47-55.1 Crash Photo

[MiraclePieCo]

My dad died in 1966, killed in a late night car crash returning from a hunting trip - probably fell asleep at the wheel. My aunt (his sister) sent me an ancient newspaper clipping of the event. Finding it in my scrapbook recently, I was pretty shocked to see the type of vehicle. What's that they say about the apple not falling far from the tree?

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[oldman3]

Wow, some things just play out in their own way...Jim

[nvrdone]

wow that's scary. My dad was hit broadside by some drunks running away from the Oakland cops. That was in the early 60'S. no seat belts so he broke every window in the cab of his "52 gmc with his head. Unconcious for 18 days but survived. Took me along time to understand why he hated my '49 chevy 3100.

[vintovka]

Very Sorry you lost your Dad in that crash. It was a terrible thing to lose him so young and under such circumstances.

I feel it necessary to point out this was way before seat belts or secure door latches were made mandatory equipment. I own a 54 and know first hand how effective factory door latches are (even when brand new). I also know for sure what happens when you don't have or don't use seat belts in any vehicle. Rolled a Kubota 900 RTV on a sharp curve due to an unsecured 50 gallon tank of roundup in the bed. Didn't have my belt on and couldn't hang onto wheel. Got tossed out and it rolled on me. Luckily , $161,000 later, they put me back together. Kubota was fine. Lesson here is add good shoulder belts to your AD (or ANY vehicle) and always use them. Remember His DAD and me each time you climb in --Period.

[MARTINSR]

Wow, that is a hell of a story! Isn't that something the detail they used to put in the newspaper! I can't imagine having lost my father when I was a kid, I'm sorry.

Brian

[dsraven]

sorry to hear about those crashes, never good whether long time ago or recent.
ok, here is another seat belt story for you.
driving my buddy's rail buggy, years back. seat belted with automotive style shouilder belts, helmets and everything. well, we rolled on a paved road. imagine this in slow motion because thats how it always plays out in my mind when going over it. the buggy goes sideways on the paved road, back and forth a few times and each time slipping a bit further in the "drift" and gaining momentum. it was a swing axle vw chassis and they are known for the swing axle swinging underneath the chassis, as the body rolls, until the tire digs in and the whole thing goes over. this is exactly what happened. then as the buggy rolls the jerking action of the tires digging into the pavement snaps the bird poop weld my buddy had applied to hold the seat belts on the frame. as the buggy went upside down in the rollover sequence my buddy was released straight down onto his head (helmet thank goodness) through the roll bars. I was ejected shortly after that, at such a time in momentum that I was flung forward of the buggy like a sling shot and it "followed" me down the road. I came to a stop just before it did and the thing ended up on top of me. the engine end of course, not the light end of the buggy. it broke all the ribs off my spine on my right side (except the couple of floaters at the bottom) with the impact of the wheel/tire hitting me and then hovered there for what seemed like eternity until it finally fell off me. I remember standing up somehow, gasping for breath that wouldn't come and seeing the world getting smaller and smaller through a black donut that was getting blacker by the second. I finally was able to get some air in one lung at least before total blackout and then checked on my buddy. we managed to put the buggy back on it's wheels somehow and coasted down the hill to my parents house with the bent/twisted machine. not sure how I drove without a rib puncturing a lung or something. buddy was not gonna drive that buggy no matter what. we ended up driving my 63 gmc to the hospital (yup, std steering, brakes and trans, floor shifter with a small diameter "sport" steering wheel) because buddy wasn't licensed and refused. spent a week in the hospital recovering from what the docs said shouldda killed me. musta been the care the nurses gave while in there. they were neighbours from around the home community and checked on me all the time.
anyway, my point is, when installing seat belts in these old trucks think about how you are doing it and ensure the welds are not just cosmetic. try to envision 220 lbs being held back with an impact from a 60mph crash. it is the reason I am using a newer style seat with built in seat belts so I don't have to rely on an anchor point on a door pillar that was not really engineered for a seat belt anchor. everybody does what they feel will work, and not trying to slight anybody here, just saying to think about how the anchor points are reinforced and the effects of inertia. new cars have anchors in the door pillars too but they also have large plates inside the pillars to spread the load over a larger area,not just a nut welded into sheet metal.
end of rant

[mongocanfly]

all I can say is WOW..!!

[vintovka]

I looked at the OPs pic again and it brought back bad memories. Impact forces are amazing and its true that time seems to slow. In my little faux pas i heard the roll bar crack my ribs and collar bone and felt my liver lacerate. The whole vehicle was laying across me up to my neck. I do remember not being able to breathe and then suddenly out from underneath and laying against the overturned cab. I have no memory of how i bench rested almost 2000 pounds off me (and snapping my right arm in two doing it. ) I guess i (and someone else) decided it wasn't my time to die. The OPs dad probably had no choice in the matter and hopefully it was over in a merciful second.

[mr48chev]

Sorry about your dad MPC. I leaned to drive in a 54 pickup so they are a bit special to me.

54 did not come with seat belts and few people put them in them back then unless you were drag racing the rig at the local strip.

I've told the story before about my wife falling out of our 48 41 years ago when she was leaning against the door on the way to work as she had a habit in those days of sitting sideways on the seat and leaning against the door. That was when she also found out she was pregnant with our now 40 year old daughter. They did the test after she got to taking to the doctor while he was cleaning the gravel out of her hand and knees.

I still remember that in the late 50's all of the 60's and on into the early 70's old farts would brag about removing the seat belts on their new cars that came with them because "they got in the way" I saw more than one car that they had just taken a knife and cut the belts on rather than remove the bolts.

unfortunately most of the one car accident deaths around here are from someone being thrown out of the car and having the car land on them. Mostly females in their 20's or 30's.

[MiraclePieCo]

I have delayed putting seat belts in my truck, there seems to be no good place to anchor them in a panel truck except in the wood behind the seats and I doubt that's strong enough.
Irony is a powerful force; I don't want to suffer the same fate as my dad!

[nvrdone]

if nothing else, get some lap belts in that rig RIGHT NOW !!! Better than nothing.
Ive only had lap belts for along time. A lot of years ago, I rear ended an Explorer. Shoved the radiator into the water pump. I bent the steering wheel with my arm, but I suri=vived to talk about it.

[RyanPartridge]

Wild photo and story. Gotta admit, I feel weird saying "thanks for sharing" because it's so tragic. But I love that you're still into these old trucks and enjoying them.

Just curious, what colors was your old man's truck? And what was the shop name on the doors?

[MiraclePieCo]

Originally Posted by RyanPartridge

Just curious, what colors was your old man's truck? And what was the shop name on the doors?

Sorry, the pic didn't scan well because it's an old yellowed newspaper clipping. The name on the door was Frank's Gun Shop. I don't remember the truck so I can't tell you the color.