D'OH

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luxstang

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 23, 2010
Messages
6,624
Reaction score
101
Location
Luxembourg / Europe
My Car
1972 Mustang Convertible
Hi Guys,

So I was standing in front of that railway crossing and the gates did not open after the train had passed. Remember I'm a dispatcher with the railway company, so I know how fast those things are supposed to open.

So I decided to take different road to get home. For that, I had to back up a little and back into a field to turn the car around, as the road was too narrow to allow for a 72 Mustang to make a U-turn.

Basically a good idea, just in my case I did not know that the slope was narrower than the opening and that there was a ditch right beside it and so I ended up with the car lying flat on it's belly with the rear wheels hovering in the air!

Looked like this:

080.JPG

Front view:

081.JPG

I called friend of mine who works for the town for help and he told me to hang on, he'd be there in two minutes. Well it took him exactly 3 minutes to show up with a guy driving a shovel excavator. We hooked a heavy chain to the front of the car and pulled it out.

Exactly 6 minutes had passed in between the phone call and the car standing on the road on all fours again!!!!

I was lucky that neither my friend, nor the driver, nor the excavator were busy in some other part of town. They were all on standby at their headquarters. Otherwise, I'd have had to stand there for half an eternity.

Looks like no harm was done to the car. I did not heck in detail, but it looks good. The exhaust hasn't come loose, the rocker panels are ok, just a little grass and dirt stuck to the exhaust clamps.

I was lucky I guess.

By the way, needless to say the other guys standing in front of the gates had a good laugh at my expense........:mad:

Oh and the gates did not open for another 30 minutes I was told later!

 
if i did that it would be 400$ and i would be waiting around for hours.

I think your:

winning.jpg


 
Thanks for sharing Mike! (especially the pics)

Looks like you might wanna treat that tractor owner to a few cold ones!

It reminds me of the time I was driving a new Blazer to high school. They had bladed the parking lot and I needed a place to park after arriving late. I pulled dropped it in 4L (4 wheel drive, low range) and climbed up on top of this big snow drift. Came out later to find the temps had climbed, combined with the heat from the drivetrain had allowed my Blazer to 'sink' in the snow up to the doors. The box blade tractor operator came over and after having a few laughs pulled me right out. I am thankful cell phone cams were not invented yet - otherwise I'd have sure made the paper! Funny now - thanks for reminding me!!!!!!

Kinda miss the Blazers and Broncos of days gone by...

Ray

 
It sounds like you were very lucky. It is good to have friends to help when you need them. Reverse is the most dangerous gear. I backed my 71 Mach into a 2 foot tall steel pole in a parking lot once. It was very ugly.

Chuck

 
Glad it was a successful ending, but only the limited rear visibly sportsroof guys are supposed to have those type of back up incidents. LOL

 
Glad the car escaped with little on no damage. It reminds me of the time back in the 70's when my best friend wanted to drive my 73 Convert. So I gave in and let him drive, within two minutes he backed up to turn around and hit a concrete base to a utility pole. Only bent the bumper and the fill-in panel, so it was an easy fix. He even paid without me even asking! So yes, reverse is the most dangerous gear!

 
Thanks for sharing man. We all do silly things at times... If you can't laugh at your own mistakes, you need to reevaluate how you are spending your life... :D

I just got my windshield replaced due to having a work light too close to it during the winter resto and caused it to crack. Ya just got to shake your head, say D'oh and move on...LOL

Thanks for the pics and good to hear your pony is ok!

 
great pic!! glad you didnt hurt her too much....woot!!

sucks to see your car get hurt......i woke up one morning when i was a teen ...i borrowed my dads mustang one night....{the one i own now}..parked it at my house.....and a big wind storm that night threw a 300 pound camper onto the top of the car!! ..i allmost cried..put a dent on the fender {she had a flawless body} and messed up the hood a bit..and scratched the paint all up...wow...that morning sucked..lol..but!! i got the car super cheap from him cause of the accident...he just cashed out the insurance and sold me the rest for cheap..lol

 
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