[Silly Little Cars] One in a million GO 4 freak accident with a hopefully for the 99 Interceptor a happy ending

Wed Jan 24 15:31:00 PST 2018

I am so glad you are not injured. I must say with that being said... This
is kind of a hilarious story. I send you great luck with the repair gods

On Jan 24, 2018 3:11 PM, "Alex Popovics via Silly_little_cars" <
silly_little_cars at lists.sillylittlecars.com> wrote:

> Thanks Alec!
>
> There wasn't any object on the pedal for the centrifugal force was so
> great that everything flew out and it still was stuck on maximum speed.
>
> I thought that maybe the oil change person that asked me to turn the
> engine on might have manually pushed the throttle down and gotten it stuck,
> but it actually got in the maximum acceleration the instant I put it in
> drive. Jerry seems to have a theory of how the throttle was stuck.
> All I know is I want to find out for its mind boggling how this could have
> happened.
>
> Thanks again!
>
> Alex Popovics
> Publisher
> SF Real Estate Times
> (415)278-9500 <(415)%20278-9500>
> SFREtimes.com
>
>
> On Jan 24, 2018, at 1:31 PM, Alec Bennett via Silly_little_cars <
> silly_little_cars at lists.sillylittlecars.com> wrote:
>
> Crazy story. Nice to hear where that go4 went, I've been admiring it for
> awhile when it was parked off 3rd street. Love that mod he did to move the
> e brake and install the bench.
>
> I have no idea what could have pegged your throttle, but something similar
> has happened to me in the past. I had a water bottle on the ledge next to
> my seat and I stopped to let a pedestrian cross the street and the bottle
> fell on my accelerator, making me lurch towards the pedestrian! Sketchy.
>
>
>
>
>
> On Jan 24, 2018, at 1:22 PM, J W via Silly_little_cars <
> silly_little_cars at lists.sillylittlecars.com> wrote:
>
> This post is worthless without Pics.
>
>
> On Wed, Jan 24, 2018 at 11:30 AM, Alex Popovics via Silly_little_cars <
> silly_little_cars at lists.sillylittlecars.com> wrote:
>
>> Yes but what about being at full throttle by itself?
>> That's what I experienced.
>>
>> Thanks
>>
>> Alex Popovics
>> Publisher
>> SF Real Estate Times
>> (415)278-9500
>> SFREtimes.com
>>
>>
>> > On Jan 24, 2018, at 9:03 AM, Lokisgodhi via Silly_little_cars <
>> silly_little_cars at lists.sillylittlecars.com> wrote:
>> >
>> > Actually not a unusual occurrence. Videos of unmanned vehicles driving
>> in circles is a genre on places like Youtube. Usually caused by the driver
>> exiting the vehicle while it was running and knocked into gear or they
>> leave a pet in the car which knocks it into gear. It usually ends with the
>> vehicle smashing into something and coming to stop, running out of fuel or
>> a cop smashing and window, then wrestling the car into neutral.
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > Message: 1
>> > Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2018 05:37:46 -0800
>> > From: Alex Popovics <alex at realestatetimes.com>
>> > To: silly_little_cars at lists.sillylittlecars.com
>> > Subject: [Silly Little Cars] One in a
>> > million GO 4 freak accident with
>> >     a hopefully for the
>> > 99 Interceptor a happy ending
>> > Message-ID: <BE5B47E1-7DDF-4E40-B6E5-D2659EE1B5F0 at realestatetimes.com>
>> > Content-Type:
>> > text/plain;    charset=us-ascii
>> >
>> > Hello all,
>> >
>> > I just woke up after a harrowing
>> > experience that only you as a group can appreciate and
>> > possibly solve the mystery as to what happened.
>> >
>> > I own now a possibility seriously
>> > disabled unique 99 GO 4.
>> >
>> > I purchased it a few years ago from the
>> > couple that owns the San Francisco Body & Paint Shop.
>> > (The Interceptor still has their shop logo on the front).
>> >
>> > It was lovingly restored by them in a
>> > beautiful yellow metallic paint with a modified bench seat
>> > for two, thus having the transmission handle placed on the
>> > floor by the left door. That door has been out of alignment
>> > so I have kept it locked using the right door only.
>> >
>> > Yesterday afternoon I couldn't start
>> > the vehicle after using it all day. At first I though the
>> > starter was failing due to overheating of its coil.
>> > I did notice though that the
>> > transmission shifter felt kind of loose as I shifted it
>> > thinking it wasn't engaging on the park position to allow
>> > the vehicle to start.
>> >
>> > I did however eventually realized it
>> > would start on the neutral position but to my surprise it
>> > wouldn't get on reverse.
>> >
>> > I happened to have to go to my long
>> > time regular vehicles mechanic to pick up my van after a
>> > tune up before he would close for the day, so I drove there
>> > without any problems on drive.
>> >
>> > When I got there he assumed the
>> > transmission was shot since it lost the reverse gear.
>> >
>> > As he was closing his shop the reverse
>> > gear started working but the park position still would not
>> > engage, then as he entered his car to leave home the park
>> > position engaged and the reverse was fine, so I ran to the
>> > mechanic before he left and he was a bit puzzled, thinking
>> > it might be the transmission safety pin that might be
>> > faulty.
>> >
>> > I drove to a coffee shop and when I
>> > started it afterwards it once again didn't engage the
>> > reverse or parking position.
>> >
>> > I decided to go to a oil change shop
>> > before they closed since I was due for a oil change anyway
>> > and to at the same time check my transmission fluid.
>> >
>> > When I got there the new management
>> > decided not to service my vehicle anymore due to liability
>> > concerns since they engine pit is just wide enough for me to
>> > back into it and since we had to push it back they didn't
>> > feel it would be safe. Thank God for that!
>> >
>> > I asked if they could at least help me
>> > check the transmission fluid since it was already dark. They
>> > did, and about three of their workers gathered around the
>> > odd looking vehicle just outside their building at their
>> > parking area.
>> >
>> > Here's where the weirdest possible set
>> > of circumstances created an experience most likely no one
>> > ever experienced with a Go 4.
>> >
>> > Since I had a few boxes, helmets and
>> > coats I'm my trunk I placed them mostly on the seat and roof
>> > to slide the luggage/engine cover back. One of the oil
>> > changer personnel checking the transmission dipstick asked
>> > me to turn the engine on.
>> > I from the outside of the vehicle (in
>> > retrospect I now realized that was the stupidest thing I
>> > could ever have done, to have boxes on the seat instead of
>> > myself!!!), turned the key but since was in the park
>> > position it wouldn't start.
>> > I went to the other side of the vehicle
>> > from the outside to shift it to neutral.
>> > I inadvertently left the key in the on
>> > position and the second I changed the gear also
>> > inadvertently into drive instead of neutral the accelerator
>> > throttle inexplicably got stuck on maximum as if someone was
>> > flooring the accelerator pedal!!!
>> > Because the front wheel was turned all
>> > the way to the left the vehicle went in circles at maximum
>> > speed with me on my knees on the inside of the circle (I
>> > only got my knees scrapped by the ordeal), hanging from the
>> > locked door instinctively trying to change the gear to
>> > neutral just as if I was at a rodeo trying to rope a steer!
>> > As I shifted from drive to neutral it
>> > got into reverse instead (now it worked!!!), and the GO 4
>> > shot itself in reverse on a strait line into and over a curb
>> > around a landscaped area by the parking lot, and literally
>> > flew on top of a huge and soft bush where it came to a full
>> > stop.
>> >
>> > Everything inside and on top of the
>> > vehicle flew out by the centrifugal force when it was going
>> > in circles as the right door was opened, including the
>> > luggage/engine cover our of its rail. My ski helmet (for
>> > cold weather) got somehow mangled, the only damaged item
>> > from inside the vehicle.
>> >
>> > At first I thought maybe one of the
>> > boxes I place on the seat had fallen on the accelerator
>> > pedal somehow, but afterwards I realized that wasn't the
>> > case, since after everything inside the vehicle flew out as
>> > it was going in circles it still went at full speed in
>> > reverse on a straight line on top of the accommodating huge
>> > and soft bush.
>> >
>> > Afterwards it would crank but not
>> > start.
>> >
>> > The differential probably hit the curb
>> > since it's now leaking some fluid. It was dark and I'm sure
>> > Jerry, our master mechanic in SF is going to find all kinds
>> > of damage underneath with the suspension and more by the
>> > sheer force of hitting that curb at full speed.
>> >
>> > I'm obviously thankful that neither I
>> > or the fellows around me didn't get hurt nor the out of
>> > control unmanned vehicle didn't careened into the nearby
>> > street into moving traffic.
>> >
>> > I am heart broken though for I know my
>> > beloved 99 Interceptor have many parts that are very
>> > difficult to find if seriously damaged, not to mention the
>> > possible overwhelming cost to fix it, effectively possibly
>> > totaling a vehicle without any body damage.
>> >
>> > I hope you as a group can help me to
>> > figure out how on earth the accelerator throttle got stuck
>> > on maximum all by itself.
>> >
>> > Keep on driving...
>> >
>> > Alex Popovics
>> > Publisher
>> > SF Real Estate Times
>> > (415)278-9500
>> > SFREtimes.com
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > ------------------------------
>> >
>> > Subject: Digest Footer
>> >
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>> >
>> > ------------------------------
>> >
>> > End of Silly_little_cars Digest, Vol
>> > 121, Issue 14
>> > **************************************************
>> >
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