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My opinion:eek: Hydrogen embrittlement and or occlusion coupled with a weak area where the king pin retainer bolt is installed, often driven in with a BFH would be my guesstimate. That tapered "bolt" could tend to spread the king pin hole if that BFH is less then judiciously used or whangs against the boss.
Sorry guys. There is nothing definite yet and I'm not sure that we will ever get to the bottom of the cause but it looks as though it is due to an axle that was very poorly built.
So far the consensus is that the king pin boss broke first and the rest is history. The axle is a 5" dropped axle from Magnum axle. Their claim is that it is a cast steel axle but it is really a cast iron axle. I'm still trying to confirm that. The one thing I do know..........There are a lot of used magnum axles on the market right now. :LOL: I really hope that Lonnie's insurance agency get to the bottom of this.
I will post more info if I get it.
I'm still wondering if we ever got an answer to the cause of the high boy that crashed. I really think that it's important to get to the bottom of these problems and expose those responsible if we can so that there are not more unsuspecting victims.
I'm still wondering if we ever got an answer to the cause of the high boy that crashed.
If you are referring to the original crash on this thread, he is maintaining a gust of wind pushed him off the road and he lost control.
Just to give an up date, the car was totaled by the insurance company. He still doesn't have full use of his arm, very slow recovery.
Ken
I'm still wondering if we ever got an answer to the cause of the high boy that crashed.
If you are referring to the original crash on this thread, he is maintaining a gust of wind pushed him off the road and he lost control.
Just to give an up date, the car was totaled by the insurance company. He still doesn't have full use of his arm, very slow recovery.
Ken
That must have been one helluva gust. :LOL: Sorry but that is hard to believe. A motorhome yes, a high boy........? That's his story and he's stickin to it.:LOL:Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken Thurm
I hope his recovery is total.
I just came back from a trip to central California with very high winds and I was blown all over the place. In most of the areas there is no shoulder on the road so if your wheels get off the pavement it is very difficult to bring it back. We had 50 mph gusts, I was passing a 18 wheeler and just got past his nose when I was blown over a lane so fast I couldn't believe it. These cars have a very high center of gravity which makes it even worse, I believe this is what happened to him.
Ken
No, living in California you are probably familiar with how strong some of those gusts can be between passes. When we lived there I was amazed how you could be driving along with just moderate wind action and suddenly, as you passed through an opening, this gust would almost take your car off the road. I remember trying to keep a light Toyota on the road many times under those circumstances, so I can see where a roadster could have problems like that.
Don
Ken, I can believe it. I went for a cruise yesterday,we had side winds here between 40 & 50 mph.,and I felt like someone was pushing my old '31 from side to side, no shoulders or much traffic on the on the road, so I slowed down ,but found it can take ya!
Brian
My roadster only weighs 550 Lbs up front and it doesn't take much to bat me around. I just didn't think a big block duece would be affected like that.
My Harley is close to the same wt. and I get tossed around like a feather by some of the winds coming through the hills around here. One notorious place is coming up the hill near Sausalito, just before going over to the Golden Gate bridge!
I wonder if solid whells have the same effect on cars as they do on bikes?
On the original hi boy car---It had some sort of torsion bar suspension? any photos somewhere from before the accident??
Jerry, I have seen photos of that car in magazines and the car in person at the Los Angeles Roadster Show, it was a first class build. The front suspension was similar to what you would expect to see on sprint car front suspension technology. The torsion bars ran along side (maybe inside?) the frame rails. Nothing like what you would expect on a common High Boy street rod today.Quote:
Originally Posted by jerry clayton
The car was around for a long time and ran something like 160 MPH in the quarter. I can only assume that it felt safe and stable at speed or it would have been changed. Unfortunately, after a crash it's sometimes hard to tell if breakage was "the cause", or "the result" of the crash.
One more consideration on any type of accident, is speed. There is something about running in a pack of roadsters going down the highway. There are many times when our club is headed on a trip there are speeds in excess of 100 mph. All it takes to get everybody going is for one car to pass another. Unsafe, absolutely, fun, beyond measurement.
Ken
Hi Ken and others on this thread,
I fully believe in the gust of wind been the cause of this accident as in NZ we suffer from high wind gust, NZ been a narrow set of islands surrounded by oceans. I used to drive large tractor units towing 4 axle semi's and I know what force nature can turn on to give the unexepted a fright. I also believe that the front axle damage is just the result of the crash,nothing more...
Ken I will finish by just saying that my prayers are still that your friend has a full recovery....
And when things happen in a short wheelbase, high hp rod, they happen very quickly. I personally hate those seams you run into on bridges on interstate highways and brace myself every time we hit one. Some are nothing but every once in a while you get one that moves you sideways a little. In a regular car you never really notice them, but riding on 80 year old suspension technology they can be pretty unnerving. They are particularly scary when a car or truck is right next to you in the next lane.
Don
I also believe it most likely was the wind that caused it. I drive the shit out of my car & have been blown over a lane before I realized what was going on. Driving a roadster takes 100% concentration but it's exhausting on a long haul.
I have very little doubt as to the wind being the cause. I was extreamly supprised how much the wind will move me around. And I haven't been moved nearly that much but it is unnerving enough that I avoid the interstate when is gusty around here. And will generally keep speed at about 55mph max when its like that. I was comming out of Mohave one night on a motorcycle and a gust hit me and pushed me almost over. I suppose the higher cg and light weight make these older boddied cars more susceptable. It's almost worse than driving my old ford cargo van. But you really expected that. And it rolled the body more. My little truck is sprung fairly stiff so it doesn't give as much before it wants to physically move the truck.
P.S. Hope for a full recovery for those involved.
ANYBODY WHO GETS BEHIND A STEERING WHEEL OR HANDLE BARS OF A VEHICLE SHOULD BEEN GIVING MORE THAN 100% CONCENTRATION... As my dad told me when he taught me to drive was....." treat all other road users as complete thick DICKS WITH VERY LIMITED concentration spans" if one does that , one may live long enough to enjoy mean years of driving...Quote:
Originally Posted by Steves32
I agree with Whiplash... I was always taught to be a defensive driver. Anticipate EVERYTHING from careless drivers, unexpected animals running on the road, wind gusts, just about everything. I always think that the next driver may not see me and in that event, be prepared. I'm not a slow driver either... I'm also not the fastest one on the road... I'm a half fast driver.Quote:
Originally Posted by Whiplash23T
Jerome
We have a lot of half fast drivers on the roads down here. :LOL: You guys are right on the mark about driving defensively, even in our daily drivers, but especially in our rods. When my two Sons turned 16 and started driving (we all remember those nights of laying half awake until we heard their cars pull into the driveway at night) I told them they had one goal when they pulled out of the driveway. That goal was to get back home alive that day, nothing else mattered.
Besides the several accidents we have discussed on this thread there have been a few others involving hot rods worth mentioning. The blue bucket pictured below was driven by a young lady named Megan. I met her at Turkey Run a few years ago, very nice lady and very lucky to be alive. She was traveling on some interstate at about 70 mph and the car downshifted somehow and it threw it out of control. It ended up laying on it's side against the guardrail, and Megan was thrown clear into the woods. I believe her injuries were some ribs and maybe a punctured lung, if I recall correctly.
The green rod upside down in the ditch was singer Brian Setzers (Stray Cats) old rod, and had been sold to someone in someplace like Sweden, where this accident occurred. I am not sure if the driver of this one survived or not.
So while statistically wrecks involving hot rods aren't common, they aren't impossible either. They sure does sicken us when we see them and wake us up to the risks we take playing in traffic with cars and trucks that make us look like ants size wise.
Don
Yeah you really have to drive like everyones trying to kill you. Those pics, especially the second one is disturbing, to say the least. Cars, (newer ones) are alot safer in gereral. And people walk away or survive some very serious crashes. I think that is partly to blame for the way some people drive. In their larger suv's, but even the smaller cars, the door bars, crumple zones, air bags, anti lock breaks, and so on. Most have been involved in an accident or know some one who has, and they arn't worried about getting in a wreck as much because they have all that safty equipment to protect THEM. When you get behind the wheel of any motorized vehicle, you are taking your life, and possibly other lives in your hands. Driving is dangerous. And it won't supprise me if one of those idiots kills me. I drive alot every day in my business, and I watch all those jerks almost kill someone every day. So after I see those pics, and hear of steering arms breaking for no aparent reason, kinda gets me paroniod. But it took me alot of years to finally build one so I'll still drive, but you can be sure I'll be watching everything like a hawk and checking those bolts and so forth very often.
Ok off the soap box..............
Yall be careful now.....here.:3dSMILE:
Here is another one, it happened yesterday. He ran off the road and rolled over on it's side. That's all I know about the accident. I will know more when every one gets back from the run.
Ken
I wonder if that front chrome axle was cast metal, HUH!!!
It sure looks like it is, I think some of you already covered this on here.
Kurt
Sigh.:( This is just becoming all to commonplace. What is going on?
Don
What happened? It looks like a gas tank ruptured - wonder if he had those dam' plastic saddle tanks that hang below the scrub line or the OEM which can leave you with 10 gallons of gas in your lap.
Unfortunately, 'accidents' happen even to street rodders and most don't fare well against the heavier new cars.
My question is,if you focus on any type of vehicle,I think you will find accidents won't you??.Considering the number of Hot Rods across the country,are we seeing a rash of accidents and in some cases,parts failures or just sensitive to the ones we find??.It seems the percentages are in favor of it not happening to aware drivers.After all,it's a car,that are driven by people.
The word on another forum from folks who know the owner personally is that he was stopped at a redlight and rearended in a 4 car collision. Makes sense, with the 32 probably having the fuel tank mounted between the rear frame horns. From the trail of gas in the video it looks like he was driven through the light and turned 180 degrees around.
They say he has an injury to his vertibrae (sp) and is in the hospital, but is expected to be ok.
Don
Bad builders , or bad parts?
Just lucky that those guys got the driver out...I would think,that if the tank was in the original place between the rear horns,it wouldnt have stood a chance being smacked at 30/40 mph by anything,even a jappa...and if it was running an injected engine,wouldnt the gas be pumped out at a considerable rate if the line was broken??:eek:
Just sad to see rods being broken,,and their owners/drivers..
For those of us building and driving 1930's cars and trucks, they are tiny and there is no good place to put a tank. Pick your poison, saddle tanks, cowl tank, '32 style between the rails out back or cram a fuel cell in your non existent truck. Your options are super limited. We all know to well what can happen. I personally would not want to get in an accident in my '31 but , they do happen. These vehicle were designed for a different era, not the super heavy, crumple zone safety cabin vehicles we have on the road today. Not to mention, the speeds were much slower when these cars ruled the earth.
Keith
I put my '31s tank in the rear using pieces to make it like a '32 for the reasons stated above - the saddle tanks are the scrub line and I've seen an original 'A' with the OEM tank burn(leak, not accident). In the rear a '32 style and with a roadster, even if it burns, it shouldn't hinder my exit. Had it not been a roadster with a tiny trunk, I probably would have made a firewall and put it in the back behind the rear seat. I don't have a bumper but will be installing a pair of small nerfs to give it at least a little protection from a minor stop light bump.
Are you kidding me?Quote:
Originally Posted by BigTruckDriver
So the fault is either the builder or parts. Not the fact he was sitting at a light & was rear ended at 40 mph by someone in their DD NOT paying attention.
The last shop that worked on that car was Roy Brizio.
No, that car was top notch from the before pictures I saw. I don't think many of todays cars could withstand that kind of hit and not sustain similar damage. Some idiot plows into you at 40 mph while you are standing still and bad things happen.
Don
Here are pictures of the car after the fire. Look at the shot the rear took in the first picture.
That is one serious bummer. Hope he recovers from his accident.
Keith
I guess Don has settled a couple of things with his photos:
-The car was a '32 not an 'A'
-The driver/owner survived quite likely because the gas tank was mounted where it was supposed to be for a '32 not under the door or in his lap.
My best wishes for the driver/owners speedy recovery and to either get that car rebuilt or a new build on on its' way
My gas tank is in the standard "Gibbon" position - right behind the seats. I think the next project before upholsteryl is a firewall. The upside (I guess) is that it would take a heck of a hit to get to it.
Its mandatory down here now,I think,to have a firewall between the trunk and passenger compartment in a new build,if the gas tank is in the trunk...Of course,pretty hard to do in a Vicky....Quote:
Originally Posted by Henry Rifle