A few pics of the midget:
http://home.comcast.net/~kvcbk/crash.html
They're big, but I just dumped them straight from the camera.
Looks like both fencers are dented, both wing windows are toast, and the
windshield is just hanging on by the stress rod. There's some denting on
the cowl near the winshield post holes. Other than that, the doors look
fine and still open and close decently. (Chuck, the rear panel was
untouched!) The electrics all still seem to work. I went to start it,
and the starter turns, but I get one "Rrrr", and then the engine doesn't
want to move. I suspect that one of the cylinders may have some fluid in
it (oil or coolant or something), but I'm not sure. Todays task is clean
up and putting a pait of rostyles on it so I can roll it back into the
yard.
As for what I was thinking as things were happening, I basically said
"Oh Shit" and tried to make sure I didn't hit a tree. I don't know if it
was because of my efforts or not, but I missed the trees. The landing
went quick for me. Our heads were touching the ground, but we didn't
hit. I didn't even think to duck. It was just dark, and I was hanging
upside down by the seat belt, and had a bit of trouble getting my leg
out from behind the steering wheel. It took several minutes to find the
door handle because upside-down was a bit disorienting. Once we crawled
out, it was shocking to think we had been under there. That, and I saw a
few future maintenance items (front diff seal is leaking, and the
drivers side outer sill has some rust perforation on the underside)!
Thanks for all the good wishes. We feel very lucky. I'll keep everyone
posted on when we'll be fixing the car. :)
-=Chris
<-----Original Message----->
From: Steven Michelsen
Sent: 9/9/2005 10:58:31 AM
To: cbking@alum.rpi.edu;spridgets@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: Rolled the Midget last night..
Chris,
REALLY GLAD to hear that you two were able to get out under your own
steam.
Your experience no doubt makes all of us take a long pause and consider
how
easy it is to get into a situation like that, as we merrily wind through
the
back roads in our little go-carts. I for one am reconsidering the
rollbar
idea myself.
As we all wonder how we would handle ourselves in a rollover if it ever
occurred, I gotta ask, as this was happening, did you say to yourself
(or
out loud), "it's time to duck", or was it all a blur, that ended with
you
looking up at the lawn?
Thanks for sharing what had to be a traumatic experience. But hey,
congratulations - being able to walk away from something like that and
tell
the tale the next day - wow. Glad you're both OK.
Steve
----- Original Message -----
From "Chris King"
To:
Sent: Friday, September 09, 2005 7:39 AM
Subject: Rolled the Midget last night..
> ... Kathy and I are fine. A few scrapes and bruised, but surprisingly
we
> were able to crawl out of the car oiurselves. I caught the edge of the
> road with the right tires, tried to pull the car back on the road, but
> overcompensated. We then spun, slid down the road sideways and onto
> someone's lawn, missing two trees in the process, where the tires dug
> in and the car rolled. I'm shocked we weren't killed. The seats and
the
> steering wheel kept the drivers side of the car up enough to get the
> door open to crawl out.
>
> Aside from all the glass being broken (all of it - we had the side
> windows up because it was a little chilly last night) and the
windscreen
> breaking from its mountings, the car is surprisingly intact, with a
> couple of dents on the right front fender the only body damage.
>
> I came away with a couple of things - first, it reinforces my belief
in
> seat belts. second, the next spridget WILL have a roll bar.
>
> I'm happy to be alive.
>
> -=Chris
>
> Chris King
> http://home.comcast.net/~kvcbk/
>
.
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