Well yesterday could have been a LOT worse. I was driving my 57 Chevy truck down the freeway and I slowed down and tapped the brakes and the gas and the throttle on my truck opened WIDE OPEN. Before I could reach over and turn the key off the truck sped up to about 60 mph and I was barreling down on a group of cars. I shut the truck off and pumped the brakes as hard as I could but rammed into the back of a BMW and a Honda as I swerved thru traffic and rammed into a concrete barrier to stop the truck. Thank god there wasn't a motorcycle in traffic. When it was all over I honestly thought I had hit 3 or 4 cars. Thank god it wasn't worse. So the cops came. Luckily they liked my truck and for some reason didn't give me a ticket. I had the truck towed and brought to my shop this morning. The damage is bad but I thought it was going to be a 100 times worse. You should see the BMW. When I started the truck up 3 times the throttle just revved as fast as it could so I shut it down. Before I get in there and start digging around any ideas what is causing the truck to rev out of control like this?
No ideas...but if would tell us something about the truck's engine, etc maybe we could come up with something. Pictures help, too. like...does it have a 6 cyl engine? or a V8?
Wow that's is scary stuff thank God that everyone walked away to drive another day. My first look would be the throttle cable something was holding the butterfly wide open. And your going to have to post some pics we need to see after reading about the accident.
too many variables to come up with a reason. 6 or 8? original throttle linkage or a cable or something home made?before you started it up and it revved up did you close the throttle linkage?
How in the world did you hit two cars and not get cited? Do you have double return springs on the carburetor? HRP
Mechanical linkage ? cable ? Pedal stuck to the floor ? Do you run double return springs ? Glad to hear that noone was hurt, BTW.
Wow .I am glad no one got hurt.Dont feel too bad I wasn't a drinking man till I started on the 56.Bruce.
Very scary, glad no one got hurt. I'm going to go out and check my return springs and throttle linkage right now.
I've seen it happen on the 58/60 something Chevs where the left side motor mount breaks and lets the engine lift up and cause the mechanical linkage to stick. Still as Jim Forbes and a couple others said, we need more info and some clear photos of the engine compartment that show the throttle linkage and maybe a couple of clear photos of the pedal setup. I've driven a couple of rods that other guys built that had too little space between the gas pedal and the brake pedal and if you didn't move your foot over so it was clear off the gas pedal you ended up with both being pushed at the same time. Not quite the same thing as the heal and toe brake/gas method that some sports car racer types drive with. It could be that your throttle return spring broke or popped off too. that is if the linkage isn't binding up.
You run a Shop and can't figure out a throttle issue? Probably why you had one. Also most vehicles have some kind of shift mechanism. First thing most do is kick it in N so it stops pulling,,, then go for the Key. Not to be negative here but come on we're talking yours and others Health and well being. The Wizzard
First off, glad it wasn't worse. But seriously how do you have the throttle stick on your truck, crash, and then go online and ask people who have never seen your truck and I have no idea what happened for information? If that happened to me, the last place I would go for help on what happened would be the Internet. I'd be under the hood under the dash and everywhere in between. I don't think your truck tried to kill you, but damn sure somebody did something that could've killed you or others .
I have no idea how I didn't get a ticket. The lady in the second car I hit saw me coming up on her full throttle and thought I was running from the cops or something. I managed to swerve around her and the drivers side door flew open and hit her car otherwise I would have just hit one car. The officers saw that it was obviously a mechanical malfunction and for some reason didn't issue a ticket thankfully. I will post some photos when I get a chance to get under the hood and look at what may be causing this. The motor is a 301 V8. The truck is over at my shop which is where I keep my equipment for my business. It's not an auto shop. I did look over the truck this morning when we dropped it off but didn't see anything obvious. Of course I will go through it and find the issue just thought I would see if anyone had any ideas… of course I expected a couple angry hot rod guys to throw in their two cents. That's like bitching at a guy because his car caught on fire. For those with sincere concern and suggestions thank you. As always much appreciated.
be interested to hear how the insurance companies react to this - have full coverage or just liability? some injuries show up much later after an accident so, there may be more problems than a stuck throttle involved in all of this. Police do not always give a ticket out at the scene of an accident, charges can always be applied later.
You act like you never made an error in your life.....just seconds to make a decision....at least he saved what he could by killing power.
No clue here but if your you bought your truck turn key from a reputable shop, I would hire an reputable mechanic to diagnose it and find out if they did some crappy job on the accel linkage or something. Might not be your fault at all.
I'm not talking about who's fault or what caused the issue. Also an after the fact issue should be pretty easy to spot in any Shop. I think we have all heard of the State Patrol Cop that took his Family on a wide open throttle ride to there Death. He even had enough time to call for help but never thought of kicking it out of gear. What a Bozo. Did we not all say why didn't he kick it out of gear back then? Don't we all learn from others mistakes? The Wizzard
Perhaps something inside the carb came loose and jammed in close to WOT. Frayed throttle cable, binding mechanical linkage, slipped adjustment on linkage, jammed springs or other fasteners moved from original positions due to loosening or shearing from overtorquing. Sounds as if the condition is still well in place as you started it and it still remained wide open. You will find out...Lucky for all involved. Have had experiences with the foot jammed between brake and throttle...accelerating when I want to stop and having to think fast. We have seen these things all to often...stuff coming off due to incorrect installation or inferior parts breaking down. At the end of the day the hobby we are involved in requires serious attention to so many details of the vehicle. If you (any car enthusiast) are not mechanically inclined it could cost someone or many their life/lives as mechanical assembly is not an anybody can do it thing...NEVER assume. So Bigstar whomever is responsible for this needs to be made aware as they put many lives in jeopardy...I don't profess to know it all and enlist those licensed to do many things on my vehicles as the risks to myself and others matter. If it ends up being a computer chip gone crazy well even more out of the average Joe's league.
I had a 60s Impala that did that, left engine mount broke and the engine raised up jamming the throttle wide open and the shift linkage could not be moved. The only thing I could do was to push on the brakes and shut the engine off. Next set of mounts got drilled and a bolt run through the two halves.
I kinda appreciate the idea that you are just wanting to find out why, but, this is an ideal learning experience for all those looking in on this thread. So, at the risk of offending some, here is what I have done in the past, when this happened to me: Kill the ignition. Shift into neutral. Press the brake pedal, do NOT pump; pumping will bleed off all vacuum (if power), and you will not have power brakes (if present). It's really a matter of keeping your head. My passenger had no idea that the throttle on my car had stuck WFO. That's how fast I reacted. Lastly, do NOT try to pull up the throttle. Time for that is after you stop. Cosmo
Did that with the old man's '68 Chevy wagon. The DS motor mount broke, jammed the throttle wide open and pops the hose out of the brake booster. That one was missing that recall safety strap. We bought a new mount that had the interlock feature in it.
The OP needs to go buy a lottery ticket, could have been a lot worse, he and others around him were very lucky.
Thank goodness no one was hurt . NOW do yourself a favor and take that truck to a certified auto repair shop and have them figure out what went wrong , take pictures of it, have them give something in writing because i will guarantee that a law suite is coming.
I had this happen to me years ago coming home from school one day. 57 Chevy. Linkage was fine. Looked in carb and one of the butterfly's had come off the shaft and was laying down in the manifold.
"I managed to swerve around her and the drivers side door flew open and hit her car otherwise I would have just hit one car." And your door flew open! Not sure if you have dual springs on carb which would be my first thought but sounds like a inspection of the complete vehicle is due. Good Luck!
Just reading between the lines here some responses have been harsh (stern wisdom) but also with good knowledge of how to react to this situation. It is good to hear this and hopefully next time it happens the outcome may be different. I know for a fact IF it ever happens to me I will be thinking of this threads responses as it is happening to stabilize the outcome with fingers crossed of course. I know you shut her down (be careful with locking column) and had limited power assist (as was mentioned using the running overrevving engine in neutral to power systems till stop could have made a difference good info). Who cares if the engine is damaged as stopping asap is what matters here (more good info). Obviously every situation presents unique scenarios and again this resulted only in minimal damage. Being a Hotrod site safety is a very important aspect of custom building and so much of what we are using is old and aged making systems overview even more important. The other thing others have mentioned is if we buy old parts they may lack the safety factors superseded by newer safer designs (motors mounts with tabs to prevent extreme shifting). I should verify my mounts have the tab as I may be next...
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