Crash! Bang! Wallop!

[Guest jwaterman]

22:45hrs on 17th Nov 2005 - I'll remember that date for quite sometime!

 

:boohoo: The Day I got up close and personal with a verge & Tree. Head-on to be precise! :boohoo:

 

I type this with a stiff neck & shoulders.

 

The Damage:-

Nose cone U/S, Both Bottom Wishbones bent, Rack is a strange shape, Cycle wings & brackets a little twisted, Front near side Chassis Corner redesigned (pushed back and up by 3 inches) That’s the tip of the iceberg i fear!

 

I must state i was not driving fast at the time, was aware the conditions were icy, so driving accordingly, on a road i was familiar with. Approached a 90deg bend on country lane at 30MPH started braking early, got to apex of bend (prob 15-20MPH), front locked up, before i had time to react was in verge and connected to a tree!

 

All in all I’m feeling a little pig sick.

 

What do I do now? Anyone got any ideas?

Is it repairable? I think so.

Has anyone straightened a 2b wishbone chassis before?

Is there a good place to get spares from other than RHSC?

 

The 10" chassis extension beyond the rack certainly did its job. Good crumple zone, shame I ended up testing it!

The servo brakes off sierra are too powerful! i think i will resort to a servo-less master cylinder if i get the car repaired. I will be more in control of what brakes are doing this way.

 

If anyone has any helpful advice & ideas they would be gratefully received.

 

I think i know what my winter project is now!

 

A rather despondent.

John

[Guest peter2b2002]

shame about your pride & joy a least it prooves how strong they are, glad no one was hurt though. at least you have all winter to get back on the road, good luck

pete2b

PS at least it prooves what my brother told me years ago, never hit anything bigger than you and never hit a tree , they dont move!

[Guest timswait]

Ouch, looks like you've got a busy winter ahead of you. I'm sure you'll be back on the road soon, and hopefully during some warmer climes without any pesky ice patches.

There's someone else who posts on this site who bent their Hood quite badly (ran along a crash barrier when the bonnet came up) and that's now fixed and back on the road. They've got a website about it, perhaps you might want to contact them to see how they went about the repair, I think they call their car the phoenix now!

[will]

Glad your ok!!!

[Guest TerryBarry]

Just in case he's not around at present HERE is a link to Graham's (builder of The Phoenix) website.

[stevedohc2b]

Hi Graham's car was a total re build as it was a quite bad as i think he was doing 70.

 

Hi had some fun of the side ways kind when I took the hood out for a spin this afternoon on some roundabouts found my self going around twice as it was fun.

 

Then down a country road saw a bends sign and though now some fun and nearly lost it as the back came round, it got the heart racing but that was all.

 

With the frost in the morning I think a hood could be dangerous as you have found out.

Hop you fix it soon or the insurance dos it for you.

 

Take it easy in the ice.

 

Stephen

[Guest Battery Bill]

John

 

Bad luck matey, but at least its not you thats U/S !

 

Any Pictures? Then we could add our advise

[Guest jwaterman]

I wondered when pictures would be asked for, I will try and post some once i have taken them, plan to do that in the morning.

 

Thanks for all your knid thoughts

[Guest piddy]

Hi John.

Sorry to hear about the your crash.

I'm sure you will soon get it back on the road with your skills and some help from your father.

If i can be of any help let me know.

As for spares I would think that RHSC would be the best place to get most parts.

They may even offer to re-jig the chassis.

[Guest docter fox]

I went straight on at some ice the other night, I just expect to slide now, makes roundabouts fun too

[Guest micky bigthumbs]

Glad your ok i bet your pride is badly dammaged and you feel gutted

 

Mick

[Guest salty_monk]

30MPH started braking early, got to apex of bend (prob 15-20MPH), front locked up, before i had time to react

 

Glad your ok but you should learn something from it... don't brake in the apex of a bend! Do all your braking in a straight line before the bend.

 

Sure it can be fixed... there aren't many more "head ons" than the head on that Dave had at Barkston & his was back on the road pretty quick.

 

[Guest jwaterman]

I agree, I went back to crash site today, to have a look in the day light. I was braking a lot earlier than i remember, I had stopped braking just before i turned in towards the apex. The hole in the hedge lines up with the left side of road. The car didnt change heading by more than 10degs, before tires gave up grip and allowed me to hit tree.

 

The damage on car dosn't look as bad as it did at night, just a little bend in chassis, to repair, then replace the GRP.

[Guest macca]

Still no piccies???