[1974nova]

Well at least the ones at the end of the track do. Went to Atco for the 1st point series race and during the 1st time trial I ran my quickest and fastest pass ever a 10.46 @ 129.70 and thats when I noticed my brake pedal was not where it usually is. When I let go of the brake it flipped up and pulled the push rod out of the master cylinder and got stuck on the inside of the fire wall. Trying to slow the car down I tried down shifting (didn't work), putting it into reverse I think (didn't work) then I shut the engine down and waited for the sand trap and net. I probably hit the sand trap and net area at 50 mph I took down the poles and came to a rest about 30 feet from where it was mounted. Fiberglass frontend was demolished upon inpact (only had 5 runs on it), wrapped the rad around the motor, put a hole in one valve cover, bent the pass side rim and also bent the pass side of the frame which moved the motor back about 1 inch. I was able to walked away with just a sore chest and a bruised ego but at least I walked away. The good news is when I got home and my wife saw it and said "So what is it going to take to fix it" Shes a keeper for sure. She watched me build it for the past 13 years and also when I took it to the track for the first time last spring. Heres some pics of the aftermath:

 

[chevyIIheavy]

thank god your alive and well my prayers our out to you never good seeing carnage but your right about one thing you walked away cars can be replaced people cant ray:

 

[wht73]

Glad to hear your ok. Sorry bout the car.

 

[Denis the Menace]

Glad to hear your ok. Sorry bout the car.

X2 That sucks! :yes:

 

[fasteddie]

Man...... so sorry to here about this but am glad you are ok!

 

[novas4life]

THAT'S HORRIBLE!! Glad your O.K. I think they would still be prying my hands of the steering wheel.
Brandon

 

[Rice371]

Dude that sucks, good luck with the rebuild.

 

[Seattle_Mike]

Sorry to hear of your bad luck but glad to hear you are Ok...could of been much worse. You'll get er fixed and back at the track in no time. Good thing it's very early in the season.

 

[thetpro1]

WOW! THATS HORRABLE! This is common with the brake pushrod. Woodrow Josey wrecked a brand new stocker in Florida last year because of the same reason. It is ironic, I finished my brake installation today, the new master cylander came with a rod that has a rubber bushing and a boot to keep it from comeing out. Man, I have a few, (very) nova parts laying around. If I can help, let me know, If I got it, you are welcome to it.
Glad you are OK, I agree, your wife is a KEEPER,
Tony

 

[gmracing355]

Im glad to see that you are ok. Im about 10 minutes from atco and If I can help let me know. I already know of a donor car for you,Ill pm ya.
Greg

 

[NOVACA1N]

Been there before dude, pretty ****ty situation but at least you walked away.

I assume your car was a power brake car and you converted it to manual?

 

[ZNova]

Man, sorry to see that, but like everybody I'm glad you walked away without an injury. :yes: And glad you are already thinking about the rebuild. I had never heard of the push rod coming out of the master cylinder. Is there any way to check it or prevent it from happening again?

 

[vegas mike]

jesus, it could have been much worse than that.
i'm glad to see no one got hurt.

 

[Dan_Lebherz]

WOW, sorry for the carnage, glad you're OK!

 

[Real McCoy]

I know of a couple cases of this happening to others. It almost happened to my friend years ago after I built his car. I didn't realize the pedal had no stop so it could come back too far and let the rod fall out. Now I check every car for that. Glad you weren't hurt and the car wasn't messed up any worse. Everyone who reads this should be looking at their cars to be sure there is a stop on the pedal to keep it from going too far back. Alot of cars use the brake pedal switch as the stop because the power brakes don't need a stop but when you convert to manual from power it becomes a problem. Not a good way to do it in my opinion.

 

[1974nova]

Thanks for all the kind words, I already have a heads up of where there is a front frame not to far from me, so may be I will make it back out this year, With better brakes LOL

 

[tbills66]

Sorry to hear of the bad luck but glad to hear you're ok. Thank goodness for the safety barriers.

I know a guy who had the same thing happen to him. He did the worst thing which was unbuckle his seat belt, reached down and put the rod back in. He ended up stopping and not getting hurt, but he will tell you to this day that was the one of the dumbest things he ever did.

 

[77xbody]

sorry about the nova,that stinks.I guess you can be glad you were not at island.good luck and hope to see you out again this season

 

[tnealp]

thank God!

Thank God your OK. This a risky sport, but that's what makes it worth it. I have often wondered what I would do if my brakes failed at the end of the track. Fixer back and lets race again!!! Good luck!

Tony

 

[David_D.]

Sorry to hear about this. Most important thing is you are okay!