so are you guys building the safer collapsing steering column...

a few yrs ago my wife was hit by a drunk driver and it was bad. the car folded up. airbags and all the other goodies. she walked away with just some sore muscles. thank god. i was in a bike wreck in 05. going 30 i had a old woman make a left in front of me boom and there she was. now im crippled up and in constant pain.i still ride my rigid frame harley.and i still build and drive my old cars with solid steering shafts.just the very nature of what we do to our cars make them dangerous.fast and lite.is a scary thing but fun as hell!i think some things just make sense but im not going to build my cars to protect me in all circumstances.like i said before we drive around with a firebomb on board.thats more scary than a solid shaft steering.life is a gamble at best,just got to keep your eyes open for what can come at you.ever wonder why cars are so high today. its not all union wages.its mostly government mandates. like collapsable steering to third brake lites and all in between .i wont have to worry about whats the safest car to drive because i wont be able to afford one with everything they want a car to do.

 

Like I said... I don't mind living a little on the edge, but expect I'll be spanking this new project, so I want to build in all the safety I can, without disrupting "the expirience"

I don't do lap belts in the 38 Nash, but since my new project will be a roadster, lap belts are better than whipping around a corner & ejecting the Mrs.... I'm guess she wouldn't like that... & if momma aint happy... your life is hell

BTW... any vintage drag racers know where to go for rules on safety equipment ??? does it varry by year of vehical or are there minimums ??? I don't want a roll bar in permanent, as it'll screw with my lines, but I've been considering a removable bar, for use at the strip, that would go between the cab & box, & mount to the frame & back of the cab... with the tires I'm running ( DOT drag tires 325 - 50-15's )... the front "might" just come off the ground... I'd feel better with a bar... curious where I could find those rules

 

See, I just got "Sat Down" by this Crippled Mother Fucker. "That's HOT ROD!!!" FUCK YEAH!

 

Hey Magnum Wheel Man, let me have that 38 Nash steering wheel for my HOT ROD when you get that GM one with the Air Bag & Bow Tie.

 

been wanting a Banjo wheel... if I find one, we'll talk

after reading all these replys, I got this sudden urge to pull little steel rods out my chest & face

 

Grinning and still grinning.

I have lived in the fast lane nearly all my life. I have had good fortune I suppose, gawd knows that I am not alive because I have been careful.

I do believe that a car or a bike should be built to be as safe as possible, but lets face it we don't drive late model cars and even late model bikes cannot be considered to be "safe."

I understand the whole collasping steering column thing, but like I said in the beginning I just have never given it much thought.

I try to always have brakes and lights on my vehicles. In a car I normally have seat belts and I wear them. I own a roller derby helmet that once belonged to the Blond Bomber, just in the off chance that I can catch a ride on someone's motor cycle.

I do have a very healthy repect for death although I have never been afraid of it. I don't desire to die in the very near future but on the other hand when I read about people wanting to put air bags or crumple zones and etc into our old hoopties my brain just says, "Well that's just ignorance gone to seed." We have cars that are simple and fun, why take something good and make it a pain in the butt.

I can say this I have had more fun than is legal, more than a lifetimes worth for sure. If I happen to crash and go out in a blaze of glory I can go happy. I guess you just can't ask for any more than that.

I got the '64 rules that cover gas class cars, I do think that the roadster rules are in there. Send me your e-mail and I'll shoot them to you.

 

thanks...

 

Hot Rodding - You sign on for this stupid shit. Injury & even death. Just pick up the life insurance before you pick up the Hot Rod.

 

Collapsing Steering SHAFT- Cut the collapsing shaft out of junk cars. (Double D in a bigger Double D, there a plastic dowl holding the two) You could spice the in.

Collapsing Steering Column - You could spice in some thick weldable mesh to collasp, but an inner collasping shaft might be complicated.

CUT & WELD. I use the stick welder, more penentration. Look for junk cars you could cannabalize.

 

www.ididitinc.com/universal_steering_columns/adj_col.htm

www.flamingriver.com/index.php/products/c0008

Safety is no accident....

 

There was a time I wouldn't care.. my time would be my time. Now I have a wife and 2 kids that depend on not only my wage, but my love and support.

I'm too old to be selfish now.

 

my wife is a red head, & firey as all get out... though she's mellowed some over the years... my favorite quote from her is...

"I just don't know when no fear turned to chicken shit"

she's a packin house gal, & when younger would do any job a "man" could do... funny how we temper as we get older

 

"I just don't know when no fear turned to chicken shit"

I think it has something to do with the development of the internet.

Collapsible steering shafts were great for custom length shafts. Just break the plastic, adjust to proper length the and weld it up, back in the Camaro front clip days.

 

Me too. I've seen far too many "accidents" caused by the young and brainless (or soccer mom types, etc..) chatting it up and texting away on their phones. It would be one thing if they hit eachother, but they typically hit the rest of us who are paying attention to the road. ANYTHING that makes driving safer is a bonus. Our cars aren't going to meet modern safety standards, but we can at least protect ourselves in any way that is practical and affordable.

 

"Oh no you din't!"

Care to expand on the "not much" part?

 

Just grab an air bag column and wheel from a late model grocery getter then put an inertia switch on the front end to activate the explosive. Easy squeezy, but as for looks not so much.


Oh don't grab too many of them or you will have homeland security breathing down your neck.

I gotta laugh here, we are talking like we really need this stuff or we all are going to die a horrible death in this thread and in another thread we got folks suggesting that any old piece of pipe from the plumbing center of the local hardware store is good enough to hang your suspension off of.

 

I'd like to see that thread...have a link?

 

I put an 81 Monte Carlo front clip on my 50 Pontiac and the (Monte) rag joint has quite a bit of room to slide up the double D shaft, plus the Borgeson U-joint at the bottom of the (77 Seville) column should act as a stop - just worked out that way

 

I solved this problem.

 

49 f1 solid column in my hotrod,yep sure ill die if i crash it,but in this car im sure any kinda crash would kill me.

it looks cool,is traditional,and if i die,well hell it will be doing what i love in a car i love.

 

HAHAHAHA,drive we do.

 

I lost a good friend last year in an arguement. People just don't stay around forever. I wish they did. Getting damned lonely at the porknbean ranch these days.

Its life, you roll the dice and take them how they land. Should I be more careful? No doubt. Will I be more careful, I wish I could tell you for a fact that I will be. But I know that I probably won't.

I can say this and this is not bravado. I will continue to roll the dice. One day if I am lucky I will just go to sleep and not wake up but the odds are against it. I know of one person personally that did and the rest of them have gone the hard way. Hell I even know good religious people who haven't been able to get a break on that account.

 

But, I've got to ask the obvious. Have you ever seen a street rod that has been in a serious accident? It's not much more than sheet metal confetti.

Believe me, I'm not the type of guy to purposely jump in front of a speeding bullet just to prove my machismo. I don't take chances with my life or those who ride with me....but...the reality is if safety was my only concern, I wouldn't be driving an eighty year old car at 70MPH.

To me, driving a hot rod is like riding a motorcycle. You get hit - You get hurt. You know it - you believe it - you respect it - and you drive accordingly.

 

I also believe when it's your time... you go...

... but on the chance that you're in an accident, & it wasn't your time, it's nice to cut back on the chances of a life of pain...

I was in a bike accident ( time flys ) um... like 6-7 years ago now, where the bike flipped & landed on top of me on a paved county road... lucky for me it was a KLR-650 instead of a heavier steet bike... I wasn't wearing a helmet... must not have been my time, I walked away from the accident... actually walked 20 ft to where my cell phone laid on the road & called the MRS, to come hual my butt to the hospital...

... I still had over 23 broken bones in my right foot, where the foot peg smashed my foot to the road, as well as multiple breaks in a collar bone, ribs & left wrist... I did drive bike after that, but wasn't enjoying it the same, & with pressure from both my boss, & my wife, I sold my last bike... I still walk normal ( & quite thankfully ) but my right foot is really messed up & in pain a lot ( something I live with )

As I've mentioned before, I used to compete in many many different motorsports, & I still like to go fast, & am really looking forward to getting this rod on the road... but my foot still hurts alot ( today, with the rain is particularly bad actually... hmmm... sound like an old man ) ... so anyway, my foot reminds me constantly, that if I want to live on the edge, I should include as much safely as I can ( as if that makes any sense...LOL )

 

wheelman i do understand what your trying to say but ive been there and yes it doeas hurt,but hell life hurts.i do take my safety seriosly.but i dont over do it. my old cars were built to go fast and straight and stay on the road. i dont wear any belts or have any safety colunms.i do watch what the hell every other one is doing on the road.i keep good tires on the cars and try to keep them runnin their best.i try to build them as they were built only faster.lol ive walked away from a few car wrecks that i shouldnt have.the bikewreck that crippled me up was as bad as it gets.left hand turn in front of me and bang. i was riding a fresh up build. a rigid frame bobber. i went thru the handlebars and laned on the hood and with my legs under me i was doubled over backwards i slid off the hood and into thwe street. i slid about 50 ft from the car on my back with my legs under me and my shorty helmet bouncing on the road.. i died there in the street. i was put in a helicopter and revived. flight to huntsville al. i died again and again i was revived.i stay in a coma for a month and after that i was in a nursing home for a month. i had to learn how to walk talk and even go to the bathroom because i didnt know how to control any of my muscles.i couldnt even feed myself.i had to learn all over again just like a baby does.i now im crippled up because i broke both my hips open like a book. i left part of my left knee in the road and i have brain damage. and nerve damage that make my feet and hands burn like they are on fire.and pain that would make you want to kill yourself.24 hrs a day i live with this shit.i had a iq of 151 before my wreck. now i have a really hard time just doing normal shit in the shop. but i still do it.i cant remember shit but i still do it.i rebuilt that bike that i died on. i still ride a rigid frame scooter. and i drive my hotrods or street machines hard and fast.and i hurt. but i still do it. its what we do. this thing called hotrodding .its dangerous just by its nature.but we still do it.if i wanted to live forever or for a real long time im drive a tank and stay off bikes.or not shoot the guns in the bac k yard. hell i wouldnt even get off the couch.but we all still just do it!!! sorry for the rant, i truly im. i just wanted for you to know where i stand on safety and what i go thru for my love of hotrods and choppers.what more can a man want if you cant die in your sleep at least go doing what you love.safety, hell yes.but to a point.

 

Ya know I have been the road rash king more than I would like to admit, more often than not it was because I was acting a fool. I remember once a cop showed up when I had to get off or hit some kids and he remarked that I should have been wearing a helmet. There was no seat left in my pants except where my wallet was I am still wondering if they make an ass helmet and if i would have been wearing one if things would have been different.

I don't remember a day in my life that I haven't ached, sometimes I wish my life had been different then I read about fellas like Outlaw or Magnum and am damned glad that is was not. It has got to be damned hard to deal with having not been hurt then being hurt.

I am here by no fault of my own. Just dumb luck I suppose. The Ol' Man used to say that I live a charmed life, the whole world falls down around me and then there I am. I remember once when I was working in the Oil Patch that the rig came down when we were raising the pole. The driller dove under a truck and I was left out on the floor holding a slack sand line. Pieces of rig scattered all around me, something knocked my hard hat off. The driller walked over to me picked up my hard hat and said, "better put this on" then shook his head and walked away.

Its the luck of the draw, you can do what you want and try as hard as you may and not change it. I do believe that one should make an effort to stack the deck in his favor as much as he can.

I think that the bottom line is that you do what you are comfortable with, if it means roll cage then it means roll cage, if it is a collaspsible column than that's what it is. Hell if you are comfortable riding a loosley saddled razor blade then that is what you should do.

I always look at the way someone else lives and if I have a problem with it I ask myself how does this effect my life. If it doesn't effect my life then I let them do what they want to.

 

Before my father passed he was going to make this thing strip-ready and bought a 5 point roll cage for this truck. I was going to sell it, but now I may keep it. I guess I keep thinking about my daughter and GF and my neices and nephews and grandbaby riding around with me in this thing and I cringe at the thought of anyone getting hurt because I didn't take precautions. I love hot rodding, but I love my family more. Not saying the rest of you don't, but I could never live with myself if anything happened. Sure, i could just tell them all NO RIDES in my truck, but then where's the fun in that?

 

quote Curbfeeler "Hummm ...... as my tired ass gets older --- I find I have had too many experiences of feeling the Grim Reaper breathing on my neck. Sadly I have seen too many others taken away by him."

Ah yes, I too was young and indestructable once, and unconcerned about injury or death.
But now that I AM older, its interesting, the older I get, the older I WANT to get.

 

BINGO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! aint that funny how that works!!!lol couldnt wait to get to be 21, when i got there i wanted to stay there. couldnt so i got older. now that im older i want to get even older..lol,, when my aunt and i were talking about my wreck and i said that i didnt see no lite when i died she told me cause i was going in the wrong direction...i sure hope she was wrong.....i never could get things right the first time hell ive died twice and im still here. bad part is i still get to do it one more time....

 

I lost a dear friend two days before Christmas. A shit bag distracted driver in an Escalade hit his '66 Chevy crew cab right on the steering box. It was a 40 mph zone. Steering column killed my friend. Every airbag in the Caddy went off and he walked out of the hospital the next day. I hear lots of bragging about how brave people are. My friend left two underaged kids and a lot of grieving friends....