Cobra upside down in a creek

[Great Asp]

Originally Posted by elmariachi

Any Cobra upside down in a creek is sad situation. But especially a polished Kirkham.

Go to Pep Boys and buy all the Chip Foose power-balls and polish you can!

Glad the guy was not hurt bad.

E

[392cobra]

I don't believe in PC Fairey Tales either.

[ng8264723]

David,
His was signed by Carrol!
Mine is signed by David Kirkham

[Karlo]

Looks like a Kirkham?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5go88jT5lCI

[whichonetodrive]

that really does look like the car at the autorama, wow to bad but the damage doesnt look all that bad.

[Ralphy]

Reporters tried to go to the owners home and get a follow up story. However all they came up with, was with this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99P4Grmq8vA

[DMArlington]

My son and I witnessed the accident and were the first one’s on the scene. We were at a College Formula SAE racing event at UT Arlington and heard the unmistakable roar of a big block and tires squealing on the road near the event. I looked up in time to see a Cobra spin off the road backwards, disappear over the embankment and saw a huge splash.

We sprinted to the accident and saw the car upside down in the creek as the driver popped up out of the water. We made certain that he was ok, that no one else was with him and then helped him out of the creek. He said he had punched it and his foot got stuck between the throttle and brake pedal. The worst part, he explained with his head hanging down, was that the car was not his!



The owner turned out to be a local businessman that I know who had added this Kirkham 427 KMS/SC to his collection recently. He had asked one of his employees to drive it to the competition to park and display as a conversation piece.....the trip ended one block too short.

The professor that organized the Formula SAE event made it to the scene and is a good friend of the owner, so he made the call to let him know what happened. The owner is a great guy and his concern was for his employee….he said the car could be rebuilt or replaced. I volunteered to stay and work with the recovery company.

The first wrecker driver to arrive said it would not be a problem to drag the car out of the creek. I explained that it was a Cobra and that there would be no dragging involved. He said that it was just a car to him, so I told him to get on the radio and get someone out there with whatever equipment necessary to get the car back on its tires without further damage. A huge wrecker showed up and then the owner of the wrecker company came out to run the recovery.



They did a very good job and the owner was patient with my requests...put pads under the lifting chains, lift it slowly to keep the water weight from buckling the panels, don't let any body panel touch the ground (while they were flipping it end to end).......



I was amazed at how little damage there was to the car. One wheel had a portion of the lip broken off, the underside of the headers and frame were scuffed (but not badly), the trunk latch was bent, the front fender behind the driver’s front wheel was buckled and the windshield was broken. I'm sure that there is water damage to the electrical equipment, and some of that will need to be replaced. If they got the water flushed properly from the engine, trans and rear end there should not be permanent damage to any of that. I expect that there is other damage that will be found upon detailed inspection, but overall the Kirkham looked good considering what it went through.



All in all, it could have been a lot worse. The driver was not injured and the polished aluminum body was gleaming in the sunlight after they took an unexpected swim together!

DM

[Hydramada]

July 12th:
http://jalopnik.com/5584303/200k-pol...s-in-the-drink

July 13th
http://jalopnik.com/5585798/how-to-wreck-your-300k-polished-aluminum-cobra


Amazing how that Kirkham gets more expensive every day!

[HI Cobra]

DMArlington - thanks very much for posting the pics and details of the Kirkham's swim. Good thing you were there or it never would have come out looking that good. If the driver had big feet and/or big shoes it wouldn't be difficult to get tangled up with the pedals if you weren't used to them. I wear
size nine shoes and got Puma driving shoes which are skinny and make it easy.
I tried driving it with regular shoes and the pedals were close enough I had to turn my foot sideways to miss stuff. My Kirkham's pedals are like the original's
- as in close. Glad the driver wasn't hurt but I bet he is major bummed out.

[Igofastr]

Have "Sandwich" fly out with his tools...the body will be good as new by lunchtime.

[badrich]

The first thing I did when I purchased my Cobra was to do a thorough visual inspection, then install dual throttle return springs. Ask me how I knew to do this. Rich

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by badrich

The first thing I did ... install dual throttle return springs. Ask me how I knew to do this. Rich

Uhhh, you were hoping that the extra spring would help rip your foot back when it got wedged between the brake and throttle pedal?

[Jerry Clayton]

how many times at the car shows do you see guys with flip flops???

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by Jerry Clayton

how many times at the car shows do you see guys with flip flops???

Hey! I wear flip flops.

[Dwight]

Thanks DM for the story and the pictures.

Dwight

[Ronbo]

The car was probably upside down in the water three seconds after his foot got stuck, that grass is like ice.

The water probably saved a lot of body damage, but he was real lucky the windshield didn't pin him in. Getting out alive ain't no easy feat, especially for a 57yr old man. I could only hope we all fair as well should our time come.

If the Cobra don't kill ya, the panic sure will...

[Buzz]

The main thing is nobody got seriously hurt (at least not yet - wait 'til the owner gets that dude alone) But, having said that; one thing to remember every time something like this happens is: Friends don't let friends drive the Cobra!!

As tempting as it is to be cool enough to toss the keys and say "Sure - take her for a spin", unless someone has seat time in a 4 wheeled crotch rocket with manual (as in non-power assisted) controls, close spaced pedals and way more power-to-weight than the average driver can even relate to, most plebians are just not ready for all the things that can go wrong quickly.

On my way home tonight in the 4Runner, I pushed the pedal right to the floor and I was treated to a gentle surge of acceleration. I got goose bumps thinking about what happens when I do that in the Cobra - the horses of the apocalypse stampede in terror, dogs tuck their tails with an audible slap and the shock wave generates saline solution tsunamis in all breast and buttock implants within a hundred yards of ground zero. Serious stuff and not for the faint of heart...no sir.

[pjmoore2003]

So once you achieve takeoff, a smooth water landing is best , preferably right side up

[MaSnaka]

My foot got caught in between the pedals and my dog ate my homework. Where is the shame in just telling it like it is..."I stomped on the gas and before I realised those were tsunamis in my implants I was upside down in the creek." That was funny Buzz. All kidding aside I'm glad to hear the driver is ok.

John

[Tony Radford]

Hey Buzz, where do you go to open her up on Paradise Island? I was on some nice twisties, but a shoulder spin out could only result in certain death. Even the nice roads had a tendency to turn into holes and gravel at a moment's notice. Is your car jacked up with knobby tires?