was bout to the same exact same thing blacknred. wonder if hydrogen embrittlement has anything to do with it.. anyway such a shame to see it wrecked and more importantly hope the occupants recover quickly
We can only hope and pray he and his passengers came out with minor injurys like my fellow club member Ken did when he wrecked his 32 sedan a few years ago. Ken dis-located is left shoulder and his ex-wife broke her wrist,,,he says they both had minor cuts and scratches and a bunch of black and blue marks. Again,,it speaks volumes for the use of seat belts,,HRP
Of course we all hope those involved are ok. Post accident, I'd like to know if the axle broke and caused the accident, or if it was broken during the impact. If it broke, as many have evidently done in the past, does anyone ever take the bits to a lab to determine what happened? Perhaps it was just old age / years of normal "flex?" Could the "cracks" be detected prior to a wreck even if they can't be seen with the naked Mk I, Mod I eyeball? Race cars get magnafluxed or have similar tests regularly for just that reason, eh? Why would we assume our stuff will last forever and never fatigue? Could there be a reasonable inspection period for axles or other key suspenion parts? Or does it just matter how many pot holes you hit and how lucky your are? Gary
I hope everyone involved is alright and if any injuries nothing lasting, the car could be fixed alight but peolpes fears or injuries can be very bad. All the best to the folks involved.
Everything you say is viable. Discussion is good however. Kinda gets everyone thinking about checking out their hardware and looking at some things that sometimes get overlooked. I for one feel more aware because of this thread. Bryan
Cast axles snap, forged axles usually only bend! There is also a school of thought that say chrome brittlises metal therefore more likely to snap. Yes that snap looks to be at the impact point.
All the discussion about the axle is good, but does anyone know the status of the driver and any passengers?
That axle is chromed, and chrome on any component subject to stress of any sort can be deadly. The chrome treatment traps microscopic bubbles of hydrogen under its surface. These bubbles tend to collect at any fault or stress point in the metal under the chrome. Enough bubbles, even microscpic ones, reduces the strength of the chromed item in one location, and catastrophic failure of the component at the stress point can be the end result. This is known as 'hydrogen embrittlement' and it is real. Apparently baking the chromed item at a fairly high temperature immediately after chroming drives the hydrogen out, but it has to be done immediately or it doesn't work. I know there's lots of hotrods out there with chrome front ends that have been on the road for decades without a problem, but a fault can appear at any time, and without warning. Cheers, Glen.
It looks like a magnum 5" axel, you can tell because they have a cast in shock mount. He wasnt useing it but its there. I have a brand new chrome one. I have been concrened about running this. This nails the nail all the way down. I want be useing my magnum unit. Going forged all the way. I am glad everybody came out not being to beat up badley. My prayers go out to them for a speedy recovery. Here is the thread I started about chrome cast beam axels. There is a pick of the axel I want be useing. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=482845&highlight=magnum
This is why I hate to hear about these things before a thorough investigation has been done. I to pray that the individuals are Ok and on the mend. In the meantime we have companies being lynched and armchair engineers speculating about the cause. The HAMB drama club is alive and well and casting their verdict.................as usual. Frank
I hope everyone is alright... Regardless a forged one would not snap, that's enough to swing me the forged route. good question.
Forged axles are designed to flex ! Cast ones not so much. I had a 3in "Moredrop" on my roadster when I got it in the early 70s. Being somewhat new to Old cars. One day we were at the club meeting and I looked at my axle, as I had turned in to the parking space and stopped. Well I about freaked!!! The Pass side was about 1in ahead of centerline , At the kingpin, and the dr side was about 1in aft of centerline. A couple of the old guys said "Thats what they are supposed to do" I was good with that.
Hey guys, we have a thread dedicated to the cast vs. forged axle debate, which is a worthy on-topic discussion. This thread is about well-wishes for the couple that was in this accident. Let's remember that and keep it on track
hope all is well with the passengers. come on guys ,you throw 4000 pounds of moving car into anything and something gonna give,if the axle didnt snap the frame could of buckled.
I saw this wreck on my way to work yesterday, sad for sure. Im headed to Daves Garage where its parked, will let you know if I find out some info on the cause and injurys.
57Joe is right.this is about the folks in THIS 32 and their well being,and yeah we are bummed about the car however we gotta believe when healed the car can be repaired...........so take the axle stuff to the other thread and keep that one rollin,while there compare these photos to those.(Lonnies volksrod)...I do hope someone finds out the well being of the people involved,Also he better win HARD LUCK AWARD for the duece event in canada...........................
I am flipping through the Sept 2010 Hot Rod Magazine hat just got delivered and there is a picture of this car in it. The article is called "Candy-Colored Babies" and has pictures from the '66 and '67 Oakland Roadster Show. The car is wearing full fenders. Says that it was Keith's first car and was purchased in 1956. Hope all are OK and car can be rebuilt.
Just got of phone with Local guy here in Fresno, He says Keith is in hospital and pretty banged up, so lets get this om track and pray for a fast recovery of the ocupants.
Hydrogen embrittlement comes from the electroplating process and can happen to forged or cast parts. We use zinc plated screws here in the plant I work in and our spec says to "mechanically plate" them. We got a batch of them in one time and they were electroplated and had hydrogen embrittlement. They appeared to be fine when you installed them and held fine but after 24 hours the heads popped off of them with no pressure other than what was used to install them. For that reason, I wouldn't plate suspension parts. My concern would be even if the cast iron is strong enough, what if you ran off the road and hit something and it broke and you lost control and made your accident worse than it might have been if it just bent? That's a terrible thing to see no matter what caused it. Hope everyone gets well soon.
Good news, I just visited the car and talked to the owner of the garage its in, he said the two are being released today with lots of stitches. will find out when they pick up the car what happend.
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