You want WAR STORIES...!!!???...was: RE: [Shotimes] Don't leave the SHOs behind

[George Fourchy]

On Thu, 2 Jan 2003 15:09:33 -0500, Ron Porter wrote:

>Is there anyone out there who got their license at
>16 and didn't either (1) total out a car, or (2)have a serious accident,
>before they were 25?

I got my license at 16, in late 1962, and had no accidents in my own car until I
understeered severely around a right hand corner in the mountains, in 1967, when I
was 20, with my '65 Mustang, and slid wide and clipped the back corner of a VW bus
going the other way.  Did less than $300 damage to my car, but the bus had a tear in
the side, where my headlight door got him, and he was more expensive to fix.  I was
running a set of the very first Firestone Wide Ovals, without belts (terrible
design), and they were all worn out in the center, so I was running them soft so
they'd wear on the outer ribs.  I was running about 20 pounds of air.  I wasn't
going fast, but it didn't take much with such soft tires.  Obviously I didn't know
much about tire pressures and their effects then.  But I learned quickly....got rid
of those cheapos and got some 7.75/14 Firestone Super Sport 500s which I ran at 40
psi....excellent performance tires for the day.  

A year or two before that, I backed the left front fender of my Mom's '63 Buick
LeSabre into a wooden stop sign pole and wrinkled it a bit.  The front wheels were
hard over in a turn, and I was backing out of a parking place.  The stupid sign was
right on the parking space line, and higher than the roof of the car, so I didn't
see it when scanning around...the pole blended into the background.  Excuses,
excuses!!  That cost about $250.   A guy in a Mercedes had just parked next to us,
and he came running back to see if his car was hurt!  

When I was a senior in high school, I barely missed REALLY messing up that Buick
when I flew over a bridge at 90 mph, got airborne, then slid through an intersection
(out in the country with no other traffic) onto a sandy farm road with the wheels
locked.  I was headed straight for a BIG power pole, when I realized that if I let
off the brakes, I might get steering....I did, and I missed the pole.  With a new
respect for speed, steering and brakes, I continued back at a more normal speed to
where I was going....a high school football game where I was one of the band members
to be called out off the field (after a halftime show) as a graduating senior....I
forgot the tassel to the hat of my band uniform.

In '66 or '67, my Dad's '61 Tbird was the victim of a stupid driver (No, not me, the
OTHER guy!) turning across my path on a two lane road, and I was going 65 or so.   
The suspension on that car was SO WORN (factory shocks...I had complained to him a
lot about them already), that I already knew that if I were to try to maneuver to
avoid him, I'd lose control, or come close, anyway.  So I just locked 'em up and
slid into him.  He had a '58 Ford Fairlane, full size, with the two huge taillights
on each side.  His massive rear bumper bent around 90 degrees and sliced a slot all
the way down that T-bird.  One foot farther over and I'd have missed him completely.
 My dad didn't have collision coverage, since he never thought he'd need it.  It
cost about $1G to fix that Tbird.  No one was hurt, so the other guy just said, go
home and call my insurance company....I was young and naive, so I didn't know any
different.  I went home and called the CHP...they said go back and they'd meet me
there...no infraction if I went back.  I did, they found the other guy, who lived
nearby, and he got charged with the accident.  He paid about $150 towards the
repair, and then disappeared.  The 'bird got new Gabriels while it was in the body
shop....much better!

There are probably more, but those come to mind.  I still haven't totaled anything,
or hurt anyone.  I used to leap that '65 Mustang all the time, when it had Koni
shocks....it was very well balanced, and always landed on all 4 wheels all at the
same time.  The Boss was nose heavy and wasn't near as stable inflight!  ;-)  I
stopped leaping it as soon as I found that out.

T-bird Turbos and SHOs (while I've had them*) and Trucks have been accident free
(knock knock) for the last umpteen years.  Here's hoping it stays that way.

George

*Lowrider got rear ended hard while ex had it....$7000 to fix.  It rearended someone
else while the drug guy had it....about $2500.  Worst I've done directly is banged
the teeth out of the front bumper cover over time...$1000 paid, used for new fogs
and other things.  I did get rear ended the first year I had it .... I caused that
one by stopping too quick (good job, antilock!) for the guys behind me....too bad
for them.  (I didn't do it on purpose, but I had to stop quick or hit the guy in
front of me.....!)