There are 2 types of senarals here, idiots driving into hot rods and idiots driving them! Nothing we can do about the bad drivers around us but to drive defensively. I admit I think about that a lot more when driving the A then my full size late model truck (or even the 61 Olds for that matter) , especially if my daughter is with me. I have a fear of being T boned by something big, it'd be like being crushed in a can. I really hate to hear of idiots driving hot rods. Recently one of our local rodders took his A coupe out for it's madien voyage. Wasn't quit ready yet but he couldn't wait. Thru a couple bucket seats in, didn't bolt them down, nor seat belts. He couldn't resist standing on it and running thru the gears. Top of 2nd something broke, he lost it and it started barrel rolling down the highway, throwing him and his son out thru the roof opening. Luckily they both survied but the scare of killing his son sure woke the guy up!
In the mid 90's at GG's Indy I saw a '32 Chevy that hit the back of a modern car. The front of the '32 was pretty crumpled, whereas the modern car barely had any damage. I also have met a guy who had a wreck in his Model "A" PU that was using the stock cowl gas tank. The tank burst spilling the fuel all over him, then caught fire. I think he had burns on over 80% of his body. Because of this, I will never use a stock cowl tank in any Model "A" I build.
This wasn't a Hot Rod but close enough for this. In August of '69 on the third and last day of our honeymoon I ran a '60 Porsche convertible D into a 3/4 ton Ford pick-up that ran a stop sign on a small two lane in Montana. It was 125 miles to the nearest hospital in Boseman. The Porsche crumpled and so did we. The wreck happened about noon and we got to the hospital at 6. My wife's worst injury was a broken femur. She was in traction until December 2nd, a full body cast for 6 months and a leg brace for a year. She still has trouble with her knee and hip. I went deer hunting!
in the late 70's, my dad wrecked his 1970 1/2 z28 into a phone pole while street racing. the car was caged and had 5 point harnesses, so he walked away unscathed.
Not from Rochester. I was born in Monroe County though but Michigan not New York. Live just north of there now.
At the '73 National in Tulsa I was working in an office and heard a commotion outside. Walked out and there was a guy from Minnesota in a little channelled A roadster got hit by a woman in a full-size sedan. It knocked the entire rearend and torque tube out of the A. The car was just sitting on the ground. The guy wasn't hurt but was trying to figure out how to get home to work on Monday. Also in Ft.Gibson Ok. there was young guy with a blue '31-2 Chevy 5 window coupe, lost control and rolled into a telephone pole, killed him deader than a carp.
Not shure about the earlier cars. But a head on in my 56 went pretty darn smooth. I think I won. Well no one was hurt so we both won there. Of course it was not a Lincoln, it was a honda and the combined speed was only about 70. I was not wearing a seatbelt, at the time Alabama did not require us to. The Honda was totaled. Both fenders, hood, header panel well pretty much the whole front end of the car was busted including the valve cover. The 56 suffered a bent grill, gravel gaurd and fender. At impact, felt like a speed bump. The biggest pain was attempting to get STATE FARM to pay for replacement parts. They wanted to give me $800 and take my truck. They are Nuckin Futs.
This is John Swander's roadster from Kansas City. He and Bob Perreault (Bob was driving) were on the way to the 2005 LA Roadster Show and were just a few miles from the fairgrounds on I-10 when the traffic went from 70 MPH to 0 MPH real fast. A white Ford pickup behind them didn't stop and nailed them hard. They were also pulling a glass Mullins trailer and the impact drove the tongue of the trailer (after it broke the spreader bar) through the gas tank and bent the frame rails in and down to the pavement. The impact also pushed them under the back of a truck totaling the front end. The scariest thing was when they got out of the car there was a pool of gas about 30 feet around the car and it didn't catch fire!!! The frame rails were digging into the pavement and it didn't spark!!! I can only think that there is so much oil and rubber on the freeway in LA that it didn't generate any sparks. The Mullins trailer probably absorbed some of the impact so that helped too. I told Bob he must have 9 lives because he was almost asphyxiated by a carbon monoxide leak in his motel room at GoodGuys/Indy the year before. The good news about this is that neither of them were hurt and didn't get a scratch and the insurance money helped John build a really nice 5W coupe with the Rollin' Bones guys. Heres a pic of Bob and John hugging the roadster and one of Bob sitting on the tire.
Not contact with another car, but a small 8-point buck at about 45mph. Regarding how old cars are, I didn't feel it at all. Just a thud, the screeching of my tires as I was trying to stop, and the squeal of the fan belt since the radiator got pushed into the fan.
That's too bad. Lucky they weren't hurt. I remember seeing an orange 32 Highboy,upside down on the 91 frwy,on the way home from the LARS one year. I think the driver was tossed out,cause he was standing next to it. That was weird to see!
Not a Hot Rod but a stock Model A... This video makes it apparent that the Model A could easily be repaired but not the occupants!!! <object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/rgaZMSjhpH8&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/rgaZMSjhpH8&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object> From what I've heard is that both occupants were like "B. B's" in a Boxcar...! They both ejected into the windshied pillars and header... dying from head trauma. I've got seat belts in the roadster to avoid most injuries that occure at low speeds... although they probably won't help upside down at highway speeds...!
I don't have pics but I was in an accident in my '51 Chev several years back. The Pontiac Sunfire that hit me pretty much exploded into a thousand pieces (front fender, bumper, hood, rockers). My '51 didn't look as bad, but it bent the frame over about 6 inches and screwed up the front fender and engine compartment. Luckily though, no injuries and my new flames were actually spared as well as the freshly chromed front bumper and trim pieces.
my buddy Mick (the owner of the survivor 32) has some pics of a 32 cabriolet that he traded for the the 5 window, when he got it it had been rolled over, the story goes...... there buddy (owner/driver of the cab) had made plans with all his freinds (inlcuding mick) to mee them at the high school foot ball game, after he didnt show they went looking but couldnt find him, the next morning while they were still looking they found the car in a ditch up side down, perfecly intact but up side down, the miracle, his buddy was alive and well trapped in the cockpit of the over turned cabriolet, the dug around the door and got it opened and he crawled out, un hurt, lucky sob. Mick bought the car and fixed it up and then traded it for the 32 survivor in 1956 ish. hes got pic of the cab in the ditch up side down, ill try and get the pics scanned. TITUS
Ive owned 3 Morgans .A 1927 3 wheeler. A 1939 4 wheel2 seater. And a52 tr engined 2 seater They all had steel frames.
I agree with 57Joe, it aint that expensive to be safe. I went on the cheap & didn't replace the wheel cyls on my A-bone & almost ass-packed my buddy's deuce when I blew a wheel cylinder. Good thing we were going under 25mph. I double f**ked up & didn't have my emergency brakes hooked up yet. Somedays I get a bit smarter.... & lucky. Larry
Not Oak, but Ash. Here is some more Info... http://www.harpers-morgan.com/Other/woodframes.htm Edit. And when the Morgan Guys talk about a Wood Frame, they do not mean the Chassis...
I wrecked my 1930 Ford going to the Richmond NSRA Nats in August 2006. A guy cut in front of me making a left turn and I hit him at about 25 mph. Luckily there was a cop two cars behind me because the guy tried to run from the scene. He didn't have a license or insurance. My insurance had to pay for the damages through an "uninsured" claim. I have selt belts in the car and they held up fine and we were not injured.
A friend had a beautiful, all black, 34 Dodge sedan, 350/350, mohair interior, triangulated 4-bar rear with independent front. I rode in that car for several hundred miles and he drove it for years without trouble. Sold it to a friend and one of the welds on the rear 4 bar broke on the freeway, sending the car up onto the jersey barrier at 65. The car was a total, no one was hurt, and one of the kids in the back ended up in the cooler on the floor! Turns out the bar bracket was spot welded when the car was built and missed when he welded everything up solid years before. It could have happened anytime and was totally avoidable.
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