Michael A. Terrell wrote:
Joerg wrote:
Michael A. Terrell wrote:
flipper wrote:
On Wed, 05 Sep 2007 22:27:59 -0400, "Michael A. Terrell"
wrote:
flipper wrote:
Turn ignition key to 'off' position.
With a manual transmission, at 55 MPH? The car was already
disintegrating around me, I didn't need to add more stress to the failed
unibody.
Besides it being better to be alive, even with a 'wrecked' car, than
dead with what would, no doubt, also be a wrecked car it isn't any
more stress than normal driving.
You do it. If you live, you can brag about it.
Already have, when the throttle cable on my Lotus Europa seized up
while doing a flat out acceleration run. Cable seized at the 3'rd to
4'th power shift and I simultaneously popped the clutch back in, hit
brakes, and killed the ignition.
Of course, I had picked an absolutely empty road at 3:00 in the
morning to do it, which left the matter of how to get home.
I reworked the manual choke into a limited throttle control and limped
the 20 miles back using that.
Then there was the time the clutch arm broke and I had to drive back
in traffic turning the motor off at stop lights and restarting it
while in gear, but that's another story.
Did I mention the Europa liked to drop parts?
Did I mention that the welds in the floor had cracked, and the
bottom of the body was scraping the highway? Or that the opening was
wide enough for my feet to go through? Or the car that was about 25
feet behind me, blowing his horn for me to get out of his way? The roof
was the only thing holding the car together by the time I got it
stopped.
Did I mention that it was an Opel Cadette?
That is a German car. Built by a subsidiary of General Motors.
The serial number plate under the hood said it was built in France.
Buick was the GM division that sold the Opel in the US. Replacement
parts were a real pain int he ass to get. The only reason I had the car
was that the engine had just blown in my van, and a 'friend' told me I
could have the Opel, if I could get it to start. It was sitting behind
the barn on his brother's farm, and had been there about three years. I
stuck the battery from the van in it, poured some gasoline in the
carburetor, and drove it out of the mud. In hindsight, I should have
just left it there.
Never heard of a Kadett (original spelling) built in France. Anyhow,
those unibody cars rust, especially when sitting in someone yard for
years. Then at some point, unlike frame bodies, there is really nothing
that maintains integrity. That's why they have regular mandatory
inspections in Europe where they would have caught it years before you
stepped into that car and prevented your scenario.
--
Regards, Joerg
http://www.analogconsultants.com