Guys,

You won't like this post, but I've been delaying the news for quite some time now, I've been very reluctant to face that sooner or later I should tell you that I crashed the "Isonblade", and beyond repair. It's awful news, I don't know if I should think it was terrible luck, because in a sense I've been very very lucky as I wasn't injured at all, and also the car had fully comp insurance on an agreed value and I will be getting all my money back. The insurance company now owns the car and they have both the car and the documents.

It was a very sad day when I said goodbye to the nice Locost last week, I felt probably worse than the day I crashed it. The accident, well, I was cornering a roundabout and went too far, lost control, hit a kerb (damaging the engine, chassis, diff) then hit two big sign posts (damaging pretty much everything else).

I'm afraid I won't be able to come along to the monthly meetings for a while, well, actually a friend wants to attend the next one and he's got a car, so I may be there after all.. Oh and yes, I've already reported to Mr Ison himself..

Alez,
Guess first thing to say is glad you're ok.

Second thing is.... aaaaaaarghhhhh- you fool!

Ok, got that out the way now! Sorry couldn't help myself but I loved that car!

[Johnny Vegas voice]
The Isonblade... may you rest in piece! You took my racetrack virginity- and I love you!
/[Jonny Vegas voice] off.


Alez, you know it's possible to buy write-offs from the insurance company? Maybe you could salvage something from it to make it worthwhile- I can't believe it's worth anything to the insurance company!
I hope you had the seats atleast to move them on to the next one.

Have fun choosing the next car!

James

EDIT: Was the accident in Guildford- did the death of The 'blade cause a big traffic jam? Strangely I quite like the idea of a few thousand people having to sit and wait for it!
Even if one of them was probably me on the way to work!

[Edited on 3/2/04 by James]

[Edited on 3/2/04 by James]

Sad day, id'e known about it for a while but kept stum, the good news was like James said, Alex walked away, must have been built well..........

RIP the silver n green machine.

Oh, its the one at the frontImage deleted by owner

One last pic for those that never saw the car, bet a few on here can put names to faces............

Alez,
I'm very sorry to hear about this, but at least you are both unhurt and insured.
All the best for the future.
Alister

what a bummer,hope to see you at our meets still tho

quote:

---

Originally posted by Jon Ison
One last pic for those that never saw the car, bet a few on here can put names to faces............

---

Sorry to here the news Alez - really glad you got out unscathed. I've heard of a few people crash sevens and they all walked away - must be safer cars that they look.

The Isonblade took my track virginity too, I'll never forget the ride and the inspiration it gave me to build mine. It will be sadly missed.

So, you gonna buy another????? Give me another summer in mine and I might be convinced to sell it.....

Jon - Am I behing the camera from that pic from Donny??

[Edited on 4/2/04 by Jasper]

yup Jasper, twas u,

I lost count of how many sat in the passenger seat, the most famous though must have been Jan Magnesons old man, took him for a spin down some French country lanes whilst Jan was busy driving in the 2003 24hr at Le~Man,

Oh, sorry forgot, Hippy maybe is a little more famous.........

That's a real shame.

It's funny how some chunks of tin seem to have a personality isn't it?

I shall always remember the look on the face of the bloke in the Diablo as we went round him on the outside of "melbourne"!

Glad you're safe an well Alez.

Cheers

Chris

Alez,
Sorry to hear about the accident. The fact that you walked away & nobody was injured is a big plus - & brings me to my point - as someone who's piled a locost into unyeilding obstructions, would you say it's a good car to crash in? You look at one & think, low weight, poor side impact protection, not good, but spaceframes can "crumple" quite gracefully & 4 point harnesses should be a bonus too - any comments to make after your experience?
Cheers
Bob C

Alez,

Sorry to hear the bad news, just glad that you're ok and that I was privileged enough to have had a ride in it before it was too late!

I agree with James:
You should definatley try and get the car back off the insurance company, I'm sure there are plenty of bits that could be scavenged to help other builders.

Seats, digidash, cortina uprights, brakes, axle spring to mind, hopefully undamaged for a start....

Ned.

quote:

---

Originally posted by ned

Seats, digidash, cortina uprights, brakes, axle spring to mind, hopefully undamaged for a start....

Ned.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Jasper
Sorry to here the news Alez - really glad you got out unscathed. I've heard of a few people crash sevens and they all walked away - must be safer cars that they look.

---

Thanks Dad

Guys,

Thanks for sharing a few moments with me on the sad news, and thanks for your support. It's good to know you are happy about the news that I wasn't injured, you probably don't hate me so much after all!! I should add my comments.

>Second thing is.... aaaaaaarghhhhh- you fool!
>Ok, got that out the way now! Sorry couldn't help myself but I loved that car!

Everybody did including myself of course and then I destroyed it!!

> Alez, you know it's possible to buy write-offs from the insurance company? Maybe you could salvage something from it to make it worthwhile- I can't believe it's worth anything to the insurance company!
> I hope you had the seats atleast to move them on to the next one.

Couldn't take any bits at all, I had to provide them with pictures of the car for the agreed value, so I couldn't take anything at all before it went. I've been informed that the car will be sold at auction now. Apparently that's what this particular insurance company does. I can provide the details of the insurers and the car in case any of you are interested in finding out about the auction. As some of you mentioned, there's a lot of money in the different bits.

> Have fun choosing the next car!

I had decided to walk for a while as a kind of punishment or at least until I don't have such a bad feeling about this.

> Was the accident in Guildford- did the death of The 'blade cause a big traffic jam? Strangely I quite like the idea of a few thousand people having to sit and wait for it!
Even if one of them was probably me on the way to work!

He he, no it would never cause big trouble, remember it is so light that it can be moved out of the way by 2 people anytime. Still, if you from Guildford to Tesco, take a look at the big sign, just past the junction to the A3 on your right as you as you approach the roundabout. It has been repaired now but still looks a bit funny.

> Sad day, id'e known about it for a while but kept stum, the good news was like James said, Alex walked away, must have been built well..........

It was a very nice car Jon, everybody knows that well, and I had no injury whatsoever, in fact I went climbing that same evening to try to relax a bit because I felt I could explode if I continued thinking about how stupid I had been.

Thanks for posting the pictures as well, I'll add them to my personal collection of pictures of a really nice car I once had.

> So, you gonna buy another????? Give me another summer in mine and I might be convinced to sell it.....

Hey Jasper, I don't have plans just now, but I'll keep in touch, if you decided to sell I may well decide to buy.

> It's funny how some chunks of tin seem to have a personality isn't it?

It's no surprise, I mean, if you count the number of hours spent on the car, both carefully putting it together and thinking about the details, well, the result must have personality no matter how much £££ it is worth, this Locost had more personality than any Ferrari built in a production line.

> Sorry to hear about the accident. The fact that you walked away & nobody was injured is a big plus - & brings me to my point - as someone who's piled a locost into unyeilding obstructions, would you say it's a good car to crash in? You look at one & think, low weight, poor side impact protection, not good, but spaceframes can "crumple" quite gracefully & 4 point harnesses should be a bonus too - any comments to make after your experience?

I don't have a huge experience in really big accidents, well, actually I've had a few to be honest, hmm. Anyway, I would prefer to crash in one of these rather than any normal car actually, I felt very clearly that these wouldn't roll, it felt very difficult to have it rolling compared to the majority of road cars, that's a big plus. It depends a lot on the way you drive. Generally I don't like speed, it just scares me, that's why I got the Blade, it's bloody quick but top speed is not high, so it's big fun without a lot of risk. I usually drive a bit mad, but never very fast, I mean, 60 mph inside a roundabout can be mad, but 60 mph is not very fast, which means you probably won't die if you crash. I find the Locost ideal for that kind of crash. I would like to be involved in a high speed crash with a Locost at all though, I rather crash my brother's Golf IV, chunky and plenty of airbags? Well, he may not agree! But generally I'd say it's a great car, I felt very tightly fastened to the chassis at all times and was injured in no way at all.

> Second, looking at it the other way, most 7's are lighter and more powerful than the average domestic car. They are also rear-wheel drive. This adds up to a package that very few ordinary drivers will be used to (me included) so the risk of a serious and sudden accident is more likely. I don't know if Alez was caught out by the car in this case, but it has happened to quite a few people.

I totally agree David. My Locost was all of this: rear wheel drive, front engine, no LSD, live axle, and huge BHP / weight ratio. My conclusion is this requires either a very very careful driver (who driver very far from the limits) or a very very talented and experienced one (who knows exactly where these limits are), and I was neither. Because when things go wrong, you find yourself spinning and there's nothing you can do about it. Oh, and with the Locost blade there is not such thing as half right or wrong, it goes from "fantastic fun" mode to "oh my God I'm gonna die" mode without notice, that's a fact.

> Not trying to criticise anyone here - just saying that these are old-fashioned cars that grip like the proverbial on a blanket, but let go big-time when the grip goes. Let's be careful out there!

You are absolutely right!

Cheers,

Alex

quote:

---

Originally posted by Jasper
Thanks Dad

---

Alez,

You must have been going some to lose it there, that roundabout is bloody wide, ironically I'm buying a house about 1/2 mile round the corner from there...

Ned.

Hi Ned,

I didn't feel like I was going very fast but maybe I was, I don't know, everybody says I take the roundabouts very fast generally and particularly I used to drive the Locost with my rear wheels spinning at almost every corner. What I had yet to learn is that when it goes, it's over and there's nothing you can do to recover and control it. If only I had known I could lose it forever!

Cheers,

Alex

try and get a go in a kart(proper not hire kart)that will teach you a lot about car controll

Do you mean it's realistic to think you can recover the situation once you have lost both back and front end and are spinning? Or do you mean that you learn how to drive with your real wheels spinning all the time without any risk of losing your front end as well?

Cheers.

Alez,

You certainly learn how to drive, as karts are much lighter and twitchy and more basic, more emphasis on driver control.

Did the Ison blade not have an lsd? I would think an lsd might help the wheel spin out of the bends, but driving style will determine this a lot too i guess.

Ned.

By my fifth track day I could come out of every corner sideways and pull it back in a straight line, just took some practice and lots of space (with nothing big and hard to hit!). Once the whole car is completely spinning though I should think you are f*cked.....

The only thing you can possibly do once your spinning is hit the brakes as hard as possible and lock all 4 wheels. This will send you in a straight line (still spinning) in the direction you were heading. So, the theory being (and I've only done it on a track) that if you spinning and heading more or less down the road then it'll keep you on the road.

Alright so not likely to help in real road situation but it helped me once when on track in an elise.

By the way, this was what the instructor told me to do the previous time I span it!!

Hmm, very interesting actually. So the conclusion would be: it's fine to spin the back end, as long as you don't take it too far, so make sure that you keep quite a lot of margin, right?

the tricks to provoke the rear end out then keep it there with use of the right foot n steering wheel,

with the comment about karts... total control. Driver and kart become 1 -

I popped by the roundabout in question and took a couple of pics, i think i have found the final resting place of the isonblade.

I'll get the pics up as soon as i get my camera back off my other half.

Ned.

Pics as mentioned above, confirmed by Alez as the site of the accident...


isonblade1

isonblade2

isonblade3

Ned.

Alex, glad you're OK, I did write a long reply to this the other day then the website bombed on me and I lost it all and didnt have the time to type it all in again!
Anyway at the end of the day its how confident you feel in your own abilities and how confident you feel in the car. If you can comfortably control the car whilst the rear wheels are spinning and the back end is sliding then great, but either way the road is not the place to be experimenting to see if you do have that ability or not

Chris

[Edited on 17/2/04 by ChrisGamlin]

In spite of what I said earlier in this thread, the reason why most people build or buy these cars is that they are raw, exciting and occasionally scary things to drive, unlike mass-produced tedium machines.

Alez was unlucky, in that when he lost control there was something hard in the way... but lucky that he walked away unscathed.

David

Sorry to bring this thread up again. I know someone who wrote off a herse on that roundabout. Luckily no passenger.
Just wondered if you had the auction details let. Wouldnt mind going, sure others might join me to.

Hi!

Thanks for the long reply anyway, Chris. My problem is always the same: Generally, I feel too confident for my skills, and that applies to many aspects in my life!

Jam, that particular roundabout has built a reputation, I've heard some stories since my accident actually. Ensign, which is the big insurance group, should be able to tell you about the auctions, the reg was GFE788N.

Ned, sorry I missed it earlier, the Isonblade had a normal Cortina diff, live axle no LSD.

Cheers,

Alex

Purchased from insurance company on 28/2/04 she lives on. Now lives at Retford Notts
Can anyone with any information call Marcus on 07973 149744

dont do mobiles

quote:

---

Originally posted by Jon Ison
dont do mobiles

---

Excellent news Marcus, I'm very happy about the news.

Cheers,

Alex

Marcus,
If you want a shufty at a built MK blade, I'm in Misterton.

Cheers

Ben