A day at the Rally ends in FAIL!!!

[Styluss]

So, headed out to the Colorado Rally Cross event yesterday to run the car through the dirt for our 4th event of the season. As I have the entire interior out of the car save for the dash and headliner I was running in M2, a different class than where I usually run. M2 is essentially the unlimited class for 2 wheel drives. It was good to get a taste of running in that class as I am building an '87 Cavi Z24 for competition in that class so I can stop pounding on the Beretta.
I was in second place in class at the middle of the day when one of my tires decided to get a bad bead and just failed to hold air. Weak. So I jumped in my buddy's 2.5RS to finish the day. I was bummed as I was looking forward to seeing where I placed with the big boys. Afterwards we hit the sprint course for some laps and yes, some time in the mud puddles! I got the car sufficiently dirty to say the least! So dirty that the starter failed to work. Got that fixed easily. See below for dirty Beretta pics!

Now for the fail. Driving home I can only assume that there was build up between the hub and the wheel because regardless of the fact that I tightened the lugs down on all four wheels I started to get a wobble driving down the frontage road on the way home. With only two blocks to go to the gas station I was simply going to limp her there and then check it out, as well as clean my windshield. Well, BOOM! In an instant I'm riding on tilt like a friggin lowrider and as I look over to the left I see my tire gaining speed rolling down the field to the left. NOT COOL. My wheel had come off doing about 40 down the frontage road. It took me about 200 feet to come to a stop as I ground down the control arm, rotor, subframe, tranny pan, ball joint and more. When the wheel came off it scuffed the door and the clear bra on it. When the car hit the ground the fender caved in on itself.

Walking about a 1/4 mile down the road we found the wheel. Thankfully, even though it came to rest on the railroad tracks and had traveled this far, it landed shiny side up and there was no damage to the wheel save for a scratch on the inside. Whew. After a quick check at the damage we jacked up the car and put the wheel back on pulling one lug nut from each of the other wheels. After a slow roll to the gas station things seemed okay. We got on the highway and started the looong drive home. After a mere couple hundred feet the tire started wobbling again. Got out, re-torqued it all, as well as the other three wheels, and headed out. I made it all the way home with no issue. Now, today I will be pulling the fender in order to start the repair. It seems that I will only need a new ball joint as of now but who knows how much stuff if any is bent to hell. I'll have detailed pics of damage later but until then, enjoy these shots:



Mud puddle, round 1: (note how the mud came up and out of the hood vent!)




Mud puddle, round 2:








Absolute Fail:




All of this came out of the engine bay, and it is nowhere near being done...

[Travelor]

You should wash your car, its kinda dirty.

[KFLO 93 GT]

I'll tell you one thing, that is most definitely a spontaneous custom!

Otherwise, that pretty much sucks. Your list of preFest work just grew a good amount.

[Chad91GTZ]

This sucks when it happens. Why is it that when a tire comes off it seems to accelerate away from you as to symbolically kick you in the nuts?

Car looks good in that mud tho!

[3X00-Modified]

This sucks when it happens. Why is it that when a tire comes off it seems to accelerate away from you as to symbolically kick you in the nuts?

Car looks good in that mud tho!

Circles move easier than subframes scraping across the ground... LOL

[woody90gtz]

This sucks when it happens. Why is it that when a tire comes off it seems to accelerate away from you as to symbolically kick you in the nuts?

Car looks good in that mud tho!

Circles move easier than subframes scraping across the ground... LOL

Yup, happened to my buddy's Firebird in high school when we were cruising. haha

That sucks Ryan, but it is fixable...so get to work!

[ronaconda]

All of this came out of the engine bay, and it is nowhere near being done...

I hope you washed that crap down...i hate it when the guys from the dunes wash off their equipment at my local car wash and leave a muddy mess behind.

[Money pit Beretta]

Dorman lugs?

[sp33d1nc0rs1ca]

dude i love seeing whitey all suited up in the mud. tough luck man. that shouldn't be too nasty of a repair though. good luck!

[3X00-Modified]

No body has asked, but why don't you have a cowl cover?

[DTMAce]

Probably cause it would just be packed full of mud under it! LOL

[Asylum]

I have always thought you were alittle "different" Ryan, although in an interesting way, but Jesus H Christ!

I would be in intensive care again if my car was ever that dirty, and then in jail after I found the person that did it!

Get it fixed! I have a case of Molson with your name on it!

[Styluss]

Come hell or high water... rain, sleet or snow... I WILL BE AT BFEST.
Hell, I got it as dirty as I could as I knew I was going to spend a lot of quality time with her detailing and cleaning. I will gladly take that case of Molson for my efforts! Plus, I just love the comments from people that see these pics, then see the immaculately clean car in person.

As for the wiper cowl, it was removed to check that area and the firewall for leaks as when I removed the carpet, the passenger floor board was soaked. Although I did not find a leak, I think it was simply due to the 2+ weeks of torrential downpour that we had here in Colorado. A little, teeny crack was exposed to all of that water and it eventually made its way in.

As for the incident, I have been driving the car for three days now with no issues. Although the ball joint needs replaced as the bottom half of it got ground down to nothing, I'm optimistic that is the only real damage. Well, save for the fender...

[3X00-Modified]

I bet you have the same leak I did... The fresh air vent seal goes bad and it leaks around that. I used glass setting rope to seal mine when I put it back in recently.