Whats the worst thing you ran over with a Hot rod

Young and stupid on a road trip in a big old Holden sedan (ozzy GM) a group of my friends saw a largish tattered looking open cardboard box on a country straight.

Not overly precious about his car and egged on by the group of 'friends' the driver (not me) speeds up to smash through the 'empty' box. A loud bang, fucked up front grill, bumper and hood follow shortly after destroying the fridge that was inside the box.

Must have fallen off the back of a truck or something.

 

If almost hit counts, i swervered around a ground hog crossing the track in the shutdown area of Numidia dragway in the late 70's with a gas dragster at about 153 Mph, sucker stopped mid track

 

During the summer used to drive my 1941 buick (original with 6 volt system ) into work at 5 am . It was dark out garbage pick up on the back country roads . I never seen the plastic garbage can rolling in the road until the last moment . That did spider some old original paint , nothing compared to hitting a new car - 2005 aveo when he ran a stop sign sunday morning at 9 am . Me and the family were on the way to the Ford plant in Romeo michigan for a car show .

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We got a winner here, holy crap!

 

A customers dog with his 40 Ford truck. When I finished striping it, I needed to move it out of the way so I could get to other cars. I put it in reverse and moved slowly then heard the sound of "Squatty" yelping. I freaked out not knowing he was under the truck. He survived but the dogs owner needed therapy after.

 

Driving to work, heavy traffic, I-20 through Atlanta, probably moving about 80 Mph? Driving a somewhat off topic old Brit thing, very low and fast.

Something chunky in road and no where for me to swerve so I slowed down as much as I had time for and tried to straddle it. As I came up on it I realized it was a huge brake drum, like from a semi or such.

THUMP!!!!!! Screeeeeeeeeee!!!!!! ROAR!!!!!!! Thumpity thumpity, clack!

I look into my rear view to see the drum has flipped on its edge and is rolling off to the emergency lane and to see my entire exhaust, down pipe back, spinning across two lanes following it.

Luckily the exhaust pipe also found its way to the side of the road before anyone ran over it.

Figuring the exhaust was ruined I let it be and drove on to work. Luckily nothing else was damaged, te drum was just high enough to snatch my muffler I guess and it was all rusty enough to come out somewhat smoothly.

 

Around 1971 in my 55 Chevy racing a friend from point a to point b. I chose to go left around the hill and he chose right. I lived in the upper desert part of CA and water across a dirt road in the middle of nowhere was kind of unusual but there it was and couldn't avoid it. When we stopped on the backside of the hill it was immediately clear it wasn't water we had ran through. A septic truck had gone behind the hill and dumped his load. 20 years later after removing the front fenders there was still toilet paper stuck in places I wasn't able to see earlier.

 

Bump steer, 1963

 

It really ran over me, not me over it
Not rods but kool rides anyhow.
On a very cold day in February my dad wants to wash his orchard colored '65 GTO and at the same time I decide to wash my all white salt encrusted 67 Bel Air big block sedan.
The hose and faucet are frozen so he suggest I follow him to the Wal-Lex Car Wash up the street from our garage.
He goes thru the automatic wash ahead of me and I'm following behind in my Bel Air sedan.
Did I mention? The Bel Air's white paint job is barely a week old, enamel, still soft.
As I pull out of the tunnel I see him pulled over to my left and he's arguing with the attendant.
I ask him what's wrong and he tells me their car wash ripped his antenna off and the guy is giving him a ration of shit for not removing it beforehand.
I tell dad it's not my concern, I'm freezing , no heater and I'm heading home, see you later.
I get home, step out of my freshly wash and spray waxed Bel Air and state in disbelief at 10,000 3 inch scratch marks all over my new paint with his stupid antenna mast imbedded inside my rear license plate.
Spent a long afternoon with a bottle of Duplicolor in the driveway

 

Headed home from the Frog Follies in my '40 coupe that I had just bought. There was a pickup loaded with cut wood up ahead. Several pieces fell off and came bouncing towards me. Nowhere to go I slammed on the brakes. Two pieces went through my grill and radiator.

 

One very short block from my house I spot an object in the middle of my street. I'm bookin', no time to throw out the anchor.
My '36 Ford sat low in the front and the engine was placed very low between the rails because it ran a B&M Blower and I retained a full stock hood on it.
It's a rock!!! And it's ginormous.
CRACK! RAP,RAP, RAP, TINK!
Pounded in the bottom of the grill, left a mark on the floor. and punched the flywheel inspection cover into the ring gear.
All fixable in one afternoon.
Did the same drill again a few years later in the '36 with a fat possum crossing the highway late one autumn evening on the way home from a hot rod gathering.
Cost me my new recently installed Walker Radiator that night.

 

Hit the biggest porcupine I'd ever seen at 90mph. I had time to swerve off the pan, but took him out with the A-arm. Didn't think I'd done any damage, but over the next 2 weeks the steering kept getting worse. The quills took out all the ball joint seals and the gravel roads did the rest... cost me over $400. Also wiped the oil filter off a small block Chevy with a rock on the road. Got it shut down before the oil was gone so it was just a case of replacing the filter and oil.

 

Very OT ride (but quite the hot rod still) hit a very large hawk at 60 mph. Unfortunately I had looked at my phone for a second so I never seen it coming, just a crash and glass and feathers everywhere. Worst part was I had 70 miles left to get home, so I pulled that half of the windsheild and make the drive with the tempature at 35*.

 

I didn't run over this but pity the guy that did.
It is the springs from a mattress.
Can't seem to get the picture here.

 

Ran over an altenator once but also narrowly missed a set of duals off a dump truck. The guy next to me got a bad bounce just before it hit me and got him

 

4x4 across a lane got my old vw airborne. My son, one of the engine drivers for the local VFD, has a nickname, "Smiley Possum".....

 

I took out a deer with my '57 bel air post in '66. It took out my grill, radiator, hood and a fender. My old grill bar was broken, insurance gave me a nice new one. ...but paint match was not too great.

 

I hit a shock that fell off the car in front of me with my 52 Buick. Tore up my front bumper.

Revernd Paul

 

Not me personally, but a family friend, was taking an off ramp from the freeway and crossed paths with a Canada goose. It smashed through the windshield and ended up all through the car, right to the back lift gate of an Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser.

 

Yup, got that one covered, too! Back in high school my two best frienmds and I shared a small fleet of cars. I drew the short straw that day and had the Baja bug, 'cause Jim needed my Falcon for an after school date of great importance. As school let out, I crossed the street to the empty lot where the Baja was parked up on mound above all the other cars parked in the empty lot. Good thing too, as it rarely ever started under it's own power. Of course, it didn't this time either, so hit the ignition, threw it in first and punched in the clutch, and rolled down the hill. Dumping the clutch at the bottom resulted in a sputter, but that's about it.

Still looking to be cool in the face of adversity with the school now emptying out and walking towards me, I went into the "incredible one man VW hand launch mode", a chance to show my strength, agility and ability all at the same time, and a maneuver know to ever six volt VW owner world wide. I jumped out of the open drivers door, grabbed the windshield post and steering wheel and gave the mightiest of pushes... However, in doing so ran out past the adhesion limits of my pair of Van's skate board shoes! Falling flat on my nose, the car continued to roll up the back of my right leg, over my thigh, and across my ass before rolling off at about my hip. As stated, this happened in front of EVERY soul that inhabited Chaparral High School on that day, and is still remembered by some.

The only up side to this whole debacle was the healing help over the weekend of that oddly cute, semi-nerdy girl that I had been kinda taken with, Miss Shannon Sample... Still have a thing for girls that wear glasses.

 

Muffler and tailpipe fell off of the car in front of me, no room to swerve or change lanes. Blowout: gashed the side wall of the tire. Had to change it on the side of the freeway. Always have a good spare and a working jack!

 

On the way to the nationals in 1996 my son and I were North of Nashville in my 27 highboy roadster about 3:30 am. As a truck pulling a trailer full of hogs was passing us when we both hit a small repair ditch across the road. It caused the trailer to bounce and we bottomed out. The hog piss and shit flew all over the open pipes and engine. The windshield kept most off of us except for my exposed arm. The smell of hot hogs shit- was bad and it stuck as it was cooked on the lakes pipes and motor. We stopped at the next stop and cleaned up as much as possible. It was humorous as people walked by the roadster at Louisville. It just added to the patina as it burned off. We had a good laugh after. My son said I told you to duck,Pop and got a good laugh at the old man.

 

My own battery!!! Years ago while taking my '55 Chevy for a test drive I forgot to bolt the battery down. While driving, the vehicle in front of me stopped suddenly and I felt a thud under the car. When I came back home my buddy told me the battery cable was arcing on the frame, so I told him to put it back on. That's when he told me I had no battery.

 

hahaha

 

I once BACKED over a blind man, broke his cane AND killed his dog.....true story. He later also died of his injuries....very sad. Guys, make sure you have good mirrors and try to pay attention to those around you...nothing can be taken for granted.

 

Going to work on the graveyard shift down a dark 2 lane country highway in my 79 Sanoma a deer was walking down the center of the highway. I didn't see it until I was almost on top of it, swerved not to hit it. The deer turned into the front fenderthe side view mirror broke an antler, it ran off into the median. Was glad that I didn't kill it. The next morning checking for damage I found streak down the length of the truck evidently made by the deers nose since it was sort of wet and slimey. No damage other than a good size dent in the mirror housing.

 

Had a front wheel bearing shatter causing the left front wheel of my 70 VW to twist off in traffic. The wheel passed me luckily missing the traffic. Slowed down and pulled on to the shoulder, Luckily the WV suspension worked as a ski and didn't flip me. Got it towed home replaced the spindle, backing plate, bearings and wheel. Drove it another couple of years with no trouble.

 

my wife backed over my 35 Pontiac hood ! some how it was my fault ???

 

^^^^^^^ well, we are all wondering why you put your hood behind her car?

 

Three come to mind.
The most traumatic, was that I was climbing on the Hope - Princeton Highway. In 1963 this was a steep, dangerous, two lane road. It is also the site of a slide that buried approximately 140 people a year later. I got caught in the middle of a large rock slide with nowhere to go but to keep climbing the hill. There were rocks bigger than basketballs bouncing off the road in front of me, and I was certain I was going to die. There were some rocks so large that if one would have hit the side of my car, it would have knocked me off the road. I went down a gear and jammed the gas to the mat, figuring the less time I was in this mess the better. My poor car sounded like a rock crusher from all the boulders I ran over, but amazingly enough I made it through without taking out anything under the car. There were lots of new dimples on the oil pan, but I was alive.
The second one, was an attempt to thread the needle on the sidewalk between a power pole and a hedge with about a three foot drop_off on the other side. I almost made it, but nailed the pole with my left front fender. This whole accident was because in the middle of a corner on wet road, I instinctively swerved to miss a damn dog. Nobody hurt, but it took me most of the summer to pay for the bodywork.
The third one can be considered as the worst of them all. My buddy and I were on the highway in his 50 GM half ton, and he hit a skunk at 60 mph. The smell was so bad that my buddy had to stop the truck so we could barf. Even washing the truck many times didn't get the smell out. Amazingly, there was no damage to the truck.