front A-arm sheared off?

[RaceDeck]

Well, I finally made it to a rally event and the car was running great, when,,,,, all of a sudden, my front A-arm sheared off on the lower connection point.not a comforting soud to hear the front end dragging on the ground.....sounded like a freight train.

It sheared off at the bracket, as I was braking heavy into a left turn ( the right arm broke)? I was at around 45-50 mph....

Has this happened to anyone and what have you done to keep the suspension solid for road racing....
THis track was actually on an airport, the surface was cement and very grippy!....

Floor it! with RaceDeck

[Specialk]

Do you have the MG frontend on your car?

[RaceDeck]

I am nit sure, I am the second owner of this car.
It is a 4"x4" beam that goes across ( in the center the is a 2" circular hole that goes through front and rear wall) and I believe that I have a Mustang steering rack( #1508 stamped on it), Carrera 400# coils, frotn sway bar and the lug pattern in a GM.
I think this i sthe same set-up on most of the Uniques?

I am going to take a few photos tommorow and post it.

I am going to drop the entire front end and reinforce everything I can...

Thanks

[427sharpe]

I guess I am a bit slap happy after watching OBL get hammered today--did the control arm break, or did the MOUNT for the control arm break away from the chassis?? It sounds like you have a Mustang II front suspension w/ the 4" square tube going horizontally across the chassis--I hope you didn't get too much collateral damage (man, I gotta stop watching CNN!). If the mount broke I think I would go under the car and go over all the welds, just in case, looking for cracks/imperfections. If the control arm broke, hey, it's almost winter, and you really want those trick tubular control arms, dont ya?!? Good luck, and I hope you are all right!
PS: I just went to Unique's website @ www.uniquecobrareplicas.com and it says the front suspension is a "custom-made, Jag based .." -- sounds expensive if you need parts

[Homewrecker]

Please post a follow-up to this problem when you have a found out exactly where/what the problem is. I have the custom tubular front & everything looks pretty stout! This situation could be quite scarey, especially if you where at high speed. I'm glad that you're alright.

[RaceDeck]

The mounts broke off. and it was a bit scary We are going to go through every weld on the beam and it in doubt, we are going to reinforce it.... Unless there is a bullet-proof one available out there?

It also damaged the lower A-arm when it slid on the pavement... the tire actually hit the fender-well lip, but did no damge....that should be a true testament to Unique's handlaid fiberglass bodies

[Steve R]

Race Deck,
Are your A arms made from tube steel or are they forgeings that are bolted together?
Glad to hear you and your car are O.K.
Steve

[RaceDeck]

The A-arms are tube steel. They actually held up great... ( the only damged that they recieved was from being ground on the pavement. It was the brackets on the beam that failed. I also bent the rod on my Carreara Shock....

Jorgen

[Steve R]

Jorgen,
You have the current type of suspension on your car, not the MGB setup. would you please take some pictures of the failure and post them? I'm sure a lot of people are interested. Did you contact Unique to report the failure? Heck, they might even help fix it, and might re-think the design. I am sure they don't want people thinking their cars fall apart at speed.
Steve

[RaceDeck]

I am going to take some pictures tonight!.

In regards to Uniques workmanship and design... The quality of Unique's product is very high and I am really happy with it. I think that this front end was purchased within the past 2 years from an outside source, by the previous owner ( which I can not locate). in 1990 I do not think that Unique had this style? ( It looks almost indentical to the one on Uniques site though)

The Weavers have been extremely helpful and have assisted me with various upgrades that I have been doing since I purchased it... I would by another Unique without hesitation... They build a Great Car and offer Great Customer service.

Floor it! with RaceDeck

[poorboy]

Jorgen;
Does your a-arm have grease fittings installed to lub the bushings? The early new style front ends didn't,and the bushing would sometimes gauld to the shaft causing the shaft to brake off the mounting bracket. All customers that bought the early front ends were notified & sent instructions as how drill & install fittings. Was the orginal owner Nate Ricks from Sault Lake? In 1990 the car would have had a MGB front end.
poorboy

P.S. Unique has never used a Mustang stearing rack, only MGB. MGB, or now their own custom tubular a-arm style is the only front suspension offered.

[Steve R]

Jorgen,
My Unique was built in 91 and employs the MGB setup. I am glad to hear that the previous owner probably caused the problem and is not the Weaver's fault. I am looking foreward to the pictures.
Steve

[Robert Evans]

I spoke to Jorgen awhile ago and he told me what it was that broke...it was the small brackets that hold the lower a-arm shafts. However, there is no way that those brackets should have broken unless either the front end was incorrectly installed prior to Jorgen owning the car, as it had been modified previously. He is going to send me some photos to look at later, but this front end is really stout and there had to have been something really wrong for it to break like that. The a-arm shafts would have a greater chance of breaking before those brackets would have if everything was installed correctly, so we'll see what caused it.

I know that his frame has been "personally" modified by the previous owner of his car in some places. His front end is the newer coil-over front end with tubular a-arms, not the older style.

(Must be all that weight from the 427!)

[427sharpe]

Wow! Scary thought, an owner changing major front clip parts! I think i'd trash the whole side that came apart and install new if I were you--I can't imagine some of the forces applied to bolts, bushings, arms, etc...when the bracket failed! Are you gonna try a homegrown fix, or will you farm it out?? You might look at 'Engineer To Win' and it's companions for ideas to eliminate this from recurring. I am not familiar w/ Unique per se, but yours has got to be a ringing endorsement--not many owners would have anything good to say if they went thru what you did!! Love to see pics if you can, when you can!! I wonder if the frame was affected by 1; the improper weld or 2; the bracket failure?? Very interesting!

[RaceDeck]

Ok Bob, at least you you did not mention the "hoosier tire" I have for a wasteline.... as a weight issue

I will have the pictures posted tommorow and see where we can go to get this front end Bullet-Proof =>

Thanks,

Jorgen

[RaceDeck]

427sharpe:

The main frame of the car was not affected nor did it play a role in the brackets shearing off.

After speaking with Bob today, I would gues that when the Arms where installed, that they were mounted in such a way that all of the force(s) were being applied directly to the 2 brackets on the beam. The actual bean beam that where that brackets sheared are not a part of the frame itself, it is bolted to the main frame beams, just as teh new ones are.

My guess is that the previous owner either had some suspenion work done and/or had it serviced (new bushings,etc ) and it was reinstalled incorrectly...

Once I get it out, I have a extremely qaulified welder who can do the work, He is actually a master Navy Welder on Nuc Subs. This guy can weld most anything ( steel, aluminum, stainless,etc...) We'll see what I got once it is out of the car

[RaceDeck]

The following are a few pics of what it looks like!

[RaceDeck]

#2

[RaceDeck]

this is what the other side looks like and how it goes in

[RaceDeck]

#4