This is NOT a post about seat belt useage or no! 'Been siting here thinking about the recent wreck involving HAMBers after the Louisville show, and first off, glad it wasn't as serious as these things potentially can be. As I think about this close call I can't help but wonder if it might not be a good idea to start a thread that deals with things we all could do in the process of building our rides that would help them to be as safe as possible, given the fact that they are OLD cars, and they are, after all, hot rods with all that implies. What are some things, beside the obvious, like making sure the welds are good, etc. that we all need to pay attention to? I'm thinking about incorporating a roll bar in my duece 5 window project, that's easier to do without screwing up the looks in a coupe than an open car. Maybe Matt and Megan's accident has just made me parinoid?
Not paranoid at all. First thing I thought of was roll cage for the A Sedan, It couldn't hurt, and done right wouldn't be a big deal in the looks department. How about disk brakes? They sell some really nice kits now that give you the look of Buick finned drums and give you the upgrade to disk brakes at the same time. I'm not to sure how one could build in a safty for the problem poor Chevygirl ran into, not much one can do if your dif locks up, except hang on and pray. She got really lucky, thank God!!!!!
Well, since you asked.... According to the NSRA, my ride fails on at least eleven of these... NSRA VEHICLE SAFETY INSPECTION REQUIREMENTS REQUIRED EQUIPMENT: 1.HORN: Electric only. 2.SPEED INDICATOR: Speedometer or calibrated tachometer at 65 mph. 3.REAR VIEW MIRROR: One inside or outside on driver's side of vehicle. 4.GL***: Must be safety plate, lexon, or tempered gl***. 5.LIGHTING: Hi-beam; low-beam; tail; brake; license. 6.WINDSHIELD WIPER: Electric or vacuum operated. 7.AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION LOCKOUT: Neutral and/or park start only. 8.TIRES: Minimum 3/32 tread acceptable. Must meet D.O.T. specifications . 9.STEERING: No excessive "play" (2" radius max.) or binding; system must be safely mounted.10.THROTTLE LINKAGE: Must not travel past center.11.FUEL SYSTEM: CHECK VENT ON TRUNK AND INTERIOR MOUNTED TANKS; no clear, plastic lines allowed. No leaks.12.EXHAUST SYSTEM: NO LEAKS. Must p*** rear edge of front door and exit exhaust away from vehicle.13.SELF-ALIGNING ROD END BEARINGS: Check for fractures, insert sloppiness or binding.14.SHOCK ABSORBERS: One per wheel, no leaks, 2" travel in each direction.15.BRAKES: Four-wheel brakes, no leaks, check brake pedal travel, no copper tubing, check length of flexible lines.16.SCRUB LINE: No steering, suspension or ch***is components should be below this line. RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT: May be reason for failure. 17.WINDSHIELD: Should be AS-1.18.SHIFT PATTERN: Shift pattern should be visible except on three speed standard column shift.19. FUEL LINES: Should be safely mounted and routed.20. PARKING BRAKE: Should be activated independent of vehicle's hydraulic system.21.SELF-ALIGNING ROD END BEARINGS: Ball should have 1/8 inch spacer on each side of the ball if there is any misalignment. Rod ends should not have more than 10° misalignment. ROD ENDS and 4 BAR-PARALLEL RADIUS ROD SYSTEM rubber bushed ends should have a safety washer at least the same outside diameter as the housing or larger.22. BRAKE LINES: Should be safely mounted and routed.23. CH***IS FASTENERS: Self-locking nuts, lock-washers, safety wire, or cotter pins.FOR YOUR SAFETY: fire extinguisher in driver/p***enger compartment, seat belts, a third brake light and a dual master cylinder.
I failed for at least 12. 4 of the others are questionable. Now, would you rather have me lead or follow?
I've been pondering putting an old SFI expired five point harness in for the drags. Overkill? A couple of years ago at the DOTD the guy running the track was surprised I didn't have one.
back in the day i bet a lot of men and women died in hotrods. i had my coupe up to about 90mph sunday and got the WTF am i doing thought in my head. sure was exciting getting it there. i figured if i wreck at this speed i am dead. after thinking about it some more... i wouldnt change a thing. its a hotrod. change it to much and i might as well be driving a prowler or an hhr.
He, he, he.... Between the two of us, we could make ONE safe car. Don't get me wrong, I'm very concerned about safety, I insisted on having good brakes, with all new components, dual m/c, safety gl***, new tires, fresh steering, etc... But a lot of those items don't necessarilly make your car any safer... Horn, wipers, speedometer, license plate light, full exhaust, etc.. Rich
Some of the Nsra people take alot of this very seriously. One problem here though not as serious as they should. It's one thing to preach it. Its another to give away two rods that should have never been driven. Both Matt and I could have easily been on the wrong end of the post which had an accident in either the 37 Downs giveaway or the 31 rpu by CornHuskers given away the year before. Just one item will give you the chills.... If I listed them all you wouldnt believe me. How about a steering wheel nut that was so loose that you could literally unscrew it by hand. Or a steering gearbox so loose you could shake it on the frame.. Or hot wiring laying open along the frame and body..... Dont make me start. Sorry good idea for a post... I just get angry when NSRA saftey comes up.
My six favorites: 1) Collapsable steering column (non of my cars have this, all pre 67). This aspect scares me a little bit. This is a good reason to have a five point harness. 2) Batt hold down/box hardware...I have seen people use 1/4" for this stuff, which is insane. At the very least use someangle iron for the base, bolt that in w/ 3/8" and use an old seat belt to hold the box in (Any idea how hard a battery leaves when you get rear-ended?). My buddy burnt down the '69 Buick GS 400/4-speed car I sold him because he was too retarded to install a correct hold-down. One 4am hole-shot in front of my house and that car was just a memory. Also refer to #5 3)Dual master......I have seen guys at the vintage road races running these and I think they are dumb. There, I said it. There is no place for a jelly jar master cylinder in my book. I have seen LOTS of street rods w/ the single master and NO e-brake. Talk about no back-up plan! 4)Single throttle return spring....duh! If you haven't ever experienced the thrill of unwanted acceleration you will not understand; kind of like the single master thing. 5)No fire ext. Actually those dry checmical unit arent much better. A Halon or C02 unit is a must unless you don't value you ride. 6) Rubber fuel line....this stuff has a fairly short life before it is a time bomb. That is why most factory jobs only used to to connect the fuel filter and to connect the fuel sending unit. i.e. replace the rubber line when you replace the filter. NHRA and IHRA deem that over 12" ON THE WHOLE CAR is too much. Much to my dismay, I agree. I won't even get into the fuel distribution blocks/regulators mounted on the firewall. Word is born....the fire will jump at you through the hole in the cowl/f-wall when the fuel is gushing down onto the exhaust, and that rubber gromet is not going to save you. I could go on for hours....This will prove to be an interesting thread! Ok one last thing...as far as a roll cage is concerned. I had one in my '66 when I was running it on the track but now that I am turning it back into a street car we decided to remove the cage. Getting in an accident in a car w/ a cage while NOT wearing a helmet is the equiv. of falling off the jungle gym and hitting every bar on the way down. YOu will be beaten to a pulp as your head bounces off of the bars. Jeremiah
From an old Federal Vehicle Safety Commission book Defogger/defroster in closed cars Windshield minimum height 6" Windshield wiper to clear 50 sq. in. in front of driver No sight obstruction forward taller than 2" Two rear view mirrors Safety gl*** Bumpers Exhaust to behind p***enger area Fenders from 15* in front to 75* behind Front tire tread at least 60% of rear Self cancelling turn signal switch I went a little extra on some. I fear getting hit from the side in a small fibergl*** car where another car would probably go right over the frame so I got a 6 pt. bar. I also bought an MGB triple wiper and dropped the engine's oil pan 4" below the frame so I could keep the blower less than 2" through the hood with a 6-1/2" W/S.
My car has p***ed the NSRA 23 point inspection two years in a row. But that doesn't mean that **** doesn't start to fall apart if you drive the car. Last week I was driving through town on my way to work and hit the brakes at a light. I heard a clunk and ricochet of parts on the road. The brake pedal return spring had come off. I parked the car, looked under the hood to see what was missing, and the bolt that holds the spring to the pedal, also holds the pedal to the push rod for the mastercylinder. The nut had worked it's way off, and then the spring. If the bolt had fallen out too, no brakes at all. The bolt now has a castle nut, cotter pin, and lock***e. So... double check every critical part of your car when you put it together, and then do it again on a regular basis to make sure it's staying together like it should. Just because you did a stellar job of ***embly and fabrication doesn't mean it won't come apart when you least expect it... Pete
I'm putting a rollbar in my coupe - just a single loop at the back of the cab. I know i'll be driving it hard and it won't take up that much room. You can beat the safety thing to death - but, a little added insurance in some safety mods might be the thing to save your ***.
Same here man, Brakes are all new and safe etc. I'm a profesional auto tech. and fabricator. I know I wouldn't want to be out there about to kill someone, let alone myself, with my ride. But like you said , a horn? who'd hear it over my open lakes headers? Speedo? I always drive too fast anyways. No roof = No need for wipers. No plate lamp = No ticket if they can't read it! We could all pick on each others cars for hours. What you call unsafe, I call a hot rod. I got my car over 100 mph last week and said the same thing-"I gotta be crazy!" but that's why it's fun. And that's why we build them. I know everyone gets nuts when an accident happens but would a horn have helped those kids this week? If you think your buddies car is unsafe then bring it up and by all means make it safe. I don't need some A-hole to tell me I can't hang out at their show 'cause I got no high beams.
NSRA has the safety program for Rodders ... as a second set of eyes .. They do not make you get your ride inspected ... but i have been told that to recieve a NSRA rep pick ... your vehicle has to have the Safety 23 sticker ... and I am cool with that ... My roadster has p***ed the Safety 23 every year it has been on the road ... and I am building the 3W to p*** also. I do not have seat belts in the roadster but will have them in the new coupe.
That's good advice. I like to crawl under my car when I do an oil change and grease job and check everything out. Especially front end components. Adjust the brakes. Look for loose or missing bolts. You never know. I never did the nsra inspection, but it sounds like I would p***. I put lap belts in the front. I don't have a dual master cylinder, but I have a good ebrake that can stop the car. I also don't have a third brake light. There are some things I just won't do, but I did use bright bulbs in the little taillights.
You know....maybe some would benefit from going to the EAA fly-in at Whitman field when it's going on. They almost always have seminars going on about building kit or scratch airplanes. Most of them have some damn good info concerning building techniques and safety. It would probably be a good idea to build our rods like it's going to be up in the air, instead of rolling along on four, (or two), wheels. Fasteners; grade 8 instead of grade 5. Nylock nuts, or castelated and cotter pins. Safety wire on groupings of nuts/bolts. System redundancy; dual-pot master cylinders or a damn good parking/emergency brake. Dual throttle return springs. For a T-bucket; Maybe some kind of "hidden" cage inside the body? Something with side bars. (I'm sure a roll bar or hoop would look horribly out of place.) Coupes and other enclosed cars; A cage would be excellent. You wouldn't really have to make it to NHRA specs, but not out of exhaust tubing, either. Just a FNG's 2 cents. Roger
I am planning on putting some sort of cage or at least a roll bar in my coupe. When I first bought my T coupe I hadn't thought much about safety, I just wanted to get it on the road. Well, I paid someone to get it to that point, they obviously didn't care much about safety. There I was traveling about 60 mph when the rear brake line came loose from its clamps and wrapped around the driveshaft, this continued to rip out the fuel line, and then tore through the main battery cable. So there I am coasting at 50 plus mph with no brakes, fuel ******* everywhere and a battery cable flopping around making sparks, I don't know how I didn't die! Luckily I was on a long straight country road with no traffic. As I was coasting down it ocuured to me that just the day before I had topped the car out at over 120mph. Anyways, after I towed the car home I proceeded to drink a twelve pack and think a little more about safety.
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