Joined: Aug 2017 Posts: 2,748 Threads: 31
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Location: Auckland, NZ
Further to Andy Bennet...
Decades ago I was leaving work late. One of the clerical staff was in a state. They had all been to the pub and somehow misplaced their car keys but had managed to enter the car. To my amazement, contrary to the stereotype for his ethnic grouping, the guy did not know how to start it. So I hot wired it for him. When I left minutes later I encountered the car stationary in the middle of a nearby very busy intersection. They had got to the corner when the steering locked. A group of us managed to bounce the car so it could be steered out of the main flow.
Joined: Aug 2017 Posts: 217 Threads: 19
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Have towed and been towed many times, but the worst experience was back in the late sixties. I was off to see the Severn Bore on my A7. (Sorry not an Austin, a BSA twin) . In the Savernake Forest the Big ends let go as the oil cap had come off and had spilled the oil out. Called my father who came out in his Triumph Vitesse. I'll tow you says he. The rope was passed over the head lamp , round the steering damper knob out to the throttle and clamped by my gripping hand . All ok until we went round round abouts where the lean of the bike was accentuated by the tow rope pulling me over. A quick release of my grip saved a spill. It was a long trip back home to the village just north of Slough.(about 50ml)
Joined: Aug 2017 Posts: 1,921 Threads: 90
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Location: Ripon
My most terrifying tow was when my mum's Hillman Imp suffered a seized camshaft on the A1 just at the start of the A1M north of Doncaste.
After much telephone trouble(1971 vintage) a pal arrived with a crowd of lours in an Austin Westminster 3L. He tied on a rope good 30 fit long shouted "Jump in, follow me!" and hauled me the 40 odd miles back to Harrogate at 70mph. the brakes on the Imp were almost glowing as I made futile attempts to slow the bugger down!
Joined: Aug 2017 Posts: 2,748 Threads: 31
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Location: Auckland, NZ
Drama occurs when the rope slackens and contacts the wheel. Often pickd up and looped. When tight again it pulls on the steering linkages.
Joined: Feb 2018 Posts: 367 Threads: 14
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Location: Western Brittany (France)
17-04-2020, 06:00 AM
(This post was last modified: 17-04-2020, 06:06 AM by Renaud.)
"When asked why she drove so fast Her reply was “to get it over with quickly.”
Ha ha!
(sorry, didn't see the second page, terrific stories! bike towing is a first for me Peter. I would NOT)
Joined: Aug 2017 Posts: 2,748 Threads: 31
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Location: Auckland, NZ
Faintly relevant, but with its original components our Seven only failed once. Up town one late Friday night it would not start (distributor gear at 80,000). A young fellow with a Bradford towed my father home. A few weeks later he was working out of town and came across a powered cyclist broken down. Was the good samaritan. He was assisted to town hanging on to the door handle. On the main road. Nowadays some goody good with a cell phone would have the over eager cops on the scene instantly.
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Renaud "bike towing is a first for me Peter. I would NOT" The trick is NOT to secure the rope but hold it so that , as I did, you can let go. As I said it was many decades ago, wouldn't advise doing it now with all the traffic.Besids not many bikes have a convienient damper knob nowdays.
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Location: Upton upon Seven
Car type: 1931 RN, 1933 RP
I had heard that three bearing cranks often snap when ascending a slight gradient on light throttle at 28 mph. This is the exact scenario when this happened. I had the garage where I work come and tow me back to Gloucester. As I was paying I didn’t crawl underneath to hook up the towrope. The driver managed to mistake the steering cross rod for the front axle… All was well until we descend a long straight hill to Seven Springs.
The tow was too fast. I applied the brakes to try and slow us all down and immediately the car went crazy. Shooting to the left and to the right, we were doing 40 mph. My horn was a bicycle bulb horn. Squeak squeak honk honk all to no avail as the tow truck went even faster. It was a terrifying out of control roller coaster down the hill and my fiancee and myself are preparing to abandon ship the next time it careered towards the grass verge (grass being softer than tarmac). Then we arrived at the junction at the bottom of the hill and the tow track slowed almost to a halt, I was out of
the Austin running up to the tow vehicle and dragging the driver out. I was so angry that he had not once checked if all was ok behind him. Looking at the Austin both front wheels were splayed out a crazy angle, each on full lock in different directions.
We were so lucky to get away with that incident. My garage waived the tow fee, because of that.
Roly
1931 RN, 1933 APD
Joined: Aug 2017 Posts: 102 Threads: 3
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A friend built up one MG TA from two (which I foolishly swapped him for a tatty Nippy) in the 1960s. I helped him tow the remains of one TA to the nearest scrap yard (honestly!). He towed with his modern and a short rope, and I stood on the stripped wreck for 3 miles. The MG had two flat tyres on opposite corners, no bonnet, radiator, windscreen, seats or floor, so I placed one foot on each chassis rail and rode the "bucking bronco" along main roads in Solihull, without brakes. I only hit his car twice with very little damage.
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That same tatty Nippy CUR758 did come in useful when I needed the cracked rear chassis extensions welded off my 31 saloon. The nearest welder in Sutton Coldfield was 4 miles away. My girlfriend drove the Nippy (65) and I knelt backwards in the other seat, holding up the front end of the stripped chassis whilst the still-attached rear axle acted as a trailer. My arms ached for hours after.
