In a message dated 07/07/2003 10:35:35 PM Central Daylight Time,
rkramer3@austin.rr.com writes:
> For those that weren't there, I had the misfortune of breaking a rod in
> turn
> one at Mosport. The guys behind me tell a story of a couple of fireballs and
> parts flying about. It's a sad tale. I tore the engine down to the short
> block
> tonight in situ. The number 3 rod broke at the oiling hole at about 6000
> rpm,
> ventilating the block on both sides. No signs of heat damage or spun
> bearings.
> The piston did not hit the head as the rod cracked the liner all the way to
> the top and the piston wedged itself in place. The blowup removed the oil
> galley and I think the instantaneous loss of oil pressure may have saved
> some
> parts by keeping metal particles from the oilways. The rod was a stock TR
> rod
> that was magnafluxed, lightened and polished. The big end still spins
> perfectly on the crank and the small end is just as free on the remains of
> the
> piston. I'm hoping the crank is OK, but I'm not sure. It appears to me that
> the rod broke, caught the camshaft and broke it, then took out one side of
> the
> block and rebounded to take out the other. Anyhow, that's my tale of woe.
>
Amici:
On purpose, or not, Bob Kramer choose to have this incident occur immediately
across from the TRIUMPH Competition Paddock, which was just down the road
from Turn ONE. It was spectacular. To say, "...a couple of fire balls" is
just
not very descriptive. For about three seconds, the entire bottom of the car,
and thirty feet to the rear was engulfed in flame. Too bad someone did not
catch this on tape, as it was SPECTACULAR. Bob was sharing a stall in my tent
for the week end. So we had lots of visitors rushing down to see the red TR4
with holes in both sides of the block. All but Kas, that is. Kas didn't rush
down to see it. He said, "I've seen these holes before!" Bob's got a great
attitude, and his enthusiasm was not diminished.
Bill Dentinger
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