I have been a long term member on the forum but very rarely write something and the main reason for that is that my mother was the one who bought the SC for her self back in 2005. Now all my family lives in Ukraine and I live in England so I don't get to drive the SC as much as I want to. But recently (2 years ago) I took a 2 year work contract and relocated to Kiev. As my mum never uses the car anymore it has been in my possession ever since I got here, and what a car it is! I love the 4.3 V8 (although I wish it had a turbo on it) I love the interior, beautiful design with white leather and of course the hard top convertible.

Sorry gone a bit of topic here, needles to say I love that car. Unfortunately 3 weeks ago ( or maybe even more now) I was involved in an accident. A taxi driver pulled out from the side of the road without looking and the car in front of me came to a sudden stop and I ended up driving into him. The most annoying thing is that I wasn't speeding, I wasn't driving recklessly, I was just cruising after a long and tiering day.

I hated the experience, I hated seeing my SC like that, but thought I would share some photos in case anyone was interested.

 

So sorry to hear about that alex. Are you planning on getting it repaired or is it going to get totaled out?

 

Oh my, so sorry dude, breaks my heart to see an SC this way.

 

I have mostly repaired it already. Thankfully the damage didn't reach the engine. Had to replace both radiators, bumper, bonnet, one of the headlights, the top structural bracket and all the chrome.
Still getting some errors like the seat position memory buttons stopped working, the radiator is leaking even though I replaced it with a new one (need to investigate further) and the bumper that was painted is now flaking off. So all in all still a while to go.

 

im so sorry this happened to you. About the new radiator, was screw type clamps used? With plastic fittings such as the radiator, you should never use the screw type clamp. They apply pressure unevenly, and can cause the plastic to crack. Any time anyone is clamping a hose to plastic, use a spring type clamp like came from the factory.

 

Thanks man. This is it with a new top structural bar.

 

Hmm to be honest I don't know... Will definitely check. Thank for the tip. What do the spring ones look like?

 

pin your picture, the hose clamp at the thermostat housing. That factory clamp is a spring type. A spring type is one you pinch together to remove it from the hose. A screw type is one you use a screw driver or a nut driver on to remove it.

usually the crack will appear after some heat cycles, but they can happen right away if tightened really tight. I know some will say they've done it and haven't had a problem. I have seen it happen many, many times though. So I don't use them anymore, better safe than sorry.

 

Hopefully, it can all be fixed without lasting damage. At least the rear side where the convertible mechanism was not effected.

 

Alex, the hose clamp type is shown in your photo. Look at the upper radiator hose. That is the type of clamp Cole is referring too.

you can also see it here in my photo below. This is a better hose clamp

 

Got it. Thanks Will have a look