Geordie Amanda
Active Member
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2012
- Messages
- 158
- Car
- 350cdi Sport Plus
a Scubaria:bannana:
Last edited:
formerly a 250GTGeordie Amanda
Active Member
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2012
- Messages
- 158
- Car
- 350cdi Sport Plus
Beardz
Active Member
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2009
- Messages
- 233
- Location
- Northants
- Car
- Merc E220 (S212) CDi SE Exec Estate & Merc CLK320 Cabrio A209
I used to deliver newspapers to a hotel in a normal transit. One week I was given a Luton transit and as I screamed into the hotel entrance there was an almighty crunching sound. I jumped out and so did the guy in reception both of us looking under the van to see what I hit but couldn't see anything. It was then that I realised that I had jammed the van under the entrance overhang and the only way I could release the van was to let down the tyres!
Work was not impressed but as the scratches to the van were on the roof and it was a hire van no more was said!!
Work was not impressed but as the scratches to the van were on the roof and it was a hire van no more was said!!
stephen coy
Active Member
I spents months, incuding time on christmas and boxing day renovating a Triumph GT6. The car finished up a really nice example with new sills, wheel arches and a bottom half respray just to name some of the work done.
Some while later I fancied treating the car and its paintwork to a mop and polish. I duly bought compound and rotary polishing sponges. What I did,nt understand at the time was that an angle grinder's speed was totally unsuitable, and as a result, merely a second of the grinder and sponge on a patch of the bonnet, of all places to start, immediately wrecked the finish
Some while later I fancied treating the car and its paintwork to a mop and polish. I duly bought compound and rotary polishing sponges. What I did,nt understand at the time was that an angle grinder's speed was totally unsuitable, and as a result, merely a second of the grinder and sponge on a patch of the bonnet, of all places to start, immediately wrecked the finish
work as a gas engineer with a big gas company, no prizes for guessing who. When taking my van for a service ( fitted with a tracker ) I was given a hire van ( no tracker ) result!
I got a phone call from my partner saying that the buggy for the Kids was in my car, and i had the keys in my pocket! So off I went home with no worries as I had no tracker. I was nearly home when I had to go around a police van that was was half parked on the pavement and half on the rd, as I went past I clipped his wing mirror and at the sametime managed knock mine out on to the rd which promptly smashed. As I was reversing to go and speak to the officer I hit a lamppost, due to the left wingmirror being smashed I couldn't see what was behind me.
I then got out and spoke with the officer who stated there was no damage done to his vehicle but wanted to check with his sarge to see of he could let me go. Unfortunatly for me he wanted to report it and breathlise me, which came back negative.
Thankfully I don't think they went through with the report as I have never heard anything back in two years. And the hire company failed to see the big dent in the back of the van.
I got a phone call from my partner saying that the buggy for the Kids was in my car, and i had the keys in my pocket! So off I went home with no worries as I had no tracker. I was nearly home when I had to go around a police van that was was half parked on the pavement and half on the rd, as I went past I clipped his wing mirror and at the sametime managed knock mine out on to the rd which promptly smashed. As I was reversing to go and speak to the officer I hit a lamppost, due to the left wingmirror being smashed I couldn't see what was behind me.
I then got out and spoke with the officer who stated there was no damage done to his vehicle but wanted to check with his sarge to see of he could let me go. Unfortunatly for me he wanted to report it and breathlise me, which came back negative.
Thankfully I don't think they went through with the report as I have never heard anything back in two years. And the hire company failed to see the big dent in the back of the van.
OP
OP
MB-BTurbo
Active Member
- Joined
- Nov 13, 2011
- Messages
- 993
- Car
- B200 Turbo
Flippin heck, someone has been looking out for you then.
Igurisu
Active Member
My own worst c*ck up, but not fatally so. Many years ago in my Vauxhall Cavalier preparing for a European road trip with then girlfriend (now my wife). Gave the car a full service and once over before setting off. During the check I found a split drive shaft boot (shaft to wheel hub), so went to get the part and changed the boot the following day. All seems well, a few days later we set off for the cross channel ferry.
Just prior to Hartshead moor services services on the M62 a horrible clunking sound starts coming from under the front of the car. At the same time I lose power and pull on to the hard shoulder. Call out the AA and get towed to the services. There is a garage facility there so I get the car in there and fortunately they can get it up on the ramps straight away.
By this time my fairly new girl friend is in tears "holiday ruined etc...". When the car is up on the ramps I can see the drive shaft is lose, popped out of the diff. Locate in diff and give it an almighty whack on the hub to snap into place the circlip that stops it falling out
Now if only I had done that in the first place 
Just prior to Hartshead moor services services on the M62 a horrible clunking sound starts coming from under the front of the car. At the same time I lose power and pull on to the hard shoulder. Call out the AA and get towed to the services. There is a garage facility there so I get the car in there and fortunately they can get it up on the ramps straight away.
By this time my fairly new girl friend is in tears "holiday ruined etc...". When the car is up on the ramps I can see the drive shaft is lose, popped out of the diff. Locate in diff and give it an almighty whack on the hub to snap into place the circlip that stops it falling out
Now if only I had done that in the first place
Igurisu
Active Member
Another great story, not me but a colleague and ex boss of mine.
This guy is well known within the company for being a horrendous driver and absolutely terrible with cars. To the point nobody would passenger with him more than once, and he was not allowed to drive company cars.
So, we are in Japan at our headquarters, I'm on a business trip with the boss. I arrive at the office by train (I made the mistake of letting him drive me one time, never again), the boss arrives in his Honda jazz.
To explain the layout a little, our head office is in Yokohama where car parking is limited and very expensive. At the head office we have a carousel type automated parking setup, so you drive into the parking space, press the button and the carousel takes the car down into the basement level and the car is shuffled around on a series of pallets into a vacant bay for which you are given a key code for car retrieval when you want to leave.
However, the parking is in the basement but the way the carousel works is just in a circular motion in one direction so it actually goes up travelling round in a circle until the car arrives in the basement.
Back to the day in question, I meet the boss, nip into the shop next door for a bottle of water while he parks his car. Literally 2 minutes later I come out of the shop to find a crowd of people looking at a lump of mangled metal on the floor. It appears that my boss has driven his Honda Jazz into the parking bay, jumped out and pressed the button to park the car while he's talking with another colleague. The sticky thing is, he forgot to close the car door, so the carousel starts rotating and taking the car up and promptly shears off the car door completely. My boss being next to useless with anything mechancial doesn't see/recognise the emergency stop button and so the carousel goes on its merry way with him screaming "stop stop" at the top of his voice, unfortunately it wasn't voice activated
It sounds unlikely but is 100% true and the story is legendary within our company.
The car was a write off as the forces shearing the door off had twisted the body and chassis beyond repair.
This guy is well known within the company for being a horrendous driver and absolutely terrible with cars. To the point nobody would passenger with him more than once, and he was not allowed to drive company cars.
So, we are in Japan at our headquarters, I'm on a business trip with the boss. I arrive at the office by train (I made the mistake of letting him drive me one time, never again), the boss arrives in his Honda jazz.
To explain the layout a little, our head office is in Yokohama where car parking is limited and very expensive. At the head office we have a carousel type automated parking setup, so you drive into the parking space, press the button and the carousel takes the car down into the basement level and the car is shuffled around on a series of pallets into a vacant bay for which you are given a key code for car retrieval when you want to leave.
However, the parking is in the basement but the way the carousel works is just in a circular motion in one direction so it actually goes up travelling round in a circle until the car arrives in the basement.
Back to the day in question, I meet the boss, nip into the shop next door for a bottle of water while he parks his car. Literally 2 minutes later I come out of the shop to find a crowd of people looking at a lump of mangled metal on the floor. It appears that my boss has driven his Honda Jazz into the parking bay, jumped out and pressed the button to park the car while he's talking with another colleague. The sticky thing is, he forgot to close the car door, so the carousel starts rotating and taking the car up and promptly shears off the car door completely. My boss being next to useless with anything mechancial doesn't see/recognise the emergency stop button and so the carousel goes on its merry way with him screaming "stop stop" at the top of his voice, unfortunately it wasn't voice activated
It sounds unlikely but is 100% true and the story is legendary within our company.
The car was a write off as the forces shearing the door off had twisted the body and chassis beyond repair.
Cooky
Member
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2012
- Messages
- 41
- Car
- C220
Polishing a scratch out of a Zafira Realised it was getting and bigger Had polished right through the micron thin layer off paint through to the primer Good old T-cut! Dope!
BIG Sean
Active Member
The winner!
This has got to be the best!
NOT A CAR .....but......Back in the early eighties I had just serviced my Ducati 860GTS and was marveling at the front cylinder rocker valve movement while annoying the neighbours with my straight through pipes in my Dads Garage when the allen screw in my mouth fell out. I went to grab it, only to divert it into the valve cover where it promptly smashed its way through the head. No engine damage but a big 50p size hole in the top of the cylinder head cover. Went to pull the battery lead off as it was loosely fitted to stop the engine only to create a spark large enough to ignite the carb fumes on the upright cylinder which in turn blew up the battery showering me, the Garage and my bike frame, side covers and tank in battery fluid.
Result was a big ugly hole welded up on the front pot once removed and rebuilt, a new battery, complete respray of tank, side panels and part of the frame. Huge hole rotted away on my leather jacket arm and shoulder and banned from working in Dads garage unless it was snowing.
I still ride a Ducati and still marvel at that engine and it's sound.
This has got to be the best!
