Help needed

[Kieran R1100S]

An old Army mate of mine rang me up tonight to ask me if I could help him.
He has a Porche 928S manual and in Australia it’s considered a collector car.
Anyway he decided to sell the car and handed it over to a friend who is or was a car detailer.
The story goes like this.
She washed the car also the engine and reversed it into her garage to dry over night so she could perform the rest of the detailing the next day.
Apparently she left the car in 1st gear with the hand brake on. Took the keys out of the ignition, closed the roller door and went inside and placed the keys down.
She then decided to go for a walk and was gone for 2 hours. Her husband was inside the house while she was gone.
On returning she noticed the Porche has ploughed through the roller door and come to rest down the drive and hit the side of the house with the steering lock of the car still on.
My friends question is could the car have started its self from a short coursed by the water over the engine, get up enough speed to knock down the roller door and come to rest on the house.
Personally I told him the likely story sound to me that she put her foot on the gas peddle instead of the brake and did the damage herself and concocted the whole story.
Is there anyone who has heard of this or maybe owned this vehicle and knows of this problem occurring?
Or can a car of that vintage start itself coursed from a short of some kind?
Also the motor was in tune and did not suffer from preignition, timing way out!
Any help appreciated.

[Bob Hancock]

I don't think we need any Porsche experts on this one, Kieran, as you have solved the mystery. Highly unlikely to impossible, for a car that is backed into the garage, presumably at idle, and left in first, engine off, to be able to start itself and give itself enough gas to crash through a door, thereby liberating itself to meet the house. So even if it were possible to start the engine in gear (not hard to check), it would take significant throttle to over come the hand brake and do the rest.

She doesn't even get the imagination award. She should have been able to come up with something better than that given she had 2 hours to think it through.

PS....post this over on the Pelican Porsche Forum. They deserve an eye roll and chuckle too.

[Kieran R1100S]

thanks Bob I'll put it over there.

[bikerfish1100]

start itself, overpower the hand brake and bust thru the garage door? yeah, right. shorts typically turn things off, not on (unless they are legitimate "short-shorts", in which cae we're dealing with a different animal entirely)

[ATA]

and how thick do insurance people have to be, to take such excuses seriously...

[PFFOG]

Originally Posted by Kieran R1100S

............
Personally I told him the likely story sound to me that she put her foot on the gas peddle instead of the brake and did the damage herself and concocted the whole story...................

This is where my $$$ is, just like 99% of the unintended acceleration claims, from Audi to Toyota and more, it may be unintended, but not the cars fault.

First if you backed it in, why not leave it in reverse when parked? Next the number of circuits that would have to mysteriously make connection simultaneously is well beyond belief. 3rd, ever start a car in 1st gear, it usually chugs a few feet before the engine and car get rolling fast enough to fire, and if there was resistance from the door, the starter would probably run out of steam to keep cranking.

[ckcarr]

Kieran,
Here is a clue for you.

The reverse and first gears are reversed on a 928 from a normal car.
Something happened.

Also, when I wash my engine it flat will not start for 6 hours.

Of course, my 928 leaves at night and prowls around, but it always comes back.

[kpolito99]

Originally Posted by bikerfish1100

start itself, overpower the hand brake and bust thru the garage door? yeah, right. shorts typically turn things off, not on (unless they are legitimate "short-shorts", in which cae we're dealing with a different animal entirely)

A most delicious looking turd cutter you have posted. Thanks for sharing bikerfish. Nice!

I don't believe car starting itself while in gear with e-brake and powering through a garage door for one minute.

[bikerfish1100]

Originally Posted by ATA

and how thick do insurance people have to be, to take such excuses seriously...

excuse ws not for the insurance company, as they could really give 2 sheets as to why a "no one else involved" claim occurs. the lame excuse was for the wifey.

[bradzdotcom]

Originally Posted by Kieran R1100S

Her husband was inside the house while she was gone.

....."gee my wife is gone...that car is in the garage...i wonder what it sounds like...maybe i'll just start it up for a second and see...."

aw crap! run away, run away!
sit back down in front of the tv...act surprised...admit nothing!

"no idea honey, i've been sitting here the whole time watching the crochet finals..."

[bikerfish1100]

Originally Posted by bradzdotcom

....."gee my wife is gone...that car is in the garage...i wonder what it sounds like...maybe i'll just start it up for a second and see...."

aw crap! run away, run away!
sit back down in front of the tv...act surprised...admit nothing!

"no idea honey, i've been sitting here the whole time watching the crochet finals..."

damn reading compression skills.

i fixed it. same concept, regardless of whom the sales pitch is for.

[ATA]

is it so hard to lift your arms up- yes guilty!? apparently female species take to the grave without such

[ckcarr]

Originally Posted by Bob Hancock

PS....post this over on the Pelican Porsche Forum. They deserve an eye roll and chuckle too.

OK Kieran,

I think Bob meant that you should post in the Porsche 928 forum. You posted in the Porsche 356 forum. You should delete that one and then re-post into the correct Porsche forum.

928 forum here: Porsche 928 Technical Forum - Pelican Parts Technical BBS

[Kieran R1100S]

Originally Posted by ckcarr

OK Kieran,

I think Bob meant that you should post in the Porsche 928 forum. You posted in the Porsche 356 forum. You should delete that one and then re-post into the correct Porsche forum.

928 forum here: Porsche 928 Technical Forum - Pelican Parts Technical BBS

thanks

[chewie]

Originally Posted by bradzdotcom

....."gee my wife is gone...that car is in the garage...i wonder what it sounds like...maybe i'll just start it up for a second and see...."

aw crap! Run away, run away!
Sit back down in front of the tv...act surprised...admit nothing!

"no idea honey, i've been sitting here the whole time watching the crochet finals..."

rofl

[AZ-Twin]

Who the hell parks a wet car in the garage to dry, you hand dry it, and take it for a spin.

[bradzdotcom]

centuries ago, i was commissioned to write a book on professional auto detailing. that little project turned out to be a nine month sentence of being anal about automobiles.

she actually followed the correct procedure. after you've washed the thing two or three times, there's no good reason to wipe it down.
since you're going to detail it, you'll be cleaning/polishing/glazing/waxing every square millimeter of that car at least seven or eight times. putting it in the garage to slow dry helps cut down on any spotting you might get from leaving it in the sunlight.

car detailers are a strange bunch. i saw a guy get chewed out by the boss because one of the screwheads in the rack that held the driver's seat was not lined up with the others.

every straight edge and phillips head screw must be either perfectly vertical or horizontal throughout the vehicle.

i can only imagine what the rule is nowadays, what with the rising popularity of torx screws....

[Don Ro]

Originally Posted by kpolito99

A most delicious looking turd cutter...

The words "turd cutter" & "delicious" in the same sentence? Hmm...