Quote:Well, where do you start?? As we have all said, so glad know one was hurt or killed. And when you see the pictures, maybe some have already been posted, it is easy to see anyone sitting in the passenger seat would have been hurt. Steve's laptop has a slice out of the top of the screen. Builder Bill may have wrecked a good pair of underwear!!

I have been talking to Matin (NeverEnough) all week and since he knew I was going to his track he was going to load up and meet me there. Unfortunately he had computer problems and did not make it. Maybe it was for the better? LOL

Here is what we know so far. The Jeep was backed out of the trailer and Steve was driving through the parking lot. He said it felt a little strange while driving. It has a spool in the rear, but he said it was a different strange feel. Builder Bill was commenting on how well it was running and idling. Dyno Steve has worked very hard on this tune and you can't ask for anything more. It makes great power, it has 90lb injectors and idles as smooth as silk around 790 rpm. The tune this time was perfect. As Steve drove just a short distance around the lot he had stopped and the vehicle was in neutral. Builder Bill was over by the passenger door talking to Steve. Steve was just massaging the gas peddle, nothing crazy high on RPM's and Boom!! The explosion sent parts everywhere. The transmission fluid ignited on the headers and there was a fire in the cabin. The fire suppression system was activated, that instantly cuts all power and sprays Halon? (I know Halon has been banned just like Vinny, but it was some sort of clean agent) however it only sprays in the engine bay. That left Steve slapping flames with has hands, until extinguishers arrive.

This should be a lessen to everyone. I think we all are safety conscious while we are in the staging lanes and on the track. But safety needs to start as soon as the vehicle is out of the trailer. Who would think anything like this would happen driving through the parking lot.

So, what went wrong?? The transmission builder is going to do a "postmortem" on Tuesday. He said even with minimal parts a cause will be determined. Some of the speculation. Some sort of installation issue with the adapter plate / flex plat / alignment. Seems unlikely since it has been on the dyno for numerous pulls. Torque converter? (it was a 3200 stall provided by the transmission builder) A issue of higher rev's while in neutral. Or maybe the HP exceeded the capacity of the trans. It was rated for 1200 hp. 921 at the tires on a AWD vehicle puts it close to that number at the crank. These are the area's that will be looked into. All parts have been collected for inspection and the vehicle will be put on a lift back at RDP for the inspection. Should know something by Tuesday. Here are the photo's that I took with my cell phone.

SLOW REVO Wrote:Not the same truck. Its a jeep. Not a chevy

DAVEC-NITRO-RS4 Wrote:No trans blanket?

that could be a new nameplate:

SRTnT

BJoe Wrote:Thanks Eli, I'd wondered about that. When I read that it was a Chevy trans, I figured that it must have been a 700R4 or 4L60 the way it came apart