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Before I start I should describe the terrain and surroundings
of my home. I live up in the hills on 1 ¼ acre of land. The driveway is very
long and runs all the way to the back of the property (about 250 feet). The
driveway gently slopes towards the front of the property with a severe drop at
the front. Caution must be used when entering and leaving to angle the
Imperial just right so the rear bumper does not drag. Across the street my
neighbors property has a sharp drop, a couple of small sheds, then straight
down to the bottom of the canyon. My wife and I were getting ready to head out for a local
Imperial get-together yesterday. I got the 67 warmed up and pulled around the side
yard (this spot in the driveway is nearly level which is why I check fluid levels
there). All the other fluids had been checked but I wanted to check tranny
fluid before hitting the road. I grabbed a decent size rock from the yard and
placed it under one of the wheels so the car would not roll forward when I put
it in neutral to check fluid. At this point I should mention that the parking brake does
not stay engaged when the transmission is in neutral. The automatic parking
brake release is out of adjustment on the steering column and I haven’t gotten
around to getting up under the dash to mess with it. Mostly because it works
fine when the in Park position and automatically disengages when I put it in
Drive. So it has been a low priority. (until now) To continue, the tranny fluid level was fine. I shut off
the engine, grabbed the rock from under the wheel and tossed it back in the
yard, and headed into the house to take care of a few last minute things before
heading out for the day. At the time I removed the rock the car remained
stationary. After I got back in the house it started to creep forward ever so
slowly. When I came back out the Imperial was gone. OMG !! I knew immediately
what had happened, I forgot to put the tranny back in Park. (some of you may
have caught that) I ran to the driveway to look around the corner of the
house. I expected to see the car gone and a path of destruction leading through
my neighbors yard and into the canyon. Instead the car had veered slightly to
the left and made it about 20 feet before colliding with 5 big plastic trash
cans pushed up against the chimney. So I had plastic bottles and card board
from the recycle bin all over the driveway. (easy to clean up) The left side
of the car was so close to the house I had to climb in from the passenger side.
I started it up and backed away from the mess and got out to inspect what
damage had been done. But there was no damage, not even a scratch. It was a
lucky day for me and the Imperial. All the trash cans had cushioned the impact
and brought the car to a gentle stop. Have I re-prioritized my to-do list for the 67 Imperial?
You betcha. Fixing the parking brake release is now at the top of the list. Ken 67 Crown 4 Dr Ht (still in one piece) 68 LeBaron 4 Dr Ht |
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