AutotopiaLA provides many muscle car fans with their weekly or biweekly fix of adrenaline-pumping V8 monsters with perfect paint jobs. However, as you’re probably aware, Shawn Davis couldn’t film live walkaround videos for a while because a serious car crash put him out of commission. Some months later, we finally get to see that crash, involving complete brake failure on a powerful Mercury Comet.
AutotopiaLA still released videos at the time, but at the end of each one, we saw Shawn in a cast, apologizing for his absence. We always wondered what happened, especially since nobody talks about how dangerous these classics can be in a crash. No crumple zones, no airbags, no collapsible steering wheel.
The day of the accident was December 17th, 2021. Shawn and his film crew were at their usual location, So Cal Classic Car Storage where they were about to do a video on this amazing 1964 Mercury Comet that had been fully built into a speed demon.
The Comet Caliente belonged to Russ and Jo Stover, a life-long dream that took 23 years to finish. The build had just been finished a few months prior to that, and sticking right through the hood was this amazing new engine, a Merlin IV Big Block Chevy that had been bored and stroked to 632 cubic inches, which is 10.35 liters of displacement.
An advanced fuel injection system and powerful blower ensured this gigantic motor could produce 1,332 horsepower and 1,040 pound-feet on pump gas. The owner had hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on everything from the custom lowered suspension (no airbags) to the full roll cage and wheelie bar. But that day, one important component decided to give up: the brakes.
17-year-old brakes: the red flag
Shawn notes that during the interview, the owner pointed out one of the things he wants to further upgrade is the brakes. The car has Wilwoods, but the system is 17 years old, so not only has brake technology advanced in that time, but the car is also not driven a lot.
That should have been a red flag right there, but the muscle car community has always had a “no airbags, we go out like real men” attitude to safety. The perfect storm needs just a few more elements to happen: the accelerator is sticking at about 2,200rpm, and because the V8 idols at about 1,200rpm, the owner is riding the brakes when he’s cruising.
Complete brake failure occurs just a couple of miles from where they set off. The driver puts it in neutral, and swerves a little but knows they have to brace for impact. The red Mercury Comet plows into the back of a Honda Odyssey at about 45 miles per hour. Shawn was only wearing a lap belt so he smashed into the metal dashboard, which broke four of his teeth and busted his lip.
The owner suffered major injuries to his right elbow, but the good news is that he’s recovering. Cars can be rebuilt, and dreams can be remade, but this video remains a lesson to the muscle car community to prioritize safety.
Are we going to talk about WHY the brakes failed? The car (because manly men are manly ) Had its E brake removed (mechanical system to engage the rear brakes) .. While trying to hold back that beast (stuck throttle) he boiled the fluid in his calipers. More importantly he boiled the water in the fluid because, brake fluid is hydroscopic (absorbs water)
17 year old fluid? .. the hells? probably 20% water in then Add to it the stupidity of ever taking a car with a sticking throttle onto the streets. 1300.00 hp? I hope it hurts every time it rains and the people he plowed into took everything he had. An E brake? and this would never have happened.
People like this ruin it for the rest of us.
If only we were all perfect like you, Dave. To wish badly upon someone for a mistake speaks of your character.
“If only we were all perfect like you, Dave” – you mean like making the simple decision NOT to take out a car with a stuck throttle and inadequate brakes?
Complete negligence and it’s embarrassing nothing is said about the people Russ drove into. You don’t need to be perfect, just have a little bit of common sense and actually care for the safety of those around you
Oh please! Perfect? There is a light year between this situation and perfection. It wasn’t even omitting or forgetting safety rules, it was just breaking it. And the owner knew it.
Riding a car with no airbags may look like someone has balls, but riding a car which is actually broken is just stupidity.
Not really looking for perfection. Just working brakes so we’re not colliding into minivans.
This crash was caused by a mechanical failure of the throttle linkage. Why are you blaming it on brake failure ?
Because they remark on the smell of burning brakes, the cars brakes are inadequate as they admit in the video, the owner states that he’s having to ride the brakes at 60mph to keep it under control, he remarks that the throttle is sticking before the crash, and then they at no point decide to pull over and get a tow back.