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Safety Alert!

To: "bellcore!EDDIE.MIT.EDU!alliant!british-cars"@bellcore.bellcore.com
Subject: Safety Alert!
From: mit-eddie!bellcore.bellcore.com!taichi!whs70@EDDIE.MIT.EDU (W. H. Sohl)
Date: 16 May 1990 10:14 EDT
Randall Jesup wrote about his TR-6:
>  First, the jack trick for putting (front) springs _does_ work, but it's
>a real pain getting the bolt holes lined up (and DON'T try it with a bottle
>jack - floor jacks work pretty well).  Screwdrivers are good as guide-pins and
>
If the referenced procedure above is to place the spring and lower
spring pan in place with a floor jack under the lower spring pan
and then raise the jack thereby compressing the spring, please
please DO NOT DO THAT!  The stored energy in the compressed
spring can kill.  Using this method leaves the spring free to
'let loose' if the car shifts while on the jack.  A far simpler,
safer, and time proven method for removal and replacement of TR
front springs is to use a long threaded rod, two nuts for the rod and
several washers.  A threaded rod of 1/2" diameter should be fine and
can be purchased in almost any hardware store.

If my message above is incorrectly interpreting Randall's method,
I'd like to hear more about it.  Otherwise, please keep safety
in mind whenever working on your car (or anything else for
that matter).  As a closing note on safety I offer the
following item as an indication that we can never be too
careful.  


A 41 year old Bay Area resident was crushed to death by his
Porsche in the parking lot of a motel.  South Lake Tahoe
police Lieutenant George Brown said the Porsche apparently
ran over the man while he was underneath it working on the 
starter.

Officials theorize that the car, which was not running but was 
in gear, lurched on top of the man when he somehow engaged the 
starter.  When the man checked into the motel, he had
commented to the desk clerk that he was having starter
trouble with the car.  He was observed working under it at
8pm and was found crushed to death about 40 minutes later.

Bill Sohl


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