When my buddy Brandon Weber sent me this photo yesterday of the inside of the 8.8″ Ford rear axle in his ultra bitchin turbo LS powered Mustang, I cringed. He knew he broke it at the CA Flashlight Shootout at XRP here in Texas but it wasn’t until he got the cover off that the actual damage was exposed. He was laughing at the track when he told me it was broke, and said that the rear had been in the car for several years without issue, so he didn’t feel too bad. And he said it was also time for a new ratio anyway, so it was no biggie. Well it certainly was a biggie to the ring and pinion. Look at all the crap in the bottom of this sucker!!!
I told him this should be a good calling card for his business, Accelerated Racing Solutions, because it shows just how much power this dude can tune into something! Need power? Call Brandon!
Looking at this photo got us thinking about stuff we’ve broken over the years, and how most of the time we don’t think about the bad ones until you have a few drinks in you and start telling stories. Then you seem to remember all the crap you’ve blown up or broken over the years.
If you are like us, then hoist a few today and then let us know what the gnarliest carnage is that you’ve experienced in your hot rod or race car. And email us photos if you have them! [email protected]
56 Chevy 1/2 ton, 401 Buick and auto trans. Garage shortened and balanced driveshaft. 2nd hole shot, hit 2nd gear hard, driveshaft put a hole in the bed then left at 90 degrees for 200ft. Had to explain to the cop who happened on us 15 min later “it just fell out, I don’t know why”.
Burnt a hole in a piston of an RD350 Yahaha – pulled into the dealer to get some plugs as it fouled them regularly …one of the employees helped me out
I pulled the head and cylinder which he honed while I changed the piston .
Put it back together and rode away
Crank in four pieces, cam in three, rear two main webs torn out half the rods twisted, rear of block fully windowed both sides. Everything stayed inside, including the oil, held together only by the oil pan.
Not an easy thing to do to the old slant six.
Don’t know how to post pictures here, I’ll e-mail you some.
I had a slant six lose its #6 rod bearing on the dyno – got pictures of the damage in the forums: https://bangshift.com/forum/forum/bangshift/tech-section/1262634-looks-like-i-found-the-problem-and-more-problems However, this doesn’t sound nearly as spectacular – this one was still running, sort of, when I pulled it.
355 sbc in my dad’s 73 nova drag car just before the 7400 shift a two lobe chunk of the cam broke and fell between the 1 and 2 connecting rods. Sent them threw side of the block. Tagged the valves and bent most of the pushrods. Had a chunk of rod cap and rod still held tight by the ARP bolt that was laying on the track. My dad hasn’t broke many engines but that one has stuck in my memory since.
had a remanned 390 in the car for a few years,oil pressure was never anything to brag about,towards the end it would idle with about 5 to 10 pounds going home from work one night on a busy stoplight ave shifting to second gear it decided to let lose,it was only a matter of time.con rod came out the side of the block an took the oil pan with it.oil was everywhere.