Post-accident discovery: tii fuel line broke upon impact

[shipm_8]

Upon impact the other day, I turned off the ignition right away. Good thing, it turned out, since the fuel line from the filter to the KF connector broke. New BMW hose installed on 19 Nov 2008, 17287 miles before the accident on 20 Nov.

glad I never had to use this!

[ArdenK]

Good thing you shut it down & Good luck getting Tip-Top back on the road.

[M3M3]

i wonder how that got ripped. rubber hose does not tear like that. something must have impacted it to cause that damage, or the engine moved so far the hose was pulled apart.

[Lee]

I like your seats very much. ;-)

[nbristow01]

That front end looks repairable to me. It can most likely be pulled back straight or put a new front end on..meaining new subframe and new front sheet metal. Just strip her down to the firewall and replace the front end entirely. I am sure plenty of guys will have parts for you. Just do yourself a favor.....cut out the section that has your VIN and weld it in on the new front end. Once you grind sand and paint you will never know it

[adawil2002]

Lucky there was no fire. Looks like the stress bar helped save the engine. Quite an impact to wrinkle the passenger side fire wall cowl.

Had a friend who racked his '73 when he slid off the road into a snow bank 20 years ago, much less damage than Tip Top, despite trying to straighten it, was never right again.

Looks much more economical to get a clean straight body.

[cthtii]

The same exact thing happened to my '72 tii back in 1979. A guy hit me semi head-on on the battery side. I was not so lucky though, within seconds the car was on fire and ended up being a total loss.

Glad to see all were safe in this mishap, good luck with the rebuild!

[jimk]

So now this cut hose is a perfect example as to why an impact switch is a good thing to save you bacon. What if you had been unconscious after the accident? No way the ignition switch could have been turned off.

I don't see anyone else stepping up and recognizing the hazards in these cars that in later years have been designed out.

Get one of these switches from a Ford and put it in line with the power to your electric pump. Mount it where it will get shaken upon a collision or a roll over and it will shut off the pump automatically.

It can also be used to deter theft. I can just rap the side of the trunk from the outside with my hand and it will trip the switch. No start by a thief who wouldn't even think to look for it.

[RussTii]

Shut off switch is a good idea for both safety and security. I front ended a Tii years ago and broke some of the hard lines. Wrecker dude turns the key to move the car and could have easily had Tii Flambe with the resultant gas on the hot engine. The wreck was bad enough, didn't need to watch the car burn on top of it.

[Mike Self]

save the portion of the radiator support where the snorkel would go on a carbureted car--your chances of finding a non-snorkel replacement nose are pretty slim, so you can use the piece you cut out to patch over the snorkel hole.

From the shots you posted, I think the car may be salvageable--especially if you can find an unrusted parts car (not too hard in San Diego) to scrounge sheet metal and other necessary bits.

cheers

mike

[02Nut]

Good thing you switched off the ignition.

In one of the pix, I noticed the upper rad hose was also loose. Did the upper rad hose come loose during the crash?

Is it possible the upper rad hose somehow came in contact with the rubber fuel hose during the crash?

[Richard]

You need to get it to a good frame shop before anything else. They will probably have you pull the engine. I am a true believer in DIY but experience says before doing anything have a frame shop check it.Modern frame pullers are incredible. Glad your okay. Not alot of people walk away from a crash like that unless there was an airbag.I'd buy a Lotto ticket. Sorry for your loss.

[KFunk]

So now this cut hose is a perfect example as to why an impact switch is a good thing to save you bacon. What if you had been unconscious after the accident? No way the ignition switch could have been turned off.

I don't see anyone else stepping up and recognizing the hazards in these cars that in later years have been designed out.

Get one of these switches from a Ford and put it in line with the power to your electric pump. Mount it where it will get shaken upon a collision or a roll over and it will shut off the pump automatically.

It can also be used to deter theft. I can just rap the side of the trunk from the outside with my hand and it will trip the switch. No start by a thief who wouldn't even think to look for it.

Hi Jim, any idea where they normally put them in Fords? I'd like to grab one if I can find it. I've never been happy with the oil pressure safety switch I got.

I'm hoping it can handle some pretty abusive driving without being too sensitive? I can subject it to a whole lot of stress with poly bushings and R-compounds. When we rallycrossed a rental '08 Ford Focus, the fuel never got shut off, so perhaps it takes a much bigger hit than I can give it.

[02Nut]

KFunk,

On my '91 Ford Ranger the impact switch is located on the passenger side firewall INSIDE the cab. IIRC - the switch is located about 6-8" up from the floor board and is slightly covered by the edge of the carpeting. Its actually pretty easy to access the switch once you know where it is.

Someone told me the trucks have owner-resettable switches whereas passenger vehicles don't. Since trucks are more likely to take "shock" loads in normal service, Ford decided it was okay to install an easy to reset switch.

So now this cut hose is a perfect example as to why an impact switch is a good thing to save you bacon. What if you had been unconscious after the accident? No way the ignition switch could have been turned off.

I don't see anyone else stepping up and recognizing the hazards in these cars that in later years have been designed out.

Get one of these switches from a Ford and put it in line with the power to your electric pump. Mount it where it will get shaken upon a collision or a roll over and it will shut off the pump automatically.

It can also be used to deter theft. I can just rap the side of the trunk from the outside with my hand and it will trip the switch. No start by a thief who wouldn't even think to look for it.

Hi Jim, any idea where they normally put them in Fords? I'd like to grab one if I can find it. I've never been happy with the oil pressure safety switch I got.

I'm hoping it can handle some pretty abusive driving without being too sensitive? I can subject it to a whole lot of stress with poly bushings and R-compounds. When we rallycrossed a rental '08 Ford Focus, the fuel never got shut off, so perhaps it takes a much bigger hit than I can give it.

[TobyB]

That front end looks repairable to me

sadly, it doesn't look easily repairable to me.

That's a LOT of structural damage to move the entire cowl.

The a pillar attachment into the rocker will be bent, and

if the roof survived unmoved, then something ELSE got clobbered.

Getting that strut tower back into place is going to take a lot of

measuring- and a lot of force!

That's not a diy job. Might be sectionable, or a good candidate

for a nice Arizona shell.

And look in the trunk of any '80's or 90's Ford

sedan- driver's side, there'll be a little label,

pull the inner panel out, and there you'll find a 'First Inertia'

or similar switch. Look at how Ford mounted

it for ideas on how it'll best work on your car.

t