The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Had an accident

Yes it is true, I had an accident today in the old 55. For you local guys, it happened on Wallace drive just outside of Brentwood. For you out of towners however, it happened on a narrow, winding, shady road that was still frozen over from frost last night. Anyways, as I was driving along this road, I must have hit a patch of black ice or something, and I lost control of the truck. Of course when I went to hit the brakes, what with the original brake lines being on it and all, one of them gave way, leaving me with no brakes, sliding along an icy road, heading towards a rock wall! Well, despite some clever steering and effective use of the E brake, I did slam into the wall fairly well, head on. First of all, I am fine, no problems there. What's the damage to the truck though? This is the best part, MY BUMPER IS NOW DIRTY!!! The truck didn't have a scratch on it!!!! None of the vital systems (aside from the now defunct brake system) had been damaged, and I was able to drive it, going 20km/h, to the nearest grocery store parking lot and park it with the E brake. After calling my parents, they arranged to get it towed, since trying to stop the leak failed. When the tow truck arrived a little while later, it turned out to be the same tow truck that had been there when I crashed and witnessed it. He had asked if I was OK then, but since he was in tow, he had to keep going. He told me that this was the sort of accident that, had it been in a modern car, would have been thousands of dollars in damages, and all I'm going to have to do is replace a brake line and wash my bumper off! Just goes to show you, they just don't build 'em like they used to.

Ouch! I feel for ya, buddy. I had a little accident of my own last months. Unfortunatly, I didn't fare a s well as you did in the damage dept. It came out to about $1700 (US) for the repairs, including labor. So far the hardest part I'm having trouble finding is a left side bumper guard in paint. Other than that, it's coming along OK. The car that I hit, an '05 VW Jetta, had about $5300 (US) to it. Seems that the floor pan got bent up pretty bad. I plan on getting a hold of the owner to see how the repairs have come along. Here's some pix of the carnage. http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2690711100092261295XEXPqm http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2989733080092261295iXXaOg http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2120024230092261295MwGDIB

Sorry to hear about the accident. Good to hear you're ok.

Don't simply replace the busted brake line...upgrade to a dual chamber master cylinder. In a single chamber system, when one brake line, brake hose or wheel cylinder fails, you lose all four brakes. If a rear wheel cylinder fails, you wash the inside of one brake drum with fluid, effectively losing one half of your emergency brakes.
With a dual chamber, you will lose front OR rear brakes in the event of a line failure, but not both.
Not to be morbid (or cliche) but next time you might not be so lucky. You could slide into on-coming traffic, slide through a stop light onto a busy highway (as I did in my '54 Buick a couple years ago...that's why I know about trying to stop with one brake after washing the other rear drum with fluid), or a kid running out into the road.

It's worth the money, and piece of mind.
Brad

Sorry to hear about both of your accidents....they happen....but weren't you both lucky that you were driving antiquated old trucks, that in spite of their lack of ABS, side and front air bags, crash sensors and all the other "safety" stuff, let you walked away unhurt?

Bill, I checked your pictures, noted the damages which accumulatively amount to a lot of fixing, but I was disappointed that you didn't include pictures of the Jetta. By the amount you mentioned, I would imagine it was significant.
I understand your concern for their safety and loss of transportation. What amazes me, is that the modern vehicle is just so expensive to repair even after the most minor collision. With insurance prices escalating and the road becoming even more congested, will the average person even be able to afford modern transportation and be able to secure reasonable insurance coverage? It makes me wonder if we're headed in the right direction. Just my $.02.

Dave

I like a story with a happy ending.

I didn't get a chance to get any pix of the Jetta, it was over at a body shop in Champaign, IL, for its repairs. It's the only shop around that will even touch a VW. It rally didn't look that bad at first, mainly the trunk lid and the rr fender, but the floor pan aft of the rear axle got kinked with the fender. Most of the cost for it's repairs is labor to straighten the floorpan.
Mine isn't really so bad. The insurance paid for parts and labor, though I'm doing the labor myself. I've already got the rad fixed and found a new fan (scored a 5 blade from a '58 school bus)at the salvage yard, so most of the rest is body work and paint, plus a bumper and guard. Should have things up and running by May, I have to work around a changing work schedule. Also, some of my vacation time is already shot, as I'm going to be in Talledega for the spring race.
I'll post more pix as I get thing repaired.

Well I just took the '55 out for a test run. A quick hose-off for the front grill, a new brake line, and she was good as new! We also took time to examine the rest of the brake lines, and luckily they were all in brand new condition. Our guess is that this line that burst was the only original one left, which seems strange to leave it on and replace the rest?
Also, we were going to take this opportunity to replace the master cylinder since we have another one ready, however the old one would not budge, and I really need the truck every day. Once I get my other car running and take the truck off the road however, we will sort out a lot of the loose ends. Oh and of course, I don't think any new car company could entice me with "bonus safety features" now. I think the best safety feature is a vehicle that can take punishment in the first place, which these trucks obviously can. On that note, your accident does sound like an ordeal Bill, but I'm glad to hear that the repair work is well underway with both your truck and the VW.
You know looking back at my accident, it's kind of weird. I was planning to replace that bumper with a restored one just a few days ago, along with straightening the splash apron and replacing the brackets. Good thing I didn't!

did you have your seatbelt on?

inquiring minds want to know...

Sure glad we don't have the "black ice" down here! It's bad enough when we get a smattering of rain....my buddy runs a small body shop and specializes in "fender benders".....most of which happen at under 30 mph and hit $5K. Just the front bags run a couple grand!

I get a kick out of all the safety tests at 45 mph and the EPA mileage tests on a dyno. We might be better served if they showed what happened during a head-on between 2 cars doing 80. Just another example of our "feel-good" society. Folks get the mistaken idea they can drive like maniacs and walk away from high speed crashes.
However, the politicians all seem to favor the big imports or SUV's. Guess they're the smart ones!!!! Ain't progress great????

RR-yes I did have my belt on. Let me tell you something, lap belts HURT! It's kind of making me think about a 3 point system.

Rusty, yes I had the lap belt on as I always do. Like the ad says, "click it or fall into a massive 18 inch steering wheel". Hmmm, maybe that isn't exactly how it goes... :p

old black 55

Glad to hear that the air bags didn't inflate and that they didn't have to use the jaws of life to destroy your truck to remove you??

Seriously, I am very glad to hear that you and the truck suffered so little damage.

Hobert

lucky! you're prolly getting the same as us up here with the fog forming a nice skim of ice on the road overnight - goes to show ya, don't jam on the brakes when ya hit an ice patch!

Bill

Red, are you in Vancouver? I saw the fog on the news this morning and it just looks like a nightmare to drive through. Like many Vancouverites right now, no I don't plan to slam the brakes any time soon, although it's good to know the brake system is just a bit safer now (as in no rusty, perforated lines). Now all that's left to do is to get a picture of the wall my truck "argued" with...and WON. Oh and of course, I'll have to check my airbag system to see what went wrong! :p

airbags don't help when you leave them home

I'm up-Island, we're gettin enuff fog it doesn't burn off til noon, then starts building up again by 4 or 5, but I don't think it's as 'pea soup' as the mainland ... does make the roads awful slick in the am tho

Bill

ouch

yea check out the damage from being rear ended last may:
http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2871468440071964356zfHiDY

i didnt feel a thing but i was so mad when i got out of the truck. happened as i was going to VA to run an errand on the american legion bridge on I-495 for anyone around here. some woman in a minivan i guess wasnt paying attention to the traffic flow in front of her and hit me going probably 30 or 40 and then slammed into the sidewall. she ended up going to the hospital so the cops had to come and do an accident report and stuff. and the worst part is i had only been driving the truck for about a month! and i was 16 at the time, and just to clarify it was in no way my fault. i got out of the truck and called my dad up cussing and crap and kickin stuff and he thought one of my friends had gotten hold of my phone or something and called him haha. but hey i got $4100 out of it, which covered a bit of frame work, brand new bed, new rear springs, repainting the whole truck, new flowmaster super 40 exhaust. i mean im not happy i got rear ended, but im definitely pleased with what i got out of it. oh and the funniest thing is that the lady's drivers side mirror was hanging from my rear bumper. i actually laughed when i saw that.

Glad you both didn't suffer from that incident. Would have hated not seeing that old black truck around on Friday nights. I think a dual chamber MC is a good idea. I have yet to find one that is truly a bolt in. BTW did an inspection of my cab mounts and found that one of my brake likes was copper and had a few good chinks out of it.