Demolition derby is the fastest “test to failure” situation for vehicles on the planet. While that seems like a Captain Obvious statement, think about it: if you’ve ever seen or heard a derby, you know that those engines are either revved out to within an inch of their lives or are struggling to run after vital fluids have left the block. Coolant? Long gone. Transmission? No transmission was meant to haul around the weight of a three-legged car. Even the strongest frames get tested and twisted. On the surface it seems like some sick, depraved comedy, but if you want to know how quickly something will fail, a demo derby will bring out the weaknesses faster than anything else.
You’re riding along with Ken Bates at the 2015 Puyallup Spring Fair in Washington State. Ken’s Lincoln Town Car (I think) is packing, at least according to what he put up, a 4.8L LS motor hooked to a manual transmission, though it’s quite possible that there’s a 4.6L Ford mill and a manual trans…we aren’t entirely for sure here. What we do know is that Ken isn’t gentle on the big Lincoln at all, which is good, because Washington State has a thriving demolition derby scene and any of these drivers would be more than happy to put him out of contention for the prize. Instead, an explosion occurs in the bell housing that turns everything related to the clutch and flywheel into shrapnel, exploding hard enough to punch through a Lakewood scatter shield. When it pops, it cuts a fuel line and spraying fuel plus hot car equals impressive fire. Bates is out of the car quickly and safety crews are right there to put the Town Car out.
Epic flywheel fail @ Puyallup spring fair
Posted by Ken Bates on Monday, April 20, 2015
A stickshift derby car! I like it. Just a few miles north here it’s something i’m not sure i’ve ever seen, Certainly never seen one swapped into a car that didn’t have a stick available.