My first streetrod was totaled when a dishwasher that was mentally challenged pulled out in front of my wife and I when we were doing 45mph. We t-boned him. Twisted the frame on the '40, not one peice of sheetmetal on the front of the car was savable. The same guy ran over a pedestrian a year later and killed him. Then they took his licence away. I have photos somewhere. Sucks!!!!! Jeff
Another one was about 10 years ago, a 29 Roadster spun on a stretch of road called the 'Mad Mile' backed it down a 60 foot embankment onto a railroad. He was ejected from the vehicle and severely brain damaged.
This was my buddys 57, Tad owned this car since he was 16 years old. A drunk in a fullsize truck doing over 60 in a 35 zone rearended him and pushed him 10 feet into another car and took off! Tad saw and heard it coming and layed down in the seat, was ok but the dash got his knee good.
A local hotrodder and Bonneville record holder also had this happen to his highboy 34 3-window. Rearended on the highway. He said the tongue just poked right into it, but no fire. Very lucky, I'd say!
Hey, that must be my (and your) friend Dennis Slaymaker (Rigor Mortis Racing) from Spencer. He and his wife were returning from a NSRA event some years ago in his blown 3W coupe. They were driving in a hard rain at night on I-80 and were rearended by a big charter Greyhound bus. I think the rooster tails of water off the big meats kept the bus driver from seeing the tail lights. The impact spun them into the ditch but didn't hurt the car, except it broke the hitch off the trailer and like you said, drove the tongue went right through the gas tank!!! I think the rain kept it from catching fire. To make it home, Denny bought a new hitch for the trailer and a plastic gas can. He put it in the trailer and ran the fuel line into it to get home. And the old 3W is still on the road today!!
The Jalopy Journal
