Hello-does any one reconise these

[davemini59]

Hello my names dave and might be returning to midas owner ship.First off had my first around 89-90 ,it was a right off when i bought it .Ran it for a few years then sold to some one in bangor north wales would like to know what happen to it (was offered it back about ten years ago but stupidly said no )reg was Q730UDW.will try and post some pictures up of how it looked like when i bought it.Secondly might be buying a shell but the cars had a few owners and there is no log book or plate ,there has been plates on it .There is a chassis plate on it (do 100041 )its a red mk1 and i was wondering if any members reconised it .I have had a look at the old midas magazine ,they used to put members cars and details in it,but no luck. if i get the shell will post some photos of that as well .regards dave

[Stuart]

Welcome back Dave I've just checked the magazines too, with no luck either. I notice your old mk 2 was in Macclesfield around the time you mention, guessing you bought it shortly afterwards.

I look forward to seeing the photos. oh and is the red mk1 the one at the garage in mid Wales?

[davemini59]

hi stuart thanks for looking .yea the priveous owner was from macclesfield .He had a big off hitting a wall then a tree and was lucky only to get a scratch .no sorry its not the one from mid wales seen that a about 12 months back wouldnt mind it though

[b1zbaz]

Where in gods green earth is that red Midas living I would love to go visit that in my Midas when it misbehaves show what it may have ended up if it did not end up in the right hands

[Scary's Pal]

Hi Folks
As a long-term stalker, I was intrigued when mention of my former steed came up, so I now feel duty-bound to raise my head above the parapet.
I built, enjoyed and finally bent Q730UDW over a period of 4 years. It was purchased in 'Silver' form and collected from Corby on the Mayday bank holiday weekend in 1985, and on the road in July. It went through a period of modification, and was eventually fitted with a 1380 engine from MED, stage 2 head, HIF44, K&N, 3.1 final drive. This combination gave 'sprightly and tractable' performance, with good economy. I lived in Pontypool at the time (hence DW being a Cardiff registration at the time), and remember a couple of trips up to the Isle of Skye with a full load of camping and climbing gear returning over 45mpg and 60mph average speeds. This was when traffic was lighter, but the M5 was 2 lane south of Brum, the A74 was a 2 lane dual carrigeway with tractors, and the road up the side of Loch Lomond was single carriageway. Happy days.
The car was bent on the A5 near Glasfryn as I was going to N Wales to meet up with some friends. The back end slid sideways in a bend, and, although I got it back the first time, the second time wasn't so lucky. I remember a partial spin, hitting the kerb just beyond permendicular to it, and the car rolling. I closed my eyes as I moved to lay across the passenger seat, and hoped that it wouldn't hurt too much. When I came to a stop, I was upside down, but uninjured. I climbed out of the rear hatch opening, having removed the keys from the ignition, and found some people on the roadside looking at the wreckage. I climbed up to the road, and they were amazed that I was OK. The ambulance and police arrived, and eventually I was taken to the police station in Llanrwst to be checked over by the doctor, and sort out an accident report. I then got a taxi to Nant Peris to meet up with my friends, and discuss the events of the evening. I was aching the following morning - partly drink related, but mainly the adrenaline wearing off, and one of my friends took me back to the scene to rescue any odds and sods lying around. It looked like a combination of damp road, diesel slick, lift-off oversteer and surplus speed had done for me. At least i walked away.
I returned to Snowdonia a couple of weeks later to get some photo's for insurance purposes, and managed to sort out an insurance settlement relatively painlessly. I would have liked to buy the remains and rebuild into a new shell, but a change of job, house and 101 other things meant I took the money and ran.
I went to a few NW area meetings at a pub in Bowden, and did meet with Dave who had repaired the shell - far more brave than me!
Anyway, Here are a couple of pictures of the event, if I can upload them.

Regards

John
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[Scary's Pal]

For the second installment, it would seem that the car rotated around 120degrees in the spin before hitting the kerb and rolling half a turn. It cleared a low wall before forward motion was halted by a tree. The point of impact was just behind the passenger door, as noted by a tree-shaped indentation in the shell. I do not recommend this as a means of pruning trees!.
I managed to get myself the right way up without unbuckling the seatbelt - I still don't know how that happened.
The roof may have been removed during recovery, it was attached when I took the pictures.
I didn't think the damage would polish out..........

regards

John

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[Stuart]

Those pictures are quite scary, glad you walked away John. Dave you must have some skill to have repaired it.

Thanks for sharing the story John. I managed to get to a couple of the area meets at Bowden too.

[dusz]

Me thinls that UDW stands for upside down. This was just waiting to happen.
Glad to hear that you got out with only a bit of a shake up. Just goes to show how strong the moncoque is.