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Hot Rods HELP solve the missing model A mystery!!!!

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Flathead Coupe, Apr 19, 2014.

  1. I think DOT would disagree with that contract...driver is responsible for his load.
     
  2. Hot Rods Ta Hell
    Joined: Apr 20, 2008
    Posts: 4,670

    Hot Rods Ta Hell
    Member

    Driver increased his liability by strapping his strap through the doors. It sped up the load blowing off the trailer (if it wasn't stolen).

    In the 1st photo you can see that the tightness of the strap has already broke the upper duct tape prior to heading out.

    The 2nd photo shows no cowl hinge halves, so we know the doors were not bolted to the cowl via hinges. The doorswere only duct taped in place,to the A and B posts and sitting on the splash aprons! No wires, straps, etc. Like someone mentioned, this was shaky for even a cross town haul.

    A couple of bounces and the doors popped off. This severely loosened the strap and the hooks came free from each side allowing the doors to leave the trailer.

    Once the doors were free, the body shell eventually parachuted itself off the back of the trailer.

    The loose end of the strap was tied off to the steering wheel, otherwise it probably would have also left the rig.

    Photos indicate the Model A was at the back of what looks to be a multi car trailer. Possibly partially blocked from driver view by another loaded vehicle. At any rate, the driver probably had the windows up, tunes blaring, tired as hell and never heard it leave. Someone found themselves a Coupe body on the road side and probably figured it fell off a scrappers truck.

    Gross negligence on the haulers part.

    Hope the buyer contested and did not pay for the hauling job upon arrival.
     
  3. Flathead Coupe
    Joined: Feb 25, 2014
    Posts: 35

    Flathead Coupe
    Member

    The buyer prepaid for the Car & the Transportation...…and was never reimbursed for towing nor lost/damaged/missing parts.
    He got screwed by somebody….
    since he was building a Hotrod..nothing of what he received is worth anything to him.
    He ended up purchasing another whole new Model A Coupe..and is already started on his project while this mess is in litigation…
    Just thought maybe somebody might have seen a similar body for sale somewhere recently...
     
  4. 48FordFanatic
    Joined: Feb 26, 2011
    Posts: 1,335

    48FordFanatic
    Member
    from Maine

    If the whole car fell off the trailer and damaged another vehicle then who would be liable ? The hauler right....the the hauler is liable for this loss as well. Seems pretty simple to me.
     
  5. Atwater Mike
    Joined: May 31, 2002
    Posts: 11,625

    Atwater Mike
    Member

    Is there not a tarp law still in effect? When I was supervising the build of my aluminum Bottom Dump double trailers at ALLCO (Calif. LLC Mfr.) DOT introduced a tarp law, exclusive to none, that all loads would be tarped. Period.

    This, if applicable to the states traveled through, could be the mitigating factor for leverage on the loss of load.
    Driver failed to tarp load, is responsible for parts that departed...

    It does appear that the body could have taken flight at speed, especially if hinges weren't bolted to 'A' pillars/cowl. I've seen hauled items less 'airworthy' get airborne at 50 MPH!

    This is notwithstanding that the body wasn't negotiated for at a stop, of course.

    Interesting case.
     
  6. Maybe there are tarp laws in some states,we were passed on the interstate in Tennessee by a truck with a open trailer hauling river rock and they were bouncing around and some were flying off.

    One about the size of a small potato whizzed just above the windshield of my roadster and hit my pal Dave's fresh 40 coupe windshield.

    He chased the guy down and we all got off at the next exit,Dave was livid and the state troopers were call.

    I ask him about a law requiring a load to be covered like we have in South Carolina,,he told us there is no law like that in Tennessee.

    Dave was able to get the man's insurance company to pay for the new glass and everything was fine but it took several months. HRP
     
    Last edited: Apr 20, 2014
  7. BamaMav
    Joined: Jun 19, 2011
    Posts: 6,709

    BamaMav
    Member
    from Berry, AL

    HRP is right, not every state has tarp laws. As 30 years of experience as a flatbed trucker, I can say the driver is responsible for the securement of his load, and periodic checks to make sure that the securement is still tight. Cargo insurance is required for all legally registered carriers, if he was a fly by night guy, he might or might not have it, but still the responsibility for the load resides with the driver, no one else. I'm almost sure a court would award a judgement claim against him and his insurance, if he has any.
     
  8. Around 6, 7 years ago I sold a '31 A pickup that I cobbed together - frame from a local guy, cab off an AA I bought, axles from an estate clean out someplace else.

    It went to Sweden or Norway, I forget which, but went on a trailer from Utica NY to Elizabethport NJ and into a container the rest of the way.


    This is what it looked like when it left. The radiator, cab and bed are bolted down. The subrail extensions were weak - that crate in the bed is loaded with a bunch of repro parts the buyer had shipped to me that I packed in it. There even was a set of F1 shock mounts taped to a piece of wood in the cab.

    I took Home Depot cull bin lumber and shored up the entire cab and strapped the hell out of it. Other parts also were tied down with mechanics wire. A piece of wood was cut to fit inside the frame rails and that big crate was attached to that, because there wasn't much of a bed floor left. The crate itself I had to cut down a bit to fit, but was a freebie someone abandoned at my storage unit place. I lined it with plastic and tied everything inside down so it wasn't coming out of there.

    The red arrow was just to highlight where the serial number could be found.

    He sent me a picture when he picked it up at the docks, and other than the grille shell being off - which he took off - it looked just the same as when it left here.



    Just looking at the first picture of the coupe, the body looks cobbed together and they did a shit job of preparing it for shipment. It's entirely possible it fell apart and fell off the truck - but I'd say it's just as much the seller's fault for not doing a bulletproof job of getting it ready to go. I would have done the same thing in this car - built a wooden square inside the body out of 2x4s, tied that to the frame, and tied all the body parts to the wood, with wire, straps and taped it up too.
     

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  9. Cowtown Speed Shop
    Joined: Sep 26, 2010
    Posts: 1,192

    Cowtown Speed Shop
    Member
    from KC

    I agree with this completely, As I said in a earlier post, I have seen these cars bounce around and come loose before myself. what the hauler claims is indeed very possible, So I think the body is spread out somewhere over the highway. Either way regardless of if it was stolen or lost, Hauler is responsible Period!!
     
  10. Cowtown Speed Shop
    Joined: Sep 26, 2010
    Posts: 1,192

    Cowtown Speed Shop
    Member
    from KC

    I disagree, the seller is not responsible for shipping Unless it was agreed upon and included in sale. He done his job, he sold the car and handed it off to the transporter. Because the transporter did not do his job right should not come back on the seller. This bullshit of sharing blame has got to stop. I had a guy sliding on ice out of control and T boned my pickup. His stupid fucking insurance company tried to put 50% of the blame on me because they said when I saw him (for about a half a second sliding out of control) I should have broke the law and crossed traffic and got out of his way. Point being, just Because one persons parents raised a fucktard!! That is not my fault!!....either way his fly by night insurance ended up paying my claim 100% and my lawyers fee.
     
  11. thirtytwo
    Joined: Dec 19, 2003
    Posts: 2,639

    thirtytwo
    Member

    I also think the " tell" is in the duct tape... Looks to me like that car was very rusty with no wood.. The cowl was bolted and the rear was held on by the duct tape... Being on the back of the trailer like that the body would be scooping a lot of wind...

    Further more any hauler should know to attach the car to the trailer by the axles , the suspension moves up and down... You run a tie down through the body like that and it's going to ruin a lot of stuff .. The car shoulda been tied at the axles and the loose body should have been tied to the frame..
     
  12. edwardlloyd
    Joined: Aug 2, 2003
    Posts: 2,072

    edwardlloyd
    Member
    from Germany

    No one stole that body. It'd have been easier and quicker to roll the whole car off the trailer than lift the body in situ. Even if the thieves later only took the body.
    However that body wasn't attached properly to the frame. That was guaranteed to fly off within 100 miles, the strap thru the doors ensured they eventually fell off. If the body remained on the highway the next truck to come along made sure it's just bits of steel lying on the roadside now.
    Transport company is liable. He should never have accepted the cargo in that condition. Also the body never gets strapped to the trailer. Chassis to trailer, body to chassis. So he secured it wrong.
    No conspiracy, no thieves, your body flew away.


    Twitter @edsrodshop
     
  13. I have hauled probably a couple of hundred project and field cars and yes, shit happens. From what I can see, the car was bolted to the frame and the doors were hinged with very few bolts. They most likely rattled out and the back section flew off. I hate hauling at night because you can't see what is happening on the trailer. Just the up and down motion of the car on the trailer will undo the straps through the doors. I always strap through the quarter windows forward and over the cowl and to the rear. Keeps everything in place. Just my 2 cents.
     
  14. bubba67
    Joined: Nov 26, 2008
    Posts: 1,842

    bubba67
    Member
    from NJ

    I've had a lot of cars shipped over the years, and I've found that over the last 10 years it appears that the number of open road truck drivers that can't speak English,and appear completely incompetent has drastically increased. They appear to have very little clue how to strap anything that is not your "normal" Toyota type of car, and when you try to give them suggestions, the only English word that they can speak is "yes", "yes". The way you strap a trailer full of logs in Syberia is not necessarily how you strap a Model A Coupe roller. I say driver error, bumped or blew off the trailer.


    Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
     
  15. you didnt pay for it, you scammed your insurance into paying for it just to make your customer happy when you had proof it was previous damage, what doesnt sound right to you with that?
     
  16. No Mystery Here ...

    No finger pointing needed.

    This vehicle should have been hauled in an enclosed trailer.



    Jim
     

  17. Here is what happened to a guy in Spokane, WA with his Dodge Super Bee:


    In one of many PM's to me - his own words what happened:

    " I hired BLANK to transport my freshly painted superbee from Blanco, Texas to Spokane, Washington back in June.

    BLANK willingly drove his rig through the Denver, CO area during a storm that he could have avoided with proper attention to the weather service, radio and handheld weather programs.

    He willfully drove into a storm.

    Before he could do anything about it, he found himself on a desolate stretch of highway in a hailstorm with hail the size of baseballs.

    Nowhere to run.

    The car is dimpled with baseball sized dents from front to back.

    The rear spoiler is split, one scoop is cracked, every panel has dents.

    The new windshield is distroyed.

    The hood may not be salvageable.

    The brand new headliner and vinyl roof will need removed for the repair.

    When BLANK arrived with the car I asked him if he had insurance.

    He told me that if he filed a claim it would be devistating to his business and shut him down.

    He told me that he would pay for the entire repair and accepted responsibility.

    That's right.

    He assumed fault.

    After he went home however, his story changed and he told me that he wouldn't be paying to have the car repaired as it was an "Act of God" that couldn't be helped and that he could not be held responsible in any court for the damages that happened while the car was in his care.

    Care... That's a real subjective word...

    While "Acts of God" can't always be predicted, I believe that this could have easily been avoided if BLANK hadn't been in such a hurry.

    Without ever travelling the highway before, he chose his route through Colorado hail country during hail season and was in too much of a hurry to stop when a storm was coming through.

    Instead of checking with the weather service, he drove INTO A STORM with blatent disregard for the safety of my automobile and found himself in a very foolish position.

    These decisions were all very much acts of BLANK not acts of God.

    When a person runs an open transport, he doesn't take risks.

    If the weather is bad in an area known for killer hail, YOU STOP NEAR SHELTER and you wait it out.

    This has been confirmed to me by more than one other transport company who has heard my story.

    After all, who in their right mind would hire a transport that advertised, "Your car will be on an open transport. You'd better have insurance and be prepared to roll the dice because I drive whatever route I want through whatever weather and if your car doesn't come out okay, you get what you get."

    That would be nuts, but in effect, this is what BLANK did.

    He even advertised that he was insured.

    Then he told me after he decided not to be responsible that he only had liablility coverage for situations where a car he was hauling caused someone else bodily harm of physical damage.

    WHAT?

    EVERYONE MUST CARRY BASIC LIABILITY!!!

    Why advertise the obvious like it's something added or special?

    It's bogus advertising to get you to THINK you are covered.

    Here's the point.

    BLANK misrepresented himself in his ad regarding his insurance.

    He disregarded the safety of my vehicle when he chose his route and pushed through bad weather in an area known for devistating hail.

    He lied to me about fixing the damage done to my car while in his care and control.

    I want to encourage you to ask yourself if you think BLANK was neglegent.

    Knowing now how he treated my dream car, ask yourself if you would trust him with yours.

    I wouldn't. "



    Jim
     
  18. Low Black Special
    Joined: May 7, 2013
    Posts: 62

    Low Black Special
    Member
    from SE Iowa

    This was for sale here on the HAMB. I talked to the seller just before Christmas because I was interested in it. I moved to slow and he marked it sold, I'm assuming to your buddy. More pics here. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=9420604


    Theres lots of things that went wrong here. But I think in the end the shipper is responsible. I would be so pissed.
     
  19. GZ
    Joined: Jan 2, 2007
    Posts: 1,273

    GZ
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Detroit

    After looking at the photos on the for sale ad, it looks like the structural integrity of the body was entirely the duct tape. Looks like there is even a two by four going from the rear quarter to the b-pillar to support the width of the body. I wonder if the body just collapsed en route and was dangling in pieces off the side of the trailer? I could see the driver saying f&*k it, cutting the parts loose, and continuing on his trip-especially since he had already been paid. I don't think anyone will ever know what exactly happened.
     
    Last edited: Apr 22, 2014

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