Sprintparts #43 Severely Damaged

[SPRINTPARTS]

Well what do you say. At the first round of our State Championship last weekend my car #43 was taken out of the second race of the weekend by another competitor who decided he was going to try and outbrake about 4 cars at once and ended up using me as his brakes.

It is unlikely that he would ever see what is written here, but at this stage I am only prepared to say that even though he was a faster car passing me, he was totally out of control. Unfortunately my car is probably a "write off" and I need to sit back and assess the best way of returning the car to the race track. At this stage it is more than likely that I will now be forced to sit ou this years motorsport, which will be the first time since 1981 for me.

The cars B pillar is pushed in approximately 8" at sill height and about 10-12" higher up. The roll cage is broken and the door intrusion bar is wedged against the seat and the seating postion appears about 3-4" to the centre of the car. The car does drive, but body is bent like a banana and best described as stuffed.

From a personal point of view, I am OK, except for some sore muscles in thigh, side and shoulder. The intrusion bar did its job and a few years back i changed the seat form its original circa 1977 Recaro to a more modern fibreglass seat with high sides, which I believe saved me from further injuries.

Althought I am very P****d off it is only a car that can be repaired/replaced if funds EVER permit, and Philip now has a spare set of mechanicals for his race for the rest of racing season.







Mark

[mbellinger]

That's a gutter Mark - at least YOU are okay.

A shocking way to end a season before it had really begun though, and really frustrating when some idiot does that to you. There are plenty of them about now though...

I think your car may be repairable, albeit you would need to put it on a CarBench or similar jig and pull the sill out. Rimmers here in the UK can provide you with a brand new (BL) B pillar assembly, and with a new sill (all three pieces) you would have a fighting chance. xvivalve on here sells the front floorpans and the rear footwell is very easily repaired. Couple of secondhand doors and you're away.

Not a small job, but do-able.

Always amazes me the number of times I see those sort of side impacts and the door glass stays intact.

Chin up fella.

[Mad Mart]

Oooh! nasty. Glad you're alright Mark. Get another shell, you'll soon be up & running again.

[Nick C]

Poor Car, glad you're Ok though! I'd echo Mart's comment, quick reshell and a new cage and you'll be back on the track before you know it

[Howard81]

Ouch, that's nasty! Glad you are okay though

[SPRINTPARTS]

Thanks for the words of sympathy and support. Unfortuntely one of the problems with repairing/replacing the bodyshell, apart from money, time involved etc, is that this car has a 30 year racing history that must be preserved. This racing history makes the car value increase by probably 5 times what a car without its history is worth.

If I reshelled, it is not just a matter of obtaining another body and bolting the mechanicals into it. There is numerous "hidden mods and race preparation" that must be done and then it needs to repainted back to original etc. It is still early days and the head it still spinning (literally) from the accident, and money needs to be found to fund a rebuild and return to racing. I will be back, WHEN is the big question.

Mark

[sprint1976]

sorry to hear about the damage,obviously there car will have to go on a jig to be repaired but doors and sills are easily replaced and b post,well within the reach of a proffessional body repairer,considering the cars racing history it deserves to be repaired goodluck

[adasdad]

I'm sorry to see the damage to your car but pleased to hear you've come out relatively unscathed. Probably like a lot of people on this forum I follow your racing and accompanying posts with great interest, it's fantastic to see sprints in the thick of it and it can only do the cause good for this to continue.

good luck for a fast return,
Andy.

[Mad Mart]

Unfortuntely one of the problems with repairing/replacing the bodyshell, apart from money, time involved etc, is that this car has a 30 year racing history that must be preserved. This racing history makes the car value increase by probably 5 times what a car without its history is worth.

Ah! I never considered that aspect of things. In that case it seems a repair is the only option available to you.

[Neil907]

Really sorry to hear this Mark, Glad your ok though.
Best of luck with fixing thats going to be a big job but worth it in the end.
Neil

[Paul Roberts]

Very sorry and sad to hear about the accident but echo the sentiments of others that at least the driver is OK. I, like others here, love the fact that you guys continue with racing a Dolomite Sprint and your exploits are always of interest. Spent Sunday spectating at our local racetrack (Wanneroo) and would love to see a Sprint racing over here - not happened since I stopped racing in the mid-1990s. Given the history of your car, a rebuild is obviously the only way to go and I wish you to very best of luck in getting the car back on the track. I'm sure you don't, but if you do need any body parts in good condition, there are several Dolomites currently being wrecked by my friend and Triumph specialist here in Perth.

Again, commiserations and the very best of luck.

Paul Roberts
Perth, Western Australia

[grelley]

hi Mark, sorry to see this happening to you and your car. Glad you are ok. I had a similar thing happen to me at Pukekohe in January to the M3, but not quite as bad. They alway (nearly) look worse than they are. Once the doors are off it will look better and I am sure a session on a chassis straightner would improve it a lot. Good luck with the rebuild.
Regds Stephen

[zombeh]

At least you're ok.

Is the roof ok? or have they bent that too

[SPRINTPARTS]

A bit more info on the damage is as follows.

Unfortunately the roof is kinked above the RH B pillar, the distortion of the B pillar has torn the welds at the top where it joins the roof structure and there is about a 3mm gap.

The LH side of the car is bent to the point that the LR door now has a 25mm gap to the LR guard, but both LH doors can be opened and closed.

The front of the car is distorted so that the bonnet does not align the hole.

The boot area is also tiwsted so that the boot lid will not align the hole.

The large rear box section which is normally hidden under the rear seats has several large kinks in it.

The RH inner sill is folded over the top of and is level with the floor pan.

I havent accurately measured yet, but I believe that the RH side wheel base is around 1/2 to 3/4"" shorter than the LH side.

Current expert opinion is that the body shell is a "write off". It is still early days, and I am still coming to grips with the amount of work required to return the car to its former glory(?).
Mark.

PS. Thanks for everyones kind comments.

[trackerjack]

Very good luck to you on the repair, gutted you may be but at least your not driving a wheelchair.
Maybe once the side has been cut out the shell may pull into shape.