Darwin Award Candidate: Car Modified into Death Trap

New Zealand:
Car Modification for Aspiring Darwin Award Nominees

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Everyone is familiar with the The Darwin Awards, wherein the Internet and publication celebrate the antics of idiots,convinced of they are geniuses, end their particular gene lines as a consequence of illogical behavior. But few can imagine the effort some will engage in to prove candidacy for this un-prestigious award.

We here at DBKP have found two such souls.

The late Matthew Shannon McDonald and an unidentified 19-year-old.

These two candidates from New Zealand were automobile enthusiasts. So they decided to put together a car from scraps.

Death trap on wheels

...the car had so many defects and modifications it was "a disaster waiting to happen".It had been ordered off the road in December 2005 due to a number of uncertified suspension modifications."On this occasion the vehicle had been towed to get it started. It had an RX7 motor for a Mazda 3 which is not compatible at all.

Wonderful. The lads put an engine on a frame and drive train which was entirely incompatible. The RX7 is a rotary motor, sometimes called a Wankel Engine. The entire engine rotates reaching high rpms very quickly. So it stands to reason that the drive train will be just for this particular engine. That would cause some problems. Might even be difficult to start the engine unless the starter were compatible with the engine. Of course that did not stop our lads.

"Mr Tooman said the car had been "tow started".

Of course steering could be a problem with a poor suspension and an engine more pwerful for its size and weight than the car irself was designed for.So ...

"The car's wheels were also mismatched with two mags on the front and two old steel-pressed wheels on the back."

And in order to ensure control: "Mr Tooman said somebody had fashioned a steering wheel using the rim from a wheel and the spokes of an old steering wheel."
Now that is just frosting on the cake, there.

"The car failed to take a slight bend, crossed the centre line and crashed through a solid wooden barrier before coming to stop against a concrete power-pole used to supply electricity to the main trunk railway line. The pair were not wearing seatbelts and were thrown from the car on impact. Police said that fact made the job of identifying who was driving the car difficult.Sometime during the crash the rim has become detached from the spikes, he said. "The spikes were still on the steering column and they were like three knives sticking out from the steering column."

"Mr Tooman said the tragedy served a reminder for other car enthusiasts attempting to modify their car."

Indeed.

Like look it up or something.




by pat
images:
* etraceway
* zoomr
* stuff
Source: Death Trap on Wheels