I had no idea fiberglass is so forgiving. (1 Viewer)

[TSK]

I've been helping work on The Invader NFC for the past year and a half. We twice to race at least twice a year. You folks who have been around a while know The Invader.
The name may be old but the parts are still top-notch.
Anyway, this past September, we went to the Nitro Nationals at Tulsa and hoped to run a good number. We had just freshened the engine and had a brand new clutch in the car.
On our very first pass, the car was on a decent run as we had the clutch fairly soft. But, at about the 800 foot mark, the #2 intake valve broke, which caused a heck of a boomer. Our driver got the car stopped quickly and except for some slight singe marks on his firesuit, he was just fine. The motor was trashed.
The body flew at least 75 feet into the air in several big pieces. When everything landed, it was flat as a pancake. I just knew we were done. But, the owner, Glenn Solano said it could be repaired.
Having never worked around fiberglass much before, I had my doubts. But, after a few nights, I think we will race again sooner, rather than later.
This is what she looked like in her prime.

 

[TSK]

A sad sight.

 

[TSK]

Danged, if she doesn't look like a car again.

 

[TSK]

We will be utilizing a new paint scheme (no fancy wraps here) once all the 'glass work is done. But, I'll save details on that for later.

 

[Nunz]

Love it. Keep us updated.

 

[Butch]

The only negative is, I'm sure the body's weight is a little heavier after the repair. We had a incident not getting stopped before the end of a track. Hitting many small trees. Body was like a puzzle putting it back together.
The wreck was on a Wednesday night and we pulled into Edgewater Saturday evening in gray primer. Surprised the hell out of everyone that we made it.

 

[Nunz]

With the talent required to piece that back together, maybe you could use that body as a mold for a new, lighter one?

 

[Muddy]

I'm surprised you got enough pieces back from the fans who picked them up to piece it back together. When the track announced that you wanted all the pieces back and your intention to put it back together my first though was "good luck" on both counts.

 

[TSK]

I'm surprised you got enough pieces back from the fans who picked them up to piece it back together. When the track announced that you wanted all the pieces back and your intention to put it back together my first though was "good luck" on both counts.

Well, the ol' boy who was handing out the broken parts had no business doing it in the first place.
The only piece we didn't find was the pressure relief cover in front of the blower. I saw a picture on the track's web site that showed the cover at least 50 feet higher than the body.