Recently my dad bumped into a high-school friend who had just purchased a 55. It was a good car, and Ron was having a ball with it. It had a BBC and a few other modern touches, but it was just a fun driver. Last weekend Ron and some friends installed a steering column and steering wheel into the car to further update it. On Sunday, Ron was out for a cruise, enjoying the car and decided to pass a slower vehicle in front of him. As he was passing, the steering wheel came off in his hands. the car drifted into the ditch and crashed. While Ron was wearing a lap belt, the resulting crash impailed him onto the steeing column and killed him. This is a Hot Rod forum. All of us on here have done something to our cars, from suspension, steering, wheels to brakes. If anything can be learned from Ron's death its the importance of double-checking. Are those nuts and bolts tight? Are they loc-tighted or safety wired where they should be? Are those lug nuts properly torqued down? Are your suspension bushings & rod ends in good order? Have any welds cracked? It doesn't hurt to spend an hour or two to put your car up on jacks once or twice a year and go from bumper to bumper checking for loose nuts & bolts, worn hoses & frayed wires. Hopefully we can all learn from such a terrible accident like this.
Sorry about the loss of a friend. But, thanks for posting that will be locked in my brain for a while
So sorry to hear that. Lets hope his unfortunate death will get some people to give their rides a good look over...no telling if that will save lives...but it certainly wont kill anyone either. My condolences...
Always hate to hear about someone buying it. Really sorry for you loss. Good advice to all of us. I can't count the times I decided to just give one a quick once over and caught little things that could make or break a good day of cruising. The other week I was helping a friend put some insulation in his Stude and found a whole bunch of craked rubber fuel lines. I poked one and it just broke in half. I called home and the wife brought me some leftover hardline (thanks to Choprods) and a bender from the garage. Its now got new hardline from the tank to the carb. Only took about an hour.
Last year after totally going over the RPU and finding every conceivable saftey related torque loose on it. (lugs steering gear,front suspension etc.) I hear some noise going on in the front end this year after driving it. I check it out and found the steering box arm loose to the spindle. I wonder how many of us go back over our torques after we have worked the bugs out. Sorry to hear the sad news.
I had something happen a few years back with my car. The bolts holding the caliper on the spindle backed out. When I stepped on the brakes, the caliper went for a ride around the rotor and tore the hose out of the caliper, spraying fluid everywhere and losing the front brakes. By the time I made it home (thankfully only a block away) all the fluid had pumped out of the MC and I had no brakes at all!
So sorry that this is the way we are reminded to check out our rides ocassionally just to see if everything is still in good order. Each spring when I get the '32 out it gets the once over (bolts, exhaust, brakes and lines) while I'm giving it the spring lube job. It's amazing how many "little" things will catch your eye. Not necessarily anything wrong but a quick check gives you some piece of mind. My condolence to you and your friends family. Frank
Sorry to hear about your friend Craig. Makes me think I will put a "chest pad" in the center of my wheel a'la an old sprint car. Cowl steering is cool, I dont want to be part of it though.
So sorry to hear about your loss. Always good advice to double and triple check things. That extra few hours can save your life.
That's terrible! I had the steering wheel on my '59 Ford come off in my hands once - but I was parked in a driveway with my foot on the brake at the time. Just before I had pulled in that driveway, I had been driving up to 70 mph on a dirt road beside a river. Glad I didn't die that day.
that won't help much when the steering wheel comes unbolted! the OP is a good reminder for those who forget that if your steering fails, or your brakes fail without backup(dual M/C or parking brake, actually BOTH) that you just can't "will" your car to do what you want, you're along for the ride!
How did the wheel come off? I don't mean to be morbid, just want to check my wheel since I have an "impaler" steering column and no seat belts...
damn this story got bed in end sorry for your dads loss & the loss of a BB double nickel but look at it in diff way i want to go out in a car quick not wasting away in a hosp bed
My condolences to you and your freinds family. I once lost steering on my model A found the splines on the box were in poor shape. Fortunetly, it was fairly low speed and was able to limp to a freinds garage and weld the two together. I replaced the box when I got home.
Slorry to hear that once again, little things get overlooked and a good person pays the ultimate price. Its so easy to do in the rush to get it running and try it out. You can never inspect too many times and have a buddy look it over to see what you may have missed. Lets hear a little about that "TEN" second 40, might need to update one of mine. Could always use a "Little Extra" to keep up with traffic. Thanx, Dave
I'm very very sorry to hear about this and your dad losing a friend this way. I have a couple of friends who are paramedics and they used to tell horrific stories of old cars and steering column related deaths, even with lap belts. I have made it a habit to really try to check out the steering and brakes on any older vehicle I have ever bought. I once let a friend drive his 50 Buick away from my house after we did the brakes on it and I had not fully tightend the lug nuts, I still feel like a heel about that though nothing happened. I have gone to making little lists after I do work on my car and just doing a little pre-flight you might say before driving, your life is a mighty big price to pay for a little impatience/ excitment to get your car on the road....be safe out there!
oh my god......that's rough....i'm sorry man..... i also have had steering go out on me,but it was in a newer sports car,that wasnt mine,the wheel stayed on,(i think it was ,u joint)but it just spun wildly,luckly i was on a big highway,that was kinda empty,so just slipped it off into the median.....i guy about shit himself,and i was ready to kick his ass.... I do that kind of maintince ,just out of bordom,(or O.C.D, who knows)that just made me feel alot better about doing it....
Also may want to think about three point belts. I have them in my '50 Chevy truck and will put them in the Hudson. True, they don't "look right" in there but I do not want my wife or my kids to get a "look" at that old metal dash the hard way. Very sorry for the loss.
oh man, i dont know what to say - hearing stories like this make my skin shiver, and makes me sad for the loss. someone's missing a father, brother, son, husband... danny
Use a puller once, you'll never have to use it again on that particular steering wheel. This happened to me once in an old truck I owned; turned out the previous owner overtightened the nut and stripped the threads on the steering shaft. And I was only wearing a lap belt as well. Fortunately I pushed the wheel back on without crashing. Gearhead, I'm sorry about your loss. This is a reminder why the smallest of today's compacts are much safer than yesterday's cars, no matter how big they are.
When I bought the 54, the wheel had been off. To this day, you loosen the nut, the wheel pops off. I was due for a walk around on the Touring, need to fix a leak anyway. Tonight I took it to the shop so I can get it on the hoist and inspect lots of the little things. I also went next door today and talked to the upholstery guy about that chest pad. I triple check my wheel when I put it on each time. I run a quick release. I am also going to loctite the 3 mounting bolts again. The pad is for a little protection and piece of mind. It is a sad thing when a death makes us all look at this stuff. Need to stay on top ALL the time.
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