Tragic Accident

[Morris]

I'm not surprised when I see someone has a simple accident and they get major injuries. with Fiberglass or Aluminum covering this type of chassis, you can bet on a injury if a accident happens.

That was why we completely disassembed KMP259 when I got it.... After many years Racing at high speed and seeing some bad accidents, we decided to change and build KMP259 for a Track ...but more importantly make it safe and add protection to the occupants.

Here's some of the ways that we approached re-enforcing the Chassis, we started with the door bars...and worked them into the floor of the chassis.



Now look at the floor and the re-enforcement we put into the structure under the seats.



The bottom of the doors wrap around to the suspension pick-up points ....then we ran tubing down the bottom of the doors to the main hoop under the dash.



Then we re-enforced the main hoop both on the sides as well as the Petty Bar.



Then we ran bigger tubes from the Dash hoop down to the Shock towers and accross the shock towers....in addition we added cross bars to the main chassis

[patrickt]

I'll only add one thing, and I won't harp on it. If you can lean your head back and touch it to your unpadded roll bar then that's probably the greatest danger you face. It was just a few years ago that we had a thread on here where the guy was "demonstrating" his Cobra in the country club parking lot and slid it in to the curb. He died from BFT to the head... in the country club parking lot of all places.

[Gaz64]

Yes, and that's why it is a called a head restraint, but used by some as a headrest.

Even my superkart had a head restraint as part of the custom seat.

I won't travel in a car without a head restraint.

Gary

[Morris]

Originally Posted by patrickt

I'll only add one thing, and I won't harp on it. If you can lean your head back and touch it to your unpadded roll bar then that's probably the greatest danger you face.:

The rules for SCCA & Trans AM.....require a 36” square pad behind the drivers helmet.....when I Raced.....much like this on KMP259


h


You can see the head rest pad that is 4” thick....

[xlr8tr]

Originally Posted by patrickt

I'll only add one thing, and I won't harp on it. If you can lean your head back and touch it to your unpadded roll bar then that's probably the greatest danger you face. It was just a few years ago that we had a thread on here where the guy was "demonstrating" his Cobra in the country club parking lot and slid it in to the curb. He died from BFT to the head... in the country club parking lot of all places.

I was highly concerned about this issue. I sit so far back in mine, plus being 6'7", that if i tilted my head back it went INSIDE the roll hoop. I've seen the small ones that fit kind of inside the roll hoop, but I was concerned in an accident I'd glance off that and still hit the hoop. So, I made a headrest: I used high density 2" thick flat rollbar foam (the good stuff), attached the assembly to the hoop and its removable in less than a minute if I feel like it (car show whatever). sorry pictures are crappy.

[patrickt]

Hmmm, at 6'7" I think you could lose a couple of inches off the top and still be just fine.

[Dumpling]

Originally Posted by Morris

I'm not surprised when I see someone has a simple accident and they get major injuries. with Fiberglass or Aluminum covering this type of chassis, you can bet on a injury if a accident happens.

That was why we completely disassembed KMP259 when I got it.... After many years Racing at high speed and seeing some bad accidents, we decided to change and build KMP259 for a Track ...but more importantly make it safe and add protection to the occupants.

Here's some of the ways that we approached re-enforcing the Chassis, we started with the door bars...and worked them into the floor of the chassis.



Now look at the floor and the re-enforcement we put into the structure under the seats.



The bottom of the doors wrap around to the suspension pick-up points ....then we ran tubing down the bottom of the doors to the main hoop under the dash.



Then we re-enforced the main hoop both on the sides as well as the Petty Bar.



Then we ran bigger tubes from the Dash hoop down to the Shock towers and accross the shock towers....in addition we added cross bars to the main chassis

And yet you will get people bemoaning all that extra weight and how it takes away from their "manhood" to consider safety.

From the obituary of a man killed in a Cobra at essentially noon, on an empty suburban street...

Joey is survived by his wife, Kriselda, daughters, Laci Lane Peacock, Alisondra Marie Peacock, Julianna Jean Peacock, Kristina Rae Peacock, sons, Joseph Peacock, Jr., Jacob Buchanan, brother, Chris Peacock, sister, Suzie McPherson, grandchild, Renner Peacock, and countless friends that he considered family.