Clubby `burstproof locks' don't make the doors burstproof- my son had a headon in his Clubby (hit a Camry) and the door hinges broke in half, the LH door fell off the car!
BTW he's OK, after a fractured skull. Lucky...

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

This can be explained by the fact that most people drive more kms around their home than anywhere else, and hence you would expect a higher crash rate. For example, I drive to work, and therefore 5 days a week I usually don't venture any further than 10kms from home.
Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics.

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One should never skimp on the zip ties.

The way I see it, if god is going to take you, you are going to die. Whether in a BMW 7 series with 20,000 airbags or not. So just enjoy and stop lving to think about death!

If you are unsure of your own skills or whatever to drive a fun car, then go buy a Volvo. Simple as that.

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Lillee - 1969 Morris Mini K

I had a pretty major accident in a mini a few years ago...
a stobey pole came in through the Lh door, bent the roof etc...
subframes were poking outside the body line.
Three in the car, no rear seat belts. we all walked away, shaken up but not injured.
I would rather a crash in a mini than a new alfoil car.

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Miniworx Centre 0883741299
Sooperdooperminicooperexpertengineering
Online BMW Mini Shop

you just have to take it easy, really,
you need to look out and react,

today
I was in a sandwich, not crash
but in a long line, - me in mini
going up a hill, at 30 kays
there was a log laden truck, then a wood chip double-b thing (maybe thats what they are called) and then me, and then another big log truck, and then directly behind that was another double trailer woodchip truck.
And they dont give a lot of room, hard up my ass, and in a big line huge vehicles and a tiny car.

and i had to then stop dead in the highway, and pull across the on coming lane to get into my driveway. caiuse there were vehicles coming the other way
Fair dinkum
the bloody log truck went up the outside, there was no pull off area, and cheesecake me, i reckon he missed me by 10cm, and all he had to do was stop, cause i slowed down lots in advance, but no, he put the truck half off the road, because he didnt want to stop for 3 seconds, luckily the other truck behind that truck, stopped, cause he seemed to have more of a brain all i know is i would have wanted two huge trucks to ram me from behind.

another story
a bloke at work had a subaru leone, i think, a while ago, pulling off the road, a woman in a mini, didnt see him, and hammered his back end, the subaru was smashed, repairable just, but
hardly a scratch on the mini,
a slightly bent floor pan
the end

they are relatively tuff in a situation

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Sir Namibian CAMEL of MONGOLIA !!!
Vrilen Snyson Racing: Finding us all a Vrilen
Asparagus: Experience the versatility

The "they don't make them like they used to" question was answered by the guy in charge of holden's safety program a few years back. He explained that modern cars are deliberately designed to crumple like a can of coke when you step on it in order to absorb the forces of the crash.
When asked the question of what car he'd prefer to be in, he used an analogy some along the line of an old car is like a steel tool box, and modern car like an empty carton of beer. Now put either one on top of your head and use it as a battering ram into a wall - the carton is obviously softer than the steel tool box, but it will absorb some of the crash rather than remaining rigid and transfering all of the force to your head.

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One should never skimp on the zip ties.

hmm
i heard a phrase/quote from somewhere/ dunno where
about the old cars
non-collapseable steering columns,
it said
An Aussie Bloke Should be tough enough to cop a steering wheel in the chin.

i dunno what that means
but its silly
but fun

old cars win

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Sir Namibian CAMEL of MONGOLIA !!!
Vrilen Snyson Racing: Finding us all a Vrilen
Asparagus: Experience the versatility

But tests have shown people han handle an incredibla amount of G forces from sudden deceleration. Like that thing they did in the fifties with the rocket guy. Lots of it is relative to the restraint system I think. Had my car not had racing seats, I would have been stuffed.
Here's an experiment: Go down the local go kart track and plow a car into a wall at 50 or 60 kays. I have, and I walked. Now if that 4 point harness was replaced with a retractable car one, it probably would hurt as you'd move forward more and have less contact area holding you back.

thats true, and that is also why the hans device was invented, as the harness stops u moving so much that your head rockets forward without ur body and causes seriouse injury, when are they going to start putting roll cages in cars on the road, should be standard equipment, surley lives would be saved!

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Potato

in a heavy road accident and u coped a wheel to the chin, your chin would shatter into pieces and ruin ur face, or if the wheel is a peice of crap autobarn 5 dollar deal, the wheel will snap off and you will cop one from the steering column

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Potato

But if your anchored down in a full harness, your inards get compressed against your rid cage or spine, killing you without leaving external witness marks.
Sometimes you need something to slow down the impact.

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Miniworx Centre 0883741299
Sooperdooperminicooperexpertengineering
Online BMW Mini Shop

If you are going to head-on a tree, make it a small one. That's what saved us- it bent back a long way, when we hit it ~1M off the ground..

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

well thats handy to know when ur relying on them to save u in a big shunt, "car was ok because of the cage but the driver died cos he was wearing a saftey harness"

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Potato

I feel (and probably you too) safer strapped in a harness, but this is what caused my injuries in my mallala crash. Suspected broken neck in two spots and a compressed spine. All from being strapped in solid.
Seat belts are made so ambulance drivers don't have to go searching for the body.

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Miniworx Centre 0883741299
Sooperdooperminicooperexpertengineering
Online BMW Mini Shop

Face it, above a certain speed the chances of surviving an accident gets pretty small, regardless of "safety devices". The only safe car is one that never has an accident as luck is the biggest factor in deciding who lives or dies, there's plenty of cases where one person in a car get's away with barely a scratch while another in the same car gets killed.