Be Careful With Those Modifications.

[Theorangetiger]

This is only peripherally related to Tigers but I ran across this yesterday and felt compelled to post it here as a cautionary tale. When doing performance and brake modifications to any car, be extremely careful and never brush off things as critical as a stuck throttle or any kind of brake issues. This is a VERY jarring example of things going horribly wrong and it's not easy to watch. Things could have ended up much worse but it's still extremely frightening.
In short, it's a YouTube video shoot of a 1300 HP hot rod suffering a stuck throttle and brake failure at the same time on a city street. It was intended to be a completely different kind of video shoot but the cameras were rolling so everything was captured from multiple angles.

 

[BillRo]

1. Get rid of lap belts - fit a set of shoulder harnesses or at least a lap and diagonal (the car is set up for those)
2. Any signs of a sticking throttle - fix it immediately. Add a second throttle spring.
3. Any signs of brake issues fix them immediately. Do regular inspections, look for cracked hoses, convert to braided.

 

[Agent 861]

In my country we have a mandatory safety inspection every 6 months (yearly for newer vehicles) if caught driving without a completed inspection there are stiff fines and if involved in an accident and the inspection is not current you may have no insurance cover . It costs us the equivalent of about US$35 and is very comphrehensive. Although I grizzle about doing the test because sometimes there is not a lot of mileage between tests particulary in something like my 1910 Hupmobile it does help to ensure that things like the above don't happen . Furthermore any major modifications of steering, suspension, brakes , drive train or Body need to be certified by a trained inspector and a special plate acknowledging same attached to the chassis . We installed hydraulic brakes on the rear wheels of the Hupmobile and this required certification. It can be a nightmare for the Hot Rod guys but we are all aware of what will pass and what won't so they build their cars to the pass standard . Big brother absolutely but as a Medical Practitioner I can tell you that death comes quickly on the road !

 

[0neoffive]

In my country we have a mandatory safety inspection every 6 months (yearly for newer vehicles) if caught driving without a completed inspection there are stiff fines and if involved in an accident and the inspection is not current you may have no insurance cover . It costs us the equivalent of about US$35 and is very comphrehensive. Although I grizzle about doing the test because sometimes there is not a lot of mileage between tests particulary in something like my 1910 Hupmobile it does help to ensure that things like the above don't happen . Furthermore any major modifications of steering, suspension, brakes , drive train or Body need to be certified by a trained inspector and a special plate acknowledging same attached to the chassis . We installed hydraulic brakes on the rear wheels of the Hupmobile and this required certification. It can be a nightmare for the Hot Rod guys but we are all aware of what will pass and what won't so they build their cars to the pass standard . Big brother absolutely but as a Medical Practitioner I can tell you that death comes quickly on the road !

As a side note: The problems I'm finding here in the USA is the lack of knowledge and/or lack of consideration when it comes to vintage vehicles. So called "inspections" often create damage as they poke & prod in unnecessary fashion.

 

[Maliburevue]

When I see those kinds of pictures and people claim stuck throttles, my first thought is "Don't they have a neutral in their transmission and a parking brake and an ignition switch with an off position?"

 

[Agent 861]

When I see those kinds of pictures and people claim stuck throttles, my first thought is "Don't they have a neutral in their transmission and a parking brake and an ignition switch with an off position?"

i think people panic One of my friends had his throttle jam open in a mid 80's Turbo on a freeway -Rather than turn the ignition off (he was concerned regards the steerring lock) he simply pushed the clutch in -Bang ! The engine reved to about 4 zillion revs and then stopped for ever

 

[Agent 861]

As a side note: The problems I'm finding here in the USA is the lack of knowledge and/or lack of consideration when it comes to vintage vehicles. So called "inspections" often create damage as they poke & prod in unnecessary fashion.

We are lucky here old cars still seem to be appreciated -However it is true the mechanics of old are disappearing in favour of parts fitters who call themselves mechanics, Recently I had a young "mechanic" who pointed to the Generator regulator box and asked me if I'd chipped the computer . He couldn't get his head around the fact that a computer in 1965 was probably bigger than the entire car. And trying to explain how points work seems just to be a waste of time. But not as funny as the look on another young guys face when I told him that when we restored the Hupmobile we made the gearbox internals and the camshaft from scratch - He told me it wasn't possible -it was but was expensive .

 

[65beam]

As a side note: The problems I'm finding here in the USA is the lack of knowledge and/or lack of consideration when it comes to vintage vehicles. So called "inspections" often create damage as they poke & prod in unnecessary fa

A few years back there was a post on one of the sites or facebook pages from a new owner that said when he removed the kick panel he found a square opening in the body with nothing in it. He was asking if this was where the ECM had been.

 

[Theorangetiger]

Years ago, I was driving past a gas station with repair bays and they were working on a Datsun Z car. I could hear the engine revving out of control and was thinking Turn the key off! Turn the key off! Turn the key off! but they didn't and the engine blew.
I like to think I would have that same presence of mind if that was happening to my car.

 

[spmdr]

This is a good reminder to CHECK those Brakes.

Don't be surprised to find an emergency stop

using JUST the parking brake yields stopping

distances in the range of a Steam Ship!!

Some of those rear brake shoes have the

benefit of NEVER wearing out because

they have NO friction!

...or at least not enough to DO much good...

I suspect the typical rear brake shoe has evolved

to be LESS problematic (never LOCK UP, and Never have to be replaced)

and Less functional.

DW

 

[HolyCat]

Years ago, I was driving past a gas station with repair bays and they were working on a Datsun Z car. I could hear the engine revving out of control and was thinking Turn the key off! Turn the key off! Turn the key off! but they didn't and the engine blew.
I like to think I would have that same presence of mind if that was happening to my car.

I have to wonder how much money the gas station got from the owner to replace the engine!

 

[hottigr]

This is a good reminder to CHECK those Brakes.

Don't be surprised to find an emergency stop

using JUST the parking brake yields stopping

distances in the range of a Stream Ship!!

Some of those rear brake shoes have the

benefit of NEVER wearing out because

they have NO friction!

...or at least not enough to DO much good...

I suspect the typical rear brake shoe has evolved

to be LESS problematic (never LOCK UP, and Never have to be replaced)

and Less functional.

DW

Your comment reminds me of the TU that Norm had. Bill Carroll was trying to figure out how to get the Shelby prototype off the trailer because he had hydraulic issues and no brakes. I mentioned using the hand brake to ease it off and he seemed both puzzled and relieved...

 

[Austin Healer]

We are lucky here old cars still seem to be appreciated -However it is true the mechanics of old are disappearing in favour of parts fitters who call themselves mechanics, Recently I had a young "mechanic" who pointed to the Generator regulator box and asked me if I'd chipped the computer . He couldn't get his head around the fact that a computer in 1965 was probably bigger than the entire car. And trying to explain how points work seems just to be a waste of time. But not as funny as the look on another young guys face when I told him that when we restored the Hupmobile we made the gearbox internals and the camshaft from scratch - He told me it wasn't possible -it was but was expensive .

reminds me of when I went to the local parts store.. I asked if they might have a dwell meter. The kid on the other side of the counter (pretty sure he still had spots) asked what a dwell meter was. I told him I was working really hard on something and wanted to be able to quantify it... The older guy behind the counter laughed, and told the kid that it was for setting points.. The kid says, "what are points?"

 

[0neoffive]

reminds me of when I went to the local parts store.. I asked if they might have a dwell meter. The kid on the other side of the counter (pretty sure he still had spots) asked what a dwell meter was. I told him I was working really hard on something and wanted to be able to quantify it... The older guy behind the counter laughed, and told the kid that it was for setting points.. The kid says, "what are points?"

The mechanical redundancy of old school engineering will get Ya home quite often with a few archaic hand tools (hammer) and a bit of barnyard savvy. I've seen too many modern chariots stranded dead because of advanced genius development. Give me three pedals and a key thank you . . . . . . .

 

[Agent 861]

The mechanical redundancy of old school engineering will get Ya home quite often with a few archaic hand tools (hammer) and a bit of barnyard savvy. I've seen too many modern chariots stranded dead because of advanced genius development. Give me three pedals and a key thank you . . . . . . .

Yep when I buy a classic or vintage vehicle I always budget 10% of the purchase price to get the car in pristine operating condition .Most of the time that involves replacing "improvements "with NOS parts which are more reliable and do a better job

 

[Max B]

This is interesting. In my know-it-all days (1968) after adjusting the manual linkage of my 348 tri-powered 59 Impala, I stomped on it to hear the very throaty roar. It stuck full open. I remember slamming on brakes and it still pushing it along dragging the front wheels before I got it shut it off. But I stray from the thread...