In our latest Zero To 60TV Extra, The Leith Autopark Wendell team builds a demolition derby car.
Our ’98 Honda Civic donor car went from well-used stock to demolition derby ready in 3 days.
BAM-CRUNCH-OUCH, you’ve just been rear-ended by a 1995 Ford Escort that resembles an accordion more so than it does a car. Welcome to a demolition derby night, not as a mere spectator but as a participant.
It was a lifelong dream of our LeithCars.com motoring enthusiast/content writer Amber, to drive in a demolition derby. Already in 2018, LeithCars.com had sponsored a NASCAR Xfinity Series race car at Charlotte Motor Speedway and sent our crew back to Concord, N.C. in mid-October to learn how to drive a dragster. Naturally, when we heard news of a demolition derby billed as a “Day of Destruction” at nearby Southern National Motorsports Park, (about an hours drive from Raleigh), Amber jumped at the opportunity. There were only a few minor issues to overcome to make this dream a reality. She needed a car, a sponsor, and someone to build the car in less than a week.
Continue reading (below) and watch our Zero To 60TV “Extra” video (above) to see how she did it.
To build a demolition derby car, you have to tear it down in the shop before you tear it up at the track.
All motorsports competitions have a specific set of rules that must be followed. For the “Day of Destruction” demolition derby, Amber and her team at Leith Autopark Wendell would need to build their car to specifications set by the race track for the compact car class. Below, are some of the rules found at Southern National Motorsports Park.
-Engine – Any 4 cylinder or 6 cylinder front wheel drive car.
-Wheelbase – maximum length is 109 inches.
-Gas Tank – a stock tank can be used as long as it’s in front of the rear axle, or can be mounted in the rear seat area strapped and covered.
-Battery – mounted in the front floor area strapped and covered.
-Tires – any tire, valve stem protectors are ok.
-Driver Door – some driver door hits are not intentional but do happen, so you can fully weld the door and add a plate, channel or pipe but make sure it does not fall off.
-Safety cage – no larger than 4″x4″ square or round tube. If you are not using a perimeter style cage you will need a tube or pipe behind the driver seat from door to door.
-Bumpers – any stock car bumper can be used or 4″x4” square tube. The square tube must remain straight and all other bumpers can’t be stiff. They can be welded to the stock mounting area but no extra metal and no frame stuffing.
“We built this Civic, we built this Civic to rock n’ roll.” Eric B. (L) is a part-time weekend drag racer too.
Our good friends at Leith Autopark Wendell stepped-up to sponsor the demo derby car and Eric Bennett, a service technician at Leith Buick GMC volunteered his after-work time to help build our 1998 Honda Civic. Eric also had the help of his two shop interns on the mechanical side while Amber and Matt, a designer at LeithCars.com, worked on painting the car in a green and silver demo derby livery. From start to finish, “Team Wiley”, named for Amber’s late dad and granddad, had about three days to finish their work before trailering the car down to the track in Lucama, North Carolina.
Ms “Tillett Hurts” enters the demolition derby “ring of destruction” at Southern National Motorsports Park in Lucama, N.C.
An entry fee of $25 was all it took to enter the Leith Autopark Wendell Honda in the “Day of Destruction” demolition derby on the night of October 27th. The track also hosts a Spring demo derby so you may see the old Civic back in action in 2019. There were 12 cars entered into the compact car class that Ms. Amber “Tillett Hurts” would do battle with. Amber received a few tips from a track official earlier in the night, where she learned that she needed to hit another car about every 30 seconds or she would be singled out for “sandbagging.” That’s a term they use for someone who’s trying to avoid getting hit or hitting other cars in order to be the last car running. If you’re tagged a sandbagger, they spray paint a big X on your car which causes the other drivers to “tee off” on you.
As destruction rained down on the Leith Autopark Wendell Honda, Ms “Tillett Hurts” continued to muscle through the mayhem.
Another interesting feature of this particular demolition derby is that since the cars would be running on asphalt and not dirt or mud, as is the case with some demo derbies, the local fire department put down a slippery layer of soapy water so the cars would do more sliding than full-on hard charging. This helps prevent a car and its driver from absorbing the full brunt of a hit. The car will slide a bit instead of holding its ground due to the friction between the car’s tires and the asphalt surface.
In the end, I’m happy to report that not only did Amber survive her first ever demolition derby but so did the Team Wiley Honda, minus a bumper or two and a rearranged passenger side rear quarter panel. Watch our Zero To 60TV Extra video to see the car being built and highlights of the demo derby including a hit to Amber’s car that was so shocking, it caused screams from the crowd and an “Oh Lord” from the track announcer.
Written by Mark Arsen for LeithCars.com
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