To Hell And Back...For A $2 Part

[Damn True]

Some of you may know that I run the pit crew for an endurance racing team. Below is a link to the story of our 2013 season.

I normally put my blog posts in a single thread in the outhouse forum. This one is going here. There is some significant safety info in the post that is germane to the community:


Endurance racing is a thing apart from other motorsports. It’s not a test of who can build the fastest car. It’s not a test of who is the fastest driver. What it is, is a test of fortitude, of commitment, of accountability, of leadership and of how you perform, not when things are going great, but when absolutely everything......goes absolutely wrong. Read more here: http://thedamntrueexperiment.blogspot.com/2014/03/to-hell-and-backfor-2-part.html

[sjaroslo]

Great read! What an admirable effort.

[camloops11]

That was an amazing feat. Great to see people help out like that, if only the rest of the world could too. Finishing the race must have been quite the feeling. Good luck to you this year!

[GeoffP]

Isn't that same junction why Brian Finch's car caught on fire?

[acegto]

True,
You know, Ive read in many forums about these unions failing, even if its just a small leak, but this could have been CATASTROPHIC. Thanks for shedding more light on this and know that I for one will definitely change my methods in this regard. Thanks

[Damn True]

Thanks. That I'm aware of nobody's been seriously hurt by those things but they've sure messed up some nice cars.

I just don't want anyone hurt.

[BMR Sales]

Gosh, I haven't seen or talked to Davy Jones in a few years

[Damn True]

One of the coolest guys I've met in racing, Both he and Paul were great additions to the team. Elliot Forbes-Robinson drove with us in 2012. He was quite a guy too.

[efs69]

What a story!! Thankfully no one was hurt. It is also crazy that the camera kept going through the whole thing. You guys deserve the win after that one!!

[CarlC]

Jimi Day had that same clip-type connector come off on AMXess during OLoA last year after thousands of miles of use. The newer U-nut and Earl's OE clip design are much better when used on plastic connections (fuel modules.)

[Jetfixr320]

Is this a OEM style connector that was reused or a aftermarket item? Used on other EFI setups?

Amazing story, Glad nobody was hurt.

Thanks.

[Project92rs]

It's an aftermarket adapter to let you run AN line from the tank to the rail. The adapter goes from AN to the factory clip type connector. After reading this I replaced ours with the U nut style from Russell just to be a bit safer.

[Damn True]

Just an FYI, but we'll have the car out for at Buttonwillow April 5th.

If you are in the area, drop by and check it out. We'll be busy, but not too busy to shake a hand and show you the car.

[Damn True]

Just a reminder on the above. This Saturday. Feel free to drop by and say hello.

[TonyHuntimer]

Great read. What a journey!

Tony Huntimer
TestCarDatabase

[T_Raven]

I'm a little confused about what failed. I've only done one LS swap, but I've got 3 others in the works. On the one that's done I just used factory lines from the donor car. The only fitting I've seen that adapts an AN fitting is the blue one that clips on the stock fuel rail and has a mail AN end on the other end, but I'd assume that's one piece, plus the plastic clip. Is that the style that's failing and if so what's coming apart? Or did the fitting just come off the clip?

[Damn True]

The plastic internals of the fitting fail. This results in the outer aluminum bit coming off and hosing down your engine with fuel at ~60psi.

Weld an AN fitting to the OE rail or use aftermarket rails.

[Damn True]

...oh, and the race this weekend went quite well. 2nd in class, 2nd overall giving us a pretty decent lead in the points for the series. There are a couple of cars that are quicker, but (knock wood) our reliability and fuel economy work in our favor.