267" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/BMW-E36-LS1-Alpha-car/i-gKqFtbc/1/K63JC2bSQxwfbnPkNBQkXxXng8DBxX4nTTV93nGvN/X3/DSC_6763-X3.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/BMW-E36-LS1-Alpha-car/i-gKqFtbc/1/K63JC2bSQxwfbnPkNBQkXxXng8DBxX4nTTV93nGvN/S/DSC_6763-S.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><img data-align="none" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://www.vorshlag.com/forums/core/image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" />&#8203;<br /> <br /> The &quot;for sale&quot; thread for our unicorn &quot;no sunroof / M-technic interior&quot; Silver 1997 M3 coupe (top left) <a href="https://www.vorshlag.com/forums/forum/vorshlag-motorsports-discussions/vorshlag-project-cars/6843-for-sale-vorshlag-1997-bmw-m3-no-sunroof-cloth-5-spd-coupe" target="_blank"><b>is still around (here)</b></a>. I thought we got good money for that car when we sold it in 2011, but the new owner saw this red M3 build and offered to sell it back to me!<br /> <br /> <img data-align="none" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://www.vorshlag.com/forums/core/image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" />&#8203;<a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-3Bp5Vcs/2/LBsNCPZdxxtsLHbSJSBQhKkVfCTFFVkDg9Nj43SSh/X2/IMG_9796-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="400" height="267" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-3Bp5Vcs/2/LBsNCPZdxxtsLHbSJSBQhKkVfCTFFVkDg9Nj43SSh/X2/IMG_9796-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-3Bp5Vcs/2/LBsNCPZdxxtsLHbSJSBQhKkVfCTFFVkDg9Nj43SSh/S/IMG_9796-S.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><img data-align="none" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://www.vorshlag.com/forums/core/image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /><a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-3ct22tB/2/KWZ79LBgZ6FdwDNVngf3vCQL6ZJ9vw5rQbFn6bmsZ/X2/IMG_9790-X2.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="400" height="267" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-3ct22tB/2/KWZ79LBgZ6FdwDNVngf3vCQL6ZJ9vw5rQbFn6bmsZ/X2/IMG_9790-X2.jpg" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-3ct22tB/2/KWZ79LBgZ6FdwDNVngf3vCQL6ZJ9vw5rQbFn6bmsZ/S/IMG_9790-S.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><br /> <i>Don't ever look at a car in the rain - the paint ALWAYS looks great when it is wet. The paint was totally fried on this 1995 M3 once dry</i><br /> <br /> We now have a &quot;new&quot; E36 project in the shop, the 1995 Hellrot red M3 coupe shown above. I figured it was a good time to start an E36 &quot;Development&quot; thread, which ties in old projects and new, and we have already made numerous new E36 related parts using this car. We will gather the data we have from working with this chassis over the last 20 years and put it into one easy to search forum thread.<br /> <br /> <a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-K3HRCb7/0/Mx98sPMqwxCScdmB3RQvwh22Ws2h6frF9rhRDcnm8/X2/IMG_0535-X2.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="800" height="534" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-K3HRCb7/0/Mx98sPMqwxCScdmB3RQvwh22Ws2h6frF9rhRDcnm8/X2/IMG_0535-X2.jpg" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-K3HRCb7/0/Mx98sPMqwxCScdmB3RQvwh22Ws2h6frF9rhRDcnm8/L/IMG_0535-L.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><br /> <i>This is what we started with on the &quot;barn find&quot; we now call on Project Hellrotten - a ratty 1995 M3 that had no clear coat and a lot off issues</i><br /> <br /> We rescued this car from a long term &quot;non-running&quot; status and have turned into a street legal track car in a couple of months of work. If you want to learn more about this barn rescue to race car, and about other E36 tricks we have done over the years, maybe this is your forum thread. We will keep updating our 1995 M3 build here but also bring back some previous E36 chassis work we have done - and sometimes E46 work, which is often nearly the same.<br /> <br /> And while this was posted in November 2024, I mostly finished this update July 31st - and that is where the project updates mostly stop.<br /> <br /> <span style="font-size:18px"><b>PROJECT HELLROTTEN - INITIAL INSPECTIONS</b></span><br /> <br /> Back in July of 2020, a customer reached out about this red 1995 BMW M3 his brother had owned, which was parked in a military barracks lot for &quot;a number of years&quot; in the sun, and not running. It ran when parked, but we know how that usually turns out. I first looked at the M3 on a rainy day (some of the pictures in the section above), and was somewhat smitten...<br /> <br /> <a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-LBqSGvq/1/NNJmnfVQJq8PvVv54HKnRw8QxVWBWcBn63qPWWW9m/X2/IMG_9990-X2.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="400" height="267" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-LBqSGvq/1/NNJmnfVQJq8PvVv54HKnRw8QxVWBWcBn63qPWWW9m/X2/IMG_9990-X2.jpg" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-LBqSGvq/1/NNJmnfVQJq8PvVv54HKnRw8QxVWBWcBn63qPWWW9m/S/IMG_9990-S.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><img data-align="none" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://www.vorshlag.com/forums/core/image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" />&#8203;<a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-4s9PHJJ/0/KVLjsnHfB8ZscvVPN4pmhmpTx2qsxZbK8s56r9vhP/X2/IMG_3948-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="400" height="266" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-4s9PHJJ/0/KVLjsnHfB8ZscvVPN4pmhmpTx2qsxZbK8s56r9vhP/X2/IMG_3948-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-4s9PHJJ/0/KVLjsnHfB8ZscvVPN4pmhmpTx2qsxZbK8s56r9vhP/S/IMG_3948-S.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><img data-align="none" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://www.vorshlag.com/forums/core/image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /><br /> <br /> But I know a wet car always looks good, so we went back on a dry day and saw the poor condition of the paint in a better light. We haggled over price, I let the seller think about it for a few days, then once we came to a number we could all live with, Amy and I hauled it back to Vorshlag HQ. We were SLAMMED at the time so we left it next to our many &quot;potentials&quot; parked outside the shop, under car covers.<br /> <br /> <a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-KXbhNw6/0/NVL5s577sWvQv2c7Ghq5zdcjpgc2F8tt3mRG4Cpj4/X2/IMG_0536-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="800" height="534" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-KXbhNw6/0/NVL5s577sWvQv2c7Ghq5zdcjpgc2F8tt3mRG4Cpj4/X2/IMG_0536-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-KXbhNw6/0/NVL5s577sWvQv2c7Ghq5zdcjpgc2F8tt3mRG4Cpj4/L/IMG_0536-L.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><br /> <br /> Somehow FOUR. YEARS. WENT. BY. That's right, time snuck up on me! On July 10, 2024 we finally had room in our schedule to bring this car in for a look. We dragged it over to the shop with my tractor and realized that the extra 4 years waiting outside had done the car no favors. We washed it off then pushed it into the shop to take a closer look - to see whether this could be a <b>restored M3</b> or a <b>race car</b> candidate. Once I saw that it had 214K miles on the odometer, plus the condition of the paint and interior, the restoration plans were thrown out.<br /> <br /> <br /> <a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-LKzdCvH/0/LfzBtbL4tgDJpTpdwWcQGTj4sWdfFrD2ZqQwNXqqt/X2/IMG_0547-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="400" height="267" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-LKzdCvH/0/LfzBtbL4tgDJpTpdwWcQGTj4sWdfFrD2ZqQwNXqqt/X2/IMG_0547-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-LKzdCvH/0/LfzBtbL4tgDJpTpdwWcQGTj4sWdfFrD2ZqQwNXqqt/S/IMG_0547-S.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-b6NPVTJ/0/KvJdwMc3D8JmpfD9GXzRJQkjxbCQh93jnfhgbDm8b/X2/IMG_0550-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="400" height="267" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-b6NPVTJ/0/KvJdwMc3D8JmpfD9GXzRJQkjxbCQh93jnfhgbDm8b/X2/IMG_0550-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-b6NPVTJ/0/KvJdwMc3D8JmpfD9GXzRJQkjxbCQh93jnfhgbDm8b/S/IMG_0550-S.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><br /> <br /> We looked closely at the interior, the exterior, engine bay, underneath, and more. I began factoring in costs to fully restore this car, and researched what they are bringing on the market with 214K miles. It became clear that restoring this in stock form made no sense from a financial perspective. It needed too much time / parts / money for what it could ever bring in a sale. It would be a <b>Money Loser</b>.<br /> <br /> But a race car doesn't care about paint or mileage! Vorshlag had hired a new technician earlier in the summer that was good at diagnosing problems, so we threw this M3 on his schedule and he got busy. This car had so many issues to sort through that it would tie him up (between other projects) for a good three months. But what could we do with this race car build?<br /> <br /> <a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/Apex-Lap-Attack-MSR-17-062423/i-bJh3prd/0/KWr7fwFNXLVbqhWFxgNfVBWkcqqxfGw2nkzbS5rKr/X2/DSC07030-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="400" height="267" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/Apex-Lap-Attack-MSR-17-062423/i-bJh3prd/0/KWr7fwFNXLVbqhWFxgNfVBWkcqqxfGw2nkzbS5rKr/X2/DSC07030-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/Apex-Lap-Attack-MSR-17-062423/i-bJh3prd/0/KWr7fwFNXLVbqhWFxgNfVBWkcqqxfGw2nkzbS5rKr/S/DSC07030-S.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/SCCA-TT-MSR-17-081024/i-GS5vMh4/0/MfH5tdtM8cTqFrdZvXcgD8km3tmb5MdvjSGjmgbrM/X2/0810fair-6276-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="399" height="266" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/SCCA-TT-MSR-17-081024/i-GS5vMh4/0/MfH5tdtM8cTqFrdZvXcgD8km3tmb5MdvjSGjmgbrM/X2/0810fair-6276-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/SCCA-TT-MSR-17-081024/i-GS5vMh4/0/MfH5tdtM8cTqFrdZvXcgD8km3tmb5MdvjSGjmgbrM/S/0810fair-6276-S.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><br /> <br /> My wife Amy had sold her <a href="https://vorshlag-store.com/pages/for-sale-2023-subaru-brz" target="_blank">2023 Subaru BRZ</a> in early 2024 (above left) after racing it for a year in SCCA Tuner 3 class and winning the regional T3 championship - and we used it for developing a lot of new 86 parts. She had also just finished the 2024 SCCA TT season in our region winning 6 of 6 events in her<a href="https://vorshlag-store.com/pages/for-sale-2024-mustang-darkhorse" target="_blank"> 2024 Mustang Darkhorse</a> (above right), on which we also developed new products on and it was going for sale in August 2024. So she needed a Time Trial car for her to run through the 2025 season, while we finished her 2013 FRS widebody LS swap build.<br /> <br /> <a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/Track-Test-1-Hellrotten-101724/i-HhzFVGV/0/Nhp8zTGbKLLXHV9nRjH3phdBFfgJXDJbJ493K8JvW/X2/IMG_9980-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="800" height="533" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/Track-Test-1-Hellrotten-101724/i-HhzFVGV/0/Nhp8zTGbKLLXHV9nRjH3phdBFfgJXDJbJ493K8JvW/X2/IMG_9980-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Racing-Events/Track-Test-1-Hellrotten-101724/i-HhzFVGV/0/Nhp8zTGbKLLXHV9nRjH3phdBFfgJXDJbJ493K8JvW/L/IMG_9980-L.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><br /> <br /> We started bench racing different classes and builds for this car, and settled on SCCA Time Trial Max4 class for the 2025 season. This lets us upgrade all of the suspension, add some aero, and put on as wide of a 200TW tire as we want. We can also do a cold air intake / full exhaust and header, plus a tune, and stay in one of the &quot;slower&quot; Max classes with the 2993 cc stock S50B30 engine.<br /> <br /> And perhaps we can develop some NEW solutions for this 30 year old car - using techniques and solutions we have developed over the last 13 years since we last campaigned an E36 on track or autocross courses.<br /> <br /> <span style="font-size:18px"><b>INITIAL TRIAGE + PARTS LIST</b></span><br /> <br /> There were a number of things likely wrong with this car, and as the seller told us 4 years earlier it wasn't running then. Some tires were flat (time does this to tires), all but 1 of the 5 undertray pieces were gone, there was a lot of oil residue underneath the chassis,<br /> <br /> <a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-M9wrLfX/0/LwtZmhPf3jGdn9JLGMsGp342skHvFbjtbk4P9BNzq/X2/IMG_0577-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="799" height="533" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-M9wrLfX/0/LwtZmhPf3jGdn9JLGMsGp342skHvFbjtbk4P9BNzq/X2/IMG_0577-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-M9wrLfX/0/LwtZmhPf3jGdn9JLGMsGp342skHvFbjtbk4P9BNzq/L/IMG_0577-L.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><br /> <br /> We knew the battery would be junk, and since the car had sat for at least 7 years, we knew the gasoline would be trashed after only about 24 months. So I asked Christian to check the fuel pump wiring, and then pull the pump housing and the secondary fuel level float on the other side of the saddle tank.<br /> <br /> <a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-p4LDgQH/0/KrhVptvsHR26WpmqfsXG8txVv4PzkFPbptM6pvWM9/X2/IMG_0553-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="400" height="267" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-p4LDgQH/0/KrhVptvsHR26WpmqfsXG8txVv4PzkFPbptM6pvWM9/X2/IMG_0553-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-p4LDgQH/0/KrhVptvsHR26WpmqfsXG8txVv4PzkFPbptM6pvWM9/S/IMG_0553-S.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-XB3Jf3X/0/M5kxp4D5kDSC23M3NpDXLVsPFBhgxCB8SZJtgxL3s/X2/IMG_0558-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="400" height="267" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-XB3Jf3X/0/M5kxp4D5kDSC23M3NpDXLVsPFBhgxCB8SZJtgxL3s/X2/IMG_0558-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-XB3Jf3X/0/M5kxp4D5kDSC23M3NpDXLVsPFBhgxCB8SZJtgxL3s/S/IMG_0558-S.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><br /> <br /> With 12V applied to the pump nothing happened - it was shot, so Christian pulled the pump and float and sure enough, it was all <b>ROTTEN</b>. This car sat for a very long time. The fuel pump submersible fuel hose was broken, the electrical wiring was frayed, one of the floats had disintegrated, and the seals were trashed. A parts list was started.<br /> <br /> <a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-p7RGXKd/0/MRm5j397bCt9wPKJnv7CBHLr5NM4DrxfHVvHC7NPw/X2/IMG_0552-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="400" height="267" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-p7RGXKd/0/MRm5j397bCt9wPKJnv7CBHLr5NM4DrxfHVvHC7NPw/X2/IMG_0552-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-p7RGXKd/0/MRm5j397bCt9wPKJnv7CBHLr5NM4DrxfHVvHC7NPw/S/IMG_0552-S.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-WW7JPCb/0/MfW6Ff3WL8RMZKcKNLhKPgz5swN5h9nhjZpBMjmDZ/X2/IMG_0563-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="400" height="267" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-WW7JPCb/0/MfW6Ff3WL8RMZKcKNLhKPgz5swN5h9nhjZpBMjmDZ/X2/IMG_0563-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-WW7JPCb/0/MfW6Ff3WL8RMZKcKNLhKPgz5swN5h9nhjZpBMjmDZ/S/IMG_0563-S.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><br /> <br /> The battery was junk, so that was added to the list. He then pumped out all of the old fuel from both sides of the stock saddle fuel tank, then wiped the insides clean. It saved time over just dropping the tank and power washing it. We looked closely at the brakes (junk), front hubs (junk), suspension (trashed), and many other areas.<br /> <br /> <a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-GzPhnmQ/0/KKmpKKg2xbMhJpVjgbP54ZNzvwwXgZJgPq34knDTd/X2/IMG_0617-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="400" height="267" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-GzPhnmQ/0/KKmpKKg2xbMhJpVjgbP54ZNzvwwXgZJgPq34knDTd/X2/IMG_0617-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-GzPhnmQ/0/KKmpKKg2xbMhJpVjgbP54ZNzvwwXgZJgPq34knDTd/S/IMG_0617-S.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-jNZr3Qt/0/LMbXrCktFqpJkVVhRH2z3B8DqGJFv6m943vfWj2gh/X2/IMG_0615-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="400" height="267" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-jNZr3Qt/0/LMbXrCktFqpJkVVhRH2z3B8DqGJFv6m943vfWj2gh/X2/IMG_0615-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-jNZr3Qt/0/LMbXrCktFqpJkVVhRH2z3B8DqGJFv6m943vfWj2gh/S/IMG_0615-S.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><br /> <br /> Before throwing money at this rotten mess I asked Christian to do a compression check - and it actually came back pretty healthy. So the parts list was compiled and the credit card came out...<br /> <br /> <span style="font-size:18px"><b>FIRE THE PARTS CANNON!</b></span><br /> <br /> This is one of my favorite times in any restoration or race car build - the first round of parts ordering. We had some known bad parts and some unknown as well, and the fastest way to get a mess like this going is to &quot;fire the parts cannon&quot;. This is a somewhat derogatory term used by hack mechanics to fix problems - just throw enough new parts at a car until you stumble upon a fix. But it works!<br /> <br /> <a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-QMGV9fZ/0/KnJJp4zSstN5Xm5ThK3vWfWqz5NGPM73HNBQvz9k6/X2/IMG_0769-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="799" height="533" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-QMGV9fZ/0/KnJJp4zSstN5Xm5ThK3vWfWqz5NGPM73HNBQvz9k6/X2/IMG_0769-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-QMGV9fZ/0/KnJJp4zSstN5Xm5ThK3vWfWqz5NGPM73HNBQvz9k6/L/IMG_0769-L.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><br /> <br /> Five days after rolling this mess into the shop we had parts arriving. And with all of the rotten parts we had found on this car, and the Hellrot Red color this was painted, the name for this project was found: <b>Project Hellrotten</b>.<br /> <br /> <br /> <a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-gpZqdPV/0/MWNFkhJ8bxs2zQV8L3v3Sp6Vx7wxHn2jwbCF2zNnw/X2/IMG_0866-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="400" height="267" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-gpZqdPV/0/MWNFkhJ8bxs2zQV8L3v3Sp6Vx7wxHn2jwbCF2zNnw/X2/IMG_0866-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-gpZqdPV/0/MWNFkhJ8bxs2zQV8L3v3Sp6Vx7wxHn2jwbCF2zNnw/S/IMG_0866-S.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-p7Mf2cK/0/LXfFPJGdcfWTL9fDMKpVjb8gLZDQtM5VTSBhRnWKn/X2/IMG_0772-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="400" height="267" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-p7Mf2cK/0/LXfFPJGdcfWTL9fDMKpVjb8gLZDQtM5VTSBhRnWKn/X2/IMG_0772-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-p7Mf2cK/0/LXfFPJGdcfWTL9fDMKpVjb8gLZDQtM5VTSBhRnWKn/S/IMG_0772-S.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><br /> <br /> Some of the first parts to arrive were the &quot;blue&quot; fuel pump assembly and fuel level float assembly. These were relatively inexpensive and immediately installed into the now cleaned fuel tank. We hadn't replaced the battery yet but with regular charging it was good enough for initial testing.<br /> <br /> <a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-hh8dZkm/0/NVpRwWzdzXtXr4FNcDcJqC53JKWVsZ9JGsfkgpt4C/X2/IMG_0800-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="488" height="325" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-hh8dZkm/0/NVpRwWzdzXtXr4FNcDcJqC53JKWVsZ9JGsfkgpt4C/X2/IMG_0800-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-hh8dZkm/0/NVpRwWzdzXtXr4FNcDcJqC53JKWVsZ9JGsfkgpt4C/M/IMG_0800-M.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-GFLNPDm/0/Mr3f5dgLnc8N3Ch6D6N4L3cZpsdwcF2prtGSBPRf2/X2/IMG_0801-X2.jpg" target="_blank" class="bbcode-attachment" ><img width="325" height="325" data-align="none" data-linktype="1" data-linkurl="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-GFLNPDm/0/Mr3f5dgLnc8N3Ch6D6N4L3cZpsdwcF2prtGSBPRf2/X2/IMG_0801-X2.jpg" data-linktarget="1" data-size="full" border="0" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Projects/95-Hellrot-M3/i-GFLNPDm/0/Mr3f5dgLnc8N3Ch6D6N4L3cZpsdwcF2prtGSBPRf2/M/IMG_0801-M.jpg" class="bbcode-attachment thumbnail" alt="" /></a><br /> <br /> Of course with a car that has rotten fuel you always replace the fuel filter as well. We filled the tank with 5 gallons of fresh 93 octane premium fuel, as well as some Lucas Fuel Treatment, to hopefully clean anything downstream from the fuel filter - like the injectors. We had some Lucas Oil Treatment as well, which I will discuss later.<br /> <br /> <i>continued below</i> ]]>
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<dc:creator>Fair!</dc:creator>
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