Nearly Killed Please Help!

[Guest riber3]

Hi again,

 

Thanks for all the help and well wishing and don't worry I don't give that easily!!! just want make sure that nobody else suffers what I went through!!!

 

I really wish I had more pictures but the car is 150 miles away from my home.

 

John is right in spotting the rubber type clips there is one fitted either side and underneath the nose cone is where the the sierra latch is fitted.

 

As for what Robin has suggested regarding the hood there did not seem to be any sail like movement although the extra tension on the screen may have contributed by acting like a retracting spring?

 

I still think vibration, movement and wind were major factors and perhaps the catches not in the right place? although I am not sure what is the best place for the catches? I just want to make sure that when I climb back into the Cockpit I can do so without fear and without a crash hat!!!

 

Hi again,

 

Thanks for all the help and well wishing and don't worry I don't give that easily!!! just want make sure that nobody else suffers what I went through!!!

 

I really wish I had more pictures but the car is 150 miles away from my home.

 

John is right in spotting the rubber type clips there is one fitted either side and underneath the nose cone is where the the sierra latch is fitted.

 

As for what Robin has suggested regarding the hood there did not seem to be any sail like movement although the extra tension on the screen may have contributed by acting like a retracting spring?

 

I still think vibration, movement and wind were major factors and perhaps the catches not in the right place? although I am not sure what is the best place for the catches? I just want to make sure that when I climb back into the Cockpit I can do so without fear and without a crash hat!!!

 

Hi again,

 

Thanks for all the help and well wishing and don't worry I don't give that easily!!! just want make sure that nobody else suffers what I went through!!!

 

I really wish I had more pictures but the car is 150 miles away from my home.

 

John is right in spotting the rubber type clips there is one fitted either side and underneath the nose cone is where the the sierra latch is fitted.

 

As for what Robin has suggested regarding the hood there did not seem to be any sail like movement although the extra tension on the screen may have contributed by acting like a retracting spring?

 

I still think vibration, movement and wind were major factors and perhaps the catches not in the right place? although I am not sure what is the best place for the catches? I just want to make sure that when I climb back into the Cockpit I can do so without fear and without a crash hat!!!

[DAVE CASTLE]

I got treble vision just reading about it.

Dave

[gomatthome]

sorry to hear about the incident. I have four of the rubber type these were fine for sva. no extra sierra catch. First year on road no problems but thanks to your note i will have another good look at my catches and think about something extra as well.

 

i know when i was fitting mine its necessary to make sure that the male and female parts are sufficiently far apart so that when the catch is closed it takes some pressure to lock into place. if they are too close then vibration could be a problem. worth having a look at when you get access to the car.

 

Is the garage who assembled the car carrying out the repairs? I am sure your insurers will look very carefully at what the garage did. Speaking as a non solicitor it does look like they may be liable this sort of thing should just not happen a few miles from collection.

 

Phil

[Guest chris brown]

Hi Paul

Hope you are on the way to recovery I think the garages statement We have put the bonnet under load yesterday with all 3 locks in place. This was done using the 3 ton hydraulic lift and we could not get the clamps to let go? It just lifted the vehicle although we had it tethered." Is a load of rubbish (about 3 ton) there is no way even any tin top catch would stand that load and even if the catch did then the thing would tear out of the bonnet and/or slam panel. No I'm afraid the answer has to be a build problem and I'm surprised the VOSA tester didn’t pick it up during the SVA.

As someone has already said kit cars are very different from tin tops and there are very few garages who understand the problems that are encountered on a build.

[Guest riber3]

Forgot to acknowledge the points mentioned by Nigel (Longboarder) As I have built a kit car before as well as a few custom cars in the past I agree with what you are saying in terms of the aerodynamics. However if the panels and clips were not, lets say as secure or as well fitted as they should be, air pressure over the top of the bonnet would have remained constant but air movement through and around the car could have caused enough movement of the panels to flex out of the clips. So I suppose the question remains was everything on the car working and secure as it should have been?

 

sorry to hear about the incident. I have four of the rubber type these were fine for sva. no extra sierra catch. First year on road no problems but thanks to your note i will have another good look at my catches and think about something extra as well.

 

i know when i was fitting mine its necessary to make sure that the male and female parts are sufficiently far apart so that when the catch is closed it takes some pressure to lock into place. if they are too close then vibration could be a problem. worth having a look at when you get access to the car.

 

Is the garage who assembled the car carrying out the repairs? I am sure your insurers will look very carefully at what the garage did. Speaking as a non solicitor it does look like they may be liable this sort of thing should just not happen a few miles from collection.

 

Phil

 

Hi Phil,

 

The garage has admitted total liability and are repairing all the damage but I am thinking of getting them to re-test it. On that note do wipers have to sit in the down position in order to pass I can't remember?

 

Hi Paul

Hope you are on the way to recovery I think the garages statement We have put the bonnet under load yesterday with all 3 locks in place. This was done using the 3 ton hydraulic lift and we could not get the clamps to let go? It just lifted the vehicle although we had it tethered." Is a load of rubbish (about 3 ton) there is no way even any tin top catch would stand that load and even if the catch did then the thing would tear out of the bonnet and/or slam panel. No I'm afraid the answer has to be a build problem and I'm surprised the VOSA tester didn’t pick it up during the SVA.

As someone has already said kit cars are very different from tin tops and there are very few garages who understand the problems that are encountered on a build.

 

Hi Chris.

 

Thanks for your reply, even I have been scratching my head on that one!! I have been wondering if the car should be re-tested before collecting it just to be sure

[Guest skint]

Wow! this sort of thing has worried me for some time, to the extent that i won't take my hood out on the road untill i've cut the bonnet across infront of the wipers and hinged the thing at the FRONT .

[Guest Bazwaz]

It should never have happened but at least the garage has acted correctly in admitting liability. The 3 ton lift test does sound a bit iffy though.

 

Barry

[Guest salty_monk]

Mine had two of the Robin hood style catches fitted, for SVA a leather cover with poppers had to be fitted over the top, without the cover they vibrated open frequently. It also had leather belt buckle style straps either sides at the front which used to keep it in place nicely.

 

As for the wet weather gear adding stress, rubbish! I successfully drove my Croc bonnet car all the way from Bristol to London with all the bonnet clips undone... what saved me from what you have experienced is the sidescreens acting as a supporting member & stopping the bonnet from lifting. Even so I was lucky.

 

I believe what has happened is that whoever shut the bonnet didn't get the Sierra catch to latch properly (probably because it's fitted to the fibreglass & it flexed instead of pushing the bar through the catch) & then the drivers side rubber catch vibrated loose whilst you were driving. This put force on the left hand one which would have "popped" out once the bonnet twisted.

The only other option is as above but the drivers side clip wasn't fitted with enough distance so was loose or the bolts/rivets have torn out of the sheet metal.

 

Glad you're not seriously hurt.

 

Dan

 

P.s. Skint - Bill had a cut & hinged bonnet with fixed scuttle but still managed to get a nice lump on his bonce!

[Guest timswait]

The 3 ton lift is pointless anyway. As Nigel says, the catches don't have to support very much load provided they stay done up. They must have vibrated loose somehow, and dangling the car about from it's bonnet doesn't show whether or not this will happen. The Sierra catch should still have held it though, worth investigating what went on there.

Phil: Worth fitting a Sierra (or similar) catch too. At some point you'll forget to do up the latches, anyone can. I have and so has Bill, the difference is that mine has the Sierra latch, so if the bonnet's down it at least has something holding it. So my bonce is still bump free, I just did up the latches when I noticed that they weren't.

[Les Welsher]

Glad your ok.

I was always worried over the flexability of the bonnet around this area and the fibreglass nose cone did little to strengthen it. So I braced the bonnet between both sides and top with a tube also connected to my bonnet catch striker loop. When pushing down on the bonnet where the nose cone joins to the bonnet you can hear a clunk when the bonnet catch locks.

 

Les

[Guest tom2b]

Ive got the four rubber catches, ive set them up so they do pull down tight. However i dont want to take any chances so i am fitting a pair of aero catches to the front, they actually lock the bonnet down with a key. No chance of it flying off then!

Dont get the flush fitting one as it would be a pig to fit, Link to aerocatch

The ultimate piece of mind for your bonnet.

[Guest shaggy]

I always worried about the scissor ffect so fitted 2 rubber catches (sva type) and fastened a flat bar fastened by an R clip underneath the steering rack. Haven't done the 3 ton ttest, but it seems pretty well tied down.

Si

[enforcer]

It's unfortunate that the car has gone back to the builders already - I don't imagine there was an independent inspection after the incident. They could have interfered / adjusted / adapted the mechanism to cover a problem to get themselves off the hook.

 

Surely the bonnet is destroyed? Have they really closed it again and just latched it back down again?

 

It is reassuring that the builders are admiting full liability and will put things right. Save's you messing about with solicitors. A case like this would effectively destroy the garage's potential further business/reputation as kit car builders.

 

I think Nigel makes a very good point. Our cars are not tin tops with warranties and a standardised maintenance program. You get to know and understand the car as you build it up, and know what it sounds llike, what it smells like and when it's just not right.

[Bob Tucker]

Also when fitting wet weather gear, the bonnet must be securely fastened BEFORE fitting the roof.

 

When Ive tried fitting the roof first, then closing the bonnet, the Sierra catch doesnt hook into place properly, the roof stops it closing all the way down.

Bob

[enforcer]

Bob I think you cracked it there. What's the betting that the additional tension of fitting the hood on the collection day (which was wet) lifted the nose just outside of the grab of the mechanical catch?