Horrendous day
Discussion
Had a horrific day. The missus bought me a driving experience for an old Mini Cooper back in February, but was cancelled due to heavy snow. So I did it today. However, when we got to Oxford, the car was unavailable. He said I could have any car,as a courtesy gesture, so drove to Worcester to view the cars. Took a 7.2 litre V8 Jensen Interceptor. I'd never driven an auto, and with a wet road in mind I had my doubts. However , I was assured it was easy to drive, so off we went. It felt, big, lazy and loping.
Coming off an island around 30mph, I accelerated and it just snapped to the left, totally without warning. Managed to catch it but it ran along a hawthorn hedge, and ended up wedged on the armco slightly, so the nearside wheel was off the ground. No bodywork damage, but when we left it was awaiting a HIAB to lift it away. The least it needs will be a nearside respray.
Feel terrible, and also baffled. Did it kick down and catch me out? .Is the Jensen so dynamically flawed? Not sure how much the excess is that I will have to pay yet, and I hated see such a wonderful looking car end the day like that, because of me. f
king weather.
Coming off an island around 30mph, I accelerated and it just snapped to the left, totally without warning. Managed to catch it but it ran along a hawthorn hedge, and ended up wedged on the armco slightly, so the nearside wheel was off the ground. No bodywork damage, but when we left it was awaiting a HIAB to lift it away. The least it needs will be a nearside respray.
Feel terrible, and also baffled. Did it kick down and catch me out? .Is the Jensen so dynamically flawed? Not sure how much the excess is that I will have to pay yet, and I hated see such a wonderful looking car end the day like that, because of me. f
king weather.sorry to hear that, but thats whats insurance is for. At least you are OK. The car will be fine and will live to fight another day.
Yes could be diesel, but they also have live rear axels. And a lot of torque. And possibly cheap tyres. If you cant explain it, and you didnt say "watch this" moments before, then its likely to be another factor
Yes could be diesel, but they also have live rear axels. And a lot of torque. And possibly cheap tyres. If you cant explain it, and you didnt say "watch this" moments before, then its likely to be another factor
Had a few tank slappers in my Scimitar GTE (Similar layout to the Jensen, just less power) during ten years of ownership.... Fortunately never got close to the scenery as OP... one of those was within weeks of taking ownership of the car, driving on fresh snow, whilst the car was wearing very wooden tyre's... changed them the very next day!!!
Then had a couple of experiences (if that is the right term) of diesel spills on roundabouts.... Pretty scary stuff...
At least no one is hurt... and like folks have said it was just a light graze to the Jensen and no surgery to the metal work is needed
Wonder what would have happened if you had been driving an FF???
Then had a couple of experiences (if that is the right term) of diesel spills on roundabouts.... Pretty scary stuff...
At least no one is hurt... and like folks have said it was just a light graze to the Jensen and no surgery to the metal work is needed
Wonder what would have happened if you had been driving an FF???
Sad to say, but looking at your profile you seem to have no or very little experience of RWD cars. 7.2 litres and one ton of torque can be lethal, even in summer with RWD. FWD the wheels just scrabble, but exiting a roundabout with the slightest lock on, in winter conditions, can lead to disaster with a RWD car if you aren't used to the characteristics and feed the throttle in oh so gently. Believe me, even after all these years I still get caught out from time to time. Put it down to experience and next time ask the OH to buy you a track driving course - you'll learn a lot. But sad for the car and pleased no one was hurt.
Look at it this way.
Some goons will go out and hire something to deliberately give it a damn good caning, and because it isnt theirs they wont give a st about it.
What you have done is been stuck in a car you are unfamiliar with, with an auto gearbox that you are unfamiliar with, with a huge engine and old style tyres, on a crappy day for weather and ultimately you have ended up being caught out by a freak incident which could have been power, diesel, road surface or tyre related - and now you feel bad at what you've done.
Bad luck I say, but your attitude towards it is commendable. I hope its sorted without too much outlay!
Oh, and dont beat yourself up about it, st happens - try to remember the experience of driving the car for the remainder of the time and move on! If I were you, I'd go and jump in that Mini (or whatever) as soon as possible to get your confidence back!
Some goons will go out and hire something to deliberately give it a damn good caning, and because it isnt theirs they wont give a s
t about it. What you have done is been stuck in a car you are unfamiliar with, with an auto gearbox that you are unfamiliar with, with a huge engine and old style tyres, on a crappy day for weather and ultimately you have ended up being caught out by a freak incident which could have been power, diesel, road surface or tyre related - and now you feel bad at what you've done.
Bad luck I say, but your attitude towards it is commendable. I hope its sorted without too much outlay!
Oh, and dont beat yourself up about it, s
t happens - try to remember the experience of driving the car for the remainder of the time and move on! If I were you, I'd go and jump in that Mini (or whatever) as soon as possible to get your confidence back! Unlucky. The Torqueflite gearbox fitted to the Mk3 Interceptor has part throttle kick down; which, if you’re not used to an auto, may well have caught you out.
Don't forget Interceptors have LSDs - they can and will catch you out if you're not used to it = when they break free, they "go" very quickly.
I took my 496 cu in stroked Jensen CV8 out last night, it was very slightly damp. Had a few hairy moments under very light throttle so turned around and came home again with my tail between my legs!
Don't forget Interceptors have LSDs - they can and will catch you out if you're not used to it = when they break free, they "go" very quickly.
I took my 496 cu in stroked Jensen CV8 out last night, it was very slightly damp. Had a few hairy moments under very light throttle so turned around and came home again with my tail between my legs!
Edited by Shed_Jensen on Wednesday 27th October 10:13
molineux1980 said:
Coming off an island around 30mph, I accelerated and it just snapped to the left, totally without warning. hated see such a wonderful looking car end the day like that, because of me. . . . weather.
It could have been diesel and it was an accident, you didn't do it on purpose, no one was hurt weather.I'll say it, others have hinted and I think you know it - it wasn't the weather, it was probably that you made a mistake, 30 mph means nothing as possibly 25 mph was too fast for the prevailing circumstances (weather, driver, car, road conditions)
I'm not preaching I've made mistakes, most on here probably have but it's doing you no favours for you or others to look for excuses
Perhaps the company should have cautioned you more and investigated your car driving experience but you took the car, you accepted driving it in the weather conditions
You made a mistake like we all have don't beat yourself up over it, very most important thing no one was hurt - and the company will be insured
Learn by your mistake then strangely enough something good has come out of it
I expect comments now from those that do not fully read what I've written and/or those that spun off because of "diesel spill" and yes I do know that it can sometimes be true
SB - Nigel said:
molineux1980 said:
Coming off an island around 30mph, I accelerated and it just snapped to the left, totally without warning. hated see such a wonderful looking car end the day like that, because of me. . . . weather.
It could have been diesel and it was an accident, you didn't do it on purpose, no one was hurt weather.I'll say it, others have hinted and I think you know it - it wasn't the weather, it was probably that you made a mistake, 30 mph means nothing as possibly 25 mph was too fast for the prevailing circumstances (weather, driver, car, road conditions)
I'm not preaching I've made mistakes, most on here probably have but it's doing you no favours for you or others to look for excuses
Perhaps the company should have cautioned you more and investigated your car driving experience but you took the car, you accepted driving it in the weather conditions
You made a mistake like we all have don't beat yourself up over it, very most important thing no one was hurt - and the company will be insured
Learn by your mistake then strangely enough something good has come out of it
I expect comments now from those that do not fully read what I've written and/or those that spun off because of "diesel spill" and yes I do know that it can sometimes be true
A mate of mine some years ago went and collected his granada 2.0 auto that he'd just paid a princely 200 quid for.
Thinking he was being clever he gave it the beans off a roundabout and he lost it into the armco!
Not hugely powerful, but auto and rear wheel drive, he just wasnt expecting it.
s
t happens - and you live and learnOP also has a '91 MX-5 so will know about RWD
Another good point - even lower powered car will spin off at roundabouts as many MX-5 drivers have found out
My mate 12 years ago had a 1.8i Eunos and I warned him to be careful in the wet, he spun it on a bend on a dual-carraigeway
And low powered, I spun a 64 hp (claimed at the flywheel) Cappuncino because the turbo cut in as I exited a small rounabout
All of the above are driver errors including my excuse
Another good point - even lower powered car will spin off at roundabouts as many MX-5 drivers have found out
My mate 12 years ago had a 1.8i Eunos and I warned him to be careful in the wet, he spun it on a bend on a dual-carraigeway
And low powered, I spun a 64 hp (claimed at the flywheel) Cappuncino because the turbo cut in as I exited a small rounabout
All of the above are driver errors including my excuse
cardigankid said:
Loads of rich blokes owned Jensens in the bad old days and they weren't all brilliant drivers. How did THEY get away with it? in fact I would say that the Jensen Interceptor was the flash GT of choice for the non-enthusiast.
Because they were used to zipping into a corner in an Morris Oxford and not crashing, so when the Jensen would do the same corner 10mph faster, they were impressed.Edited by cardigankid on Thursday 28th October 16:28
That might still be 20mph slower than most people would go around in a modern Fiesta, and much less forgiving when it bites
In my BMW days in the 80s I lent my 325i Sport to an employee to do something on my behalf. He had only ever driven FWD, and I should have really warned him I guess, but whether for a 26 yr old it would have mattered I doubt. He came back ashen faced, having turned right, booted it and found himself facing the way he came in a flash. Luckily, it was three lanes wide where he turned. I never lent the M6 to anybody and certainly never let SWMBO drive it either. That car was lethal enough for someone well versed in the ways of powerful RWD cars.
I dug out the Autocar from 5/1/67 with the road test of the Interceptor and it makes interesting reading. 325bhp at 4,600 rpm but, most importantly, 425 lb/ft of torque at only 2,800 rpm. Also, the car changed up at 3,500 rpm on full throttle, so booting it out of a roundabout would have caused it to change down in a flash. That is surely the cause of the problem we are discussing. That much torque, allied in the day to - gulp - RS5 crossplies 6.7 ins wide must have made for a very "interesting" drive in the wet.
I now quote from the road test; "the car behaves neutrally on a steady throttle through a turn. The amount of tail-out behaviour can be varied as desired by the accelerator foot". I think the last few words probably sum up what caused the OP to lose control. I feel sorry for him and the owner, but then accidents happen and no one was injured, which is the important thing.
I dug out the Autocar from 5/1/67 with the road test of the Interceptor and it makes interesting reading. 325bhp at 4,600 rpm but, most importantly, 425 lb/ft of torque at only 2,800 rpm. Also, the car changed up at 3,500 rpm on full throttle, so booting it out of a roundabout would have caused it to change down in a flash. That is surely the cause of the problem we are discussing. That much torque, allied in the day to - gulp - RS5 crossplies 6.7 ins wide must have made for a very "interesting" drive in the wet.
I now quote from the road test; "the car behaves neutrally on a steady throttle through a turn. The amount of tail-out behaviour can be varied as desired by the accelerator foot". I think the last few words probably sum up what caused the OP to lose control. I feel sorry for him and the owner, but then accidents happen and no one was injured, which is the important thing.
lowdrag said:
most importantly, 425 lb/ft of torque at only 2,800 rpm.
I agree with you and often say with V8s especially it's the torque especially lower down the rev range that catches a lot outAnd modern drivers are used to much higher revs than necessary in older cars and V8s but too fast is too fast not matter how low the actual speed, torque or bhp
Certainly agree that modern cars, and especially modern tyres, make for a very different driving experience. Driving old cars quickly, or very powerful old cars normally even, is not easy for those who never drove them back in the day.
But the important things are 1) Nobody was hurt; and 2) The Mini Cooper wasn't damaged ;o)
But the important things are 1) Nobody was hurt; and 2) The Mini Cooper wasn't damaged ;o)
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