Thread: Is it Safe?

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I see the word 'safe' thrown around a lot in here, especially within the rat rod threads. What I want to know is what does safe really mean? Very few street rods are safe.

Mostly what I see is that a safe car has good brakes, suspension, and a floor board. Less often but also required I would think is a sound chassis.

My car will posses all these features but it is not safe. It has way too much engine in a way too light chassis and glass body. The steel reinforcement inside the body will not protect the passengers very much, if at all. It does not have a roll cage and basically if I was ever T-boned in it or flipped it I would likely not survive. Fortunately I know this so I am planning to be very defensive and conservative with the throttle in general.

I would therfore submit that any old school hot rod/street rod/rat rod out there without a full crash roll cage is not 'safe'.

Basically these are not safe cars by modern standards, period. Any opinions?

Nope, they're not as safe as many modern cars. Thank God for that. If they were, they'd weight 4000 lbs and go 0-60 in a week.

hmmmmm. Safety is a relative thing. I guess granny wouldn't be safe in a lot of my stuff, and I guess I'm not either. When you compare the accident numbers on hot rodders versus other drivers, we are extremely safe.

Originally posted by Dave Severson
hmmmmm. Safety is a relative thing. I guess granny wouldn't be safe in a lot of my stuff, and I guess I'm not either. When you compare the accident numbers on hot rodders versus other drivers, we are extremely safe.

And most Hot rod related accidents are not the driver of the hot rod's fault.

My Cobra has no roll bar and only lap belts. Even though its legal I don't really consider it safe. I agree that the car is only as safe as the driver.

BTW, 5 point harness is on order!

I think safe is a politically correct response to insurance demands.
We hot rodders, I think I speak for a lot of people, really design their vehicles to endure. I doubt very much an hotrodder then enters his grocerygetter and forgets about inertia, handling, acceleration, tire compound and road conditions.
My wife is an example. She was an insurance agent for years. She would purchase an automobile based on consumer reports and neglect it into the ground. Completely ignorant of what an automobile is. She was not safe in the living room arm chair! It was nothing for her to drive around in a vehicle with only one disc brake working, the oil pressure light blazing, overheating, knocking and her running through stop lights, stop signs, curbs, into buildings.
We got married after her divorce. I am an hotrodder. It is in my blood.
I rebuilt my 383/350 in my living room, with her helping. She no longer lets her oil light blaze, or even come near. She no longer tolerates missing cylinders. She no longer runs stop lights, stop signs, she is aware of other drivers and is not suprised at things driving.
I built a T-bucket years ago, with a big block and blower. I stretched the front ind 16". I also built it for go, not show. After building the car, there was no way I would risk my effort just to turn an head. Same with my Cobra.
I do not think you can build safety into an automobile that compensates for ignorance. My wife was ignorant. She is no gear head now, but, her driving is vastly improved. She knows what an automobile can do both doing its job, and biting hard. She now knows nothing is safe and that makes her safer.
We retired our shop van with the 383. I will do an S10 conversion with it down the road. Our shop recquirements dictate a larger vehicle. She now drives a 1987 Suburban with the 9300lb towing package, and 454 with TBI. After the van, nothing to her is safe and she takes no chances. She is no longer afraid either. That makes her safe, and it took me making her wrench and diagnose.
She goes up to her vehicle, looks at the tires, general condition of the vehicle. She now takes her foot off the fuel when she comes up to a stale green light. She is aware of the body length, she knows braking theory, distance to stop from a particular speed.
She knows acceleration, distance to attain speed, and torque curves.
She even understands steering theory! She backs into parking spaces rather than nosing in and is as comfortable with mirrors as looking through the windshield.
She is now fairly safe, and keeps her vehicle "safe" and all systems functioning.
That does not eliminate someone like she was driving in the other lane. We have Q-tips driving down here and nothing is safe from them.
We watched a Q-tip mistake the accelerator for the brake, so the police report said, drive over two parked cars and go through a window in a Winn Dixie.
What would our rods be if we made them safe from that?
I believe safe is paying attention constantly, not cutting a single corner on the vehicle, and not settling for less than perfect. After that, life without risk is not living.

just for an example or old vs new id feel alot safer in a 70's linkin <good spelling i know>. then a new volvo

Geez, I'd hate to even get caught riding in a Volvo. Aren't they kind of like a mini van for yuppies?????

probably ............ damn yuppies

Originally posted by kitz
....... Very few street rods are safe.........

I know a California Highway Patrol man who went to a NSRA show where they were conducting the NSRA safety inspection.
He was more impressed with the safety standards there, than with MOST cars on the road.
Could i t be hefe' that once again, you are upset with something your not telling us about?

No secrets here ...........

The NSRA safety inspection does not address a vehicle's crash worthiness. My point was that without a full crash cage/roll bar a deuce is not crash safe. I am assuming that the car otherwise is hardware safe.

NSRA may check more things on a rod than a state safety inspection but that does not make the rod safer than a factory car. I hear about failed steering linkages in street rod apps but never once from the big 3. And factory cars all seem to have this wonderful feature called collapsable steering columns. I don't see that too much in street rods (never that is).

I'm just wondering if I should wear a seat belt or not in a car that will mash the driver if forced to roll over. Better to be crushed or thrown free and take your chances?! Oh well, if my baby is totaled I might as well be too

kitz

If you are so sure they are not safe, then why build one??? A cage is a good idea in any hot rod that is used on the street. Heck, motorcycles aren't safe, go carts aren't safe, heck if you believe everything you here breathing isn't safe.

Absolutely, you flop a glass car and it's gonna put you in a bad hurt.....We all realize the risk. And we accept it. If you want a collapsible column, full cage, side impact door beams, a perimeter frame, crumple zones, and all the other safety things that are in grandmas car then it would appear you have two choices, !. Build them into your car, 2. go buy a Volvo. Just don't try to convince me that I need all that BS on my car, if I crash and it kills me, big deal. Life's just that way, nobody's lived through it yet!!!