Shelby....Heartbreaker. (image heavy)

[pecker73]

Heathcote Raceway (Vic). 01/04/2007 - April Fools Day :

Spent today at Heathcote getting a dose of NOS fumes and inhaling copious amounts of tyre smoke. (Took a few pics, will post them soon in the AFF Photography Thread if your interested.)

Saw this absolute beauty rolling through the pits... Had to get close up for a good look see.

Look at that baby, sex on wheels.... Might have even had a slight woody. :

Then it fired up... Beethoven. A pure delight for the senses. :sm_drool:

Look at that...







Look at that rear end.....



Then....To my HORROR....The carnage was nothing short of heartbreaking..

Travelled all of 5 metres and straight into the wall.





There where children present....[IMG]http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p287/pecker73/P4010048.jpg[/IMG]

Driver walked away unhurt...Not sure about the ego or hip pocket...

[jaydee]

You could have given a warning "Pictures in this thread may upset some viewers", thats a crying shame, was driver OK??

[jaydee]

Originally Posted by jaydee

You could have given a warning "Pictures in this thread may upset some viewers", thats a crying shame, was driver OK??

Sorry Pecker, I didn't mean for you to remove the last pic, it was the bent Cobra that upset me.
Then I thought of the driver but he had a full harness on and helmet so figured he should be relatively OK.

[Casper]

ok, I need a drink now.. the tears are welling up.

[HSVETAR]

Originally Posted by Casper

ok, I need a drink now.. the tears are welling up.

Oh i 2nd that..... Not a sight i wanted to see....

LOL about the buff out comment....

[flukey]

here's a video version

http://youtube.com/watch?v=nFcAO-wisg0

[Allen]

Originally Posted by flukey

here's a video version

http://youtube.com/watch?v=nFcAO-wisg0

It seems he only got a little bit sideways, but he kept on the gas and didn't do much to counter the over steer...

My guess is, as soon is the rear end started slipping sideways, he freaked out and froze up...

What a shame... The hit didn't look too hard at all, but being fibreglass, it just caved in.

[Scott]

Originally Posted by flukey

here's a video version

http://youtube.com/watch?v=nFcAO-wisg0

I'm sorry to see the car wrecked, I'm sorry he will be out of pocket for thousands, I'm sorry he won't have his baby for a few months, but really, he earned that crash, what an effen drongo.

edit - Anyone notice how long it took the Commy to hit the gas?

edit +1 - for his sake I hope the throttle stuck!

[Rodp]

Originally Posted by GTP006

edit - Anyone notice how long it took the Commy to hit the gas?

Also looks like it had some go!

[Rodp]

Originally Posted by flukey

here's a video version

http://youtube.com/watch?v=nFcAO-wisg0

Looks like he hit the wall in slow motion without the slightest attempt to correct it. I was thinking component failure initially but looks more like driver inexperience unless the steering rack or throttle stuck.

[Force6]

Oh the horror! I can actually say it hurt to see those photos!
What on earth went wrong?

[needaXYGT]

any idea how it happened?

[DoreSlamR]

lucky it is fiberglass

[Ruger]

Damn :( if i saw that in the flesh i would freak out!
what the hell went wrong????

[RegSpec]

While I realise that the track prep isn't exactly world class down there,if he's only five meters out and he's had enough momentum to put the car into the wall nose first, then spin around and go in with the right rear corner as well....
I can only think he must have broken something in the rear suspension or diff.
A lot of these guys run locker type diffs and if you break a left hand axle or c/v it'll try and steer you straight into the wall.
Just a theory...

[FlipXW]

dam shame

[Polyal]

So its a replica?

Either way thats a great shame, WTF happened? I will have one of those one day, has to be one of the toughest "Fords" ever.

[HLC]

ahhh fibreglass. at least it wasnt ridgey didge. but that still blows.

the only reason i wont take my car down the track. incase that happens.

[elgt146]

SHLBY OK
SHLBY 8 Thousand dollars to fix


damn shame, nice car but luckily fixable and everyone ok except for pride.

[Craig]

Track conditions were great today, he got sideways after the launch with big wheels and big tyre pressures it's a worry and he stayed in it for too long and then hit the brakes real hard and in she went, just inexperience in my opinion.

[sprjenkins]

Originally Posted by Craig@ACE

Track conditions were great today, he got sideways after the launch with big wheels and big tyre pressures it's a worry and he stayed in it for too long and then hit the brakes real hard and in she went, just inexperience in my opinion.

HMM goes to show that just because you can afford it, doesn't mean you can drive. Damn shame because that was a beautiful car.

[GXL078]

He wasn't short of brakes either. Those front discs are MASSIVE. At least he walked away, unlike the cyclist that almost landed on my dad's new car today at Botany. Hit from behind by a Ford Laser and killed instantly, only a young bloke too. My Dad sounded pretty shaky when he called me to tell me it wasn't him. He cycles around that area too.

[JC]

Wow, that's bad luck, but it's not like it's the last running Phase 3 or anything. So what's to cry about? It's only a fibreglass replica. Of course if it's a real one, then what the hell was he doing with it on the track anyway?

[FPV8U]

Horrible images!

[Racecraft]

those Shelby kit cars are dangerous.. ALot of the Qld members will remember the black with yellow striped one losing a rear wheel at 100 mph last year :(

[debacle-racing]

Originally Posted by Racecraft

those Shelby kit cars are dangerous.. ALot of the Qld members will remember the black with yellow striped one losing a rear wheel at 100 mph last year :(

i dont think its the cars fault, its the nut behind the wheel.

REMEMBER, DONT BAN HIGH PERFORMANCE CARS, BAN LOW PERFORMANCE DRIVERS!!! : :

[4Vman]

Originally Posted by Racecraft

those Shelby kit cars are dangerous.. ALot of the Qld members will remember the black with yellow striped one losing a rear wheel at 100 mph last year :(

Yep they sure are, ive had 2 friends with them and both got themselves very ugly on more than one occasion, short wheel base, light weight and lots of grunt makes for one twitchy unpredictable car at times.. I drove both and never felt totally at ease when hard on the gas.

[Polyal]

Originally Posted by 4Vman

Yep they sure are, ive had 2 friends with them and both got themselves very ugly on more than one occasion, short wheel base, light weight and lots of grunt makes for one twitchy unpredictable car at times.. I drove both and never felt totally at ease when hard on the gas.

Surely there is a way to set them up right, are the genuine ones such a handful?

911's have/had a reputation, they didn't stop people from buying them thats for sure.

You guys are killing my dreams here..LOL

And does anyone know whether the side exhausts are legal? I thought that if the original cars were stock like that then it wouldn't have been an issue.

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by Polyal

Surely there is a way to set them up right, are the genuine ones such a handful?

911's have/had a reputation, they didn't stop people from buying them thats for sure.

You guys are killing my dreams here..LOL

And does anyone know whether the side exhausts are legal? I thought that if the original cars were stock like that then it wouldn't have been an issue.

The genuine 427's were very scary to drive. I remember seeing a short video of an original 427 getting punted hard on a circuit and it was constantly trying to snap sideways, the drivers arms were just a blur trying to keep it under control, but he was good and managed to keep it from spinning.

[GT 0909]

Originally Posted by Polyal

And does anyone know whether the side exhausts are legal? I thought that if the original cars were stock like that then it wouldn't have been an issue.

Side pipes can be there, just not functional. Have a look at the side shots - the outlets of the pipes are clean, no soot. The side pipes are purely decorative. Then look at the rear closeup (before the prang shot) - you can see the real exhaust tips either side of the fuel tank.