Drive it Day at Brooklands

So there I was in the X1/9 at Brooklands this morning for "Drive it Day".

I had parked it with the roof off and the engine bay and rear boot locked, then decided it would be a good idea to close it up as the sky was pretty black.

I unlocked it all and had just finished putting the top on when a guy from Classics Weekly approached and asked if he could take a photo for the next issue.

No problem there, so I shut the passenger door. Straight onto the keys which were still in the lock with the inevitable result. At least it was unlocked so I can still get at the engine bay.

Next job is getting the broken off part out of the barrel, and it's a brass key so a magnet won't work.

Bugger.

Sounds like something I might do!

Recently I left our only ignition key in our old Renault Scenic. I had just finished some work on the engine and was test running it on axle stands. I had left the car in gear (due to removing the crank shaft pulley nut) and accidentally let the door shut itself.

As the car thought it was moving it immediately locked the doors so I was left with the car running/wheels spinning in the air with the only key locked inside!

I did manage to get into it out without breaking any glass but I could have done without the stress!!!

Good luck getting the key out. Maybe try some needle nose pliers? or two sharp hobby knife blades?

Thanks Jeremy,

In the end I had to remove and dismantle the lock to get the bits out.

A bit of a fiddle putting the retaining crinkle washer and circlip on afterwards working inside the hole in the B pillar. The magnetic pick-up tool came in handy.

Did you take out the air scoop? That would have given you access from the back.

I don't think I have ever locked the engine cover and rear boot and having read your thread above I don't think I will in the future!!!

Hope you got it sorted out.

Cheers

Andy

Yes, I took out the air scoop Andy, but the circlip was still inaccessible from there; there's a box shaped bracket the air scoop retaining screws go into in the way.

Without disconnecting both cables all I could do was pull the lever assembly forward about half an inch and work in that gap.

It's all done now.

I normally don't lock it either but I had left the car open and I had some fairly valuable stuff with me that I didn't want to carry around.

Edit The photo is on page 11 of this week's Classic Car Weekly. Bizarrely, close by is a photo of a BMW M6 owned by a chap I went to school with about 50 years ago.