Morris Minor Owners Club

In the carpark, waiting patiently for a row of cars ahead to move forwards. Someone pulled out of a parking space and the car ahead of me, a Smart Car, decided to reverse right into my front end at quite a rapid pace. Looked like she might have been suffering from a bit of parking Road Rage!

Lots of tinkling sounds as bits of car hit the ground, some loud tearing noises and quite a big thump. She pulled forwards and I could see she'd lost her rear lights, numberplate and the rear bumper (plastic) was punctured and torn. Fearing the worst, I ventured forwards to look at the Minor. The chrome on the over-riders on the front bumper had some dirt polished off of them and the numberplate bracket was bent back a few degrees. That's all.

Result, tough little cars made out of real metal !.

Several years back someone rear ended me in a queue of traffic, not in the minor though.

I had a towbar fitted, the most he did to me was split my towball cover and bend the electric socket bracket and a mark or two on my bumper which polished out with no effort.

His car had suffered a punctured bumper cover and numerous radiators and condensers split open at the front, plenty of water pouring out !.

Didn't have the heart to ask him to replace my towball cover as I think he may have come off worse.

Glad you got off without damage, and that there were no injuries.

Smart Car is supposed to be so tough that in a collision it will retain full structural integrity far beyond the occupants' threshold for fatal organ trauma.

Are your bumper mounts ok? Mine are pushed back into the inner wing, and from discussions with Tim at Charles Ware i understand this is not uncommon after a shunt. Apparently the solution is to hit them with your biggest hammer from inside the wheel arch

Mine are OK. They've been punched backwards before and had new brackets welded in.

Glad I wasn't in the Lowlight!!

A row of cars pulled up sharply as someone decided to turn across the traffic flow, woman behind me didn't and ran into the back of my nice Triumph Toledo.
First words she said was ' what did you stop for'!
Couldn't believe it, as Mr Mildrew said.

Alan

I had a bump in my traveller a couple of months after I got it. I was passing a parked car (Nissan Duke) on a deserted road on my way to the tip when the said Duke decided to pull out and do a U turn. I slammed on locking the wheels but he hit me on the near side front wing and door, to say I was a bit miffed doesn't cover it. After exchanging details, and him admitting fault, I continued on to the tip where a small crowd gathered tutting and expressing their sorrow at the damage so my return trip was delayed a bit. On the way back the Duke was parked up where I last saw it so I stopped to see what was wrong. It turned out that the Nissan was undriveable because the steering was damaged and the driver had broken his wrist in three places, apart from my couldn't believe it bone being severely bruised I was unharmed and my car was only superficially dented.

The downside of Minors being tough in minor fender benders is the lack of crumple zones.

Moderns crumple up like a coke can at a slight knock, but that’s to absorb the energy and keep it away from the occupants.

Just a little price we pay. Drive defensively guys!

I walked away from a 60mph crash when a Merc truck hit our traveller. The front right wheel rim was in the front footwell with my feet, the damper arm was bent back more than 90 degrees but the crossmember it was bolted to was still straight. The right chassis leg was stuffed but the left one was straight as a straight thing. Both vehicles were written off. I snapped both thumbs on the steering wheel and needed 18 months off work for the new ligaments to knit onto the bone.
The damage was quite localised, as Brian says, but was much less than I would have experienced in a modern car. The Policeman said I was lucky to have been in a 'Tank' since another more modern car might have removed my feet entirely.

Our friend Johnathan in Dorset had a head-on with a Ford Transit that hit so hard that the gearbox bell housing shattered.

I was stationary on a main road slip exit when a lorry hit us row of cars, 7 in all, think I was third from back.
Didn't know anything about it until I retrieved my head from looking at the roof to find my radio had been shot out of the dash and was now sitting in my lap! Made Radio 2 news!
My Astra Estate was drivable but written off, the whole process took months.

Alan

I got £95,000 from L&G Insurance, so, not a total disaster.

Quite an event!

Love “straight as a straight thing”. Must remember that one.

You obviously don't watch Blackadder !

Love it. Must have missed that episode.

I was hit in in the black minor in stationery traffic years ago by a brand new mondeo estate. The noise it made was incredible. His bumper was off, sump guards off and bonnet popped, my ds over rider was bent over!

Another bump in the series 11 traveller this time, a new polo hit me, again big noise and I thought the back end was going to be like a pile of fire wood. Silght bend in the bumper iron mounting and a dent in the 1/4 chrome bumper. Again the front of the polo was wrecked.