Boom #3, the engine lets go
Intro Boom #1 Boom #2 Boom #3 Boom #4 Boom #? Boom #6 Boom #7 Boom #8 Boom #9 Boom #10
Boom #3, page 2 Boom #3, page 3
After some problems getting the correct front yoke and the correct length, I finally was able to install my sexy new 3 1/2" aluminum driveshaft from Driveline Service in Concord, CA. The car was running pretty well by this point, with two 11.18 at 128+ runs under it's belt. In a prophetic moment, local car-bud Joe Gervais offers to tow the car to the track, claiming "If we tow it to the track, the car will know you've got breakage covered, so it won't break". Sounds good to me, so we got up way too early, loaded the car, and headed out to Sacramento.
The first 2 pix, which I blatantly ripped off from Joe's web site, represent the first photographic evidence of a wheelstand by any car of mine. It ain't much, but I'll take it! Thanks for shooting the footage, Joe, and for posting the the screen captures.
Winter '01 update: Thanks to SoCal buddy Nick Steel, I have the video from which these shots were taken. User beware - its over 19 Meg! Click here to watch.
Rather than getting better, things got worse. Right after a 3-4 shift at mid-track, I heard (and felt!) BOOM, and the car commenced to vibrating harder than the beds at the Notell Motel. S---, another driveshaft. When I pushed in the clutch pedal, the dashboard lit up, and the tach dropped to zero. Uh oh. Try restarting the engine. Nobody home. The pic below shows me coasting through the timing lights, still trailing a pretty good-sized cloud of smoke. The first result of Boom #3 is one of my more unusual timeslips, 12.061 at 76.452.
The second result was an unbelievable freakin' mess. Five quarts of oil mixed with 3 gallons of coolant slimed across the chassis and back of the car (and the track - oops! Note: when you blow the engine or tranny, get out of the groove!) The goo is dripping from every square inch of chassis, all the way back to, and including, the license plate. We took some pix in the pits, but let's cut to the chase on the next page ...
Well, here's a teaser preview - a shot of the oil pan and front crossmember shown on the left. Be sure to click on the thumbnail for a closer look. The connecting rod fragment that holed the pan also put a series of wicked dents in the crossmember. The other shot shows tranny yoke number 2 on the front of my spiffy new driveshaft totally wonked after only 3 runs. Driveline Service replaced the yoke under warranty, but I've gotta wonder how long the replacement will last. Time for a Mark Williams yoke. The bottom pic compares this driveshaft to a steel stocker.
