Alright guys, I'm looking at buying my wife a 1960 Chevy Brookwood wagon and yesterday a old timer told me that back in the early 60's when GM used the "X" frames they had a huge flaw??? According to him whenever you get into a wreck the frame collapsed which lead to the steering column being forced up which lead to alot of broken faces! Now I know that regardless with all the other dumbasses on the road you can get hurt driving anything but is this true? I have tried to do research but really didn't find much, I just want to know what I will have to do to have my wife and kids safe in this car besides the obvious. Any help or advice is always appreciated. Cheers, Sam Navarro
I've had a lot of those cars, but I have to say that I never wadded one up, nor have I heard that tale before. I'd suggest seat/shoulder belts and defensive driving. Life is dangerous though.... Charlie
Watch this video of a crash test (Chevrolet 1959 vs Chevrolet 2009) it will surprise you http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_ptUrQOMPs
Yes, seen that video many times. I'm pretty confident they didn't use a primo 59' for the test. But rather a worn out rusted example the folded up easy. IMHO.
It's not GM X-Frames that cause that. It's any vehicle with a solid shaft from steering box to steering wheel. If the hit is hard enough to move the steering box back the shaft and steering wheel spears out of the column towards the driver. That's why they introduced collapsable columns.
Here is another video about the test it too is interesting http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZ3Y0lxGz6s&NR=1&feature=fvwp I have owned a couple of Impalas they are cool cars.
The X frame was used in Chevrolet cars beginning with the 1958 model year through the 1964 model year. Other Gm brands used the perimeter frame. What that video shows is not the problem with a x framed car, rather the energy absorption quality thaat has been engineered in the succeding years. Any 1959 car should have folded in that manner. And any 2009 model would have sustained the crash better. That said, the video is a Chevrolet ad and should have been seen in that context.
Old cars are'nt safe, and you can still get killed in the most safe car on the road. The only sure way not to get hurt is not to drive. You cant drive old cars and worry about what might happen, its the risk you take for the hobby.
They are really no better or worse than anything else from the era in a typical crash. They are worse than a perimeter framed car in the even you get T-boned, obviously, because there is no frame rail between you and the incoming vehicle. The X-frame, as seen in the video, will also tend to bend at the narrow spot behind the transmission tunnel. The offset crash in the video is one of the worst and most violent accidents they test, with each car going a good speed, and meeting 1/2 way, not full head on. One thing you want to do, if you do buy one, is make sure you move to a more modern (1967+) dual circuit master cylinder. I had a brake line fail while trying to stop for a yellow and hit someone in my 1960 Parkwood. Worst thing about it was that the guy I hit pulled out in front of me as I was rolling through the intersection at 10mph