Whats your scariest moment in a cal-look bug?
andrewlandon67:
Bringing up an old thread for fun. My scariest moment was in Sam's '63 a few years back. I was racing it for some reason and there were some intermittent gusts at the track, but the car felt pretty stable so I didn't think much of it. The first pass was alright, 14.3 or something like that, but I definitely felt some wandering around the top of the track. Not one to get scared, I pulled back around for the second run in the right-hand lane. Launch was good, the car felt good going through the 1/8th mile mark, but right as I crossed the 1000' line, a gust of wind pushed the car about 4 feet towards the centerline and blew a giant tumbleweed into my path. Given that the car is on skinny little front runners and has stock drums, all I could do was to let off and hope the car would keep steady as the weight settled back onto the nose. Luckily everything went fine, and once the sun went down the wind died with it, so I wound up clocking a 14.02, the fastest that particular combo ever went at Bandimere, and had the only pass I've ever lifted off for.
Flc:
Driving to work at 6.45am just getting used to my newly built, not run in yet, 1915, my first big valve head motor, w120 cam 44 idfs etc. early February, car was badly set up. No front sway bar ass in the air, cheap shocks. A camber compensator on order but not delivered yet. Driving through a built up housing area that led via a 90 degree bend into open fields, I got a little over confident in the corner and to much gas and the unseen black ice had the rear step out, I tried to stay in it but the back end came further round until I got off the accelerator and the car snap spun 180 degrees and hit a wall going backwards breaking the gearbox from its mounts, smashing the brake drum and tearing the rear wing off the car and almost the door too, car stuck in the middle of the road blocking traffic while I waited for the cops and tow truck to come. Absolutely gutted the car was mint pre accident but a complete write off now, spent 3 years and every penny building it. Lucky I wasn't hurt and the insurance covered the cost of the car and damage to the wall, and worse was, the compensator had arrived when I got home possibly would have avoided the accident had it been fitted. The corner it turns out is notorious for crashes and a BMW did the exact same later that same day! It's now had a grippy surface coating added at the spot too late to save my 67 tho 🤢😭 I spend more time on handling mods these days [ Attachment: You are not allowed to view attachments ]
Steve67:
my scariest moment: 12 years ago on the highway: A truck in front of me lost a truck a tire that was lying on the load bed. I had no chance to react and hit the tire at 100 km/h with my old 67. The cars front was lifted in the air, I could only see the sky :o
After the front wheels had road contact again I immediately stop at the side of the road and checked the car. Apart from a slightly bended anti-roll bar and some scratches nothing happend!
baz:
Towing my 70 og paint never bumped car on an A frame the night I got it delivered. Foggy as hell could hardly see beyond the bonnet of my car. Doing about 50 mph when out of the fog appears a huge round about. Hit the brakes and instantly went into a skid, car turned left first then to the right, hit the round about kerb with the right rear wheel of bug, then snapped back the other way and eventually came to a stop facing the wrong way on the round about with ferry traffic approaching in foggy darkness. Needed to get out of there fast, soon as I began to move I knew something was wrong but I had to get it off the road fast. I dragged us to the petrol station a half mile up the road and stopped there to assess the damage.
Broken right rear wheel, bent rear diagonal arm, wheel hitting wing, couldn't believe I had gotten away so lightly, then I checked the front, the bumper on left front had hit the rear of my car and it had pushed the buh bumper back into the wing and the wing was hitting the front wheel. Managed to pull the bumper and wing out enough to stop rubbing.
Continued home at 10mph with a squealing right rear wheel that was half flattened. Tire came off just before I pulled into my drive.
Managed to fix everything the next day but 2 wings still wear the scars after surviving 50 years untouched until the first day I got hold of it.
No more A framing for me
richie:
To many to choose just one :o :D ;D
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