R.I.P. - Pinky

[John_W]

Monty,<br>thanks, now I get it. I didn't realise that the "tops" was a place (presumably up in the moors). <br><br>Chris,<br>as to your greasy conditions theory, yes it sounds plausible. Plus the ingrained remains of all the salt which the roads people throw down attracts and holds moisture on the road. Add a low sun (if any), temperatures which have no chance of evaporating salty water, and a nice film of diesel and you get the reason my car's staying in the garage.<br><br>John

[Paul.P]

So what were really saying ( with all this diesel about ), is its all these dirty old lorries on the road !

[clemo]

if your going to replace the seat and get new belts some of the corbeau / sparco racing seats with full harness's (as used in world rally for older wider blokes like carlos saints) are damn fine looking. from online carnoisseur or demon tweeks or those that advertise in the back of autosport ... i would wonder as to the head hight fitting but you could probably sell your own seats and that would go a fair way for fianancing the new ones..<br><br>as i wrote on the early pages as well it is quite concerning that high back seats can produce such a wack..

[Nige]

Monty,<br><br>Been a bit distracted with work things and only just noticed this thread.  Bl**dy h**l!  Delighted to hear you're ok but sorry about your car.<br><br>Nige

[Stef]

Hmmm.  So what's the deal with these dampners wotsits?<br><br>How much are they and to get fitted?  I've had 2 180's due to a twitchy rear on greasy roads now and I don't want any more.

[Michael]

Hi Monty,<br><br>Sorry man! Did not realize what had happend.<br>Hope your health will be OK soon and that the insurance will make it possible to get another Elan.<br><br>Now to some postings:<br>Yours:

Now there`s a thought, cause the front suspension was very stiff, even on it`s lowest setting. It was kinda weird were i lost it, as before replacing the wishbones/dampers (last year) when I first got the car use to hammer her around those corners on the tops/country lanes with no problems and those wishbones were rotten (which i didn`t know) back then if u remember. So what i`m saying is with what ever dampers CN`s put on the rear and the AVO`s on the front has that upset the balance of the car

<br>Mine, in another thread:

I suggest you make an appointment at a workshop with a damper tester together with another elanist who has OEM dampers that are still in very good working order. <br> <br>Have these ORM dampoers tested first and set your new AVO dampers closest to the OEM damper test results. <br>Warning. This might take some time. <br> <br>After that, drive the Elan yourselve in the OEM equiped car and in the new AVO car and make a choice whether you prefer a harder or softer setting.  <br> <br>While trying changes beware!  <br>The very stable roadholding character of the Elan can change dramatically in terms of extreem understeer to abrubt oversteer. This can catch you as a surprise when driving on the limit with nasty results.............  

<br>Yours:

To late mate  

<br>I guess part of what what happend is that the balance of the car did get upset to a level that the limit was reached earlier then in the OEM settings.<br>It's also possible that your choosen setting was better then the original OEM and as a result you were going much faster then you would have done in the original setup. Correcting oversteer in a front wheel driven car at high speed levels is known to be more difficult then in a rear wheel driven car.  <br><br>@SY<br>About year ago I posted an item about the seat safety.<br>Being quite tall I wondered if the back of the seats were nog to low to prevent whiplashes.<br><br>After Monty's nasty experience I will also start looking for alternatives. <br>Maybe seats from another car(Honda Civic, Toyota MR-2) , maybe a change to the original seats while considering a new leather trim.<br><br>Maybe we open a new thread for safety items?

[Monty]

Thanks Micheal,<br><br>Still not sure why, but could be several things. When i went to see the car the N/S front tyre was flat  :-/ something on the suspension could of broken  :-/. I wasn`t going over the speed limit, and when i said a slight bend, well this week i went past there and it`s more of a bend than i remember. So changing lane on that bend upset the car, but don`t know if it was all down to me or the suspension set up. As the rear suspension would of done well at the monster truck show  ::) once i get the car back i will have a good look

[Michael]

@ Monty<br><br>Off course the accident can be caused by a lot of other things. I sure hope we shall all be able to learn from the outcome in the end.<br>Maybe the tyre pressure in one of your rear wheels was wrong?<br><br>The theorybook learns that (a.o.) stiffening of the rear suspension and/or a thicker rear stabilizer reduces the understeer effect, on a front wheel driven car like the Elan that is.<br>I guess that, when driving on the limit, it's a thin line from reduced understeer and a neutral character to sudden uncontrolable oversteer?<br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>

[Monty]

Nearly got pinky back yesterday (Friday) but the insurance failed to Fax a letter to the recovery place, so they wouldn`t release the car. I won`t have time Monday, so hopefully it will be Tuesday, but i still don`t know how much the insurance want for the salvage  :-/ spoke to the engineer who went out to look at pinky, he hadn`t done his report but looking like a Cat C and reckons it could be repaired  :o it would need a complete new front, which would cost the earth for new parts. I`ll keep u up to date.

[timmo]

Blimey Mate - I have only just read this!!!!!<br><br>I can't add any more, just glad you are in one bit. It would be harder replacing your front end rather than Pinkys. <br><br>Good luck with the repairs and all.<br><br>Tim<br><br>

[Monty]

Well Pinky is home, it`s heart breaking looking at her :'( Had to put the space saver on the front N/S, so had a look at the suspension, all the bolts are fine the wishbone is bent but the damper looks ok. Got the engine started but pissed the oil out cause the Oil cooler was ripped off. Managed to get the car to the back of the house. So i can`t do nothing now until the insurance has paid out ::) i think the chassis is bent out of shape as the roof doesn`t line up correctly and top of the passenger window is 1/2" away from the A pillar.<br>here`s a couple of pics:-

[timmo]

<br><br>Still , looks like access is better now for all those fiddly jobs!!

[Michael]

AAAAAArrrggghhhh........<br>[smiley=schnikies.gif] [smiley=yikes.gif]<br><br>I sure hope you'll be able to put it right again Monty.<br>Best of luck!<br><br>

[Darren]

:'( :'( :'( RIP Pinky  :'( :'( :'(

[Stef]

Would be nice to know she can live again.<br><br>You think she will?  Looks like it's possible but would it be economical?  WTF am I saying??!!   Economical??!!  It's all economical when she's yer baby!  ;)<br><br>Bless her.<br><br>All the best mate  :)