|
By PF Arcand - 5 Years Ago
|
Not sure where this fits, but thought to bring it up so somone else might avoid what happened to me a few days ago. In short I was adjusting the idle on my "57 Ford in our garage. Car in park & hand brake on. Many times I've had the car running similarly, without a problem. Standing by the fender I heard a click & the car went into reverse & began to idle out of the garage! I turned & ran towards the open window of the drivers door, but there was limited room to get by the garage door track & jamb. It caught me on my right leg area & dragged me outside where I fell & the car idled across the opening & hit the corner of the neighbours garage & also slightly damaged the rear bumper of their car. My wife & a neighbour came immediately & got me to my feet & then he offered to move the car back into the garage. I was well shaken up & we got back into the house, where removing clothing revealed a fairly severe road rash/abrasion, bleeding & much bruising on my right side. Due to swelling it was decided after a short time to take me to hospital emergency. They took X rays, examined me & applied dressings & gave pain killers.. I'm currenly resting at home with limited mobility & having my good wife change the dressings every day. A follow up Doctor's appointment is tommorrow. And apparently I also have bruised ribs on my right side. It will be some time before I'm healed & all this is settled, as I don't know at this point if I will need to make some kind of insurance claim for the damages, depending on cost estimates. It could have been worse, or obviously better.. All this for the want of a wheel chock!..
|
|
By Florida_Phil - 5 Years Ago
|
This same thing happened to a friend in our car club. He was pinned down by his car with the hot exhaust pipe on his leg for 20 minutes. He received third degree burns and nearly lost his leg. Family members finally pulled him out. He had to go through numerous painful skin grafts, My wife had a 1971 Galaxie pop out of gear and nearly run her over. The car crashed into a house. It could have killed someone. Be careful!!
|
|
By oldcarmark - 5 Years Ago
|
|
A Friend had a similar Accident with 55 Ford Customline..Standard Transmission and left it in Neutral by mistake without applying Parking Brake. Rolled down the Driveway and He got squeezed out by a Tree next to Driveway.. Good Idea to Chalk Wheels with at least a 2x4 or 4x4 Block of Wood. Hope You recover soon. Glad it didn't turn out even more Serious. I guess every Once in awhile We all get a reminder that Safety should be a first Consideration when working on our Vehicles.
|
|
By Joe-JDC - 5 Years Ago
|
|
Our yearly inspection for cars here in TX require the handbrake to be set, and the vehicle put in gear and accelerated to a stall or engine dies. If it doesn't hold, then it fails the inspection. My '55 Thunderbird passes that test every year so far. Will check it next start-up. Thanks for the reminder, take care and get well soon. Joe-JDC
|
|
By PF Arcand - 5 Years Ago
|
Joe: Interesting parking brake rules there in Texas. Do they check forward & backwards? I've noticed that on some older cars, G.M.'s in particular, the park brake often does not hold well in reverse. Obviously, I need to check & adjust my Fords parking brake as needed..but it won't be happening this week..
|
|
By Joe-JDC - 5 Years Ago
|
|
Reverse for back up lights if installed, and forwards to see if it will stall. Since my T-bird is standard with OD, they usually have me release the clutch to see if it will stall the engine. Last time I had my Mustang LX 5.0 inspected at the state inspection station, the guy asked me to get out and let him drive the car around the lot to check the brakes for anti-skid and steering. He stalled the engine three times, and just got out and said it was good. He couldn't drive a standard transmission. LOL Joe-JDC
|
|
By Hoosier Hurricane - 5 Years Ago
|
Paul:
Sorry to hear about your accident. I'm wishing a quick recovery for you.
Last summer I was helping a friend with his '57, and I had started the engine with my remote starter switch. It dropped into reverse and started to back out. Luckily the weather was warm and the overhead door was open. Like your situation, he would not have had room between the car and the door jamb, so I jerked the coil wire out to avoid any injury or damage. It was a fresh restoration, I would have been sick if it had been damaged.
|
|
By charliemccraney - 5 Years Ago
|
I made a "chock" out of some plywood and 2x4 which allows the weight of the vehicle to stop the chock from having any chance of moving. It's effectively like this, https://www.summitracing.com/parts/gpc-hps121215/overview/ and can either be driven onto or slid under the tire. I've had a couple chocks that just slid along the floor. That's no good.
|
|
By Tedster - 5 Years Ago
|
Sorry you were injured, though it's "good" insofar it hopefully provides a needed wake up call to the rest of us as things get busier in the Spring season.
Take the time to assess a given situation, be safe out there, keep a fire extinguisher and 1st aid kit handy and let someone know you're in the garage. I usually have a few chunks of stovewood in the bed of the truck at minimum for chock blocks.
It's important to make chocking the wheels at every stop a habit. At least around hills. It makes one think about what can happen if something gies wrong. Thank you for the very real reminder and get soon well!
|
|
By FORD DEARBORN - 5 Years Ago
|
Thanks for being thoughtful enough to share this with everyone and best wishes to you and yours. These cars have a lot of wear on linkages and the detent that should hold the park position. I keep several chunks of rough sawn 5X5 pine in the garage for the purpose. Will be using them more often now. Thanks again for sharing....
|
|
By DryLakesRacer - 5 Years Ago
|
|
I hope you get back to 100% soon. I have done what you were doing many times with my 56 with an automatic. I never have trusted my "park" detent and do almost everything in neutral and the emergency brake on. I even move the shift arm on the column under hood a lot. I too never trusted E brakes with reverse and have been using a 4x4x12 behind a rear tire since I can remember. Since these Fords didn't start in park anyway I normally leave my car parked in neutral with the E brake on.
|
|
By oldcarmark - 5 Years Ago
|
|
You are probably aware that switching the Neutral Start Switch to One from 1958 Ford will start in both Park and Neutral. I never could figure out what Ford was doing when the Automatics from 1950-1956 only start in Neutral.
|
|
By harleyjohn45 - 5 Years Ago
|
oldcarmark (4/4/2019)
You are probably aware that switching the Neutral Start Switch to One from 1958 Ford will start in both Park and Neutral. I never could figure out what Ford was doing when the Automatics from 1950-1956 only start in Neutral.
I learned something today, my car starts in Park and neutral, so I guess someone worked on it in the past.
|
|
By harleyjohn45 - 5 Years Ago
|
|
Paul, I've done the same thing many times, since I don't move as fast as I used to, I'll start chocking wheels.
|
|
By oldcarmark - 5 Years Ago
|
harleyjohn45 (4/4/2019)
oldcarmark (4/4/2019)
You are probably aware that switching the Neutral Start Switch to One from 1958 Ford will start in both Park and Neutral. I never could figure out what Ford was doing when the Automatics from 1950-1956 only start in Neutral. I learned something today, my car starts in Park and neutral, so I guess someone worked on it in the past.
As long as it starts ONLY in Park & Neutral. The Switch can be bypassed and it will start in any Gear. On the Standard Transmissions the Wires simply plug together where the Switch for Automatic goes on the lower steering column.
|
|
By Meandean - 5 Years Ago
|
harleyjohn45 (4/4/2019)
oldcarmark (4/4/2019)
You are probably aware that switching the Neutral Start Switch to One from 1958 Ford will start in both Park and Neutral. I never could figure out what Ford was doing when the Automatics from 1950-1956 only start in Neutral. I learned something today, my car starts in Park and neutral, so I guess someone worked on it in the past.
Mine does too. I guess I never even thought about it. Never knew they would originally only start in N. Of course we only ever had standard or OD transmissions growing up. My dad did not trust the reliability or longevity of automatic transmissions. Plus the fuel economy suffered. AND, mostly they could not be push/bump started. And he was cheap, so a new battery was always a last resort.
|
|
By Tedster - 5 Years Ago
|
harleyjohn45 (4/4/2019)
Paul, I've done the same thing many times, since I don't move as fast as I used to, I'll start chocking wheels.
The main thing is to make it a habit, it becomes second nature. Military and government fleets have long drilled this into drivers.
Particularly on any kind of hill, parking is done such that the front wheels are turned that even in the case of a rollaway, the truck won't move far. The curb is first used as a chock as well, this alone keeps it from rolling.
Then the hand brake is applied. Finally the transmission is placed in reverse, or maybe 1st, or placed in "Park" if an automatic. This takes any strain off the parking pawl in an automatic, and further now the pawl isn't the only thing keeping the car from rolling down the hill.
Instead of one component - the pawl - holding the vehicle from crashing into a tree at the bottom of the hill - there's three, four if the driver further chocks the wheels.
Chocked wheels are also important when camping or in the field too. Like I said it's a habit thing. It makes the operator look at the parked vehicle and think about what happens, if somehow it were to roll. I use a chock block in the garage because I don't want to encourage the park or hand brake to corrode in place or stick if left engaged over the winter. I use lots of chock blocks when jacking up wheels or any work like that under the truck.
A walkaround is important too, collector cars don't get driven as often as they should. Don't run over the lawnmower, put the tools away, find a fire extinguisher and carry it.
|
|
By Hoosier Hurricane - 5 Years Ago
|
|
Years ago I turned wrenches at a Buick dealership. The tuneup guy in the next stall was adjusting the carb idle on a '59 Buiick with the trans in gear and the parking brake set. After adjusting the idle speed and mixture, he "blipped" the throttle to see if it returned to his settings. However, this car had a broken motor mount, and when he blipped the throttle the engine raised up which pulled the throttle wide open. Luckily he was beside the car instead of in front of it. The car smashed his two story tool box against a concrete block wall and his tools scattered everywhere. Lesson learned.
|
|
By NoShortcuts - 5 Years Ago
|
Paul. THANKS for sharing your experience. I sincerely hope you have a speedy and complete recovery. My prayers are with you and those you love.
Our fellow Forum members have added generously to expand and underscore your message.
This is a fantastic group of people to be associated with. Thanks to all who have made the time to share.their knowledge, experiences, and caring for others.
Best Wishes to all for what you bring to this forum and my life.
Regards,
Charlie Brown
|
|
By PF Arcand - 5 Years Ago
|
Thanks for the well wishes, appreciated!.. And the accident story posts give us all something to think about.. My whole right leg is swollen up & black & blue & the cut & abraised area at the knee has to be dressed everyday. Doc said to keep my leg up most of the day.. Problem with that is it stiffens right up & I can barely put my weight on it when I get up. On anti infection pills for the next 10 days & go back to the Doc next week... Won't be driving for quite some time.. A buddy of mine made me a set of blocks out of old fence posts with belting attached.. they say "Ford approved" & Paul Safe" Better late than never I guess..
|
|
By oldcarmark - 5 Years Ago
|
|
Sounds pretty uncomfortable. Got to look at the Bright Side Paul. At least You are still around to feel the Pain. Get better soon.
|
|
By mongo - 5 Years Ago
|
|
I have had the old ford matics loaded on the trailer , ready to tie down , pop out of park and roll off the trailer ,before I could chock them up. Now , I tie them down and screw 2 by 4's on both front and back , no issues now . Po ol Davie
|
|
By 56_Fairlane - 5 Years Ago
|
I use a big rubber chock I found by the side of the road years ago. It must have fallen of a large truck.
I had something similar happen to me years ago while I was adjusting the idle on a 67 Cadillac in my garage. I had the parking brake on while the car was in drive. Something happened and it lurched forward. There was about a foot of space between the car and the wall. It nearly pinned me but I moved out of the way in time. The front bumper punched some nice holes in the wall and I got bruised as well.
|
|
By 1960fordf350 - 5 Years Ago
|
|
Cars jumping in gear is the exact reason that newer vehicles won't come out of park without pressing on the brake pedal. My dad had a 72 torino jump out of gear into reverse just as he was getting into it. Lucky that time. In the 80's he left a tempo in drive and shut it off. Took the key out and walked in the house. 1/2hour later a neighbor was knocking telling him the car was across the road. Lucky no damage or anyone hurt!!
|
|
By 56_Fairlane - 5 Years Ago
|
Ford sent out these stupid stickers in the 80's. It was to save their ass from a 23 million car recall of Fords with automatic transmission built between 1966 to 1980.
|
|
By PF Arcand - 5 Years Ago
|
P.S.- follow up; Investigating my accident, I found that the lift lever latching for Park, was not engaging properly into the indent on the steering wheel hub. It appeared that I should be able to adjust the length of the threaded shift rod down to the transmission to engage better. In doing so it might also center the quadrent readout better... However, apparently adjustabilty is quite limited, because when I did adjust it a fair amount, it still didn't latch really well & then the car would no longer start in the "neutral" position. Obviously that is not satisfactory! Another factor involved here possibly, is that the entire steering column was out of the car some years ago, & maybe there is some misalignment in the reinstall ?.. Any suggestions anyone?
|