What caused this?

-Robert M- · Addicted!

What caused this?

MC · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

My guess?

He must have changed the rear suspension from the stock leaf spring configuration to a 4-link, and the welds for the link mounts let go. Left side broke first by the look of it.

My reasoning: If it still had the leaf springs in it, they would have contained the rear axle assembly if the U-bolts had failed.

Yechhh... lots of damage there when the rear end came out and then it slammed down on the pavement. Probably would not have been a pleasant experience for the driver as well.

Guru

or rusted out

cdnpont · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

It's definitely narrowed and some kind of link suspension. Frame by frame, you first see the right side drop a bit and a puff of smoke from that side.

Poor bugger.

And to laugh at that. What a pair of absolute F'n idiots.

pontorquer · Poncho Master!

Thought the same too, ignorant laughter, driver might be hurt real bad ??? Embarrassed as well ...

Prefectca · Poncho Master!

He got some good air though. But seriously I hope no one was hurt.

Lemans64 · Poncho Master!

That has been floating around on Facebook for a while, rumour has that it happened in Edmonton??
Possibly the rear locked up causing the rear to hop and possibly some sub par suspension upgrades.

seventy2plus2 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

It's in Stony Plain, AB. That's just west of Edmonton.
The driver loses his diff heading south on S Park Drive, and the camera car then turns east on 43 Ave.

hawkeye5766 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Sad...I'm thinking some faulty welding on the rear diff

Dramatic dashcam video captures rear axle bouncing off, rolling away
CBC News · Posted: May 21, 2015 12:50 PM MT | Last Updated: May 21, 2015

28
comments
A driver in Stony Plain, Alta., has revealed an apparent weakness with a 'muscle car' a back axle that completely fell off.

The dramatic break down happened in the town west of Edmonton earlier this month and was captured on a dashcam video that has since been posted online.

WARNING: This video contains coarse language

The video shows what appears to be a vintage red Dodge Dart passing the vehicle with the dashcam. The car speeds up, wobbles, then heaves back and forth in the far right lane before bouncing, tipping up onto its front end and losing the entire back axle.

Bart VanRootselaar, owner of The Iron Garage in Stony Plain which specializes in vintage and muscle cars, says he cringes every time he watches the video.

"Actually I drove by it that night that it happened," he said. "I didn't see it happen, but I did see it on the side of the road."

He believes the car is worth more than $50,000 and the amount of the damage significant.

The driver of the Dart is not talking, but the tow company that moved the car told CBC the driver had only owned it for several hours before the mishap.

ABC123 · Uber Guru

The hardest part of building a high powered unibody car is the simple fact that there is no strength to take the torque.

GM knew what they were doing back then by sticking to frames and sub frames.

MC · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

ABC123 wrote:
The hardest part of building a high powered unibody car is the simple fact that there is no strength to take the torque.

GM knew what they were doing back then by sticking to frames and sub frames.

Those Chrysler unibodies are very much able to take high torque applications, and perform well on the drag strip with the leaf spring configuration that they were designed for. Problem is when you try to "engineer" a different type of suspension on a body that wasn't designed for it. You have to really know what you're doing or stuff like this happens.

But... I'm making some assumptions as I really don't know anything about this car or how it was built.

cdnpont · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

The fact it was reported that the fellow had only been the owner that day to me is telling. Did someone over represent the quality and competence of what had been done to it?

It's one thing for a driveway hobbyist to go under and replace all the parts with proven HD aftermarket, another to completely cut, change and redesign everything. You better know what you're doing or things will soon move, break and pull apart under big power. I mean, those tires were big, so not a lot of wheelspin.

bigdreams · Poncho Master!

Would this car have to be safety inspected to be registered by its new owner ( or more specifically would the new owner have to provide a safety certificate when he was registering under his name)

Just wondering if something was missed or overlooked by whom ever did the safety

68 427 · Poncho Master!

DEPENDING ON THE SITUATION, INSPECTIONS ARE NOT ALWAYS REQUIRED IN ALBERTA.

DonSSDD · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

May not have been in his name yet and therefor no inspection. Im sure the investigation is uncovering the issue, this doesnt happen often so it will likely be easy to figure out. Seller or whoever did and mods, if any, may have some questions to answer.

We all see hot/rat rods put together by someone who welds a bunch of metal together and sticks a big hp setup in it. I always wonder if they will hang together.

seventy2plus2 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

In Alberta, if a vehicle has previously been registered (Alberta's database goes back to 1983) then no inspection is required to register it again. The new owners insurance company may ask for an inspection (basically a used car inspection) but not required to register it.

A side note to this is if a previously registered Alberta car leaves the province and passed or fails an inspection in its new province, then an inspection will be required here in Alberta if the car returns.

-Robert M- · Addicted!

Thanks all for your input. Makes sense. I know nothing about muscle cars and related mods.

I too felt bad for the occupants as they were shurly thrashed about.

RGM

norontcan · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

So somewhere along the line someone screwed up.
The investigation will then result in new rules becoming law. The public will then scream that bureaucrats have nothing better to do than make silly laws that hinder their creativity.

cdnpont · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Be happy we don't live in Germany. You can't turn a screw head off level without being taken off the road.

At the complete opposite end of the scale, we can booger weld up a rat rod in our gravel driveway and it'll pass. In theory, I don't have any problem with heavily modified cars having to meet at least some kind of minimum safety standard.

But I'm also aware of the saying of being careful what you wish for. It's a slippery slope.