Vintage Touring Car Safety

[66stang]

While reviewing the "Motorsports is Dangerous" listing of fatalities over the years, I was very interested in the fatalities involving touring cars from the 60s. As I am presently building an opentrack 66 Mustang, I am very interested in making the car as safe as possible.

My question is does anyone know a short version of what happened in some of these accidents...in particular Robin Smith's accident in a Mustang at Silverstone in 1968? Were these deaths fire related as in many of the 60s GP fatalities?

Certainly no disrespect to any driver involved...just trying to keep from joining the list.

Jeff

[TimD]

An understandable concern. However, as far as I recall, there were relatively few fire-related tragedies in sixties touring cars.

I checked the original Autosport report from April 12 1968, on Robin Smith's accident. It happened at Woodcote, which in those days was a nearly flat-out right-hander. The report states that the car appeared to lose its brakes, and hit the outer bank at an unreduced speed. The car was obliterated by the collision, and the impact is what claimed poor Robin Smith.

He's the only man I've got on record as having lost his life in a 64-66 Mustang.

As for fire, the only one I recall was to Peter Procter, who survived, but was very badly scarred. I seem to recall - not having the account to hand, that his accident was in a Ford 105E Anglia, and that it caused a rethink on the way fuel tanks were mounted in those particular cars.

Anyone got any more recollections on that one?

[66stang]

Just the info I needed...Thanks Tim.

Jeff

[Peter Mallett]

Another thing to add to this. In '68 there were very few well designed roll cages. Indeed I'm not sure if they were mandatory then. These days we use roll cages for two reasons. Firstly for crash protection but primarily (although the makers won't tell you this) for chassis stiffness. A properley designed and welded in cage will add rigidity to a standard bodyshell.

So, my advice would be to take your car to a good prep shop and they'll give you back a safe and rigid bodyshell.

The brakes on the Mustang were never very good and in the CTRC Championships we can uprate them.

Good luck Mr Stang.

[Morris 1100]

There were two Major Mustang demolition jobs in the Australian Touring Cars, first was Bob Jane at Catalina Park in 1966 where Bob hit the brakes and broke off the end of the rear axle and launched the car into a series of rolls.

[Morris 1100]

And the next

[Morris 1100]

and another one

[Morris 1100]

And this is where it ended up

[Morris 1100]

And this was the cause

[Morris 1100]

The other Mustang crash was Chris Brauer at Lakeside in 1970

[Morris 1100]

and a close up of the same picture too see what is happening in the cloud of dust

[Morris 1100]

and this is the car after it landed

[TimD]

Which just goes to show how solid those Mustangs actually are.

Scary pics.

[Chris Griffin]

Interesting pics Morris.

Can I just add a couple of things...

1. Bob Jane's accident appears to have been caused by a broken half shaft, which can happen in any race car.

2. You'll have to build the Mustang to the current safety regs to be eligible for competition anyway. I find it difficult to see what relevance there is in analysing Mustang accidents of the late 60's. Several guys have run Mustangs in the CSCC over the years that I have been a member and none have had problems with injuries etc. Yes they have the odd prang now and again but if you try hard enough that happens to any racer.

Chris G (In defence of Mustangs! We have a 68 Shelby GT350 BTW)

[Morris 1100]

Bob Janes crash was before roll bars and he hurt an arm so the stang stood up pretty well but it is a very good advert for full floating axles.
I don't know if the half shaft broke and then the housing or the other way around but the housing is broken off inside of the bearing but when something breaks at 200kph it is going to hurt!

Chris Brauers crash was bad but he survived (Unlike another driver that hit the same spot on the same day) but I don't think he raced again.

With a modern roll cage, seat and harness a mustang would be one of the better cars from the 60's to have a crash in!
Not only have cars improved but so have the tracks, Brauer hit an armco fence that had been damaged in an earlier race. These days we would not race with damaged fences let alone single rail armco on the outside of an almost flatout corner.

Just one more Mustang pic, this is Pete Geoghegan at Calder with his hands full!

[Peter Mallett]

Hi Chris,

I think you make a good point about the relevance of old crashes but it does serve to highlight the technical and safety advances made since those days. As I said a roll cage whilst ostensibly being for safety is in fact an aid to a more rigid bodyshell.

Possibly about the only piece of safety legislation which provided an advantage to race car builders.

[TimD]

In my haste to track down the Autosport report to respond to this thread, a fairly obvious thing totally failed to register with me, which we are now touching upon.

Very simply, apart from rollcage regulations, how do the 1960s regulations differ from the requirements for contemporary "historic racing" of tin-tops, and Ford Mustangs specifically?

[Peter Mallett]

That's a big can of worms Tim. It depends on whose regulations you run to. Also are you competing in Appendix K or not? Take a look at the Classic Thunder Mustang of David Yates and you'll find 600bhp of muscle car with uprated brakes, lightweight panels (I'll stand corrected on that), enormous carb(s) and many mods which the Historic Touring Cars version of Pete Hallford cannot have.

[66stang]

Thanks guys for the responses. Though opentrack competition is not as regulated as many of the vintage racing organizatiuons here, I am building it to basically modern vintage specs, i.e., fuel cell, five point harness, six point cage, dual master cylinder, etc.. I agree that "modern" vintage cars are safer and maybe your right that this is not a fair comparision. The problem is you just don't have the historical database of accidents with "modern" vintage sedans.

BTW, In my research I also found the late great Jerry Titus did wad two 67 Mustangs in little balls at separate crashes at Green Valley and Kent. Unfortunately, he would later be killed racing a Firebird in a Trans Am race. (From the book Trans Am Wars 1966-1971?)

I have really enjoyed the conversation...thanks again.

Jeff

[Chris Griffin]

I have read Trans-Am Wars Jeff and can recall the Mustang "balls" that Titus created...v messy! Fabulous book though with some great shots. I just dream about running a Barracuda or Javelin in our UK series. I can feel the ground shaking as I write!

Chris

[StuiE]

Those rear axles dont seem to be very strong

[DNQ]

Morris 1100 - off topic here a bit perhaps - but I just want to say I enjoyed seeing those pictures, especially the Lakeside ones, as I am just a few minutes from the track - it's always nice to see historic pictures of the circuit.

[Morris 1100]

The Jane and Brauer pics I scaned out of the book "Australian Touring Car Championship 25 Fabulous years" by Graham Howard and Stewart Wilson and the Geoghegan pic is from "Falcon, Mustang, Sierra" by Stewart Wilson.
I have seen these pics in RCN and other magazines from around the time they were taken!

[zefarelly]

with reference to modern safety in old cars, in 2000 at the Goodwood revival meeting (cars had to run on original steel rims, not alloys) Gerry Marshall had a rim collapse in qualifying, I didnt see the accident, but due to the preparation of the car (very expensive I imagine) with its full cage etc, apart from a bent wing and dented pride, the car was patched up, and raced on the Sunday (paint touch up from B+Q!) and finished 2nd (i think) a good roll cage, well fitted, will protact you as well as anything can.

[bolide]

As I recall, in Gerry Marshall's wheel-losing incident, the centre of the wheel shattered. I saw the car (and the wheel) in the paddock immediately afterwards and the centre had broken across the bolt holes,leaving part of the centre still attached to the rim - which was, along with the tyre, pretty much intact

Gerry wasn't happy about racing on steel wheels before the incident - afterwards I would think he'd be quite convinced on the topic...


Nick Froome
www.bolide.co.uk