I was up at turn two taking photos. I saw the explosion and knew what had
happened. Bob had great restraint even after coasting to a stop at the top
of the hill. He ONLY threw his gloves down hard at the ground. All
experienced drivers know that helmets are a lot more expensive than gloves
and it was time to cut his losses..
----- Original Message -----
From: <N197TR4@cs.com>
To: <BillDentin@aol.com>; <rkramer3@austin.rr.com>; <fot@autox.team.net>
Sent: Tuesday, July 08, 2003 7:15 AM
Subject: Re: Post mortem on my see thru engine
> Yes, there was a large flash fire out the back. I saw a few flaming parts
> scatter out the bottom, thinking they may be pieces of exhaust wrap or
something,
> not large pieces of aging cast iron.
>
> Then I felt my car skew just a bit.
>
> Bob made like a debris flag, from the side of the track, for a few laps
while
> we figured out there was some Triumph Roadkill on the track.
>
> > 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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