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  #1 (permalink)  
Old 03-28-2017, 10:49 PM
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Unhappy Worst day ever... she's gone

... my Cobra burned to ashes

Friday last week I decided to take the Cobra for a nice ride through the hills. A 10 mile detour that I like to take once in a while to go to work.

Beautiful day, cruising in corners and pushing a bit on the throttle climbing the mountain. Happiness

Then downhill, in a corner turning right I hit the brake and only the left (driver) side of the car brakes.
I almost hit trees on the opposite side, manage to come back in my lane, hit a fence at low speed on the passenger side and pull over on a clear turnout about 50 yards later.

Nothing too bad, it seems.

I'm upset there will be a bit of bodywork on the pristine, 7 layers of clear coat (yes!) body and get out the car to check it out. There will be something with the brake. Probably a loose conduit or something stupid. I'll fix it, go back home gently and will take her to the shop... that's what I was thinking at that point.

Then I realize there is smoke coming off the passenger's louver. I run into the car to shut the engine off, grab the tiny extinguisher and stupidly blow it into the louver... to realize a few seconds later that drops of inflamed fluids are dripping under the car.

Then stress comes. I pull my phone to realize there is no network. I still try 911 but no network. I run uphill, checking for signal, and start to yell for help all the way around.
Turning back, the car is stable. More smoke, but no flames yet.

5 minutes later I'm back, never found @!$@# signal and still haven't called 911.
Two joggers who heard me yell earlier are there, but they don't get signal either.
The car then starts to burn seriously. I can just watch it, powerless. I can't prevent tears dripping from my eyes.

It's been about 15 minutes and a car comes by. I ask the driver to go back and call 911 as soon as he gets signal. So does he. A few minutes later he's back, telling fire dept is on its way. But the Cobra is already half gone.

A genuine 427 FE that was spitting 560hp, on a clean Unique frame, with rear Jag IRS, top loader tranny, shelby magnesium wheels, all vintage parts. Damn it. Just got the roll bar and side mirror re-chromed two weeks before.

Altogether I'm thankful I didn't get injured, and no one got hurt.
It could have been very bad if I had hit a tree, rolled the car or put myself in a situation where I'd burned in it.

I don't know what I'll get next, she'll be hard to replace.

This was Unique Motorcars chassis #9299
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Old 03-28-2017, 11:23 PM
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Sad to hear about your loss. Glad you are ok.
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Old 03-29-2017, 01:13 AM
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This would be a worst nightmare for all of us - commiserations. RIP little Cobra.
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Old 03-29-2017, 03:57 AM
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Sorry to hear about your loss. That is a sad situation. Good luck with the insurance company and when you are ready again, see what you can salvage and start again.
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Old 03-29-2017, 04:32 AM
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So what do you think happened? Did you rupture the fuel line somehow or was the car tilted heavily to passenger side that fuel was running out of the carb?
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Old 03-29-2017, 05:06 AM
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Very sad news. Heart breaking
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Old 03-29-2017, 05:17 AM
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Wow sad story and lucky you are ok.
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Old 03-29-2017, 05:20 AM
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Daaauuum man, I feel for you.
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Old 03-29-2017, 05:23 AM
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That's a heartache, but remember, it can be replaced. The "fortunate" side is that it happened in a spot where no one got hurt, no pedestrian traffic, and the braking didn't pull you in to oncoming traffic....
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Old 03-29-2017, 05:28 AM
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Man that had to be a horrific and helpless feeling. I am sorry for your loss.

You mentioned loss of braking and pulling left, then the fire dripping from the passenger side.
It sounds like you may have ruptured a brake line hose or a flare may have failed.

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Old 03-29-2017, 06:12 AM
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Sorry about your car, glad u r ok.
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Old 03-29-2017, 06:30 AM
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Sorry for your loss, just terrible
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Old 03-29-2017, 06:38 AM
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Wow, sorry for your loss! Best part though is you're not hurt. The car can be replaced.
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Old 03-29-2017, 07:03 AM
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Sorry to hear, everyone's nightmare.

You are fine so push on, gather up insurance and look for another.
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Old 03-29-2017, 08:05 AM
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Wow, very sorry to read this. That is scary. Hope that you are able to get another after insurance come through.
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Old 03-29-2017, 08:40 AM
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Sorry to hear about your loss, glad you are O.K.

Michael
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Old 03-29-2017, 09:19 AM
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So sorry to hear that, Luke. What a heart breaker.
At the very least, it's an opportunity to start over. Not to mention you're OK.
Hang in there.
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Old 03-29-2017, 09:30 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by patrickt View Post
That's a heartache, but remember, it can be replaced. The "fortunate" side is that it happened in a spot where no one got hurt, no pedestrian traffic, and the braking didn't pull you in to oncoming traffic....
I agree. It's a HUGE bummer, but thank your lucky stars.
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Old 03-29-2017, 09:45 AM
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I can't imagine, terribly sorry for your loss. As others have said, very glad no one was hurt, things could have been much worse.
Some components may be salvageable, hopefully you'll be able to recoup enough from insurance to rebuild another.
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Old 03-29-2017, 10:26 AM
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That's awful. Glad you're ok. Could have been much worse. I hope the insurance company is easy to deal with.
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