Grundy Posted September 7, 2014 Share Posted September 7, 2014 (edited) Play this song whilst reading. So, for all those who have me on facebook and the internet as word travels quite fast.... My car blew up today at Trax on my second track session. Not 100% sure how it happend (Needs investigating) as I always do my pre-track checks day before, oil, coolant, brakes, tyres etc. Long story short, came out of a corner, floored it and heard some iffy noise, lots of smoke coming from engine/exhaust and lost all power. Shards of metal in my under tray in a swimming pool of oil. Safe to say, the engine is knackered. First and foremost THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERYONE! Such a supportive helpful community we are in! Too many names to list, but you all know who you are and I appreciate it so much, if it was holding my bags in your car, lending me toe rope, running round asking strangers to toe me You are all legends! So now comes the bit that was worse than losing an engine.....Silverstone taking me from the circuit to the main entrance... (I don't think you need facebook to view this - But thanks to Ash catching this shot as I was screaming in the corner with fear!!! Least I didn't have fake/cheap wheels....2 spokes each wheel to hold my car :surrender: That was at the main entrance getting dropped off, ready to be toed a mile away so I could call my break down cover Called them, told me it would take an hour (6.30 - 7.30) Get a phone call at 7pm to tell me he won't be here til 9;30pm Off to the pub I went. Then came 12am and I am home!! What am I going to do next you're probably wondering? I need to speak to the professionals first and do some research, but in my mind at the moment... -Going to look for a cheap shed with years tax/mot to get me to work and take my car off the road for the rest of the year. -Then either rebuild another engine with Fully Forged internals -Or look at other alternative engines and go V8. Figured if I need a new engine etc, which I don't have the money for right now, may as well take it slow and do it right. Will keep you guys all in the loop, but fear not Eleanor (Yup, we named my car that today ) Will return next year Bigger and better than ever Dedman has my Dashcam footage which I'm sure will be posted up later this week. Once again, thank you to everyone for your kind words and support - This is one big family, not a community Edited September 7, 2014 by grundy225 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grundy Posted September 7, 2014 Author Share Posted September 7, 2014 They say bad luck comes in 3s.... Is this 3 pairs of hands? I've ran out of fingers to count with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BulletMagnet Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 (edited) Dibs....? Too soon? :lol: Edited September 8, 2014 by BulletMagnet 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevoD Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 Figured if I need a new engine etc, which I don't have the money for right now, may as well take it slow and do it right. Will keep you guys all in the loop, but fear not Eleanor (Yup, we named my car that today ) Will return next year Bigger and better than ever Dedman has my Dashcam footage which I'm sure will be posted up later this week. Once again, thank you to everyone for your kind words and support - This is one big family, not a community Yes mate was such a bummer and it sucked as there isnt a great deal you can do to help once something like that happens, although i am now like a red tomato from sitting by your car all afternoon Glad to hear you got home safe and thanks for keeping us updated, Hopeful this will be one of those time which are a blessing in disguise, just hope father Christmas drops off a Ls motor and box with a full sikkys kit for Christmas, Like i say sorry there wasnt anything i could really do to help, and im sure passing you a few times on the track didnt help But also thanks for giving me the jump to start looking for a beaver tail to start transporting mine to and from drift days 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grundy Posted September 8, 2014 Author Share Posted September 8, 2014 Dibs....? Too soon? :lol: Too slow Was the 1st thing most people said to today Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BulletMagnet Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 Yeah, I heard a vulture swooped in for the CF bonnet already Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevoD Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 Yeah, I heard a vulture swooped in for the CF bonnet already i think most things were dibs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bounty Bar Kid Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 Sorry to hear that dude. At least there was no body damage or any to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
370Ad Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 Massive shame. You had good pace at Japfest so it's not like the engine was on its way out. Oil starvation after coming round a tight bend?! Totally guessing here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ioneabee Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 dibs on 2 wheels ?...................just the ones that fit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 Excessive drag overloaded the engine putting so much strain on it that it gave up - remove BGW and silly wide wheels - problem solved As I already said - bad luck mate but she can be fixed, no doubt we will be speaking soon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhackyWill Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 (edited) You'll be back Matt, leaner and meaner.. :thumbs: Edited September 8, 2014 by WhackyWill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mouthwash Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 (edited) It was the best possible outcome to the scenarios playing in my head (well, not quite I suppose).. Waiting for Grundy to appear around the track to get more (bad) pictures of him and the same cars lap past me twice without seeing him, then a red flag being waved I honestly thought he had binned it into a wall. I'm sorry I didn't hang around for too long, was knackered after only 3/4 strange hours of sleep and having to drive 2 1/2 hours home I didn't want to make the journey too late. Oh well, chance for upgrades if you want the positive spin Edited September 8, 2014 by mouthwash 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoundDog Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 Sorry to hear about this fella. But onwards and upwards and looking forward to seeing the future build Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliveBoy Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 I'm sorry I didn't hang around for too long, was knackered after only 3/4 strange hours of sleep and having to drive 2 1/2 hours home I didn't want to make the journey too late. Why were they strange Mouthwash!? Must admit I had a mini panic when my phone went from you Grundy, I knew you were supposed to be on track! Unfortunately engine spares are one of the few things I don't have so I'm unable to offer anything to the cause, but anything else I'll do my best to help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 Sad news Grundy mate Is it possible you mis-read the oil level? Crappy dipstick and all that. Either way, it's irrelevant now, just hope you get back on your feet soon bud. Could you not spend the money you were going to pay on a 2nd car on getting this one sorted? New engine £1500, fitting few hundred more, gotta be cheaper than buying a completely different car then having to insure that was well (so another policy with zero NCB)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docwra Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 Massive shame. You had good pace at Japfest so it's not like the engine was on its way out. Engines dont gradually slow down, if anything they get quicker before they go pop all of a sudden, theres rarely any giveaway before the black smoke Sounds to me like you dropped a rod, this is usually following catastrophic big end failure which could be anything, make sure you get a picture of the hole in the block for posterity Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LRF4N Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 Sad news mate but huge credit to you for being so upbeat about it I think this is the first time most of us have read a thread about an engine going bang and the author having a laugh about it. Most people would be a bit gutted if their cheap track toy went bang but this is your pride and joy and your posing with a big cheesy grin lol Fair play mate. Hope it gets easier from now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddy78 Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 Sorry to see this matey, that's really bad luck! Hope you get everything sorted out soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisB Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 Glad you are seeing a positive side though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
370Ad Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 (edited) Massive shame. You had good pace at Japfest so it's not like the engine was on its way out. Engines dont gradually slow down, if anything they get quicker before they go pop all of a sudden, theres rarely any giveaway before the black smoke Sounds to me like you dropped a rod, this is usually following catastrophic big end failure which could be anything, make sure you get a picture of the hole in the block for posterity I always thought that if an engine was on its way out and needed a rebuild of some sort, then there would be reduced compression. This would result in variation of burn pattern and uneven pressure build up which manifests to lack of power. Could be totally wrong though and TBH its a bit late for Grundy anyway! Edited September 8, 2014 by 370Ad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docwra Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 If compression is reducing its usually down to valves or rings - you would notice a slight reduction in performance but probably not that much, youd be more likely to notice it not ticking over right, become difficult to start first. In theory unless something physically broke off and ended up in combustion chamber or bottom end the engine would continue to run until compression was so low it wouldnt start, its not likely to explode though. For true catastrophic engine failure you need a bottom end to go (rod thrown out of block, crank melted, flywheel explosion) and then tend to come on without much warning, which all adds to the fun IMO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliveBoy Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 Grundy, I've just seen this from a friends pictures of trax.... It could have been worse it seems 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDay Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 Good on you for putting a positive outlook on it all . When you hadn't come round for the last few laps and I saw the recovery truck getting ready to go out, I did think the worst and that there was a gravel trap / a wall involved somewhere. Thankfully no other damage done. look forward to see where you go with it next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flex Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 Bigger, better, faster, stronger!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry dude, massive @*!# sandwich life's dealing you at the moment! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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