Tragic Accident

[Selo]

Originally Posted by patrickt

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.

This is great info, it's just waaaay over my head. I've changed some wheels in my day, oil once or twice, and done a fair amount of clean-up and detailing. But that's it! I've spent my adult life working on eyeballs, and I've done some performance driving schools, but I think I m going to be better off hiring a mechanic to make sure my car is sound.

[120mm]

Originally Posted by Selo

This is great info, it's just waaaay over my head. I've changed some wheels in my day, oil once or twice, and done a fair amount of clean-up and detailing. But that's it! I've spent my adult life working on eyeballs, and I've done some performance driving schools, but I think I m going to be better off hiring a mechanic to make sure my car is sound.

You have a great attitude, though.

Your humility will get you a long way, imo.

Having said that, you've obviously worked in a detail oriented profession, so I bet you catch on quickly. Just take the principles you've learned in your professional life and apply them to this.

[Selo]

Originally Posted by 120mm

You have a great attitude, though.

Your humility will get you a long way, imo.

Having said that, you've obviously worked in a detail oriented profession, so I bet you catch on quickly. Just take the principles you've learned in your professional life and apply them to this.

Thanks, I always wanted to learn to work on cars, thinking this is the start.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by Selo

This is great info, it's just waaaay over my head. I've changed some wheels in my day, oil once or twice, and done a fair amount of clean-up and detailing. But that's it! I've spent my adult life working on eyeballs, and I've done some performance driving schools, but I think I m going to be better off hiring a mechanic to make sure my car is sound.

Alright, well, if you can laser back a detached retina then you can eventually learn every thing there is to learn about these cars. I would start by checking the forums for a local race shop that has decent reviews and then call them up and tell them you've bought a used race car and you'd like them to just put it up on a lift and give it the once over. They will be delighted to and will likely offer to have you stand there while they do it. That's the first step in learning what the parts are.

[Selo]

Originally Posted by patrickt

Alright, well, if you can laser back a detached retina then you can eventually learn every thing there is to learn about these cars. I would start by checking the forums for a local race shop that has decent reviews and then call them up and tell them you've bought a used race car and you'd like them to just put it up on a lift and give it the once over. They will be delighted to and will likely offer to have you stand there while they do it. That's the first step in learning what the parts are.

You could train a chimp to fix a retina. Now working on a motor, that takes mad skill!

[cycleguy55]

Originally Posted by Selo

You could train a chimp to fix a retina. Now working on a motor, that takes mad skill!

My wife had a detached retina that took multiple surgeries to fix, between the retina and the complications. Even mentioning such a thing may cause loss of life - or at least a significant piece of my gluteus maximus.