Essiential safety items on rods

After reading another post concerning battery isolaters and a lot of negative posts about some of the builds we see in certain magazines and certain sites I thought there might be some value in having a positive thread around constructing safety into your builds. There are obvious things like ensuring the scrub line is sorted on the front end. What other little things do you guys do? For example as a result of racing my coupe every now and then I have a second return spring on my carb.

 

Good idea for a thread.

I'll toss up a few to get this rolling...

Rollover valve on fuel tanks.
Good welds on structural areas.
Correct chassis geometry.

 

Battery cut off switch and I always install a kill switch to the ignition in a place that I can get to it in a hurry if something goes wrong.
I also believe in a emergency brake.
Robert

 

Fire Extinguisher

 

When I bought my first car my Dad bought me a fire extinguisher. There's been one in every car I've owned since.

 

A bottle opener.

 

How many run a spare tire?

 

fire extinguisher, lapbelts, hoping that when the clutch lets go it wont take my feet with it...

T. Hilton

 

all good so far , especially the fire extinguisher..i have one in every car , including my daily driver. battery cutoff and dual throttle spring are essential too

to build on the roll over valve suggestion , i'll add properly routed and secured fuel lines..i've seen some real crap. and as little rubber as possible. i hate it when i see rubber line all the way from the fuel tank to the motor.

properly routed and secured brakes lines , with brake hoses the correct length and secured to the frame. once again , i've seen some scary stuff

rain-X...bring some along. i don't have a problem with a hot rod with no wipers , that stuff works great

 

Auto...neutral safety switch, reverse lockout.
Manual...Clutch pedal switch to prevent cranking in gear.
Seat belts...safety glass...visible rear lighting...suicide door safety latches...front brakes.

 

good thought , but most hot rods don't have room for one. that's why i carry a can of inflat-a-flat. even in my daily driver. it can get you out of a jam

 

cell phone

 

Good brain. Common sense. Good eyesight and health.
Good visibility. Wipers. Tires with tread. Good head lights, properly aligned. Even better tail lights (and mounted so some one can actually see them).
Gary

 

Just remember that it doesn't work with tubed tires on wire wheels.

 

Hey I used some Hi doller stuff that sealed four tires with tubes to get it on a trailer little expensive but it worked. actually drove it around a couple of days moving it around my garage came out of the tires like stiff foam n sealed . cant remember the brand but it had a filling hose on it and was a good sized can used 1 for each tire

 

Front brakes, safety locks for suicide doors, drive line hoops, good tires with street tread, wipers, and a sense of responsibility for your young passengers and others.

 

Axle retainer clips on Ford banjo rear ends.

 

Brakes that work PROPERLY... If you have to pump them to stop then you need to start over.

 

How many guys are running scattershields or blankets?

 

I always keep a blanket in the back seat and a scatter gun..

Pete, I am just messing with you...

 

Here in New Zealand there are things that are compulsory.....
Seatbelts (except cars still registered as pre 1955)
Driveshaft loop (if the driveshaft has been shortened)
Indicator lights (flashers)
Emergency brake (we call it a handbrake)
Brake lines secured every 12 inches maximum
Line of sight (no blower and carbs in your line of sight)
Minimum 6 1/2" windscreen height
Horn
Wipers

We have to undergo a build inspection called certification, and once the rod is road legal it is subject to a six monthly safety inspection called a warrant of fitness. The warrant checks include brake performance, condition of wheel bearings and kingpins, operation of horn, wipers and lights, and a check for structural rust.

 

Automatic shut off switch to shut off the electric fuel pump when the engine oil pressure drops -like in an accident or rollover.

 

That's no joke about the clutch.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=36919&highlight=blew+clutch+pressure+plate

I ended up putting it back together pretty much like it was before I blew it up but I added a scatter shield around the sweet spot where all the pieces came out.

 

I've got a scatter shield for my dad's camel hump'd 7000+rpm 283 SBC screamer but on my almost bone stock 272 Y-block I'm using an iron truck bellhousing since it'll be a good day when its see's the way far side of 5500RPM.

Up here in the northern climates its pretty dumb (we've test this theory completely and are qualified to label it as such) to run without a heater and working defroster.....same goes for working wipers. There are times when RainX is not gonna cut it without some help from the wipers. Seat belts are a must as are the brightest headlights you can afford to put on the frontend. On my dad's Model A we're also building a safety hoop at the belt line that'll incorporate a real bulkhead behind the passenger compartment and side impact protection into the body cavity. Another double hoop will live under the cowl to support some hanging pedals and offer a little bit of safety up front. Everything will be tied to reinforced door posts and roof rails above the doors.

-Bigchief.

 

double throttle return springs & good brakes.

 

Dual master cylinder. I had a single fail, and it's not something I ever care to repeat. And all the guys who are going to come on after me like they always do and say single reservoirs are fine if you do regular maintenance, replace components, etc. etc. etc. can suck it.

Fire extinguisher. I've put a car out once, and have one in my vintage cars.

Lap belts. Because while being thrown clear of the wreck may keep you from getting hurt by the sheetmetal, the tree or guard rail you hit isn't going to be as forgiving.

REAL jack, not a bumper jack. Floor, bottle or new scissor, doesn't matter.

I'm looking at putting 3-point harnesses in the Suburban, because I don't like the taste of steeringwheel, and I doubt my wife or son would enjoy Dash du jour very much either.

I also want to put bear-claw latches on the '62 Suburban--I've had the doors pop open going around corners. More importantly, if there is an accident, those old doors with the star-wheel latches (at least '50s thru mid '60s cars) will pop open.

Another nice safety item would be a collapsable steering column section. I'm also going to do this on the 'burban, and probably the '50s cars when I get that far too. In a bad front end collision, that solid steering column becomes a harpoon. I lost an aunt in a '55 Chevy that way.

-Brad

 

Oh believe me i know...my grandpa still has part of the workboot he was wearing when a clutch let go in his top gas car in about 66....lucky he didnt get the Big Daddy treatment...i got a scattershield, just a matter of the next month or so....

T. Hilton

 

No spare but I do carry a tire plug kit.I also carry a small diameter air hose with a lockingchuck on one end and a standard chuck on the other.That way I can steal air from the other three tire's. Gregg

 

Fire Extinguisher
Breaks
Cell phone
Tool kit
Seat belts
Gun because I live in TX and I can
Cash
Knife
lots of fuel

 

I have heard about those..
where do you get them?