has anyone ever been in an accident involvong a classic mini? what happened?

 

I was gonna turn left from a left-turn lane and an opposing driver in the other left-turn lane got tired of waiting behind the guy at the light and shot out from behind him, passing him on the right, attempting to go straight - - - straight into me. The Mini was basically a bathtub with wheels and protected me and my passenger as the front sheetmetal got wrapped around the engine block. I got thrown forward hitting my head on the windshield and knees on the parcel tray but I was fastening a new nose and fenders to the body as the bruises healed.

I was sitting at a light in the right lane with a longhaul semi to my left; he was lost downtown and thought he could get un-lost by making a right-hand turn - - - turning into me as the light changed. His nose hit my Mini just aft of the b-pillar and pushed me right up onto the curb. The mini was unhurt - not even a crease - but needed an alignment.

good times, good times .....

 

I have a friend who was rear-ended by a pizza guy. I won't tell all the details...only he could do that...but his wife wound up on the floorboard w/ a broken collarbone. Obviously, some serious work needed to be done on the rear of the car. Mini and wifey were are all better now, thankfully.

 

I got rear-ended by a taxi. Pushed me out into traffic (fortunately I had space to accelerate and not get t-boned as well).
I was fine, it broke the boot hinges so my boot lid fell off.

In another Mini, I was turning left and had the lug bolts on the left front wheel break. Wheel went down the hill, Mini stopped REALLY fast. No injuries except to the brake caliper.

 

I saw these earlier in the year on another board. I don't know details, but it looks like the mini was T-boned by the Toyota.

 

wow, i wonder if anyone was hurt. what else is interesting about those pics is the amount of damage our little cars did to the truck.

 

 

you can say that again. ouch!

 

Marc Bowlan, of the stoopid awesome group T-Rex who had such hits as Bang a Gong (Get it on) and Metal Guru, was killed in a classic (I guess it wasnt a classic at the time of accident) Mini.......


RIP Marc...

Ryan

 

found some details on this on a marc bolan website (you can find anything on this internet thingy... thanks al gore! )

...on September 16th, 1977, Marc and Gloria were returning home in the wee hours of the morning from a club. Gloria was at the wheel as Marc, despite his love for cars, had never learned to drive. On a tight curve in Barnes Common, Gloria lost control of the car which left the road and hit a tree. Just weeks short of his 30th birthday, Marc Bolan was killed instantly...

 

How do I feel about the possibility of an accident in my classic?



perhaps the best use of the smiley ever

As soon as I got my 79 and looked at the true construction, I knew why they were illegal to import as regular vehicles in US.

In a collision with a Vespa, I'm not sure I'd come out on top. A Vega is a Hummer as compared to a MK3.

As a former motor cycle rider, using same to commute in Miami ( ) I'd say I'm even MORE self conscious today in the 79 .....

Don't bother asking about the level of protection....there's NONE. My Safety Devices roll cage is NOT for looks. And I do NOT count on it as ENOUGH protection.

If I get whacked in "Orange Crate" .... I figure I'm Post Toasties...

 

I heard she lost control because the car had been improperly fitted with new tires and wheels and not balanced properly.

 

I don't think almost ANY old European car is going to keep you very safe against today's vehicles, especially large American vehicles. Nothing against the design of the cars, but safety wasn't on the top of the priority list when making those cars, some I would consider art. I would be VERY careful driving one especially as a daily driver or on a trip.

 

I T-boned a van that ran a light in my 1st '67 S. Threw the van across the street, over the curb & toppled the signal light. popped both my headlights, buckled the bonnet a bit, put a small dent in the radiator bent the dog-bone & broke the dist. cap. The van looked like an accordian, buckled from both sides with a large hump in the floor. I coughed up a bit of blood after using the large stock steering wheel as an airbag, but checked out fine.

A month later I drove it from Texas to San diego on up the coast to SanFran. & back home. The photo is in Arizona or NewMex.

 

My then-teenaged brother-in-law, Michael, was in his new CR/B '67 Austin Cooper S, with a buddy riding shotgun, and my future hubby laying down in the back seat. Michael was driving through Bel Air, having fun in the twisties of Bellagio Road, when he came around a tight turn near the West Gate, hit a big puddle of water, and rolled the Cooper S! None of them were injured!

Michael called their dad, who came right over, the four of them lifted the Cooper back onto its wheels, and it drove home just fine. In order to repair it, he bought another Mini for parts, fixed the bent top, scraped side, replaced most of the windows, which had blown out, and sold it. Still misses it to this day, too!


Clover