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Old 12 Aug 2003, 09:14 (Ref:685938)   #1
Maisie
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Maisie should be qualifying in the top 10 on the grid
Meatball flag!

Ever seen someone driving along who desperately needs to have the black and orange "meatball" flag (the one which says you have a mechanical problem which you may not be aware of) waved at them?

For example, a few weeks back I was following a Vauxhall Corsa with blue smoke coming from the back wheel and a nasty smell of brakes. Also, this morning I was behind a boy racer Fiat Punto - twin exhaust, blacked out rear lights, nice shiny alloys, and rear wheel camber like this ... | \ - not good! I did get alongside him briefly and caught his eye, but the lights changed and off he went. He looked about 15. Does anyone else find it worrying that so many people are driving round apparently without a shred of mechanical sympathy? How can you not notice your brakes are stuck on? Or that your wheel's at a peculiar angle?

Anyone else have any horror stories of times you've seen mobile disasters?
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Old 12 Aug 2003, 09:47 (Ref:685978)   #2
Dani Filth
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Dani Filth should be qualifying in the top 5 on the gridDani Filth should be qualifying in the top 5 on the gridDani Filth should be qualifying in the top 5 on the grid
maybe its a new trend
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Old 12 Aug 2003, 20:41 (Ref:686595)   #3
garcon
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Didn't see it myself, so it could be an urban rumour, but I did hear of the time some old dear was trundling down the M62 and only realised she'd lost a wheel when it rolled serenely past her down the hill...

(Mind you, Marcus Gronholm only found out he'd lost a wheel when it came to trying to stop at the end of the stage... )
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Old 12 Aug 2003, 21:17 (Ref:686625)   #4
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I have seen the same type of things here on the roads in the US. My personal experience was having a heavy equipment trailer vacate the ball of my father's pick up while going down a hill in San Francisco. I looked in the mirror, and the tounge of the trailer was trying to pass me on the drivers side. So I decided that the safety chains were probably no longer attached and let it go. It continued on down the hill, across a bridge, and then made a sudden right turn and jumped the curb, went through a merge ramp jumped another curb and creamed a fire hydrant. The problem was that the street I was on turns into a freeway at that point so I had to go down it, turn around, come back past the scene, turn around again, and get back to it. The fire department showed up and I had to help them get the trailer off the shutoff valve access cover (while standing in a river of cold water from the fire hydrant that came up to my waist) so they could shut off the water. At any rate, it was a huge mess, and the bill for the repair of the hydrant ran 2500.00 USD or so (this was in 1987). It turned out that the rental yard that I had got the trailer from didn't check the ball size on my truck when they hooked it up (it was too small) and then on top of that the s-hooks at the ends of the safety chains completely straightened out under the load when the trailer came off. So that is my automotive mishap story. By the way, I still have the cast iron ball that was on top of the hydrant (it got knocked off in the impact and I found it about 100 feet up the road) and I like to check it out occassionally and think to myself, whew that was close. Robert
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Old 12 Aug 2003, 21:54 (Ref:686664)   #5
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Wow! I don't think any of us can beat that- at least I hope no-one can
I saw a Mk2 Cavalier in front of me on the M1 with sparks flying from it's rear right, it was dark so I coudn't make out what was going on until I saw his rear right wheel bouncing alongside him. At this point I was wondering with whether to watch the car or the wheel (I was in an open top car so a boucing wheel could have been lethal!)I lost track of the wheel so I watched the car instead as he guided it over three lanes of traffic and onto the hard shoulder without so much as a twitch.

One morning on the way to Luton a Fiesta 100 yards in front of me span off the road for no reason (Clear morning, noit much traffic, dry road) I stopped to see if the driver was ok, he said 'It just locked up...' then, after a quick look around the car, he carried on up the motorway.
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Old 13 Aug 2003, 07:35 (Ref:686870)   #6
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Re: Meatball flag!

Quote:
Originally posted by Maisie
For example, a few weeks back I was following a Vauxhall Corsa with blue smoke coming from the back wheel and a nasty smell of brakes.
Having actually driven for about 10 miles with a seized rear caliper and resulting brake fire, I can vouch for the fact that in a fairly powerful car, it is not easy to spot. I also know of one instance at Donington where a chief I/O drove a closing lap with the handbrake on........

But funnily enough, last night I was behind a Maestro (sorry Maisie) that was trailing plumes of oil smoke causing a nice build up of black oil on the back of it's hatchback and my bonnet and windscreen.
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Old 13 Aug 2003, 10:40 (Ref:686984)   #7
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I once bought a 1972 Vauxhall Viscount (anyone remember them? 3.3, auto, weighed a ton) and was driving it home when the throttle linkage disintegrated causing the car to accelerate, I was on a dual carriageway about 6 miles and 3 roundabouts from home so I tried to keep the old monster under control using the break's and slipping it into neutral, got to the last roundabout suffering total brake fade, engine screaming so I turned off the ignition and promptly lost brake servo and more challengingly (as the brakes were shot anyway) the power steering! Just about got home in one peice, but I alway's felt the car had a malevolant streak after that!
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Old 13 Aug 2003, 12:40 (Ref:687088)   #8
Neil C
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I have a story similar to Noisy Boy.

A friend and fellow Formula Ford campaigner was making the usual late night drive from Minneapolis to the Blackhawk Farms course in So. Beloit, Illinois. It was not uncommon to depart Thurs night to arrive at the track on Friday morning.

Somewhere in the middle of Wisconsin, about 2am, my friend was in "the zone" that's the mixture of fatigue, boredom and caffeine. He noticed something passing him on the left. His first realization was that the vehicle had no lights. His second reaction was that the vehicle was not motorized, but a trailer. His final realization, as the trailer bounded off into the ditch, was that the trailer was his. He correctly deduced that there were'nt too many other trailers with Merlyn Formula Ford race cars sharing the road at that time of night.

All ended well. The car was not damaged, in fact I bought it from him the next season (trailer not included). He was wide awake for the remainder of the drive, he said.

Last edited by Neil C; 13 Aug 2003 at 12:42.
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Old 13 Aug 2003, 12:42 (Ref:687094)   #9
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Imagine having a race-car that's faster than you when you aren't in it!

No wonder he sold it....
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