As the MidCal MINIs members at the event know, about a mile before the Turlock rest area on southbound HWY 99, a large coil spring came bounding out from the center divider directly in front of me. There was no time to dodge it and I ran over it. Well, there was no apparent damage and a quick look at the underside for leaks revealed nothing when we stopped at the rest area, so I continued on. I jacked the car up today for a better look and found quite a bit of damage. The left side of the plastic front skid plate is shreaded, some aluminum tabs on the bottom of the transmission are qouged, there is a gouge in the left part of the subframe, the left frame rail just inboard of the jack point is deeply gouged and the middle is bent upward for about six inches. The area under the driver's seat has a slight dent, but what's worse is the rear brake lines run there and are bent upward and one has a nasty gouge in it. The left gas tank has a gouge in the front edge and the battery skid plate is bent badly on the front left corner and badly bowed. So far my list of parts to replace are: front skid plate, rear underside brake lines, rear skid plate. It's amazing that nothing was damaged that immediately affected the operation of the MINI. The brake lines are my biggest worry. No leaks or loss of function, but I don't want to leave them that way. Ouch.

Steve

 

Bummer to hear about the damage - time for comprehensive claim on the insurance, no?

 

Reminds me of the time an 18-wheeler had a blow-out right in front of me. thought MY car had exploded when it went off.

Glad you are ok!

 

So will we still see you tomorrow?

 

I've been driving the car for a week with no problems so I will be on for tomorrow. I won't do insurance because I can't see more than $200 worth of parts and I can do the work myself. I replaced my malfunctioning bypass valve today and did the VGS mod. Tomorrow before the run I'll do my second oil change since I will hit 10,000 miles on the way down the hill to meet you guys. It seems like I've had at least one day a week of mods or repairs since I bought the MINI and I haven't had it four months yet. I've gone on a lot of nice runs, though.

Steve