My Car is Cursed...?

[danoreilly]

I've begun to wonder if a curse has been levied against my '71 Mach.

It all started last week, when I was invited to show my car in a 3-day invitation-only show in Denver. No problem, I'll drive up there Wednesday afternoon and drop it off. Well, I got to Denver, got to within a block of the show site, and the car died at a VERY busy intersection at the start of rush hour. And it wouldn't start. I finally got it pushed off to a side street with the help of a couple of street corner panhandlers (the drivers passing me and stuck behind me appeared to be trying to help me by pushing with an extended middle finger, but that didn't work). A $20 tow to the center, and the car got parked for the show.

On Monday, a friend came to my aid to haul the car back for me in a nice enclosed trailer. We were going to meet up halfway at a Wal-Mart, and he missed the turn. So, he went a few miles farther down the interstate, and right at the off-ramp he was going to take, *HIS* truck died and wouldn't start. My buddy and I went and got another truck, and after a couple hours got him pulled up the off-ramp an into a convenient RV campground, where he awaited a tow truck.

Meanwhile, while waiting in the campground, a 10 year old or so Toyota SUV drove up, sputtering, and leaking something. The "something" turned out to be gasoline in a steady stream. He parked about 100 feet away, and FOOM! the vehicle burst into flames - a total loss by the time the FD got there. Luckily, no injuries or anything.

To heck with it...I unloaded my Mach (it turned out the solenoid was stuck, and a rap with a wrench freed it up), hit the road, and drove home.

I'm certain it was cursed somehow...

 

[hyena429]

Bad timing!! hehe Ill take it if you think she is cursed {just joking} I feel the same way when things happend around or too my mach 1...But i think its more i care about the old car so much when something does happen too it...It sucks that much more... a camper parked in from my mustang in a wind storm blew on top of her and mashed the fender and hood..starter shorted out and died at the gas pumps and wouldnt start...i had to push it out and could hardly get it too stop!!...lol...Some one doored it first day at a restraunt i was parked behind..didnt dent it..but it peeled the stripe just a little..lol...Owning the car all my adult life...first car i ever owned... somethings are just going to happen... i make sure too have a fire exquisher..small tool box..jumper cables and a working cell phone when i leave with my baby...lol

 

[sm3570]

Wow, eventful show for you, eh Dan? I helped out at a car fire/accident a little while ago at the top of Monument Hill. Scary stuff.

 

[71_badmach]

Glad you were able to get home after that!!! I saw a Fiero go up in flames once...

 

[M Beauchamp]

Its not a curse its a ford thing, i use to have to buy solenoids in bulk for my 69 coupe.

 

[hyena429]

Car fires are scary to have...I remmeber my dad had a early 70's caddy...We went to town and i got a new video game for my atari 5200...On the way home all the cars warning lights starting coming on ..over heat ...buzzers all over going off....We pulled in a burger place to let it cool off..I grabbed my new video game and was inside reading the instructions a bit and looking at the grafics while having a burger...The owners of the place said..Sir your car is on fire!!...We look outside and smoke rolling out of the car...No way to put it out...I watched the mirror melt like the liquid metal guy on terminator and hit the ground and splash...lol....wildest brightest thing i ever seen thou was the sterring wheel....The fire deparment got fire put out...the wheel was brighter than the sun! ..stilling burning brighter than anything i ever seen...was in there making a horrid burning noise.....Come to find out the sterring wheel was pure magnesium....They dug a hole and reach in with some poles and burried it there in the restraunts gravel parking lot...They said it would burn for a few days..lmao

 

[mach71351c]

I thought that stuff only happened to me. I would have loved to seen the Toyota burn.

 

[McShelby]

I am sorry to hear your story. I have a sad tale too:

This summer I trailored my 70 Mach1 to a MCI 3 day show in Des Moines and on the way a white Chevy SUV cut me off on the interstate forcing me to slam on the brakes. Evidently, the two straps on the back of the car snapped but I did not know anything was wrong until I took the exit and stopped. I felt something hit me from behind and thought I had been rear-ended. When I looked in the mirror to see what hit me, to my horror I saw the ramp flop down and my car shoot out of the trailor backwards down the exit ramp! Cars where swerving to get out of it's way and it finally veered off the ramp and into the ditch. All I could do is stare in disbelief!

It landed in 6 foot tall weeds and with the help of some great guys that stopped to push, I drove it out and on to the show; with bent up bumpers and weeds hanging all over and under it. My almost new ALUMA aluminum trailor was damaged so bad I had to take it back to the manufacturer to get it fixed. The Mach 1 left an imprint in the front of the trailor and broke the cam rods off the back when it hit the ramp and knocked it down.

What did I learn? Use the heaviest straps you can find, use a safety strap and stop often to make sure the straps are tight. Oh, and stay far away from soccer moms in SUVs!

 

[danoreilly]

Wow! That REALLY sucks. What a hard lesson to learn!