Mark,
There must be something about YWs...
You reminded me of the time a friend of mine (also driving a VW) turned up
my parents driveway, also at about 15 MPH. When he went to hit the brake, a
paint can rolled out from under his seat and interfered with the brake
pedal. The impending collision with the car that was already in the
driveway must have given him the brute strength to get enough pedal to stop
the car safely... but only by a few inches!
Then there was the time a few years ago I went to look at an MGTC that was
for sale. The car was stored at a hanger at a small rural airport. The
owner had boasted about all the things that had been rebuilt on the car,
though I was a bit dissapointed with what I saw. We decided to take a
little spin on the tarmac. Since we would only be in the parking lot and
thinking it was safe, I climbed into the passenger seat and put my 6 yr old
son on my lap. By the time we reached to other side, I realized the owner
was pumping the brakes but wasn't getting any results. Then I realize were
about to go over an embankment. Just at that moment, he made a quick right
turn in the grass, catching a low hanging tree branch that brought us to a
stop. My son and I got out and walked back to the hanger... and no I didn't
buy this "rebuilt" wonder.
Gerard
At 8:15 AM -0500 2/17/01, IfixMGs@aol.com wrote:
>Keith's VW ride reminded me of the dark green mid 50s Beetle that my
>neighbor/coworker drove. I caught a ride home with him ONCE.... guy drove
>like a batouttahell and yanked back on the Ebrake yelling "Whoa Horse, Whoa!"
>in a cheesy impression of Yosemite Sam... Scary ride, scary guy....
> The memory is one of the ultra vivid deja vu variety that I witness
>every so often when I see a 2 car garage.....
> Now, I can see that his brake pedal is hard as a rock, way up high,
>and I explain maybe when we get to my house we can check out the the brakes
>to see if he has a frozen master cyl or just a stuck pedal..... "Oh" says the
>guy... he thought VW brakes were cable actuated and that pulling the
>handbrake made it easier for the pedal to work. His dad once told him that
>all "OLD" cars had cable brakes....
> We pull into my driveway at about 15 miles an hour, and he hauls up on
>the e-brake - and sure as hell, the handle comes off in his hand. Good thing
>we went through the garage door on the side that housed my brand new, two
>week old 71 Boss 302 Cougar Eliminator.... If he had picked door #2, God
>forbid, he might have damaged the only intact piece of sheet metal on a
>totalled MGA that I was stripping. At least he had insurance. Yeah...he had
>insurance like he had brakes. The Cougar only needed a new rear deck spoiler
>- about $250 - and he was broke.
> He offered the Beetle instead of me having to wait on a ten dollar a
>payday plan. I redid the brakes, tarted it up a bit, and drove it for a
>couple years. Hit a pothole one day, and the rear of my seat went through
>the floor pan. There I was at 30 mph looking thru the sunroof, butt nearly
>dragging on the ground, and I couldn't find the brake pedal. Pulled up on the
>E brake and about a half second later stopped like an F-1 car.... I had run
>smack into the thick rubber bumper on a city bus that must have just started
>pulling away from a stop, because it kept on going..... I decided that twice
>is charmed. Glued a sheet of plywood to the pan, remounted the seat and sold
>that piece of....er, passed the legacy along....
> They just don't make old cars like they used to.
> Mark Childers
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