It was mentioned on the news Saturday night that a hotrod roadster. I believe it was a T-bucket was involved in a accident Saturday in San Diego, CA. The two people in the roadster were killed in the accident. Does anyone know anything about this story or have any info on the people that died?
I read that it was a single car accident. One was killed and the other is in critical condition. No seat belts were worn. The bucket hit a bus stop/bench after fishtailing.......no names were in the article
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20070909-9999-1m9pubsafe.html That's a real shame to hear about, let us know if you hear anymore specifics... How you been Julian?
Hi Greg, I've been fine, going to barber college. I heard that you and the family are in TX now? Do you still have the showbox? I would love to see pix of it?
That gave me a stomach-ache my brother just took my RPU down there. Glad I just talked to him before I read this! Bummer for the other hot rodders... tp
We had 2 guys die in a T-Bucket a couple of years ago.one of the guys brought out the T after recently buying it to give his buddy a ride in it. the T was a Big Block Chevy motor the guy floored it and the gas pedal stuck.he tryed to steer away but hit a 40 yard garbage dumpster at wide open throttle.the driver was crushed by the T and the passenger was thrown into the dumpster and died....got to be careful.
Me and my cousin we're leaving a DQ one time and he floored it and the throttle got stuck just like you said squigy, we were headed straight for a telephone poll but swirved to avoid it, i've always wondered what can be done in this split second situation to avoid an accident, turn off the key ??.. or slam on the brakes ?? or Shift into park/neutral ?? or ALL THREE???.. We spun sideways 50ft before steering clear, was pretty crazy scary. -Anthony
Too bad they didn't attend the Megan School of Flying. Seriously. This kind of news always put things into perspective. Vance
These cars of ours a quite different that the other cars on the road, thats for sure. The view out of my 8 inch windshield isn't ideal and with no airbags, crumple zones, ABS, collapsible steering column, etc., an accident could be real bad. I usually just think about the possible damage to my car, but my health is vulnerable as well. I drive the '34 much more defensively than our other grocery getters, but I still need to remind myself over and over about looking out for idiots, keeping a wide distance from others, etc. Sometimes I feel immune in the '34. Its hard to imagine that a car which has given me so much joy, could also be a deathtrap. I wish that I was better about practicing what I am preaching. I was part of a bad rodding accident in 1967 in Long Beach where two cars were destoyed (nobody was hurt bad) and sometimes I need to do a better job of reminding myself of how quickly these cars mixed with idiots can turn against you....
Damn, hate hearing it. Although if I had to go in a car accident, I'd prefer to be driving what I love. Glad to hear nobody else was hurt in the accident. My thoughts go out to them and their families....
I was in a 600hp blown pro street Camaro that a friend built, when the throttle hung wide open on a 50mph 4 lane. Traffic was not busy when he stood on it, but we covered a LOT of ground real fast while he tried his best to get out of it. SCARY stuff and we were into traffic ahead of us in a heartbeat while the car was bouncing off the rev limiter in second gear. I had a similiar situation in my 55 right after finishing it. After some artful steering to avoid slamming the wheels into a fast approaching curb, I locked the brakes and rode it out. Ended up utilizing all 4 lanes of traffic and facing backwards in the opposing lanes (fortunately with no one really around). I have learned the deepest respect for being stupid on city streets. Extremely sorry this happened to these guys.
I heard the same story Saturday night at a car show here in Tucson. Heard it was a V6 powered T, didn't personally recognize it. Two ladies came up and were collecting donations, said it happened 4 hours prior. Either people are scamming for money, or 2 guys died. I hope its a scam.
Heres a link to the news page, not good at all. http://www.10news.com/slideshow/slideshows/14075148/detail.html
a few months ago in colorado springs, a t bucket flipped and caught on fire when a van changed lanes right into them. the back tire of the T climbed up the side of the van and caused it to flip, trapping the 2 people inside it while the van just drove off. the 2 people were burned pretty bad but lived. need to be careful when your driving out there, most of these cars weren't made for safety or handling and other people don't recognize this or just don't care
Hitting the switch to kill it would be my choice, as long as it doesn't have a steering column lock on whatever kind of car. I had the throttle stick WFO on my Triumph, the stock carbs are bad about that if the mounting bolts are ever over-tightened. No kill switch on the bars, key switch down real low on the right side. I added a kill switch to the bars to make sure that didn't happen again.
So I am curious...all of you guys that have had this happen...did you have a single return spring that came loose, or what happened? Why would a carb get stuck at WOT if it is set up properly with dual return springs and no overcenter type bind? Just curious if there was something that should have been addressed.
What a shame. I couldnt image what was going through thier heads when they whacked that bus stop. I hope the driver lives.
I put the wrong gasket under a square bore Holley, It drove fine but when I floored it it stuck...I had a kill switch on the dash, luckly... I hate hearing about shit like this..
Wow man, that sucks. The "T Bucket" club of SD was up here are Cruisin' Grand this Friday. I was thinking how bad it would be if you got in an accident. That is so awful!! - Jon
Rule number 1 at the salt flats : 2 throttle return springs. Probably a good rule for the street as well. I am always ready to throw the car in nuetral if something goes wrong. I would rather blow the motor than die.
the area where they crashed looks like torrey pines blvd. I used to go to school in that area. It is a perfect place to haul ass. There is a nice curve leading up to that spot. Bummer. TP steel bodied car too it looks like.
just looked at the posted pictures. Very ugly scene,very ugly. looked like it was a nice rod before this happened . My prayers go out to the families involved.
yuck, i hope its just a glove too . . . such a tragic story. here are some shots i took while i was getting my car out of the impound a few months back, i noticed this T-bucket in the corner so i went to investigate, it turned out to be a car that i had seen the night before getting gas around the corner from me. apparently the owner of the car was out of town and his roommate decided to take his car for a spin, i guess she put her foot in it leaving the gas station and hit a couple of parked cars. i got goose bumps looking at the axle sitting there in two pieces . . .
I have never had it happen personally, but a couple friends of mine have had it happen where the left motor mount broke when they gassed it (not the first time they gassed it) and they were using old mechanical (pull rod) type linkage for the throttle. At that point as the engine torques over, there is no gettin it to shut down without the key or a kill switch.
OMG thats horrible to look at. To race even our street cars down here we must have two return springs. A damn fine idea even for a car that never sees the strip too. Cheap insurance for a dollar or two.
My old Pontiac did that to me. First one mount broke, then the other - those old GM mounts that were a chunk of rubber bonded to steel on each side with a bolt through an ear on the frame to hold it. With both sides, the torque would lift the motor, jam the accelerator linkage rods, and off you went. But it was manual steer, manual brakes, and I'd just flip the key off and be very gentle until I got home, stopping/steering was no problem. I actually had both mounts wrapped each with about three coathangers so I could keep getting places while the replacements came from Kanter. At first I wasn't sure what was wrong, until I was checking it with the hood up and saw the motor raise up a lot more than it should move, in the driveway. A local guy was killed in his T-bucket maybe a couple months ago now, attributed to a high speed loss of control. From what I understand, he spun out in front of an oncoming van - the car was 'glass and fell apart on the impact. You have to be careful with these little cars - it looks like even with seat belts you could get hurt pretty good in one. Something you might not remember in the heat of the moment, but even a locking column can be turned off without locking the wheel.
update,from a member of the ntba...Dear members, I am in daily touch with Rickty T's mother,Jan, and his brother, Ken. I was given the great pleasure to meet both today at Scripps Hospital La Jolla. I was allowed to see him and I spent over an hour with his mother. Kevin will be going into surgury on Tuesday to have rods placed in his back to give support. His face and head are OK. I saw no scratches or injuries to that area. He has the following broken bones; left ribs in 9 places, left shoulder blade, 1 & 2 lumbar, 9,10,11 vertabra, left lung is torn and the right lung has fluid from asperation. He opened his eyes when admitted to ER and tried to move his left hand. He was placed in an induced coma and is in SICU. The big thing is keeping the lungs from swelling shut. The next 24-48 hours should give us a better idea of his critical situation. Bob Olson will also be getting updates from the family as well. If you have any questions I can be reached at 760-519-2207 PST 8:00 am-8:00 pm. Our prays are with him. I also took his award as the "Longest Driven" to the hospital and gave it to the family. They were very happy.Kevin's mom and brother are two of the nicest persons I have ever meet. GOD BLESS to Kevin and the family. pic from better times.
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