Tragic Accident

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by Selo

...how much does build quality weigh on your mind? My car should arrive tomorrow - I'd like to think I did my homework, but if I ever drive it hard or take it to the track, you can be darn sure I'll be praying my builder didn't skip any bolts or washers.

Quality components, and adherence to just basic good-mechanics, is pretty important. You don't have to be tracking the car, or even running her hard, to get in to a serious accident if you have a mechanical failure. Fortunately, these cars are really easy to inspect and, if you know what you're looking for, you can almost guess what you're likely to find in places you can't inspect. For example, if your fasteners on the drive shaft, half-shafts, and the like, are not proper grade, then there's a pretty good chance that when you peek inside the fork hole at your pressure plate you're probably not going to find ARP shouldered PP bolts. And if you see regular bolts there, then there's a strong chance the flywheel bolts have them too. On the other hand, if you see beautiful AN bolts, Grade 8 fasteners, castellated nuts with cotter pins, and safety wire then you can start feeling a little easier. Also, these cars rarely give out on you without telegraphing the problem before hand. Now, that signal could be a vibration, a noise, a smell, or just something that "feels" different. And, of course, the first time you get on her "really hard" you should be out in the middle of a big paved lot where there is absolutely nothing to hit, even if you tried. Don't rush things, these cars have a steep learning curve and the curve stops when you hit the tree.