I posted this thread a little while back and I just wanted to update anybody who was interested.

Today is the final Tournament of Destruction race for this season (they do 3 every summer) and I finished up the car yesterday. It's really been difficult getting the time to prep the car with all the other family stuff we've been doing, but I got it done!

For anyone who didn't read the previous thread, here is the short version: Wife and I went to ToD July 3rd, she really loved it and wanted to drive in one. I started looking on CL for a suitable car, found a 99 escort with 200k on it that ran and drove, bought for $320. Drove car home ~50 miles in the rain. Spent the last ~2 months ripping shit out, fabbing stuff on, and "prettifying" it for my wife.

Here are some before and after pics she made up.







Here it is on the trailer to take over to her dads to get painted. I was impressed with my Canyon, didn't mind pulling that trailer at all.




UPDATE 1  same as post further down.

Just got home from the track. My phone was giving me issues logging onto arfcom so I wasn't able to update from there.

It's late right now so I'm not going to upload everything but she had fun and she didn't get hurt at all. Her car on the other hand, she managed to mess it up pretty good on the last race she planned on participating in. She took a hit in the rear and got shoved into the "gauntlet" truck, you could pretty much tell instantly her radiator went. Then something else was up cause she was dead on the track, when they towed her back to the pit she said she had no brakes "and the car wouldn't run". Car runs, it just doesn't move when it's in gear now. I didn't spend much time looking it over since it was pretty dark and we were done for the night anyways. Maybe tomorrow I can figure out whats all wrong with it.

Here's a pic from the safety inspection line.


Here's everybody out on the track for the national anthem.


UPDATE 2 same as post further down

I can tell you from what i saw last night the brace in front of the condenser broke free and got shoved into the condenser, nice hole in that. All the coolant looked like it was behind the radiator though, and when she was smoking out on the track I saw some sparks shoot out under the engine compartment, so there is a good chance the fan ate it up, I just couldn't see in there.

They do these tournaments every Memorial Day weekend, Fourth of July weekend, and Labor Day weekend. So I have until then to figure out what's wrong and improve the car. One of the things I originally wanted to do was put a bit more support then just the back brace bar in there to keep her safe, so I'll definitely be doing that. The chain link worked pretty good for the windshield but I didn't like how I had to attach it, so I'm thinking I'll get some round stock and start welding that in horizontally. As far as the radiator goes I was thinking just move it inside. There's good airflow in there with all the windows gone and I'll have somewhere to mount it with the back brace bar in there and any other supports I add. This was our first one so we learned A LOT. We hung out in the pits with a couple of guys I used to work with and they were part of a "group" so I got to see how they did stuff with their cars and got lots of pointers. Now I have people I can go to as well when I have questions, before I was simply going by the very, very weak rule sheet they had posted on their website.

It cost us(both) $25 for the pit pass and $15 to register the car, and at the end of the day she got payed out $45(they pay out a little even if you didn't win any races). So we really only spent $20 to race. If the car can keep going awhile we'll get our moneys worth there as well.

I've got the videos downloaded off my phone(and they're not to terrible either) I just have to edit them a bit and I'll post them to youtube when I'm done. I'll link them here after, and maybe someone with a membership can embed them for me.

UPDATE 3

Here are the videos.

Reverse Race
I think this one was 2 laps in reverse. She had trouble getting the car to shift when she spun, I'm thinking it was nerves since this was the first race.

Bump N Run
This was a relay race. A buddy I work with had a buddy with a truck so I my wife and him teamed up to do this one. I think she killed it off the line in this one, she was having a bit of trouble with that. One of the cars shoved her off the track also. She came back into the pit and demanded to watch the video so she could figure out who that was and return the favor

Spin 2 Win
This race you had to do a donut on the front and back straights. I didn't have time to get the handbrake working in her car so I told her she would have to do a tight turn in the corners if she couldn't get the car to spin with oversteer/throttle. Apparently the other pink car that was there was being a dick to her(and yes, it was a guy...who died his hair pink as well) in line waiting to get on the track, so she gave him a few taps.

Bubble Race
This was a pretty straightforward race, they just had fresh soapy water on the track to make it a little more slippery than the other races. She said it was like driving in a light snow with a bit of slush/ice under it. She was doing great until the car understeered hard and she went into the tires. You can hear the announcer yelling for her to turn lol.

Gauntlet
This one they had a "up armored" truck out there that the cars had to immobilize. I kinda didn't want her to do this one since my buddy was buddies with the guy who built it and that thing is built like a tank. She wanted to though so she went out. One of the cars lit on fire halfway through so they red flagged the race and restarted it. This is the race where the car got beat up. She got up against the gauntlet truck without hurting her car, but someone else bumped into her and that's when her car got messed up. She said it started smoking and then when she starting going back around the track the car would rev up but not move, like it was in neutral instead of in gear(but it was) so she shut it down.

UPDATE 4

Here are some after pics. I haven't got it off the trailer yet, I edited those videos and mowed the lawn instead. Figured that would make you guys happy






UPDATE 5

Got under the car today and poked around.

Was able to pull the inspection plate off by the flywheel, which is where it's leaking trans fluid, and there was a bunch of clutch material in there. The brake fluid reservoir was empty also, and it looks like the clutch's master/slave cylinders run off that. So that explains why she lost her brakes as well. I'm guessing she was beating up the clutch pretty good all night(and it probably wasn't great to begin with) and the clutch finally shredded and the excess heat blew the seals on the slave cylinder.

In other news, the exhaust was cracked badly right past the cat, so i took the sawzall and chopped it off right at the end of the cat. I also removed the AC compressor and some of the AC lines.

Put in a left side door bar and real seat belts

Gonna build one next year out of a crown Vic interceptor model.

 



Glitter Hitter

Where's the sharpened steel spikes and tire cutters?


Looks good but I would add some door reinforcement as been mentioned and she is going to be sore afterwards

Good choice, they want 4cyl, fwd cars for this. There is a rwd class but they run with the trucks.

rules brah

Now I have an idea what to do with my 99 Escort once I replace it.

Can you put the radiator up on the roof like they used to do in the '60s?

I've posted before, but I'm nice so...

This is the same face she gave me when she asked me for a derby car

I didn't see any rules against it. This is less of a actual demo derby and more of circle track racing with silly gimmicks and bumping encouraged. An example of one of the races is having to do a donut on each straight as you go around, doesn't matter where, just have to do one. That gets dicey FAST lol. They do more also. Trailer races, chain two cars together at the rear bumpers, reverse race, ect.

Derby time!  Heck yeah.  Good luck!  

Post more pics at the derby too, please. I love derbys, pure redneck fun. The one near me usually has a couple fights for your viewing pleasure.

That kat is going to kill you...

Not as dicey as the old Figure 8 races.  With school buses.



 

I think you might have married pure awesomeness.  

Hopefully my dad figures out his video camera. If he does, we are gonna have video and hopefully pictures too. She has a ton of friends and family coming to support her.

No matter what type of a race it is , door bars, window net, real harness , neck collar ( at minimum ) , helmet, fire suit and shoes. Summit has the safety stuff cheap enough.

doughnut in a fwd?

have fun no matter what.

Steering wheel hub looks lethal.

Very Cool.

Please post, post derby pics.

Awesome. Have fun.

Good helmet and belts, mmkay?  




"Glitter Hitter"


ETA:  I have been watching too much British soccer, I have twice read the titel as "Wide's Darby Car"  

Where is this at? Sounds fun to watch.

after watching the demo derby last night...mud tires are a must...

Jefferson Speedway

Need pics of wife in racing gear sitting in car ..mad max expression optional!

 

Back in the day if you could get a chrysler imperial or new yorker you were virtually guaranteed a spot in the feature providing you had a modicum of skill! They have since pussified even demo derbys !

have you ever considered mowing your yard?  It looks like your neighbor mows his...

Your wife got a sister?

Just got home from the track. My phone was giving me issues logging onto arfcom so I wasn't able to update from there.

It's late right now so I'm not going to upload everything but she had fun and she didn't get hurt at all. Her car on the other hand, she managed to mess it up pretty good on the last race she planned on participating in. She took a hit in the rear and got shoved into the "gauntlet" truck, you could pretty much tell instantly her radiator went. Then something else was up cause she was dead on the track, when they towed her back to the pit she said she had no brakes "and the car wouldn't run". Car runs, it just doesn't move when it's in gear now. I didn't spend much time looking it over since it was pretty dark and we were done for the night anyways. Maybe tomorrow I can figure out whats all wrong with it.

Here's a pic from the safety inspection line.


Here's everybody out on the track for the national anthem.





Nope, sorry. She's got a crazy mother though if that's how you roll.



I've considered it, decided things like finish building a derby car for my wife were a bit higher on my to do list this weekend.

In for Derby Car-nage

I'll take a wild guess that the radiator got eaten by its own fan.  Some DDers remove fans to prevent that, and possibly improve longevity a little.





Try putting it on the roof next time.  
 

Looks like it was a blast!

I can tell you from what i saw last night the brace in front of the condenser broke free and got shoved into the condenser, nice hole in that. All the coolant looked like it was behind the radiator though, and when she was smoking out on the track I saw some sparks shoot out under the engine compartment, so there is a good chance the fan ate it up, I just couldn't see in there.

They do these tournaments every Memorial Day weekend, Fourth of July weekend, and Labor Day weekend. So I have until then to figure out what's wrong and improve the car. One of the things I originally wanted to do was put a bit more support then just the back brace bar in there to keep her safe, so I'll definitely be doing that. The chain link worked pretty good for the windshield but I didn't like how I had to attach it, so I'm thinking I'll get some round stock and start welding that in horizontally. As far as the radiator goes I was thinking just move it inside. There's good airflow in there with all the windows gone and I'll have somewhere to mount it with the back brace bar in there and any other supports I add. This was our first one so we learned A LOT. We hung out in the pits with a couple of guys I used to work with and they were part of a "group" so I got to see how they did stuff with their cars and got lots of pointers. Now I have people I can go to as well when I have questions, before I was simply going by the very, very weak rule sheet they had posted on their website.

It cost us(both) $25 for the pit pass and $15 to register the car, and at the end of the day she got payed out $45(they pay out a little even if you didn't win any races). So we really only spent $20 to race. If the car can keep going awhile we'll get our moneys worth there as well.

I've got the videos downloaded off my phone(and they're not to terrible either) I just have to edit them a bit and I'll post them to youtube when I'm done. I'll link them here after, and maybe someone with a membership can embed them for me.

Good, clean, cheap fun and it can even be safe if you take proper precautions.  If that car becomes unserviceable, you can always find another one.







 

Based on this thread, I conclude that OP's wife is better than OP.

You got one of the good ones.

I hope the two of you learn a few things from this so that in the future she becomes the derby queen. Then you can enjoy all the appropriate redneckiness that goes along with the title.

She is the queen of my double wide trailer with polyester curtains and the redwood deck...

Married right the fuck up by the sounds of it

If you're looking to get a new car, save that twisted wreck until the dealership has a push, pull or tow trade in event.

[obnoxious radio ad announcer voice]  "WE'LL GIVE YOU  BLAH BLAH DOLLARS FOR YOUR TRADE!  GUARANTEED!!!!!

Needs some girly skulls.

Here are the videos.

Reverse Race
I think this one was 2 laps in reverse. She had trouble getting the car to shift when she spun, I'm thinking it was nerves since this was the first race.

Bump N Run
This was a relay race. A buddy I work with had a buddy with a truck so I my wife and him teamed up to do this one. I think she killed it off the line in this one, she was having a bit of trouble with that. One of the cars shoved her off the track also. She came back into the pit and demanded to watch the video so she could figure out who that was and return the favor

Spin 2 Win
This race you had to do a donut on the front and back straights. I didn't have time to get the handbrake working in her car so I told her she would have to do a tight turn in the corners if she couldn't get the car to spin with oversteer/throttle. Apparently the other pink car that was there was being a dick to her(and yes, it was a guy...who died his hair pink as well) in line waiting to get on the track, so she gave him a few taps.

Bubble Race
This was a pretty straightforward race, they just had fresh soapy water on the track to make it a little more slippery than the other races. She said it was like driving in a light snow with a bit of slush/ice under it. She was doing great until the car understeered hard and she went into the tires. You can hear the announcer yelling for her to turn lol.

Gauntlet
This one they had a "up armored" truck out there that the cars had to immobilize. I kinda didn't want her to do this one since my buddy was buddies with the guy who built it and that thing is built like a tank. She wanted to though so she went out. One of the cars lit on fire halfway through so they red flagged the race and restarted it. This is the race where the car got beat up. She got up against the gauntlet truck without hurting her car, but someone else bumped into her and that's when her car got messed up. She said it started smoking and then when she starting going back around the track the car would rev up but not move, like it was in neutral instead of in gear(but it was) so she shut it down.

Awesome

Here are some after pics. I haven't got it off the trailer yet, I edited those videos and mowed the lawn instead. Figured that would make you guys happy

Boom, Confetti Glitter

Op glad you did that for your wife and that she like it Now please do everyone on the road a favor and get some DOT rated straps for hauling that car on a trailer. If those cheap ass straps you are using break and cause's an accident you could kill or injury someone.

This thread delivers.

One of my buddies lives in an HOA, I want to drive up in that car and park it on the street out front then leave it over nite. I know they will call to tow it but I know the tow truck drivers gonna take one look at it an refuse to hook it.Probably hit the HOA a service fee for coming out. I think that car breaks every single rule they have. Cool.

Looks well up on the giggles/dollar scale. Happy wife is always good too.  

Each strap is rated at 3k lbs. The car weighs about 2k. The winch is still attached. It's fine.

This is a cool thread.
It sounds like you have a really fun wife.

Congrats.