Oh Bother!

[Nige]

Nige

Remember, you can decide who does the work. You do not have to use their recommended garage. They might not have any experience in fibreglass.

All the best, Gazza

Yes, thanks for that. One of the first questions I'll be asking in about 45 minutes or so is what experience they have with fibreglass. Mindyou there is very little damage to the panels with only the sill having fibreglass damage, the issue I suspect is how much of the bonded in steelwork is bent, hopefully none.

[rizla]

Hope you got on OK!

[niall]

Nige,
Was it the flat n/s tyre that caused the problem or was there also a kerb which it hit?

[Nige]

The tyre went down between getting the car home on Friday and getting the car out of the garage yesterday. As that wheel took some of the impact there is a lot of muck, stones and plant life firmly wedged between tyre and rim which is why it has gone down. There was no kerb involved fortunately and it was the a softish earth and grass verge I hit having already done a 180 which scrubbed a load more speed off.

The chap who looked at today from the garage the insurers have referred it to was confident it can be repaired, he then blew that by telling me he'd never seen an Elan before . His response to my questions about doing fibreglass work was "we've done some Elises". However, it was a thorough visual inspection, they will price up the repair and pass it to the insurers for a decision.

[niall]

That sounds like relatively good news.
I hope that they are capable of doing a proper job for you.
Best wishes

[Nige]

Repair has been referred to Woodville Stretton in Poole Website here. I'll see how it goes, they've certainly been around for a while.

[Specky]

Repair has been referred to Woodville Stretton in Poole Website here.

In Dorset...

Yeah recommend it to anyone...

TTFN

[Jackonicko]

How fast were you going, Nige, and what happened?

[Nige]

How fast were you going, Nige, and what happened?

Within the legal speed limit, that I am quite clear on. I know the road very well as it was my daily commute (in the NA and the S2 sometimes) for nearly 2 years the corner is one to be treated with a degree of caution and (even more now) respect. Gentle descent into tightish RH bend, country B road and 60MPH limit, goes to 20 MPH through a village a little further on. Braked in a straight line approaching the corner, no later or harder than would be normal on the road (I save the late, hard braking for the track) and I locked up, off the brakes, braked again, locked up again, had now run out of road. Car spun 180 across the road and LH side of car impacted RH verge of road, bounced, completed the 360 over the verge and stopped more or less facing the direction it started, rear of car on the verge, front of car on the wrong side of the road. Drove the same route today on a work trip, plenty of loose stuff on the road, (broken up surface leaves etc) and it was wet and greasy on Friday. No evidence on the road of the lock ups that I could see, but didn't stop to check as it would not be safe.

[inkitin]

Hope everything turns out well. Good luck with getting her back on the road.

Roland

[muley]

How fast were you going, Nige, and what happened?

Within the legal speed limit, that I am quite clear on. I know the road very well as it was my daily commute (in the NA and the S2 sometimes) for nearly 2 years the corner is one to be treated with a degree of caution and (even more now) respect. Gentle descent into tightish RH bend, country B road and 60MPH limit, goes to 20 MPH through a village a little further on. Braked in a straight line approaching the corner, no later or harder than would be normal on the road (I save the late, hard braking for the track) and I locked up, off the brakes, braked again, locked up again, had now run out of road. Car spun 180 across the road and LH side of car impacted RH verge of road, bounced, completed the 360 over the verge and stopped more or less facing the direction it started, rear of car on the verge, front of car on the wrong side of the road. Drove the same route today on a work trip, plenty of loose stuff on the road, (broken up surface leaves etc) and it was wet and greasy on Friday. No evidence on the road of the lock ups that I could see, but didn't stop to check as it would not be safe.

Nige

Sorry to hear about your mishap and relieved that you're OK. You'd be harder to fix than an Elan! Hopefully it can be fixed without too much grief

Rgds

Jim

[Jackonicko]

Bad luck.

I'm sorry that it was you and your car providing the rest of us with a salutory lesson.

[Nige]

Jim, we all went round that corner on our way to Haynes for the scoff a spin a couple of summers ago, maybe I know the road too well?

Jacko, I didn't know that responsibility came with the role!

Seriously, it does reinforce the thought that no matter how capable our cars are that capability is hugely dependant on thing we cannot change, only adapt to. I discussedit with a colleague today who drives the same route daily (in an MGF) first corner (the approach) 60MPH no problem, down the hill brake, down a gear and round the corner no problem. For whatever reason that formula didn't work. But I'm fine (apart from being p**sed off with myself) and I await to hear if the car can be fixed on the insurance or if I'll have to do it myself (as a bought back insurance write off).

[chris.t]

Thing is Nige, as we all know familiarity breeds contempt. They say a lot of accidents happen within 5 miles of where you live because you're not necessarily concentrating as much as you would do on unfamiliar roads.

Wasn't 'Zig-Zag' hill was it??? You do have some good roads round your way. I did Z/Z hill, up and down with some of the VX guys a few weeks back. Frankly I enjoyed the roads leading from and to the hill more.

[GeoffSmith]

A friend of my parents always reckoned that they got the most bodywork to do the first few times it rained after a long warm summer.

[Jackonicko]

From my biking days I'm afraid I've become a complete and utter poof if the roads are remotely wet or even damp - especially after a long dry period. They can just get so greasy so quickly, and with councils skimping on repairs and resurfacing, even A roads can be treacherous.

[chris.t]

A friend of my parents always reckoned that they got the most bodywork to do the first few times it rained after a long warm summer.

can't put it down to that then

[inkitin]

A friend of my parents always reckoned that they got the most bodywork to do the first few times it rained after a long warm summer.

That absolutely confirms my own experience.

For a number of years I travelled to/from work between North Manchester and Liverpool, along the A580 East Lancs Road. Travelling back from Liverpool, the link from the A580 on to the M60 starts with a fast sweeping left hand bend. You could almost guarantee after a long dry spell and then just a bit of rain there would be some vehicle or other smacked into the offside parapet. I reckoned it was a build up of dust during the dry spell that with just a little moisture became a very thin layer of fine mud.

Since then, just like Jackonicko, I've always been very careful when those conditions occur.

[MPx]

From my biking days .......

...and from mine, I was wondering if it was diesel? Diesel spills are a complete nightmare on a bike. All too often on a sharp corner overfilled commercial vehicle tanks slop diesel out. The next bit of rain gives the surface all the grip of an ice rink. Most bikers have been off due to diesel (often on roundabouts). There could well be plenty of the stuff on the road near a sharp corner and with the early morning wet that would have been lethal. Once in Peckam I was following a police car (driving not riding that day), and the car in front of him suddenly spun round...then the policeman spun and hit him... which fortunately gave me enough warning to do no worse than a short straight slide to avoid them. The cause was spilt diesel....

[Dave Eds]

Not uncommom around here - numpty delivers heating oil and doesn't turn his tap off properly before driving to next village!





Any news yet Nige?