Challenger Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 Well I was at a local parking lot car show. Alot of rat rods, muscle cars, hot rods, etc. Then I see it, a 73 240z! I waited till the owners came out of the Steer Inn and asked about the car, told him I had a 78... Pops the hood and it has a AZC 4 bbl intake and a nice chromed header. Reaches in the window to start it, (mean while I look at the shifter and notice its not in the center, looks to the left and forward, and the e brake isnt on... Didnt say anything. Once it starts it takes off headed for the row of very very nice show cars. The owner, his wife and an older friend of mine are all reaching in the drivers side trying to turn the wheel (down the open isle rather than into the cars) or turn off the car. Meannnwhile I run around the other side and pull it out of first and pull the ebrake. The man left promptly and jokingly said "ive embarrased myself now, see you in a few weeks" I could imagine the damage that would have been done, there were some NICE cars there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BurnoutZ Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 Was it automatic?! Did he press the clutch? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cygnusx1 Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 Nice save! Similar thing happened at the local car show a few weeks ago. This young kid, way to young to be driving, is tooling around on a hemi powered bar stool. Yes, it's a fully worked, chromed out, open pipe hemi V8 with go-kart wheels and a seat over the carburetor. It has quad style handle bars. Basically, it's a hemi on an engine stand that you can drive around. Anyway, some irresponsible person has let this kid rip this fire breathing "vehicle" around the car show where there are about 1200 cars, each with an average value of $30. Anyhow the kid drives the hemi-stool up on a small 30 foot high grassy hill, overlooking the car show. He parks it, shuts it off and apparently never set the brake or left it in gear. It starts to roll slowly down the hill and this 100# kid is now standing in front of it on slippery grass trying to keep if from getting away. I was too far to do anything. It was a disaster in the making. He was losing the battle quickly and the hemi was about to roll down a 100' ramp into rows and rows of show cars, possibly with a young kid pinned to the front. As people began to notice, they ran up the hill and were able to help the kid out. It was VERY close to a major disaster, possibly ending this kids life. Accidents happen, usually due to a sequence of events that might not have looked like they were a series of mistakes, until it was too late. The kid was not scolded and continued to ride this thing like a maniac the rest of the evening. Where were the cops? Pulling over cars for little things like squeeling the tires and loud exhausts as they were leaving the show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YellowFever Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 I haven't accidentally started my Z in gear by reaching through the window to start it... but I have done something similar which almost resulted in a broken foot. I was working on the Z in the garage one evening last year. I don't remember exactly what I was doing, but I do remember that I had the distributor cap removed and I wanted to bump the starter to get to TDC on the timing mark. I went inside to ask my 10 year old son (Nick) to help me... he loves doing this kind of stuff. I put him in the driver's seat and gave him instructions. I never even thought to check if it was in gear... because I knew it wasn't going to start without the distributor cap! Anyway, I get positioned next to the front of the car and Nick gives the starter a good 1 second long bump... and the front tire rolls up on top of my foot and wedges against my ankle. I started hollerin' for him to stop (even though he HAD ALREADY STOPPED). I couldn't pull my foot free, and Nick was freaking out (unsure what to do, and probably scared he was gonna get in trouble). He couldn't reach the clutch pedal, so I told him to pull the gear shifter back into neutral. He did, but the car didn't budge... the damn e-brake was on. So now I'm coaching him on how to release the e-brake, but he just doesn't have the strength to lift the lever and press the button at the same time. The next directive that I gave Nick was to RUN inside, RUN upstairs, and bring my wife out to the garage to rescue me. While he was gone I started trying to get my foot free. Gently at first, cause I didn't want to hear any snapping, popping, or crackling. My foot started to come loose and I began to pull harder. Just before my wife burst through the garage door to save me I was able to yank my foot free. My foot was OK (sore, but unhurt), the Z didn't crash through the wall, and we all had a big laugh over how stupid Dad can be! Nick still helps me with the car work... but everytime I ask him to do something for me I always finish with "... and don't run over my foot!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gollum Posted August 7, 2008 Share Posted August 7, 2008 You know, I don't leave my car in gear half the time, but you know what? I still always check it before starting, even when the clutch is down. It's called habbit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Challenger Posted August 7, 2008 Author Share Posted August 7, 2008 Yeah anytime I start a stick I do the little shaky shaky thing to the shifter from left to right just to make sure its not in gear. But usually the sticks I drive have a sensor that doesnt allow them to start without the clutch depressed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvmy280zxt Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 Oh yea, well i got pissed off at my 81 zxt and kicked it real hard. Almost broke my big toe!!! Jus then it transformed into an autobot and kicked me back!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dat260 Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 Would there be a way to install a safety switch to prevent that, like what new cars have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.