Folks Of Interest Roadster Accident on 5frwy this morning!!!

...................................I can't begin to count the number of times someone has asked me what the car in my avatar is and when I tell them they say "a '44 what?". Guess I don't enunciate well.

 

It's Funny, after I joint the HAMB I've learned alot about which car-years apply to only one make and model.

But there is a reason for if you hear about a 42, 43, 44 and 45 it's a willys jeep, or another army vehicle!
This is important history to everybody, not only car guys!!

But I'm getting more use to look a avatar, and see what it is, but some of the names are hard to figure out.
But cars is easy'ere.

 

Any news on Javier? Please post anything helpful, he might be a new HAMB friend, we just haven't met yet!!
Or an old one, yieks.

 

It's gotta make you wonder if the cast "off-shored" axles made of chinesium can put up with the torsional twisting of a split wishbone set up.

 

This really makes me suspect of aftermarket axles. I hit a concrete retaining wall at speed with my dirt car about 10 years ago. It bent the late 40's Ford axle like a pretzel, but it didn't break. I think we have all seen the picture of a stock Ford axle twisted around about 3 times by Ford as a demonstration. Anyone who sells cast axles deserves what they get.

 

That video is both valid and OT, but I see your point.

I see you point with the lap belt. But it's a mater of speed versus price.
The faster you go the better safety gear you'll need!

I've seen people mount a lap from a center location, on the prop shaft hump, to a door post to get more safety out of the daily stuff, in pictures of race cars from the 60s.

I've even seen people stick weld a not to a 2"x2" plate and the spot weld all 4 corner on a cab corner of a truck.
And then on impact rip it of and throw it around in the cab, like a ninja throw star, cutting the hell out of a driver.
Not the best ideer, in hinside.

There is a reason for Tech inspections!!
Our cars have to pass it every two years, and vintage car (non DD) has to go every eight years.
To avis accidents in Traffic, from dangeroures parts.

 

Happens to me, too.

 

My feeling is that even the flimsiest metal or fiberglass body can take a lot more punishment than my body can. I'll take my chances staying with it. Would you jump out of a vehicle moving at over 30 mph? Even on a motorcycle, I try to stay on top of the bike when I've had to lay it down.

 

A terrible incident regardless of circumstance, I wish the driver all the best and a quick recovery.
I also give thanks and my respect to the first responders. Having 'Been there, done that' on many occasions I understand that this can be a highly stressful situation to be involved with. Keep up the great work.

As for the seatbelt dispute, this will forever be an argument as some people are simply ignorant or have not the intellect to understand the physics of an MVA.
What Spoggie says above in regards to the failings of a 'Lap sash' belt is entirely correct. A shoulder belt should be the minimum restraint in any vehicle, topless or not, with a roll bar or not. It would appear that a number of people expect a 1920-40s hardtop to have the structural integrity of a modern car, bad mistake. You would be much better served when building a car to treat the roll over safety of any early car to be as rigid as a soft top.

The 5-6 in a million saved by not wearing a belt is an approximate statistic that is indeed told to us when learning to be a critical responder even here in Australia. No restraint system is 100% perfect so they are designed and built to what is the safest design by %. An 80% or better chance of survival sure beats a 50-50% percent or less of survival, and the remote, far less than 0.2% chance of a vehicle ejection being lifesaving is simply too remote a chance to do without a seat belt.
To understand all of this a little more, think this through. A single punch from one person to another can be fatal, this no one can deny. The physics behind this is quite simple, the velocity (Speed) in which the punch is thrown and the mass (Size) of that fist are quite limited, even in a professional fighter. ‘Scientific American’ tested professional boxer Ricky Hatton who could only deliver a punch with the velocity of 32mph at his best and averaged 25mph.
Now think of the speed a vehicle is doing 50-60mph or more. Now think about the mass of an unrestrained human body being ‘bounced’ around in a vehicle in an accident. The forces are obviously much greater than that of a punch but people still regard being unrestrained as safe, or safer than being restrained.
Would you prefer to be safe for an ejection in an accident with a 0.2% chance of happening OR would you rather be safe in closer to 99.002% of accidents?
Indeed it is your choice.

Doc.

 

I'm looking for belts for my '59 and am definitely considering a 3-point set for at least the fronts. In a roadster, unless you have a roll bar to attach belts to, there is really not that much protection in a bad crash.

 

-to the driver a fellow hot rodder.
my Thoughts and a Prayer go out to you.

 

In the world of motorcross, most people choise there wreck, the bedt of two evils. If that makes sence.

If you can see you are hetting for something that is an instant end-over in the midle if a field, you Line the bike of for the bushes, and then you kick off, and roll.
Because no one wants to land in front of a field of 20 drivers, that will drive over you, if you are in the good line between two turns.

The same applays to in Traffic, if have the choise of swiping a truck or crash a School bus. I take the truck every time.
If I'm driving an roadster, i would dick my head down, if I had the time to do so!

 

With a seatbelt, the driver is held behind the wheel and at least has a chance of getting the car back under control. Far more roadster drivers have been saved by this than by being "thrown clear."

I hope this guy comes through OK.

 

Let me chime in on the lap belt deal. I rolled my Roadster 34 years ago and if I had been wearing a lap belt I would be dead period!!! I have lap belts in my Roadster now and do not ever move the car with out putting them on. I was lucky the first time don't want to chance it again!!!
I'll bet you dollars to nickels that someone changed lanes and hit the Roadster and that is what sent him into the median. A fenderless car can be dangerous in traffic.

 

HRP, dont cow-tow to the guys who haven't been around the scene long enough to realize how much of a threat to all of us this sort of publicity has been in the past, and still is. A lot of the guys on here are living in a fools paradise.
You and I and others that have been around for a while know that it DOES matter. While we have SOME protection from SEMA, we dont have anything like the lobbying power that the NRA does, and there are literally hundreds of politicans out there that see a story like this on the evening news and smell opportunity. The first time theres a third party fatality involving a broken aftermarket axle, these guys will find out just how vulnerable the industry as a whole, and our way of life really is. Cant happen here, right???
"From my cold dead hands" is not just a sound bite.

 

Might want to check that first sentence for clarities sake.

 

http://photos.dailynews.com/2014/09...adster-burns-in-5-freeway-crash-in-burbank/#3

 

Kinda confused me a bit too.

 

First off, My Wife and I extend Our condolences, and Our prayers for all involved, and have the highest hopes for the driver's full and speedy recovery.
Second- Having been a "biker" for most of my life, and a rabid gearhead for at least that long, I have spent a great deal of time "educating" the willfully ignorant masses for at least that long..........................
And I will continue to do so, as some of them have, as a result of having these new vistas revealed to them, have discovered the joy of riding, and the thrill of bringing a piece of automotive history back to life, and the pride that comes from sharing all of this with the general population.

Thirdly, and VERY IMPORTANTLY-
I built race cars for quite a good bit of time..........
Tour Modifieds, Busch North, Late Models, Pro Stocks, Local track cars, such as Mini Stocks, Strictly Stocks, and 2 cars that went to Bonneville and exceeded 200 MPH.
I drove race cars for a good deal of that time, and was a driving instructor for a racing school for 6 years.

In that time, I learned a great deal about racing safety, and street car safety.
All that said- When My Wife and I build Our Sedan, it WILL have a full cage, it WILL have true racing seats, and it WILL have 5 point harnesses in it, and it WILL be built with safety, first and foremost in mind, and in application.
A racetrack is a closed and relatively controlled environment, and even though I was airborne and upside down at 185MPH at Pocono Raceway, I feel FAR more apprehension, and sometimes outright fear, driving on the public roadways of America, as that is possibly the most dangerous and unpredictable driving environment of all...............

Safety first, because injuries last.
Build 'em well, build 'em cool, but BUILD 'EM SAFE!
Godspeed and prayers to the driver of that pretty little roadster.
Sure do hope it all turns out ok.

 

30 years ago my brother rolled a volkswagon, not sideways like most people but end over end 3 times. He was
thrown into the backseat which saved him as the windshield frame was wrapped around the steering column and
there where dents pushing up the roof from the bucket seats. Literally one in a million, but I still buckle up every
time I drive. After all I don't draw to inside straights either, why fight the odds!

 

I crashed a 67 triumph TR4 (roadster) without seat belts, got partially ejected, feet got caught in the car, body out flailing around. That was not a fun ride, I will take my chances wearing a seat belt.

 

From personal experiance I have driven over ninty thousand miles in a hammered sedan A in the U.S. and Canada. Had a great time but the biggist dangers was people driveing beside me looking at the car and almost running into me or driveing in my blind zone so I couldn't see them. These things happen a great deal when driving at night.Debris, pot holes, and broke up pavement was the other. When driveing a specalty car on the highway you can't be to careful. Accidents do happen. I hope all is well with the driver of the roadster and he has a quick recovery.
Walter

 

That should be a real tip for all to NOT invest in a CAST axle.----A real forged one would have bent!

 

We go through this same shit every time there is an accident involving a hot rod. You get the pro seatbelters and the anti seatbelters, and we can always count on the forged axle guys blaming a cast axle on everything from the cause of the accident to giving you Herpes.
Why not wait and see what really happened before creating the drama?
I hope everything works out for Javier and he makes a complete recovery.

Mick

 

Thanks Mick, I was waiting for someone to say that. Mel

 

I don't think anyone has mentioned this. But I noticed from the pre-damage photos of the car that it might have had the original cowl mounted gas tank. In my opinion, not a good idea. This may be a TWO in a million times that NOT wearing seat belts might have saved a life. Being trapped in a car with a steel Molotov cocktail for a dash seems a miserable way to die!!!
But to each, his own. And I know I'm being presumptive. And I could well be wrong. But It might be worth bringing it up for those thinking of using one. As for belts, I have them, but I don't use them. At least not in my old cars. If I wanted safety, I could find that in a perfectly boring Volvo. Being a proactive drive is about the best safety device you can have. Aside from that, I treat old cars like I would my Harley. If your looking for safety, you'd better look elsewhere. I guess the same could be said for a cowl tank. But there's lots of other feasible reasons not to use them. And they all include... FIRE!!!

 

I don't know about you, but I'd rather slide down the road than run into something solid. When you make an evasive move to miss a vehicle that doesn't stop for a stop sign and pulls out in front of you it isn't always possible to keep the bike upright. Going straight into the side of a car and stuffing my head into a window or roof just doesn't seem like a good idea.

 

I think this motorcycle stuff is besides the point here.
Anyways, that rod looked really cool. I guess what it had going for it was the fact that there was little more than a two inch windshield above the body. I know aesthetically a roll bar would be negative, but I wonder what he would suggest now.
Say he put in a roll bar and a five point harness. He would just be upside down in a wreck. If he was conscious, it would still be hard to unbuckle his harness with his body weight being held up...
Kinda seems like when you have a car like this, you really have no safe option. Just have to hope that everything goes well. Hope the driver gets better.


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Might want to check that first sentence for clarities sake.

What part don't you understand?????