snettleship Posted November 16, 2007 Share Posted November 16, 2007 I was racing at Roebling Road near Savannah Georgia. The Series 4 Seven has a "pin" that goes down into a "latch" which you open and close with a spring loaded lever under the bonnet. I also have two (one on each side) of the old rubber bonnet hooks to keep it stable. Also on my car, the bonnet is a fiberglass shell, that pivots at the front. It has been modified so that it can slide out easily to be removed. This works great when working on the car. Well, while running a race, the metal latch broke :willy: causing the bonnet to not have the required "fore and aft" support. This turned into a bad combination as you can see here... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnHI4H-ZbFQ Apparently, lift off at 90+ mph can get as the kids say now.... "big air"! But, myself, the car and the bonnet survived (except for a few cracks and some gel coat cracks) to race again 3 weeks later. What have we learned.... check all fasteners every time! :iagree: Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
locost7018 Posted November 16, 2007 Share Posted November 16, 2007 Ouch. Russ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slngsht Posted November 17, 2007 Share Posted November 17, 2007 Hey scott. Glad you made it out OK. That tire wall was getting pretty close. Good thing the sand was there. Not to laugh at the situation, but I love your reaction to try to catch the hood. I did the same exact thing when my hood almost flew off at the dragon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBH Posted November 17, 2007 Share Posted November 17, 2007 I was watching that hood through the entire video. You can see it moving up and down as you pick up speed. Did you notice it during the race or does it always do that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slomove Posted November 17, 2007 Share Posted November 17, 2007 wow, good outcome..... That happened to me a while ago. I wish I could say the latches broke but, alas, I just forgot to close them Unfortunately on a Los Angeles freeway the bonnet rather looks like this :cuss: ( 2 trucks giving it a fancy shape...) http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1707093252_BonnetCrunch.jpg Somebody suggested I should sell it on EBay as a piece of art. Gert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandurath Posted November 17, 2007 Share Posted November 17, 2007 Glad your instinct to catch it wasn't fast enough to let you actually grab it. That wouldve hurt! Glad you and car are ok though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxologist Posted November 17, 2007 Share Posted November 17, 2007 Scott,did the fastners actually break? did the rear of the bonnet always look like it sat above teh scuttle? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevet Posted November 18, 2007 Share Posted November 18, 2007 Gert, Yours looks like something Frank Gerhy would build (and get paid a fortune for!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted November 19, 2007 Share Posted November 19, 2007 Lovely driving up to that point, nice lines, little wasted track. Looks like it really started to go around the 7'40" mark. How long did it take to get all the f*&%ing sand out of the engine compartment? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southwind25 Posted November 19, 2007 Share Posted November 19, 2007 awesome drive...very smoooooth. good for you...:hurray: what was the blue car with orange stripe? very cool right untilll. OG #$^#!! yeah, thank god for the sand...and tire walls are harsh but forgiving. we had a rear hub carrier bust one time while racing the sprite. i was doing great just passed a tr3 when...SURPRIZE...my car wildly spun in the middle of a straight doing about 80.. i was clueless of what happend as a sat there stunned on the side of the track,,till a cornerworker about 100 yards up the track held up my wheel and axle. Later the guys following me came up and said.."we thought oh crap this is going to be bad" when they saw the wheel and axle slowly leaving the car...i never knew it till the spin. but yeah thank goodness for the safety stuff at the track. :iagree: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snettleship Posted November 29, 2007 Author Share Posted November 29, 2007 Sorry, for lack of response, was away for a while...... - in the S4 there is a pin at the top of the bonnet that you push into a "latch", -------------------- --------****----- -------***** ---- --------****----- -------------------- so, when when pin pushes into this, the sping "catches the beveled pin" and holds the bonnet down. This is also spring loaded so it will "pop-up" easily. That "latch" broke in half and the spring lifted it up. I have 2 rubber latches on each side as backup. unfortunately, under heavy breaking, with the broken latch it slide forward the inch or two to get it out of the slot that the bonnet fits into at the front of the car. Since the rubber bonnet hooks are flexible "left/right", that's what caused the whole thing to up over my head (thankfully). - It's easy to see on the camera the bonnet vibrating a little since it is mounted on the roll bar. It always moved a little, and it wasn't as obvious at driver's height. You bet I'll be looking more carefully now! - Racing there again 2nd week of December. Installing a hopefully fail safe for this problem to connect the bonnet to the scuttle.... https://www.europaspares.com/BRIGHTWORK/FASTENERS/QUALITY_LEATHER_BONNET_STRAPS___BROWN___LCSBRL__1853.html - Let's see, what else. The blue car is a Chevon B-8 Coupe. Not sure of the year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snettleship Posted November 29, 2007 Author Share Posted November 29, 2007 Another thing for you open cockpit folks.... It was a good thing I was wearing my arm restraints. I don't know if I would have raised my arm up any higher if they were not on, but I'm glad I didn't need to find out. Funny thing is that I never remembered letting go of the steering wheel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted November 29, 2007 Share Posted November 29, 2007 OK, I am dragging out and installing the arm restraint kit that I have but have been procrastinating on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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