parrotwhisperer
Nitro Member
My thoughts on $$ = $175+ for the stuff you know and could be $250+ if some parts are tweaked and not usable. Every part is suspect so it could be even more.
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Terry McMillen kaboom
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vegasnitro
Nitro Member
The headline says they are zeroing in on the cause of the explosion, but it is not discussed at all in the article. The whole article is about the failure of the restraints and how to prevent them in the future. Shrug.
Correct title of the article should be:
"NHRA Zeroes in on McMillen Blower Restraint Failure"
julianshog
Nitro Member
An intake valve adjuster was the initial failure that led to the explosion, according to a person in the know.
Could be wrong... but it looks like Terry's visor was partially open even before the explosion.
And, if you watch the video, Mark gets out of the way just as the car hits the wall right in front of him. Close call. Great shots and some pretty amazing autofocusing going on there. Mark deserves an award for those photos.
And, if you watch the video, Mark gets out of the way just as the car hits the wall right in front of him. Close call. Great shots and some pretty amazing autofocusing going on there. Mark deserves an award for those photos.
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TooTall999
Nitro Member
I was wondering about the visor too.
parrotwhisperer
Nitro Member
Could you please explain the sequence of events of how a broken intake valve adjuster could cause an engine to explode like this?
I'm no expert but
If an intake valve is stuck open even slightly then fire from combustion will force it's way into the intake and through the blower and bang the blower.
Worse scenario is an exhaust valve staying shut then your combustion exhaust has nowhere to go and you will end up with an extreme amount of cylinder pressure. When that happens on the next intake/compression cycle you will not only have exhaust travel into the intake but potentially hydraulic the cylinder bend or break the connecting rod maybe break the crank.
In Terry's case he had a sudden increase in manifold pressure which blew the manifold to bits.
It could have been worse he could easily have blown the heads off of the engine.
Valve train failure destroys engines. But don't think it's a modern thing the same thing could have happened and did happen in the 60's.
Oh and remember all this happened in a tiny amount of time less then a second.
At 8000rpm that is 133 revolutions of the motor every second. 4 stroke engines need only 4 strokes to go suck squeeze bang blow.
The flash or superman couldn't even react fast enough.
In lamens terms the engine tried to fart but those cheeks were welded shut.
I can't help but wonder if in the pursuit of making the engines stronger it's just made a bigger bomb.
It's the firecracker principle, place it on your hand and let it off it will hurt but worst case is a nasty burn, however clamp your hands tightly around it and let it off and you won't be using your hands Much after that if you even still have hands.
I can't help but wonder if in the pursuit of making the engines stronger it's just made a bigger bomb.
It's the firecracker principle, place it on your hand and let it off it will hurt but worst case is a nasty burn, however clamp your hands tightly around it and let it off and you won't be using your hands Much after that if you even still have hands.
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parrotwhisperer
Nitro Member
I appreciate that explanation but it has nothing to do with an "intake valve adjuster" being the causal failure part as was stated earlier. I am not trying to be a smart ass. It is just a far reach to say an adjuster caused this boomer. I am saying the driver did not lift and I think he had time to do so. The motor was extremely stressed and very unhappy. Save the parts else do not whine about budget down the road. I think the video backs me up. A lot of parts can fail in that situation and it does not mean any one part was at "fault" even if it did fail. All parts were WAY outside of their operating zone and all bets were off if any of them lived or died. An intake valve adjuster certainly could fail in this situation but it probably did not cause failures of other parts. A laundry list of parts stressed beyond NASA specs could have been the first to fail that would lead to the big one but probably not an adjuster. I am picking on Terry a little bit here because in the past some people on this forum blamed Richard Hartman for very similar failures and if they looked at the facts carefully and with enough knowledge they would know he was almost always not at fault. Perhaps with time passing and Terry's and Richard's performances since those days some of them realize that now. Others will maintain that part X failed and it is to blame for what Terry admitted was $250,000 in damage.
Gordon
Nitro Member
Rob Wendland did a very nice job explaining what happened during the run along with possible contributing factors during yesterday's telecast. I found it really interesting that the chutes slowed the car while the shrapnel maintained speed, thus causing the tire puncture and resulting hit of the wall.
I've said it before and I'll say it again - it's easy to sit in front of my computer and criticize a driver for not lifting, so I try very hard not to do it. I've never walked 1,000 feet in his shoes, so it's not for me to say one way or the other. What I do know is that as long as they put CH3NO2 in the tank, we're going to see the occasional big "BOOM!" in the fuel categories. In the end, I'm glad Terry walked away... the car is replaceable.
I've said it before and I'll say it again - it's easy to sit in front of my computer and criticize a driver for not lifting, so I try very hard not to do it. I've never walked 1,000 feet in his shoes, so it's not for me to say one way or the other. What I do know is that as long as they put CH3NO2 in the tank, we're going to see the occasional big "BOOM!" in the fuel categories. In the end, I'm glad Terry walked away... the car is replaceable.
none
Nitro Member
flapjack
Nitro Member
There is another fellow on here that has a different kind of atomic diagram. Can't remember his name, though.
flapjack
Nitro Member
Plus, with CH3NO2, you can rhyme like this: Jerry was a race car driver who through a speed trap flew, for what he thought was gasoline was CH3NO2.
vegasnitro
Nitro Member
Woulda been a better song with those lyrics! Still a pretty good song though.
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