[kellyhound]

Shawn Davis couldn’t film live walkaround videos for a while because a serious car crash put him out of commission. Some months later, we finally get to see that crash, involving complete brake failure on a powerful Mercury Comet.

Shawn ended up in a cast. These classics can be dangerous in a crash. No crumple zones, no airbags, no collapsible steering wheel etc.

On December 17th, 2021 Shawn and his film crew were at their usual location, So Cal Classic Car Storage where they were about to do a video on this amazing 1964 Mercury Comet that had been fully built into a speed demon.

The Comet Caliente belonged to Russ and Jo Stover, a life-long dream that took 23 years to finish. The build had just been finished a few months prior to that, and sticking right through the hood was this amazing new engine, a Merlin IV Big Block Chevy that had been bored and stroked to 632 cubic inches, which is 10.35 liters of displacement.

An advanced fuel injection system and powerful blower ensured this gigantic motor could produce 1,332 horsepower and 1,040 pound-feet on pump gas. The owner had hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on everything from the custom lowered suspension (no airbags) to the full roll cage and wheelie bar. But that day, one important component decided to give up: 17-year-old brakes.

Shawn notes that during the interview, the owner pointed out one of the things he wants to further upgrade is the brakes. The car has Wilwoods, but the system is 17 years old, so not only has brake technology advanced in that time, but the car is also not driven a lot.

That should have been a red flag right there, but the muscle car community has always had a “no airbags, we go out like real men” attitude to safety.

The perfect storm needs just a few more elements to happen: the accelerator is sticking at about 2,200rpm, and because the V8 idols at about 1,200rpm, the owner is riding the brakes when he’s cruising.

Complete brake failure occurs just a couple of miles from where they set off. The driver puts it in neutral, and swerves a little but knows they have to brace for impact.

The red Mercury Comet plows into the back of a Honda Odyssey at about 45 miles per hour. Shawn was only wearing a lap belt so he smashed into the metal dashboard, which broke four of his teeth and busted his lip.

The owner suffered major injuries to his right elbow, but the good news is that he’s recovering.

Cars can be rebuilt, and dreams can be remade, but this video remains a lesson to the muscle car community to prioritize safety.

[v1r]

Damn. Such a pretty car too.

[11B2P]

Seatbelts would’ve helped.

[ride]

Five point harnesses and a functioning emergency brake would have gone a long way in this situation. Naw fuck it, we’re putting more money in the paint!

[athensnikos]

Awesome find

[Mr.NoCredit]

Old cars like that came with a foot controlled emergency brake on the driver’s left side in the footwell. I looked up the car and learned it’s got a completely custom interior which makes me think he took it out. He totally panicked. He could have turned the ignition key to the off position or at least tried. Had he left the old emergency brake where it was in the stock position he might have saved everyone and himself the trouble. I watched the passenger’s head bounce off the metal dash.. cool car, complete fucking idiot.

[kbt3168]

From a car guy - this is a disturbing post.
A post like this bothers me more than a Chinese-moped rider getting smashed by a cement truck.

[phuckphace]

I saw this a week ago and it was eye opening and pretty shocking. Vehicle safety and injury mitigation has come a log way but....
Harnesses were there but not used because it was just average traffic and "what could possibly happen?". Also, I am not entire sure what putting it in park was supposed to achieve. I am positive it was a fight or flight involuntary reaction but the park pawl doesn't engage until the drum is stationary. I don't know if putting into reverse and flat-footing the throttle would have created a dynamite reverse burnout and shed some speed or just stalled the motor. Also, maybe downshifting? I wasn't in the car so I don't know. These guys should have stopped the moment the brake smell was evident. That means heat - incredible heat. And with incredible heat comes incredible fade. I am a car guy, too with a pair of powerful rides that can bite your ass real fast.

So fortunate nobody was killed or permanently injured.

[ride]

Something tells me there was no smell as a telltale. I'm guessing the brake system catastrophically lost pressure or there was a failure of the mechanical linkage between the brake pedal and master cylinder.

[Gore Whore]

That poor beautiful car!!

Hope it makes a full recovery