My Dad Crashed his Miata

Hi. I am Salanis' dad. No, I was not too freaked other than worrying about my friend who was in the right seat. (Still suffering from neck pain and decided to go see the doctor -- finally.) I am kinda bummed that my ride is bent beyond usefulness.

When I got it back to the garage I got it up on stands to see what was up. Other than cosmetic stuff the right framerail is creased right in the middle from front to rear. There is no obvious damage to anything else except possibly in the left rear corner where it wedged into the tirewall.

You know, I saw it coming as I started to track-out. I realized I was going to be two-off and didn't try to save it. I figured I would just drive off, slow down, and pull back on. As it was, I was rudely surprised to find myself facing the tire wall. I barely had time to utter the immortal word before I hit. The damage to the frame rail suggests that when the outside wheels dropped off the berm the right frame rail caught a high point, torquing the car around beyond recovery.

FWIW, two sessions later I kept my date with a Spec Miata. (Funny, my lap times seemed to be up not down. Familiarity? ;-)

Right now SM seems to be the direction I am leaning. I don't plan to try to make my daily-driver my track car. Time for a dedicated track car, one that will hopefully let me race when my driving gets better. I really like the Miata. Until the Miata I haven't enjoyed a car since I sold my '71 Lotus Europa S2.

Now, what to do with all those lovely spare parts ... hmmm ...

;-)

It seems like fate that this would show up the same day. All those 1999 parts would fit inside. And it sounds as if you're in the neighborhood...

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/200x-classifieds/miata-coupe-for-sale/18587/page1/

Huh. May fortune favor the foolish. I think I also need to start shopping for a trailer.

brianlloyd wrote: Huh. May fortune favor the foolish. I think I also need to start shopping for a trailer.

Well, you can always borrow mine for a couple days.

brianlloyd wrote: Hi. I am Salanis' dad. No, I was not too freaked other than worrying about my friend who was in the right seat. (Still suffering from neck pain and decided to go see the doctor -- finally.) I am kinda bummed that my ride is bent beyond usefulness. When I got it back to the garage I got it up on stands to see what was up. Other than cosmetic stuff the right framerail is creased right in the middle from front to rear. There is no obvious damage to anything else except possibly in the left rear corner where it wedged into the tirewall. You know, I saw it coming as I started to track-out. I realized I was going to be two-off and *didn't* try to save it. I figured I would just drive off, slow down, and pull back on. As it was, I was rudely surprised to find myself facing the tire wall. I barely had time to utter the immortal word before I hit. The damage to the frame rail suggests that when the outside wheels dropped off the berm the right frame rail caught a high point, torquing the car around beyond recovery. FWIW, two sessions later I kept my date with a Spec Miata. (Funny, my lap times seemed to be up not down. Familiarity? ;-) Right now SM seems to be the direction I am leaning. I don't plan to try to make my daily-driver my track car. Time for a dedicated track car, one that will hopefully let me race when my driving gets better. I really *like* the Miata. Until the Miata I haven't enjoyed a car since I sold my '71 Lotus Europa S2. Now, what to do with all those lovely spare parts ... hmmm ... ;-)

Good to hear from you, sir! You certainly sound like "one of us" with that post! Urban legend has it that after climbing out of a wreck, a pro driver once said, "..tell the sponsors to build me another one..".

I'm still curious about how your passenger suffered the hit though. Somebody (maybe your son?) previously posted that perhaps the seat was all the way back, and he was riding a little underneath the bar with the seat that far back. I was about to admit that I'd asked my own passengers (except for instructors, of course..they can sit where they want) to do that so I could see out the right side.

Hi, Salanis' Dad!

I am glad that everyone walked away. If you guys are serious about wanting a tub for a track only only car, call PR Motorsports in Hayward. When I was in there a couple of weeks ago, Rick and the crew had a straight 96 or 97 tub that they were looking to get rid of. If you want some that moves under its own power, I have a '91 that I will be letting go at a "Challenge Friendly" price in the next couple of months. PM me for details. I'm in Redwood City.

Glad that you are okay!

In reply to friedgreencorrado:

I think that I may have found a 1990 suitable for making into a SM at a price I can afford right now. I may have some interest in making a trade for some of the '99 parts for stuff I need for the SM so I may be able to make progress right away. (My control arms from the '99 had all new bushings and ball joints. Are gen-2 control arms compatible with a gen-1 chassis?)

(Actually, if I get it for the price I want to pay I may try to do a challenge car with it before turning it into a SM.)

And I am lusting after a lo-mi 2001 for which I have insufficient funds.

Re: my passenger, he got a clean bill of health from his doctor. His neck is just really sore. Knowing he is OK removes the last vestige of awschit from the event.

As for the hit, the floor under the seat is pushed up a good 3-4 cm. You can see how the box member that joins the forward and aft frame rails is bowed upward. The right seat was all the way back and tilted back which would place the edge of my rider's helmet under the bar. I will certainly think of that in the future as part of the pulling-out-onto-the-track checklist.

If all the suspension and drivetrain components from the '99 are usable (they appear to be right now but I haven't started disassembly) then I should be about to get out of this with a whole skin, money-wise. Chalk it up to education.

And I would like to thank all of you for your good wishes. I appreciate it.

Too bad it took a binned Miata to get Salanis' on the board.

brianlloyd wrote: In reply to friedgreencorrado: I think that I may have found a 1990 suitable for making into a SM at a price I can afford right now. I may have some interest in making a trade for some of the '99 parts for stuff I need for the SM so I may be able to make progress right away. (My control arms from the '99 had all new bushings and ball joints. Are gen-2 control arms compatible with a gen-1 chassis?) (Actually, if I get it for the price I want to pay I may try to do a challenge car with it before turning it into a SM.) And I am lusting after a lo-mi 2001 for which I have insufficient funds.

I am ashamed to admit...as much as I like the Miata-I must be one of the few people on GRM that doesn't have one laying around..

brianlloyd wrote: Re: my passenger, he got a clean bill of health from his doctor. His neck is just really sore. Knowing he is OK removes the last vestige of awschit from the event. As for the hit, the floor under the seat is pushed up a good 3-4 cm. You can see how the box member that joins the forward and aft frame rails is bowed upward. The right seat was all the way back and tilted back which would place the edge of my rider's helmet under the bar. I will certainly think of that in the future as part of the pulling-out-onto-the-track checklist.

Having the floor move would certainly do the trick. One of my biggest concerns with the SCCA Improved Touring rules years ago was that they made us mount the seat to the floor, instead of the cage. Bit me in the rump roast when I had my accident at Charlotte (ITC Mazda 323). The seat was mounted to the stock mounting points (per the rules), one of them sheared off on the initial contact with the rail, and the seat started flopping around when the car went into the air. I recall pulling as hard as I could on the steering wheel to keep myself in the belts while the thing rolled.

brianlloyd wrote: If all the suspension and drivetrain components from the '99 are usable (they appear to be right now but I haven't started disassembly) then I should be about to get out of this with a whole skin, money-wise. Chalk it up to education. And I would like to thank all of you for your good wishes. I appreciate it.

Hey, we're all racers here...we know how it goes sometimes.

Appleseed wrote: Too bad it took a binned Miata to get Salanis' on the board.

I've been trying to get him on here for a while. Now there will be someone on here more pedantic than me.

One other good thing coming out, is that he's looking at a car that's in the range of Challenge money. We're planning on getting our students involved in preparing that. Having two 7th grade girls preparing the visual theme is going to be interesting. Right now, they're thinking "Hello Kitty".

Woops, meant to say Salanis' Dad.

Yes. Do the Hello Kitty.

In reply to Keith:

Dunno. Those fender flares are just a bit ...

In reply to Appleseed:

The only problem with "Hello Kitty" is that it is trademarked. OTOH, maybe they want to sponsor ...

One thing about a pink Kitty Kar is that anyone driving will have to check the ego. OTOH, my AF callsign was "Pink". (I have a strong affinity for Pink Floyd so the other guys just started calling me "Pink".) We can do something with that even if we eschew the whiskers.

As for finally getting on the board, well, I am only just beginning to learn enough to carry on a semi-sensible conversation. Airplanes, no problem. Electrics, definitely. Suspension and car tech in general, uh, not so much.

So Salanis is right -- the goal now is an evolutionary car that will do the challenge and then finish up as a SM. I looked at one today but when I jacked it up to check out the frame, there were serious dings in the forward frame rails and the box members that extend between front and rear frame rails had been opened up with a giant can-opener. I was just not feeling the structural love so I passed it by.

So, now we are looking for a CHEEP '90/'91 Miata hopefully with a hard-top that can be made into a challenge car and then into a Spec Miata. (Do the challenge rules let me sell the top to myself for later use?) I am open to the right deal and will travel if need be.

Pedantic? Me? (Shuddup! They might not notice!)

Inspiration:

Hahahahah yes!!!! Angry Pork Racing FTW!

Isn't there some talk in SM about NB suspension being legal on an NA car. I don't follow the rules closely, but if that's the case, you should be good to swap your subframes onto an early shell for what would be the best of both worlds.

In reply to Josh:

No doubt about it, definitely pink!

What is the etymology of that first, uh, car? The fins I recognize and the sidewall are truly inspiring. It almost looks like a Miata tub ... but no ... the cooling air intake for the radiator is too high. Lots of air going to go under that chassis.

That's an NA Miata. It has an '80s cadillac grille stuck on the front bumper. It was a LeMons winner at Reno this year:

http://jalopnik.com/5264807/get-ready-for-24-hours-of-lemons-reno-with-eyesore-racings-eldoradomiata

In reply to mw:

Where does one go to find the details of the spec? I know I can't change the engine; I have to run the engine and ECU for that model year.

Also, where do I find out what is interchangeable between the gen1 and gen2 cars?

brianlloyd wrote: As for finally getting on the board, well, I am only just beginning to learn enough to carry on a semi-sensible conversation. Airplanes, no problem. Electrics, definitely. Suspension and car tech in general, uh, not so much.

Welcome sir! You are in the right place! Aircraft discussions? Check! Electric discussions? Check! Suspension and car tech? No problem, read alot and learn! Even if you make a silly suggestion, or statement around here, no one will really get on your case. Just don't use riceboy/leetsp3@k Yo!

Glad to hear you, and your passenger made it with nothing more than a bit of soreness! Sorry for the late chime in, but it's been a busy week here.

Most SM rules you need can be found at www.specmiata.com

Here are the build rules: http://www.specmiata.com/specifications.htm

The rules do not specifically state that you may move over the control arms, and in general they say that, "No updating or backdating of cars, models, specifications, and/or components thereof shall be permitted except as specifically authorized in these specifications." So it looks like you couldn't use those on an NA Spec Miata.

Miata.net has a pretty good compatibility guide for the NA/NB cars. http://www.miata.net/garage/compatibility.html

The control arms are interchangeable, so are the subframes. It's popular to swap those over to get a better ride in an NA Miata and doesn't require any fancy work. I know Keith did that with the Targa Miata.