I had a similar, but less drastic, experience. My car had passed a safety
inspection. An elderly lady in a big car pulled out of a church parking
lot, without stopping first, onto the street where I was heading and stopped
crossways in front of me. The brakes did work. The front end just about
scraped the ground. ( I was expecting to see sparks. ) I stopped short of
her car door. Later I found brake fluid on my shoe and the floor mat.
Robert D.
-----Original Message-----
From Jeff Boatright <jboatri at emory.edu>
To: kate & gary <kgb@clipper.net>
Cc: spridgets@autox.team.net <spridgets@autox.team.net>
Date: August 9, 2000 4:06 PM
Subject: Re: 1ST DRIVE IN 4 YEARS!!!!!!!
>My guess, and I realize that this is an unsolicited opinion, is that
>they are not OK. The various rubber components in the master and
>slave cylinders will dry out without use (even if the system is
>topped up, which yours was not). Also, there is probably quite a bit
>of moisture in the system. It simply collects over time right out of
>the air. Really. The brakes may feel OK now, but the first time you
>_really_ need to stop, you really tromp on 'em, a crumbling gasket
>will blow and we'll find out how good you are at emergency steering.
>Not to be a jerk, but this does happen; it happened to me. I was
>LBC-young and foolish. We don't want it to happen to you, Kate. As
>John Muir used to say, in all human endeavors, but especially
>relationships and cars, it is much easier to go, but much harder yet
>more important to stop.
>
>At 8:54 AM -0700 8/9/00, kate & gary wrote:
>>Actually, the brakes only have about 5000 miles on them - maybe even a
little
>>less. The car has been sitting for 10 years, in increments of 2 - 4 years
at
>>a time. I added fluid to the nearly empty reservoir and pumped the pedal a
>>bit, and started getting pressure, so I think they will be ok.
>>Kate
>>
>>Larry Macy wrote:
>>
>> > HOORAY!!! And Congrats on getting her running,
>> >
>> > Now get the brakes FIXED!!!
>> >
>> > Larry
>> >
>> > At this exact moment in time 8/8/00 23:21, kgb@clipper.net made the
>> > profound statement:
>> >
>> > >Finally got Madge running well enough to run her down the road and
back.
>> > >I had almost forgotten what it feels like to drive her. Still need to
>> > >buy a battery and pump up the brakes a bit more, but she RUNS!!! It
was
>> > >a little disconcerting when I went to turn around in the tavern
parking
>> > >lot and found out that the only brakes I had was the gearbox, but what
>> > >the heck - MGs were made to go, not stop.
>> > >Kate
>> >
>> > Larry Macy
>> > 78 Midget
>> >
>> > Keep your top down and your chin up
>> >
>> > Larry B. Macy, Ph.D.
>> > macy@bblmail.psycha.upenn.edu
>> > System Administrator/Manager
>> > Neuropsychiatry Section
>> > Department of Psychiatry
>> > University of Pennsylvania
>> > 3400 Spruce St. - 1015 Gates
>> > Philadelphia, PA 19104
>> >
>> > Ask a question and you're a fool for three minutes; do not ask a
>> > question and you're a fool for the rest of your life.
>
>
>_____________________________________________________________
>Jeffrey H. Boatright, PhD
>Assistant Professor, Emory Eye Center, Atlanta, GA, USA
>Senior Editor, Molecular Vision, http://www.molvis.org/molvis
>mailto:jboatri@emory.edu
>
>
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