The most dangerous things that happened to me around cars
Discussion
I remember the most dangerous things that happened to me around cars and the two that stick out in my mind involve petrol!! The first was when I worked part-time at a petrol filling station in the late 70s. The filling station was in a small town in the north of England and was situated literally on the side of a busy "A" road. I was filling the dual tanks of a Jaguar 420G and was filling the second tank which was nearest the roadside. I thought to myself that the tank was taking a long time to fill and glanced at the pump and was surprised to see the meter registering something like 60 plus gallons, so I stopped the pump. Then I saw that the fuel was gushing from under the car and running down the road and into the drain! The regular customer paid up for all the fuel without hesitation and drove off. The boss never worried about the fuel going down the drain and we just carried on working but about 30 gallons of fuel went into the drain and could have caused a massive explosion!!
What has happened to you?
What has happened to you?
first time removing a petrol tank from a mini. decided to go ahead and pull the pipe straight off the bottom of the tank whilst lying underneath holding a 240v lead light.
pipe came off and out came the fuel, straight in my eyes and all over my face and chest...needless to say, I've never moved so quickly in my life.
pipe came off and out came the fuel, straight in my eyes and all over my face and chest...needless to say, I've never moved so quickly in my life.
SteveinTurkey said:
I remember the most dangerous things that happened to me around cars and the two that stick out in my mind involve petrol!! The first was when I worked part-time at a petrol filling station in the late 70s. The filling station was in a small town in the north of England and was situated literally on the side of a busy "A" road. I was filling the dual tanks of a Jaguar 420G and was filling the second tank which was nearest the roadside. I thought to myself that the tank was taking a long time to fill and glanced at the pump and was surprised to see the meter registering something like 60 plus gallons, so I stopped the pump. Then I saw that the fuel was gushing from under the car and running down the road and into the drain! The regular customer paid up for all the fuel without hesitation and drove off. The boss never worried about the fuel going down the drain and we just carried on working but about 30 gallons of fuel went into the drain and could have caused a massive explosion!!
What has happened to you?
Many, many years ago I had a MK9 Jag. A trip to Santa Pod meant filling both tanks - a first for me. L/h tank was rusted out and all fuel leaked away - fuel at the time was something like 5 Shillings or so and I was earning £3 a week.What has happened to you?
I was working under the dash on a Mk10 jag - half in half out the car.
I reached a hand up and started the engine. The gear selector was incorrectly adjusted and the car started moving backwards towards a ditch with me scrambling along so as not to get cut in half by the open door.
I managed to get my hand on the footbrake and stop it in time.
I reached a hand up and started the engine. The gear selector was incorrectly adjusted and the car started moving backwards towards a ditch with me scrambling along so as not to get cut in half by the open door.
I managed to get my hand on the footbrake and stop it in time.
Sort of car related.
Crossing France and most of Spain in my uncle's early 1990's Audi RS2 (formidable car by the way) - I stopped in the mountains of Andorra for a pee by the side of the road.
I was in that driving 'zone' having just crushed the best part of 400 miles in one stint in the fast little Audi and wandered off the road so I couldn't be seen.
Peeing merrily away looking out over the horizon I happened to look down. My right foot was about 1/4 of an inch away from a drop off. Not a UK spec drop off, a good 500 feet straight down.
Still makes me shudder.
Crossing France and most of Spain in my uncle's early 1990's Audi RS2 (formidable car by the way) - I stopped in the mountains of Andorra for a pee by the side of the road.
I was in that driving 'zone' having just crushed the best part of 400 miles in one stint in the fast little Audi and wandered off the road so I couldn't be seen.
Peeing merrily away looking out over the horizon I happened to look down. My right foot was about 1/4 of an inch away from a drop off. Not a UK spec drop off, a good 500 feet straight down.
Still makes me shudder.
Summer 1892, a terrifying high speed spin in this, my first road car. En route to Cambridge, in convoy, MK2 Lotus Cortina in front, then another blue MK1 3000E Capri and then me and a pal in my 3000GT Capri.
The Lotus Cortina had been fitted with fibre glass front wings, held on with self tappers......... the drivers side one had been moving around a fair bit when suddenly it parts company with the inner wing, flies up in the air about 50 feet, then comes crashing down on to the bonnet of the blue Capri then flies off into the left verge. We all pull over, Cortina driver legs it back down the hard shoulder, grabs the wing runs back,with it under his arm chucks it in the Cortinas boot and off we go again.
Few miles up the road and my pal tries to shut the webasto sunroof.....Big mistake, it comes out of its ruddy runners and drops on my head !! I take my eyes off of the rd for a split second, a gust of wind hits the Capri and we are in the central reservation with stones smashing against the screen about 6 inches from the barrier..........i yank the wheel to the left and she heads towards the left crash barrier, i yank the wheel to the right and she goes up on the left side 2 wheels.........My pal shouts out " Shes going over " then she starts to spin, round and round and round, an XJ6 goes past at high speed to our left, just missing us. We dissapear completely in huge cloud of tire smoke......Next thing we are going backwards towards the central reservation , i brake but Crash, we hit it with the right rear quarter. ( No brakes as the engine had stalled )
We get out and push her to the hard shoulder, both in deep shock. I notice the filler hanging out of the rusty ( just 9 years old ) rear wheel arch. Someone ( My Dad ? ) Must have been watching over us that day.
neutral 3 said:
Summer 1892, a terrifying high speed spin in this, my first road car. En route to Cambridge, in convoy, MK2 Lotus Cortina in front, then another blue MK1 3000E Capri and then me and a pal in my 3000GT Capri.
The Lotus Cortina had been fitted with fibre glass front wings, held on with self tappers......... the drivers side one had been moving around a fair bit when suddenly it parts company with the inner wing, flies up in the air about 50 feet, then comes crashing down on to the bonnet of the blue Capri then flies off into the left verge. We all pull over, Cortina driver legs it back down the hard shoulder, grabs the wing runs back,with it under his arm chucks it in the Cortinas boot and off we go again.
Few miles up the road and my pal tries to shut the webasto sunroof.....Big mistake, it comes out of its ruddy runners and drops on my head !! I take my eyes off of the rd for a split second, a gust of wind hits the Capri and we are in the central reservation with stones smashing against the screen about 6 inches from the barrier..........i yank the wheel to the left and she heads towards the left crash barrier, i yank the wheel to the right and she goes up on the left side 2 wheels.........My pal shouts out " Shes going over " then she starts to spin, round and round and round, an XJ6 goes past at high speed to our left, just missing us. We dissapear completely in huge cloud of tire smoke......Next thing we are going backwards towards the central reservation , i brake but Crash, we hit it with the right rear quarter. ( No brakes as the engine had stalled )
We get out and push her to the hard shoulder, both in deep shock. I notice the filler hanging out of the rusty ( just 9 years old ) rear wheel arch. Someone ( My Dad ? ) Must have been watching over us that day.
A friend of mine was stuck in Baghdad traffic when a car bomb went off a few cars behind. The blast tore through several of the cars around him but luckily being in an armoured Merc, he escaped unscathed. He said the car was showered with debris as they sat there unable to drive away! I was in a hotel that was bombed a few months later.....
Whilst working with the UN in Croatia I was shot at in a helicopter whilst coming in to land in Zagreb airport one night. Luckily only small arms fire, but scary all the same.
Whilst working with the UN in Croatia I was shot at in a helicopter whilst coming in to land in Zagreb airport one night. Luckily only small arms fire, but scary all the same.
I`ve been in the car repair business for fifty years,so I can write a book on my experiences.I`ve seen a few accidents in my time but by far the one that will live with me for ever took place in 1987.
I had just bought a car repair business as a going concern.The workshop had two,two post lifts one new and one old one.I did not have any maintenance history of these lifts or had them checked.Just moved in and started working,BIG MISTAKE!! My mechanic and I were working on a Morris 1000 Traveler which was up at the top of the old lift.We both came from under as I wanted to lower it to a more comfortable position and pressed the down button.BANG!!my heart stopped!! one of the lifting nuts stripped sending the side lifting arms crashing down,the car fell six feet and landed on its side on the spot where my mechanic and I had been working a minute earlier and all this happened in front of our noses.When the dust settled we realised that petrol was running from the Moggy`s tank across the workshop floor and out of a door into my yard.It was summer so this meant we had a second lucky escape!! By the back door was a waste oil heater that glows red hot in the winter.So not only did my mechanic and I miss being crushed by a car my business was not burned to the ground because it was summer. We were two very very lucky blokes.
As for the Morris Traveler,she also had a luck escape.We tipped it back on four wheels,started it up and drove it out of the workshop.It did not even brake any glass!! paint job to the side,repair cracked wood work and it was back on the road in a few days.The owner was more concerned about us than his Moggy after being told what happened.
That lift was dismantled and sent to the scrap yard never to be seen again.My other lift was stripped,overhauled and inspected by an expert and was rechecked every year after.
I had just bought a car repair business as a going concern.The workshop had two,two post lifts one new and one old one.I did not have any maintenance history of these lifts or had them checked.Just moved in and started working,BIG MISTAKE!! My mechanic and I were working on a Morris 1000 Traveler which was up at the top of the old lift.We both came from under as I wanted to lower it to a more comfortable position and pressed the down button.BANG!!my heart stopped!! one of the lifting nuts stripped sending the side lifting arms crashing down,the car fell six feet and landed on its side on the spot where my mechanic and I had been working a minute earlier and all this happened in front of our noses.When the dust settled we realised that petrol was running from the Moggy`s tank across the workshop floor and out of a door into my yard.It was summer so this meant we had a second lucky escape!! By the back door was a waste oil heater that glows red hot in the winter.So not only did my mechanic and I miss being crushed by a car my business was not burned to the ground because it was summer. We were two very very lucky blokes.
As for the Morris Traveler,she also had a luck escape.We tipped it back on four wheels,started it up and drove it out of the workshop.It did not even brake any glass!! paint job to the side,repair cracked wood work and it was back on the road in a few days.The owner was more concerned about us than his Moggy after being told what happened.
That lift was dismantled and sent to the scrap yard never to be seen again.My other lift was stripped,overhauled and inspected by an expert and was rechecked every year after.
Edited by Old Merc on Tuesday 4th June 15:01
Old Merc said:
I`ve been in the car repair business for fifty years,so I can write a book on my experiences.I`ve seen a few accidents in my time but by far the one that will live with me for ever took place in 1987.
I had just bought a car repair business as a going concern.The workshop had two,two post lifts one new and one old one.I did not have any maintenance history of these lifts or had them checked.Just moved in and started working,BIG MISTAKE!! My mechanic and I were working on a Morris 1000 Traveler which was up at the top of the old lift.We both came from under as I wanted to lower it to a more comfortable position and pressed the down button.BANG!!my heart stopped!! one of the lifting nuts stripped sending the side lifting arms crashing down,the car fell six feet and landed on its side on the spot where my mechanic and I had been working a minute earlier and all this happened in front of our noses.When the dust settled we realised that petrol was running from the Moggy`s tank across the workshop floor and out of a door into my yard.It was summer so this meant we had a second lucky escape!! By the back door was a waste oil heater that glows red hot in the winter.So not only did my mechanic and I miss being crushed by a car my business was not burned to the ground because it was summer. We were two very very lucky blokes.
As for the Morris Traveler,she also had a luck escape.We tipped it back on four wheels,started it up and drove it out of the workshop.It did not even brake any glass!! paint job to the side,repair cracked wood work and it was back on the road in a few days.The owner was more concerned about us than his Moggy after being told what happened.
That lift was dismantled and sent to the scrap yard never to be seen again.My other lift was stripped,overhauled and inspected by an expert and was rechecked every year after.
WOW!! That was nearly an exit! You were very lucky there!I had just bought a car repair business as a going concern.The workshop had two,two post lifts one new and one old one.I did not have any maintenance history of these lifts or had them checked.Just moved in and started working,BIG MISTAKE!! My mechanic and I were working on a Morris 1000 Traveler which was up at the top of the old lift.We both came from under as I wanted to lower it to a more comfortable position and pressed the down button.BANG!!my heart stopped!! one of the lifting nuts stripped sending the side lifting arms crashing down,the car fell six feet and landed on its side on the spot where my mechanic and I had been working a minute earlier and all this happened in front of our noses.When the dust settled we realised that petrol was running from the Moggy`s tank across the workshop floor and out of a door into my yard.It was summer so this meant we had a second lucky escape!! By the back door was a waste oil heater that glows red hot in the winter.So not only did my mechanic and I miss being crushed by a car my business was not burned to the ground because it was summer. We were two very very lucky blokes.
As for the Morris Traveler,she also had a luck escape.We tipped it back on four wheels,started it up and drove it out of the workshop.It did not even brake any glass!! paint job to the side,repair cracked wood work and it was back on the road in a few days.The owner was more concerned about us than his Moggy after being told what happened.
That lift was dismantled and sent to the scrap yard never to be seen again.My other lift was stripped,overhauled and inspected by an expert and was rechecked every year after.
Edited by Old Merc on Tuesday 4th June 15:01
What a story and Wow Very lucky escape !
In the late 70s early 80s I had the huge misfortune of being an apprentice / Lacky at a BL main agents in Woodford Green Essex.
The guy on Reception was a scruffy individual who wore the Same suit, shirt and tie every day it seemed, ( we called it his De Mob suit and i can see him now, complete with food soiled tie and his tatty shirt collars complete with a roll up hanging from his bottom lip.
He was a bit of a know all but knew nothing. One day a Marina comes in with a " noise " from the engine bay, de mob lifts the bonnet and leans in..... Next second bang, his chin is banged down onto the slam panel.... His ruddy tie had caught in the fan blades lol, customer turns the ignition off before he is slowly throttled and a bod grabs some scissors and cuts his ruddy tie.
Another time one of the Mechanics Chriss ( what a great bloke ) is reversing a Gas board Marina van up against the wall that the Owners spoilt sons office is in. Chriss forgets the ladders on the roof of the van... They go straight through owners sons window showering him with glass !!
We ran a Mini Van as a delivery van complete with Logo and John was the driver. I was great pals with John he was a smashing guy, he had gone in on D Day plus 3 with the rest of his Royal Engineers pals. He was such a character, allways had a deal / fiddle going on !
One afternoon about 5.15 it's closing time and John gives the Mini keys to Paul ( a very young new apprentice ) asking him to bring the van into the work shop for the night. John wasn't to know that Paul couldn't drive.......a group of us were standing in the w shop waiting for clock out time, suddenly the Mini van enters the w shop at high speed and smashes straight into the corner of the brick wall at the edge of the Mot bay !!
It sits there with the throttle on full bore , P frozen at the steering wheel with the front wheels spinning furiously and rapidly dosapearing in a cloud of tire smoke......I was nearest so ran over and turned the key off just as Owner and son come round the corner Lol !
The tight B.........s docked the repair costs from Paul's wages each week for about a year !
In the late 70s early 80s I had the huge misfortune of being an apprentice / Lacky at a BL main agents in Woodford Green Essex.
The guy on Reception was a scruffy individual who wore the Same suit, shirt and tie every day it seemed, ( we called it his De Mob suit and i can see him now, complete with food soiled tie and his tatty shirt collars complete with a roll up hanging from his bottom lip.
He was a bit of a know all but knew nothing. One day a Marina comes in with a " noise " from the engine bay, de mob lifts the bonnet and leans in..... Next second bang, his chin is banged down onto the slam panel.... His ruddy tie had caught in the fan blades lol, customer turns the ignition off before he is slowly throttled and a bod grabs some scissors and cuts his ruddy tie.
Another time one of the Mechanics Chriss ( what a great bloke ) is reversing a Gas board Marina van up against the wall that the Owners spoilt sons office is in. Chriss forgets the ladders on the roof of the van... They go straight through owners sons window showering him with glass !!
We ran a Mini Van as a delivery van complete with Logo and John was the driver. I was great pals with John he was a smashing guy, he had gone in on D Day plus 3 with the rest of his Royal Engineers pals. He was such a character, allways had a deal / fiddle going on !
One afternoon about 5.15 it's closing time and John gives the Mini keys to Paul ( a very young new apprentice ) asking him to bring the van into the work shop for the night. John wasn't to know that Paul couldn't drive.......a group of us were standing in the w shop waiting for clock out time, suddenly the Mini van enters the w shop at high speed and smashes straight into the corner of the brick wall at the edge of the Mot bay !!
It sits there with the throttle on full bore , P frozen at the steering wheel with the front wheels spinning furiously and rapidly dosapearing in a cloud of tire smoke......I was nearest so ran over and turned the key off just as Owner and son come round the corner Lol !
The tight B.........s docked the repair costs from Paul's wages each week for about a year !
Oh Dear. Some of those incidents bring back some painful memories. I served my apprenticeship at a BMC / BL Dealer in Aberdeen from 1962 to 67. Luckiest escape was performing a 3,000 mile service on an A60 Cambridge, engine running after oil and filter change to check for leaks.
Next item on list is to check fan belt tension. Yes, it's a good idea to switch the engine off first.
Stuck my fingers down to the belt, cooling fan whacked my fingers back up! I still cringe at that.
Austin 1100 in for brake pads and an anti freeze change. Brake pads changed, jump in and reverse at high speed ( OK, look, I was a gallus apprentice) into the wash bay, press brake pedal and continue backwards into wash bay wall. Note: ALWAYS pump the brake pedal after a pad change!
Probably in retrospect though, is the most inherently dangerous and life damaging practice of using compressed air to blow out brake dust from brake drums. We all loved it when a Westminister 110 came in for a service. You could fill the whole workshop with all this lovely asbestos dust! We would only desist when our journeymen complained about the fug. No complaining about asbestos, just the dust nuisance. Weren't we naive then.
On a lighter note, one of the funniest incidents occurred when our bright shiny new Works Manager saw 3 of us round the front of an A40 ~Farina with the bonnet up and the engine running. Looking to get "pally with the boys" he started out by trying to impress us with all his theoretical knowledge about engines. Now, on those A40's the plug leads terminated at the plug with a copper elbow as a push fit .
He remarked that if you placed your fingers firmly on the terminals at the same time you would stall the engine. Naturally we challenged him to prove this theory. He laid his clipboard down, flexed his fingers and attacked the HT leads in a firm manner.
To this day I still don't know how many fingertips he earthed. I do know that it resulted in a huge convulsion which straightened his body, hitting the bonnet with his head, knocking the bonnet off it's stay and getting his arms trapped by the falling bonnet. Pure class.
Did we laugh? You bet we did.
Funny, but he never did spend much time on the shop floor after that.
Next item on list is to check fan belt tension. Yes, it's a good idea to switch the engine off first.
Stuck my fingers down to the belt, cooling fan whacked my fingers back up! I still cringe at that.
Austin 1100 in for brake pads and an anti freeze change. Brake pads changed, jump in and reverse at high speed ( OK, look, I was a gallus apprentice) into the wash bay, press brake pedal and continue backwards into wash bay wall. Note: ALWAYS pump the brake pedal after a pad change!
Probably in retrospect though, is the most inherently dangerous and life damaging practice of using compressed air to blow out brake dust from brake drums. We all loved it when a Westminister 110 came in for a service. You could fill the whole workshop with all this lovely asbestos dust! We would only desist when our journeymen complained about the fug. No complaining about asbestos, just the dust nuisance. Weren't we naive then.
On a lighter note, one of the funniest incidents occurred when our bright shiny new Works Manager saw 3 of us round the front of an A40 ~Farina with the bonnet up and the engine running. Looking to get "pally with the boys" he started out by trying to impress us with all his theoretical knowledge about engines. Now, on those A40's the plug leads terminated at the plug with a copper elbow as a push fit .
He remarked that if you placed your fingers firmly on the terminals at the same time you would stall the engine. Naturally we challenged him to prove this theory. He laid his clipboard down, flexed his fingers and attacked the HT leads in a firm manner.
To this day I still don't know how many fingertips he earthed. I do know that it resulted in a huge convulsion which straightened his body, hitting the bonnet with his head, knocking the bonnet off it's stay and getting his arms trapped by the falling bonnet. Pure class.
Did we laugh? You bet we did. Funny, but he never did spend much time on the shop floor after that.
Edited by niccis dad on Tuesday 4th June 18:37
Edited by niccis dad on Tuesday 4th June 18:40
In an old 1800 Firenza some years ago, went to pick my mate up to go to the pub and something didn't feel quite right about the car, though I didn't know much about cars then. Took it steady, but as I accelerated gently away from a junction there was a loud clonk and we suddenly did a 180° and stopped, facing the way we'd come from. First of all I thought I'd lost a rear wheel, but it turned out that one of the rear arms was so rusty it had snapped between the spring and axle, the spring had dropped and dug into the road, spinning the car. Not many seconds later a car approached, if the arm had snapped that little bit later we could have been in a head-on collision with it.
Having replaced the arm, I later agreed to sell the car to another mate. Neither of us had much money, so he asked me to take stuff off it to get the price down and I agreed. I swapped the cloth seats back to vinyl, alloys back to steel wheels, and removed the spotlights. While removing the spotlight wiring and relay, I learned three valuable lessons: (1) always insulate terminals on accessory wiring, (2) always put a fuse, don't wire directly to the battery, and (3) don't wear a watch with a metal strap when you're dismantling the above. The watch strap went across the two relay terminals which were neither insulated nor fused, and I still have the scar on my wrist 25 years later.
Having replaced the arm, I later agreed to sell the car to another mate. Neither of us had much money, so he asked me to take stuff off it to get the price down and I agreed. I swapped the cloth seats back to vinyl, alloys back to steel wheels, and removed the spotlights. While removing the spotlight wiring and relay, I learned three valuable lessons: (1) always insulate terminals on accessory wiring, (2) always put a fuse, don't wire directly to the battery, and (3) don't wear a watch with a metal strap when you're dismantling the above. The watch strap went across the two relay terminals which were neither insulated nor fused, and I still have the scar on my wrist 25 years later.
I just remembered the time I was driving home from work on a Friday evening in my BMW 318i and went to take a right hand bend at about 70 mph and the steering locked up. I was up on the grass when I got the steering free and got around the bend. I looked at the steering and found that the flexible coupling on the bottom of the steering shaft had started to come apart. I was very lucky that the thing had not jammed solid!!
rtg0616 said:
A friend of mine was stuck in Baghdad traffic when a car bomb went off a few cars behind. The blast tore through several of the cars around him but luckily being in an armoured Merc, he escaped unscathed. He said the car was showered with debris as they sat there unable to drive away! I was in a hotel that was bombed a few months later.....
Whilst working with the UN in Croatia I was shot at in a helicopter whilst coming in to land in Zagreb airport one night. Luckily only small arms fire, but scary all the same.
I've been shot at, tear-gassed and had an AK pointed at me while in a bullet-proof Defender. The name of that car has never been so apt.Whilst working with the UN in Croatia I was shot at in a helicopter whilst coming in to land in Zagreb airport one night. Luckily only small arms fire, but scary all the same.
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