Mercury Comet......Ouch!

[video:yahoo]https://www.motor1.com/news/597254/1300-hp-mercury-comet-brake-failure/[/video]

Good points made. All go and no stop sucks. Glad everyone is ok. Could have been worst.

more $$$ than brains in that build. then the loose nut got behind the wheel and drove it.

Turn the key off? Throw it in Reverse?

Maybe I missed it but did they mention the cause of the brake failure or what happened to the occupant(s) in the minivan that they rear-ended?

My takeaway was the throttle was sticking around 2,200 RPM and he was using the brakes to control the speed. Finally they overheated, probably on fire and failed. Little mention was made of the occupants of the mini van. If they find this video he may find the video should never have been made as negligence is indicated.

Might've also investigated to cause of the sticking throttle when it first happened

Hope he had good insurance

Looked to me like he either threw it into reverse or park, he threw the shifter forward and I heard that click-click-click that an auto trans makes when its told to do something it wasn't built to do.

There were warning signs that should have caused the whole deal to be put on hold until they could be checked out, but really, how many of us would have gone ahead and made the 5 mile run at 45 mph to 50 mph without much concern? I've done worse without any problems, that one wouldn't have fazed me either. I probably would have gone to the extreme right as soon as I knew there were no brakes, if there would have been enough time, but as it turned out, you take the path with the least amount of total damage, which would have been the single minivan instead of a line with 3 or 4 cars in it.

I asked this in the comments section- if by "Riding " the brakes they became overheated and thus useless.

Riding the brakes to control vehicle speed because the engine idle speed was too high? This is first order stupidity. It only turned one problem into two problems that then ended in three problems. If they had stopped and fixed the first problem, none of this would have happened.

Only the stupid ones.

I hope everyone in the other vehicles sues this guy back to the stone age.

Sorry poorboy But I have to agree

Reminds me a bit of this incident.

NAILED IT!!!! Fix the sticky throttle or maybe use neutral a bit more instead of the brakes. this almost qualifies for a Darwin award nomination

NAILED IT!!!! Fix the sticky throttle or maybe use neutral a bit more instead of the brakes. this almost qualifies for a Darwin award nomination [/quote]

I agree! The way he seemed to be stabbing the brake pedal made me think the pedal was going to the floor like a line broke or something failed causing brake fluid loss. The driver's action makes no sense to continue to ride the brakes while the car is pulling instead of throwing it in neutral and then applying the brakes when needing to slow down or stop. Also, heat related brake failure in my experience usually doesn't occur catastrophically. It usually happens where the brakes lose their effectiveness over time, and it gives the driver plenty of warning before complete failure. The driver was not a young guy and you would think he had enough experience not to continue to ride the brakes with a sticking throttle. Apparently not.

most people panic in a situation like this. Ignition off would have done the second most good. Not driving it till it was fixed would have been best.

Thought this was about the Comet - guess there were 2 knuckleheads out there putting others at risk. The Comet stunt is even worse.
Yikes - kinda sounds like he'd picked up the throttle or whacked it and then panicked. Sticking it in Neutral or killing ignition would have saved a lot of grief.
If it's a rod-style linkage - as opposed to a cable - there was likely a bind in the system. Or maybe there was insufficient return spring ?
Whatever the actual cause, I would think that would have been tested somewhere safe beforehand. And fixed.

You would not believe some of the stupid sh-t I've seen come through the doors that was real pretty but non drivable. Pro built trailer queens. Several had all kinds of awards and magazine articles on them
This guy was a definite inexperienced MORON. He/they blame it on old technology brakes, BULLSH-T. Overheating the brakes due to the stuck throttle and the idiot driving is the cause PERIOD. I wonder why two wives left this BS artist

Is this one of them built not bought cars everyone talks about? He had a [censored] rachet shifter, likely a [censored] gm style steering column that locks when you turn the key back too far, marginal brakes, and you would never drive with a sticking throttle. I about got killed in a streetrod with all these [censored] parts due to that locking column...I was riding when the dash wiring smoked. I will not drive or ride in them. Don't get me started on some of those mustang 2 based front ends with hemis sitting in them. Makes you appreciate how good a factory shifter, column, suspension and disc brakes in good repair really are.

IIRC, it was the front tires that were smoking, not the brakes; the brakes stopped the wheels & skinny tires, but Dude just pushed right on ahead.
Sketchy builds ? Yup, seen that all too often. We got a wrecked Ford truck street rod in once, guy said the steering failed. He was right - nothing was mounted properly, they'd actually used a bent S-10 frame, literally falling apart, wouldn't steer.
We also had to fix a bunch of other mechanical & fitment issues free, just to avoid any possible liability, even though it was the builder's hack chassis work.
Also had to re-do an A-body/440 swap for a guy; lots of stuff just slammed together, and barely useable...