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It was after we hitched the beast to the truck and started down the mountain in the rain that we jackknifed on a hard slippery turn. The MG wanted to go first and I couldn’t stop it. A young woman in a Ford Fusion was able to, though.
The left headlamp mount was wedged under the lip of my bumper. I had to forcibly remove the fender to disconnect them.
The truck will require some ‘glass work as well.
More work ahead.
Every time I look at it I find even more damage. I need to redo everything from the windshield forward. The hood came back and damaged the posts for the windshield wipers. WTF.
On the good side, the car runs and the chassis seems undamaged. Now to decide how I want to proceed.
Bill Ascheman
Fiberfab Ford
Modified 5.0, 5sp., 4:11
Autocross & Hillclimb
"Drive Happy"OH NO! Not fair. Race completed, Trophy, no damage and then this on leaving? Super bummer!
I’ll bet that before this, you were wondering what to do this winter. “Keep a stiff upper lip” Bill.
Hey Bill,
You may want to remove that “Race it == Break It == Fix It == Repeat” sticker from the side of your car…. or just keep the part that says “Race It == Repeat” and skip the Break it == Fix it steps………..
As Royal says, — and I paraphrase — “now you have a winter project”
But it drives and no chassis damage — and you know what to do…….
My heart and wallet go out to you…
Happy Jack
(I’m envious — you have stock 52 MGTD headlight brackets…I only got cheap stamped steel ones with my CMC kit…..Bummer….)
Dammit, man! What rotten luck.
Glad everyone came out of it unharmed even if the vehicles didn’t.
I’ll be looking for another grill shell for you.
Sorry for your troubles.
So sorry to see what happened. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.
1986 British Coach Works Type 52 (Sammy)
Chevy 2.8 V6, 5 speedSorry Bill
You were on the road so insurance should cover all – correct?
Road hazard – comprehensive?
Maybe help with the cash but still lots of work… Sorry again.
Well, I spent the weekend pulling parts off the car and making repairs to the truck. I chained the truck to a tree and used a come-a-long to pull the vertical support in the rear corner of the bed straight again. using a floor jack on its side and some wood blocks I got the upper part of that post to straighten up. I removed and beat the hell out of the bumper to straighten that and its reinforcements. Bumper now sits straight and the tailgate operates as it should. All gaps line up and look good. Removing the tail lamp allowed me to get a large pry bar between the inner and outer panels and I managed to pull the outer panel back where it belonged. I installed a quick fiberglass band aid to hold it. All in all a productive weekend.
Unfortunately, the TDr8 looks as it did in early June.
The radiator goes back to the shop tomorrow. I only drained 1 gallon of fluid. The other gallon leaked somewhere on the ride home. We took a stab at unfolding the grill shell. The upper left corner is a mess. Maybe it will be useful as a mold.
Bill Ascheman
Fiberfab Ford
Modified 5.0, 5sp., 4:11
Autocross & Hillclimb
"Drive Happy"Well, I’m still waiting for the radiator to come back from the repair shop, I put the car back up on stands. The parking brake cable bracket that had somehow broken in the first crash in June at Pagoda. It was one of the few things that were welded in place at the factory. We cut off what was left with a wizzer and installed a new redesigned piece. It bolts to a bracket the support rod for the rear uses as well as the vertical floor panel just above the tunnel.
Bill Ascheman
Fiberfab Ford
Modified 5.0, 5sp., 4:11
Autocross & Hillclimb
"Drive Happy"So glad that no body was hurt. I’m so sorry to see all the damage but if it had to happen, I’m happy that it was with someone who knows how to get her back on the road…I don’t know what I would’ve done…
Well I tried to unfold my grille shell and beat it into something usable. I took shears and removed the right side top corner. With some duct tape it somewhat took shape. Still didn’t like it. While fuming over that I removed the wiper mechanism. The hood had come back and pointed the wiper pivot vertical. Cut it out and folded it back into position, then re-glassed it underneath to hold it. Still need to do the finish work.
Because I run an original piece, I placed a request on a facebook group, The Whitworth Nuts, for a grille shell, and within an hour, I got a response from someone in northern Illinois who had a couple extra. One pristine, freshly re-chromed, and an older well used piece. Considering the condition of the car it’s going on, I purchased the older one. It’s well worn with scratches, but it’s straight and without dents. eBay had one for $400, but the seller would not respond to emails. The fellow in IL let his go for $275 + freight. I’m feeling lucky.
Autocross scheduled for the 28th. Hope to take it out and see what else can go wrong.
Bill Ascheman
Fiberfab Ford
Modified 5.0, 5sp., 4:11
Autocross & Hillclimb
"Drive Happy"That grill shell looks pretty darn good under the circumstances. At least from this angle it does.
Well, there’s been no activity on this site for well over a week so I guess I’ll post something. We went and ran an autocross. It ran well, but we had a noise. the noise got real loud when the suspension was at it’s collapsed travel. Turns out the bracket I made to hold my parking brake cables was too low and the equalizer was able to hit the rear driveshaft yoke. i had ti redesign the new bracket. I have yet to drive it to see if everything clears.
Got eight runs in and improved each time. Nothing broke but we had that damn noise.
While I was in there fixing the parking brake retainer, I put a spacer on the left rear coilover. I was out of threads on that side
and decided this was an ideal time.
Currently, I’m trial fitting the new grille shell.
Carlisle’s coming up and still have tons of work to do.
Bill Ascheman
Fiberfab Ford
Modified 5.0, 5sp., 4:11
Autocross & Hillclimb
"Drive Happy"Wow Bill … faster than a Subaru WRX…….and a Mini Cooper…… cool!!
Is it the new engine or the increased skill of the driver?
How do your current times compare to your times with the old engine?
Most importantly, how do your current times compare to the Sharpie’s times.?
By the way, I got your little round “thingie” via Roy but have not mounted it on ManyPenny yet — but I will take your advice and add it to the tow hitch bracket when I build one — thanks for thinking of it.
And Ed, we are overdue for the next post in the saga of the fine German Sports Car Project…..
Happy Jack
Well, we managed to finish fitting the replacement grille shell. After fitment I took some polishing compound to it.
Bill Ascheman
Fiberfab Ford
Modified 5.0, 5sp., 4:11
Autocross & Hillclimb
"Drive Happy"Hey Bill
the fit looks really clean and tight. Getting the grill to line up with the hood on my Ford based TDr was a real challenge…glad to see you are making great progress in “un-oops’ing” your Tdr
“Happy i’m Not having to mess with my grill and hood alignment” Jack
I’d rather be doing this outside but the weather is against me.
This is the third time I’ve had to do surgery on this fender.
I’m having to work on every front end panel.
I am glad that I can repair the panels and not having to reconstruct them. I have to get these panels back on the car so I can drive it to make sure the drive line repairs are adequate. Another day closer to Carlisle.
Bill Ascheman
Fiberfab Ford
Modified 5.0, 5sp., 4:11
Autocross & Hillclimb
"Drive Happy"Well, I’ve been working on fixing all the damage to the front panels.
Because the wife’s greenhouse wasn’t put to use I commandeered it for a paint booth.
I now have one fender in primer.
Another fender, both side panels and a hood to go.
81 days until Carlisle.
W
Bill Ascheman
Fiberfab Ford
Modified 5.0, 5sp., 4:11
Autocross & Hillclimb
"Drive Happy"OK. Here’s the current state of the hood and side panels. Trying to find time with everything else going on is becoming increasingly difficult.
Some wet sanding and a couple more coats and we can finish the fenders and begin assembly.
Bill Ascheman
Fiberfab Ford
Modified 5.0, 5sp., 4:11
Autocross & Hillclimb
"Drive Happy"That’s actually fresh wet paint. It will level out as it dries.
Bill Ascheman
Fiberfab Ford
Modified 5.0, 5sp., 4:11
Autocross & Hillclimb
"Drive Happy"Finally, it has seen the light of day. It’s been cooped up in the garage since last August.
I took it up the road a few miles and most everything seemed fine. While everything was taken apart and accessible, I moved the clutch master cylinder over about an inch as it was rubbing the steering column universal joint. The clutch was the only issue on today’s drive. Hopefully it’s just a minor adjustment.
Still got his racing shoes on.
Bill Ascheman
Fiberfab Ford
Modified 5.0, 5sp., 4:11
Autocross & Hillclimb
"Drive Happy"
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