SF Gate: Freak fire traps man inside Audi...

[Steve Sears]

FWIW, the guy should have had an ideal tool for getting out of the window -
his ignition key.  Put that in your hand, make a fist and wack away.  Many
of the postings lately have been about impacts from the outside of the car
as well.  IME, the glass is umteen times stronger to impacts on the outside.
My parent's '82 Honka was wacked many times in the windshield by rocks,
birds (early morning high speed runs down gravel roads nets many
swallows/robins/doves/etc. in the windshield) and tree branches (so we went
to a few bush parties....) - it took that all in stride.  But one punch from
my idiot friend on the passenger side was enough to spider-crack the glass
("How'd that happen???" was the brilliant comment  - just before my brother
pulled over and smacked him upside the head)  In the case of the Type 44 -
the original windshield of a friend's car was busted when his 3 year old son
lifted himself up using the rear-view mirror as a grab handle - not
shattered, but cracked to full height.
Haven't tried it at a junkyard (and don't plan on it, either), but the front
door windows look fairly easy to break _from the inside_, as their only
restraint points are the bottom "sill" and that connector in the top corner,
adjacent to the B-pillar which runs in a track - the rest of the perimeter
of the window is unrestrained from flexing outwards as it sits on the
outside of the window gasket.
Hell, the A-team always seemed to make whatever they needed from the
contents of their van - which had to hold 4+ "adults" and a set of
oxy-acetaline torches and bottles, and MacGuyver could make an A-bomb from
pocket lint ;-) (not true examples, but anyway) - the guy was surrounded
with things that would have helped him get out - the problem was he panicked
(hey, I probably would have too)
As far as the sale of automatic centre punches to thieves - around here I
have heard the fave tool of choice is a spark plug (found this out from my
uncle after his Jeep was almost stolen - caught them in the act...)
Cheers!
Steve Sears
1987 5kTQ
1980 5k
1962 and '64 Auto Union DKW Junior deLuxes
[SPAM Blocker Note: Remove SHOES to reply]