Doug,
Sorry to hear about your accident and I'm glad you will survive despite
the trauma. Here is a possible solution to the problem and perhaps a
way to keep that from happening again:
One guy I know uses nylon cable ties to secure the prop rod at car shows
to keep that from happening. But if he runs out of them he's out of
luck. My solution is a bit more complex but reusable.
If you remove the prop rod temporarily, you can install a sleeve that
will slip down over the connection of the two rod pieces and keep them
in the extended (up) position. The sleeve is a piece of "shrink-wrap"
tubing that is large enough to fit over the connection and the eyelet on
the bonnet section of the rod. Before installing the tubing, wrap a few
turns of electrical tape around the entire area where the sleeve will
ride. This will keep it from shrinking to the point where it does not
slide easily. Lubricate the tape with grease and then shrink the tube
with a paint stripper hot air gun and when it is cool, slip it off the
connection and remove the tape.
Finally, when you open the bonnet; you can slip the sleeve over the
connection of the two rod parts and gravity will hold it in place.
And while you are recovering from your mishap, please visit the Spitfire
Database Web Site and get that MkIV registered. THe URL is:
http://home1.gte.net/spitlist/index.html.
Regards,
Joe Curry
Douglas Shook wrote:
>
> We have been discussing "Moto-Darwinism" (or how one has stupidly abused
> oneself while using/working on things British) on the Brit-Iron
> newsgroup, and after posting this experience of mine, I thought it
> actually might help someone here avoid a similar scenario. Feel free to
> laugh at my stupidity, though.
>
> **********
> How about working on the engine of a 72 Triumph Spitfire outdoors on a
> blustery day? If you recall, the entire front-end of the vehicle hinges
>
> and opens up like a clam to expose the engine, front suspension, tires,
> etc. While busily working on the carburetor, the wind was blowing
> against the propped-up front of the car, working it up and down a bit
> against the prop rod. While I was bent over the engine removing the
> carburetor, the wind "suspended" the front end of the car just long
> enough to let the prop rod "fall away."
>
> This, of course, caused the entire front-end to come crashing down on
> the back of my unsuspecting head, forcing my face into the windshield
> wiper motor and associated sharp electrical parts.
>
> I only figured out this happened once I "came to" in the dark (I now was
>
> pinned under the closed hood of the Spitfire). I don't know what hurt
> most, the karate chop to the back of my neck where the hood struck me
> from behind, or the multiple lacerations I had on my forehead from where
>
> it subsequently struck the wiper motor.
>
> Once I pulled myself free from my self-imposed vermin trap, I realized
> that I was in dire need of some stitching work on my head. But, of
> course, I was home alone, and had removed the carburetor by then. So, I
>
> had to reassemble everything before I could drive it down to the
> doctor's office to seek medical attention. The reassembly work
> progressed rather slowly as I had a very difficult time seeing what I
> was doing from all the blood flowing into my eyes from the forehead
> lacerations. Using shop towels to wipe away the blood turned out not to
> be the best idea, either.
>
> By the time I could drive to the medical office, a good deal of time had
>
> transpired, and our family doctor greeted me his normal cheery
> salutation of "Why didn't you just wait until it rotted off?"
>
> By this time, my head had swollen enough so that it was impossible for
> the doctor to deaden my forehead (no circulation he said, but I think he
>
> was trying to punish me fore being so stupid -- he had to comment on the
>
> previous creosote and gravel experience). Nonetheless, he proceeded to
> sew up my head without deadening it, but he did give me a leather strap
> to bite down on while he plunged that curved needle repeatedly into my
> forehead.
>
> I drove home after that visit with a tremendous pain in the back of my
> neck, a pounding headache, a forehead that felt (and looked) like it had
>
> been repaired with a pneumatic nail gun. To add insult to the various
> and many injuries I had incurred, the Spitfire ran very poorly as the
> carburetor still was in dire need of a rebuild.
>
> It is, of course, very difficult hiding a forehead that looks like four
> or five different rail road tracks had been imprinted on it, so I had
> the "pleasure" of explaining to just about everybody I encountered, just
>
> how I had managed to inflict this type of damage to myself.
>
> I also was very wary of working under the hood of that Spitfire after
> this unique adventure.
>
> doug
> B50SS advocate
--
"If you can't excel with talent, triumph with effort."
-- Dave Weinbaum in National Enquirer
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