Miata Mailing List: January 1995, Message #81
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   From: "Irwin, Chuck" 
Subject: Miata Wanna be repsonses
   Date: Wed, 4 Jan 1995 09:22:47 -0500

>
>From: "Irwin, Chuck"  (considering buying a
>"totaled" miata):
>
>> 2) The front bumper top and bottom are trashed. There is no damage to 
the 
>> underlying structure, the hood doesn't close, but that is because the 
>> bumper interferes.
>>
>> 6) The steering wheel was cut in the center, the air bag pulled out 
and 
>> cut off. (The air bag did not fire as the front end was not damaged 
>> enough.)

>Wait.  How much of an impact is necessary to fire the air bag?  Trashing
>the front bumper isn't enough??  Or was the bumper crushed by the giant
>Vice Grips of Science without benefit of any horizontal impact?
>
>_________________________________________________________________________

>Bill Brooks            Babbling Brooks Llamas            bbrooks@mrj.com
>        The World's Only Llama Breeder/Supercomputer Programmer

Thanks to everyone for the responses to my question about a wrecked 
Miata. I doubt I'll be rushing down to there any time soon to pick up the 
car! I got a lot of good repsonses from people on the list. Everyone must 
love their car as few people said out flat that I should definitely not 
do it. However, the general consensus was that a good used Miata could be 
had for close to what it would take in $ and sweat to get this one 
running. 

I forgot to mention that it started easily and ran fine after it warmed 
up for 5 minutes. It had Power windows so I guess this makes it a B.

This particular repsonse raised a very good question, does any one know " 
How much of an impact is necessary to fire the air bag?" I tend to think 
this is right up there with the number of licks it takes to get to the 
center of a tootsie pop lollie pop. The experts will scratch their chins 
and say, "It depends".

The bumper ( or bumper cover perhaps?) in question appears to have been 
the victim of a downward point impact perhaps caused perhaps by a 
Louisville Slugger. (There were no characteristic scratches that would 
have been made by the giant Vice Grips of Science, and they would have 
had to have been very large ones at that :} )The result was several 
softball size depressions.  As this is a plastic piece it has small 
fracture lines in it and I don't think  it will pop out like metal. It is 
a moot point though as this was going to be thrown in for the purchase 
price.  The actual accident appears to have involved the front fender.

It's possible that I am wrong about all of this and the air bag did fire. 
But then we may never know...

I'm still looking at good used Miatas.  I'll probably wait until there is 
snow on the ground and then give the yard a call and see if they will 
take a lot less... other wise spring should find me in a good used Miata.

Chuck Irwin

1986 Isuzu Trooper II 176,000 miles (100,000 mine)
1969 Plymouth Valiant V8 172,000 miles ( 50,000 mine)
???? Miata ??? (It's just a matter of time)

Dialogic Inc.
1515 Route 10 East 
Parsippany, NJ 07054
1-201-993-3000 x 6162
C.Irwin@dialogic.com

Disclaimer: These are the ramblings of Chuck Irwin, a person who sees 
wonderful and  bizarre things when he closes his eyes, and therefore 
should be taken with many grains of salt until something better is 
written. ( It helps that I bonked my head the other Day while working on 
my Trooper)