Shoddy workmanship that could of killed me

[XCwillo]

Im so angry right now
like seriously, i never get angry
but im raging

Got my exhuast system done at redmans exhuast in Hervey Bay today
They somehow screwed the latch up for the bonnet
I drive home
Bonnet flys open at 60k's
it wasnt open in anyway, it "looked" fully shut like normal
but when i was almost home, it flys up and i hear a sickening crunching noise
Its twisted the GS bonnet and slammed it back into the body work
I drove it back home at 20k's to stop it from going up again (it wouldnt shut)
inspected the damage
At the hinges it had bulged out and cracked the paintsomething chronic
so i thought hmmm ill just loosen the bolts and move it foward so i can close it and get to work
So i started loosening the bolts and one of the fires out like a rocket and the bonnet just bends to an angle
At this point i woulda smashed the brickwall next to me but i had to get to work and mixxing ice cream with broken knuckles is a no no

You might not think it coulda killed me but given the circumstances it could very well have been a lot worse, and ive had a mate who has had this happen and it smashed his windscreen, cutting him all over.

Going back to the exhaust shop tommorow to Raise hell

[adelaidecrows02]

Take some photos now dude

[TheInterceptor]

Jeez mate, thats a real bummer.

At least you're OK. Good luck raising hell.

[OLDFORDNUT]

i dont like Redman but if bonnet looked properly shut then why did your latch not catch it if it was working properly and adjusted correctly? it should have caught the latch when it sprang up.
but give the ripoff artist a good serve anyway.

[Kryton]

I remember our old XB pano doing the same thing in the 80's.
Might not be the exhaust guys fault at all, might just be a coincidence.

[XCwillo]

ive considered that it might be a coincidence but its never happened ever before.
i dont know whether they have shut it and then pulled the hood cord again and its just stayed unlatched and jammed but didnt pop the hood up.
But this has got me really down, considering ive spent so much on the car and this was the last thing to get done before i could start paying everyone back, and then this happens after a full week of nothing going right
considering selling it just to be over and done with all the troubles >.>

[3vXT]

Could've killed someone else too if it blocks the windscreen, you can't see where you're going and park the car on someone walking their dog etc...

Maybe its a coincidence but i'd be going back and firing off a big WTF just in case.

[Landau Stable]

whenever i work on a car, i make it a point to check the catch when closing the bonnet. Always a little upwards pull just to make sure it is latched correctly. Doesn't matter if it is an old beast or a modern one. It's just common sense and safe practice. Any half decent mechanic should follow the same ritual. Also, the bottom line is that they presented the car to you as a finished job. Clealy they gave it to you without closing it properly, so give them hell.

[Pinkbits]

Whilst i understand your situation and appreciate how upset and angry you are (I've had the same thing happen and the safety catch stopped it lifting).
Do you think it is advisable to start a thread with all guns blazing and naming the workshop BEFORE you have spoken to them?

[smacxr8]

Ive had the same thing happen to me a fair few years back, i was driving my xc ute at 100km down a main road and the bonnet catch let go whipping the bonnet up and wrapped it over my roof, didnt break the screen luckily but you can imagine how bloody scary that is at that speed. Luckily it was early in the morning so not much traffic, so i managed to pull over without any real drama. I pulled the bonnet off and chucked it in the back.
So im not saying the exhaust guys did or didnt cause the problem with yours, but i had never had an issue with my bonnet before that day, it was just one of those freaky things.
Hope yours works out ok, good luck with it.

[pottery beige]

lesson in life... when if in off chance that a car has to go out for other muppets working on it... when picking car up have a good walk around it, check for dirty finger prints, rubber up guards and pop the bonnet give it a good look over for anything that has been missed.... check it all out and make sure your happy before you leave as after the fact will generally leave you with a response of 'not our fn problem'....

[big_landau]

i have seen this happen a few times a bad one was when i was a passenger in a v8 capri and the bonnet flew open at high speed.did you hit a bump or pothole?sometimes this can jar the bonnet open.

[flappist]

Was this the original bonnet or the new one that you fitted to the car?

[XCwillo]

Nah it was on completely normal piece of road
And flappist this was the new one that The smash repairs fitted to the car after i got them to do the work to it
Here's the damage
This will need to all be panel beaten yeah?

[flappist]

Be careful with the accusations and how you talk with them.

They may have cocked up but you have a non standard bonnet that you personally have removed and replaced several times (as shown in your pics on your build page).

Did they remove the bonnet to do the exhaust fitting or just open it?

If all they did was open and close the bonnet and it looked locked when you drove off AND the safety catch did not grab at such a low speed then you may be blaming the wrong person....

[XCwillo]

we took the bonnet off once during the rebuild and even then that would have nothing to do with it cause its just a matter of doing up the 2 bolts on each hinge, since then its worked perfectly normal as it should.
Keeping in mind i was also driving against the wind and last night was like a hurricane so thats why it did so much damage at a low speed
And if it worked normally this whole time, and then suddenly after getting them to work on it, it flies open, and they where the last people to close the bonnet, then surely its their fault?

[b0son]

Originally Posted by XCwillo

they where the last people to close the bonnet, then surely its their fault?

if it looked closed, then perhaps there was a problem with the latch? highly unlikely they'll accept responsibility.

[Matt P]

When I started at Ford I remember one of the old guys telling me the bonnet on a XB came up on him once. I think it may be a coinsidence and it seems to happen to these models in particular. It also maybe why the GT and GS versions got the 2 bonnet lock pins.

[pottery beige]

be carefull with the blame game.. are you saying they intentionally never closed it properly to cause you all this grief.... we use to play musical bonnets with my old bomb and from one bonnet to the other special little tweaks were involved.. tweak tweak check check no bonnet fly uppy.....

[flappist]

Originally Posted by XCwillo

we took the bonnet off once during the rebuild and even then that would have nothing to do with it cause its just a matter of doing up the 2 bolts on each hinge, since then its worked perfectly normal as it should.
Keeping in mind i was also driving against the wind and last night was like a hurricane so thats why it did so much damage at a low speed
And if it worked normally this whole time, and then suddenly after getting them to work on it, it flies open, and they where the last people to close the bonnet, then surely its their fault?

Sit back and think about what you have just written.

[DJR-351]

As flappist said, unless for some reason they removed the bonnet (why?) I would say the problem was already there and just waiting for the right conditions to show itself....why did the safety catch not work...??

[MAV50L]

There is no way in the world they exhaust place is going to accept responsibility.
All a big coincidence Im afraid.

[XCwillo]

@ flapist if you're implying the wind did it, i drove 4 hours from brisbane back to the bay in worse conditions and everything was fine.
But yes, it could of been the whole fact of it being a coincidence
but i just got in contact with the guys son and calmly explained what happened and he told his dad (Mr Redman) and they're coming over to my house personally to asses the damage and take care of it :|
Suffice to say i was a little more then surprised when he said this

[mik]

its hard to kow, my old xc you could hear the catch lock in with a nice metalic sound if shut properly, on mine i had the bump stops adjusted fairly tightly so the bonnet would`nt flap and would sit nice, it would take a good slam to shut , if not slammed or closed with some force it would close but not lock.

[XCwillo]

They just came out to my place and had a look and he said he'll sort it all out and i just had to drop it off at the smash repairs on monday morning to get it all sorted.
So i guess i came off harsh originally but that was just cause i had finally gotten everything fixed and this happened, i was more or so raging at the fact it happened rather then who did it.
Redman said even if it was a coincidence they where the last people working on it so it was their responsibility to make sure everything was good before it left the workshop
More then happy with the way this has been handled

[RAREV8]

Originally Posted by XCwillo

They just came out to my place and had a look and he said he'll sort it all out and i just had to drop it off at the smash repairs on monday morning to get it all sorted.
So i guess i came off harsh originally but that was just cause i had finally gotten everything fixed and this happened, i was more or so raging at the fact it happened rather then who did it.
Redman said even if it was a coincidence they where the last people working on it so it was their responsibility to make sure everything was good before it left the workshop
More then happy with the way this has been handled

Good lord, thats a result! They either know something that they aren't telling or they are simply very honourable. Either way, a lucky out come for you.

[XCwillo]

Im going to go with the fact they are very honerable.
They have the best reputation in the bay and have their own racing team that races in formula ford, speedway and other things, so its things like this that will keep their name good!

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by flappist

Sit back and think about what you have just written.

Aw geez flappy, if everyone did this it would take all the laughs from AFF!

Originally Posted by XCwillo

They just came out to my place and had a look and he said he'll sort it all out and i just had to drop it off at the smash repairs on monday morning to get it all sorted.
So i guess i came off harsh originally but that was just cause i had finally gotten everything fixed and this happened, i was more or so raging at the fact it happened rather then who did it.
Redman said even if it was a coincidence they where the last people working on it so it was their responsibility to make sure everything was good before it left the workshop
More then happy with the way this has been handled

Couldn't ask for more than that.

[ea90_S]

Mate that is service. Be thankfull its always workshops most of the time they couldnt give 2 shits!!

[Cashie]

That is excellent customer service....
A couple of questions though..
- Do XCs really only have one bolt on each hinge (the hinges appear to have two holes)?
- Why didn't the safety catch work if the main catch was not engaged correctly?