A bad day at Willow Springs - Transporting Wounded Car from LA to SF
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I was at Willow Springs yesterday for a DE day. It was a bad day for many reasons - 2 cars were severely damaged (a 993TT rolled in turn 2 after blowing a tire and a BMW M Coupe hit the end of the pit wall very hard). The conditions were very bad as high wind gusts created problems (imagine taking turn 9 when you get hit with a 60 mph cross wind) and low temperatures made sticky tires difficult to obtain. The track was under a palor already as on Sunday the track owner's son was killed when he crashed his newly restored Porsche.
So my problems are very minor in comparison.In any event, we took 2 cars down from the SF Bay Area for the day - our 87 911 and our 86 930. The 911 was the track car and the 930 was just there for the drive. As we were going down, I was following my wife while she drove the 930. I noticed a fair amount of smoke coming from the car but nothing that really concerned me (it was raining the whole way down, so it was hard to really see anyway). Well it turns out we lost an oil line (the driver side cam housing line was leaking like a sieve). One of the instructors pulled the part we needed from his car and we replaced the line at the track. It did not stop the leak for some odd reason. The oil was really flowing and it was right above the turbo so for fear of an oil fire we chose to leave the car at Willow Springs. So I am in need of a transport service to flat bed the car back here. Any suggestions?
p.s. Sorry for the long post...
So my problems are very minor in comparison.In any event, we took 2 cars down from the SF Bay Area for the day - our 87 911 and our 86 930. The 911 was the track car and the 930 was just there for the drive. As we were going down, I was following my wife while she drove the 930. I noticed a fair amount of smoke coming from the car but nothing that really concerned me (it was raining the whole way down, so it was hard to really see anyway). Well it turns out we lost an oil line (the driver side cam housing line was leaking like a sieve). One of the instructors pulled the part we needed from his car and we replaced the line at the track. It did not stop the leak for some odd reason. The oil was really flowing and it was right above the turbo so for fear of an oil fire we chose to leave the car at Willow Springs. So I am in need of a transport service to flat bed the car back here. Any suggestions?
p.s. Sorry for the long post...
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Do you have AAA? Since this is just a day trip, call around to towing companies in the area, you don't need to pay for an expensive enclosed carrier IMO.
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AAA Plus will get you up to 100 miles on a flatbed. Your insurance may be able to cover some of the towing. I totaled a turbo at Lime Rock in Connecticut and between State Farm and AAA they paid for the service all the way back to New Hampshire. The cost was around $2 per mile if memory serves me correctly.
Bummer, but as you say it could be a LOT worse....
Bummer, but as you say it could be a LOT worse....
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Yeah - a flat bed trailer is fine. The best quote I have gotten is $450. The other option is finding a shop down there to fix the oil line and then driving back down to get the car (my preference is to have my local shop that knows the car fix it, of course).
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Sounds like that track was cursed over the weekend
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I do not think he is a rennlist guy. He also has a Ferrari, another 993, and a modded Mustang (I think). I have seen him out with the Ferrari at other DEs. He seems like a good guy and was in decent spirits after the wreck. It could have been worse - the tire could have blown in traffic while going 85 on I-5 and surrounded by semis.
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It me be a lot cheaper to have it fixed locally I would think in contrast to towing/flat bedding the car to NorCal.
The Porsche dealer in Thousand Oaks, somewhat nearby, has a great reputation for fixing Porsche cars. Mike Schatz was a wrench there for a while. If he is still there, he is great!!!
<a href="http://www.schatzmotorsports.com" target="_blank">http://www.schatzmotorsports.com</a>
The Porsche dealer in Thousand Oaks, somewhat nearby, has a great reputation for fixing Porsche cars. Mike Schatz was a wrench there for a while. If he is still there, he is great!!!
<a href="http://www.schatzmotorsports.com" target="_blank">http://www.schatzmotorsports.com</a>
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Mike Schatz is still at Rusnak in Thousand Oaks/Westlake. Willow Springs is about 100 miles from there. Bummer all around. I was glad to hear that the rolled 993 TT wasn't one of our Rennlist buddies.
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I think we should refer to this rolled 993 TT story whenever anybody asks:
Is it ok to mix front and rear tires???
Is it ok to use 10 year old tires??
Is it ok to use the cheapest tires that I can find?
I've got a buddy with some old 285/30/18's in his garage, can I use these?
Is it ok to mix front and rear tires???
Is it ok to use 10 year old tires??
Is it ok to use the cheapest tires that I can find?
I've got a buddy with some old 285/30/18's in his garage, can I use these?
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Bill:
If you can secure a pickup or other 3/4 ton tow vehicle, you are welcome to borrow my car hauler (16.5 foot bed car trailer). It has made many runs to LA as well as out of state hauls. I also have a variety of tiw downs, etc. to place the beastie securely on board.
PM me if you are interested.
Regards
If you can secure a pickup or other 3/4 ton tow vehicle, you are welcome to borrow my car hauler (16.5 foot bed car trailer). It has made many runs to LA as well as out of state hauls. I also have a variety of tiw downs, etc. to place the beastie securely on board.
PM me if you are interested.
Regards
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Jim - thanks for the offer. At the moment we are leaning towards driving back down and fixing the car on site. I have purchased the necessary parts and will be attempting the fix this weekend.
Here is a picture of the unfortunate 993TT:
<img src="http://boards.rennlist.com/upload/Poor993TT2.jpg" alt=" - " />
Here is a picture of the unfortunate 993TT:
<img src="http://boards.rennlist.com/upload/Poor993TT2.jpg" alt=" - " />
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Damn, that sucks. It looks like a good candidate for a non-sunroof roof though. I am sure the insurance would total it but it is fixable, especially if you are adding a new rollcage.
Did he have a rollbar? Hard to tell.
Did he have a rollbar? Hard to tell.
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The occupant area held together pretty good it seems. Was the guy a newbie and didn't feel the tire letting go or was it a sudden catastrophic tire failure?