Denise "I'm entitled to my opinion" Thorpe, asked for a story a while back.
Well, if it's a story you want:
Some years ago another couple, my wife, daughter and I decided to drive a TD
and my ZB Magnette
from Portland Oregon to Napa California to attend the Great Grape Safari hosted
be the Sorry Safari
Touring Society. Now my wife was decidedly against having a CB radio, but my
friend with the TD
convinced me that having communications between cars was important. So I
acquired a CB and
installed it in the Magnette with out saying anything to the wife. I didn't
turn it on until we were well
out of town just to be safe. Talk about a frosty atsmophere!
It was well after dark and we were in Northern California when the TD had had
enough of this
nonsense and decided to run with a very pronounced miss. After discussing
options over the radio we
decided to proceed to the next rest area and attempt a roadside repair. When we
pulled into the rest
area, there sat another MG enthusiast in his pickup with flashlight, tools and
a desire to be of any
assistance he could. The problem turned out to be a loose breaker plate in the
distributor. Once
securred and the points regaped, we were on our way. The atsmophere was
decidedly less frosty!
The Great Grape Safarri was a blast! Rallye, Tour & Wine Tasting, Car Show.
etc. After a delightful
weekend, it was time to return home. It was decided to go up Hwy 101 rather
than I 5 since were
were in the Napa valley anyway. Once again it was well after dark and we were
somewhere in
Northern California. I was leading with the ZB and was right out on the edge of
radio range. We had
just cleared one of the little towns along hwy 101 when my friend came on the
air. He was all excited,
something about running over a door in the middle of the road and rapidly
loosing power. Now we
had just covered that same strech of road and there was no door in the road!
I pulled over to wait for the TD to catch up. Over the rise behind us I could
see the TD. I could tell it
was the TD by it's headlights. Right behind it was another car flashing it's
brights on and off. My friend
could not see this, having no rearward vision due to a trunk on the luggage
rack. When he went by all
I could see was flames! I radioed him that he was on fire and you never saw a
TD come to such a
quick stop! Neither did you ever see two people evacuate a TD in such a hurry!
It turns out that it was not a door in the middle of the road he had hit but an
inner spring mattress! It
wasn't there just minutes before - I swear! Anyway the mattress had hung up on
the TD's exhaust
system and had ignited by heat, friction, or a combination of both and burning
away right underneath
the gas tank. We each had fire extinguishers which knocked the fire down but
not entirely out. We
managed to separate the TD from the mattress but, we were now left with this
smoldering mess. As
usual, California was in the middle of a drought. So we couldn't just drive off
and leave it. I got back
on the radio and raised a local citizen who notified the highway patrol. Once
the officer arrived he
called out the fire department to take care of the problem.
The rest of the trip home was uneventful and needless to say the wife's
attitude about CD radio's was
forever changed.
By the way, from that time on, my friends CB Handle became Mattress Killer!
Dick :>)
Have MG will travel
|