Huge fail: reversed open door into garge

[austin_elan]

I might get the 2013 prize for stupidest fail: I didn't close my door and reversed out of the garage crunching the door into the steel upright. Door hinges are done, the front quarter panel is cracked and the wing (front clamshell?) has a minor cosmetic tear. Let's not even think about A-post damage yet . At a minimum it's going to be a new door and quarter panel, but perhaps more.......

Any one got an idea of availability and cost of drivers doors in the US and a good fiberglass repair shop in the north east?

[HJ2]

Auch!

[Brit-Car-Nut]

Rich: you have an email...

[lotos]

I once forgot to open my garage door once and backed into it (from inside the garage). Not in the Elan, but wanted to commiserate with you.

[Brit-Car-Nut]

OK, The Ultimate Screw-up:

A LONG time ago...

Flat towed (chain with a spacer pipe) a TR4 200+ miles from seller to home because it didn't have any brakes. Pulled up on the street in front of our house and threw in a battery and the car started right up. Having been the "driver" of the TR4 during the tow, I completely forgot the brake issue (it was 4 hours later).

The family garage - and my workshop - was a fairly new 4 car garage behind the house with a 150 foot paved driveway running along side the house.

I jumped in the TR4 and was in second gear, 3/4 of the way down the driveway, before I remembered why we towed the car in the first place. I drove thru the center support between two roll-up doors, creamed an MGB-GT project (that turned out to be the model for the US MGB Limited Edition) that was behind the door, pushing it into the back wall and moving the entire garage 3 inches out of plumb with the footings.

Just like the old-time movies where they drove jalopies thru barns and such, there was a lot of noise and wood pieces flying all over the place. Needless to say, my dad was not amused as the garage was only around a year old at the time. We rebuilt the support, replaced the destroyed door, bought new front wings for the MGB-GT but never jacked the structure back into square on the footings. Many years later, when selling the family home, the garage became an issue as it failed the buyer's inspection due to sitting crooked on the footings. The remaining family was spread across the US at that point, so it was cheaper to have the garage demolished than jack it and re-set it on the footings. The garage survived 45+ years and 20+ car rebuilds after the drive-thru, but building laws had to be followed so the house could be sold.

[lotos]

If you ever get a time machine, hide out in the bushes and film that and post it here. Be sure to hide a mic inside the Triumph so we can hear you cursing.

[niall]

That sounds most unfortunate. I suppose with the benefit of hindsight, you might have aimed into the bushes etc. or tried harder to get it into reverse and stop it on the clutch! I assume that you were young at the time but aged quickly, courtesy of that experience.

[Brit-Car-Nut]

Yeah, there was no other place to put the car. The options would have had me hit the house, a huge tree or the garage and I was going really fast when the brake pedal went to the floor.

Sorry to go so far off topic. Anyone in the US have any advice / suggestions for Rich?

[austin_elan]

Guys, thanks for the commiserations. Insurance company have been phoned and we'll see what they say. I'm guessing they are not going to be too happy trying to find somewhere that fixes fiberglass cars.

John, thanks for your anecdote it cheers me up to know I'm not alone....