[scott70]

Another recent loss?

https://youtu.be/KjwP-NT46GU?si=CMsUoUsBoW5hjqET

[richardk]

More pics in this article. The guy was lucky to survive.


https://www.autoevolution.com/news/m...on-256302.html

[Rachelsdad]

Just some quick thoughts:

Brakes: I learned to drive in my '63 Bonneville, back when she had manual brakes and no 8-lugs, when "standing" on the brake pedal was a regular occurrence, the first stop guaranteed, the second (after shoes and drums were hot), not so much, and after that...well...let's just say that increased stopping distance was a necessity.

Now, I have 8-lugs and power assist (correct single master; please no admonitions - I am aware that a single master cylinder provides no redundancy and accept that risk). I have no problem stopping her, but I do need a day or so to adjust from my daily driver, a 2006 Cadillac STS-V, with those humongous Brembo calipers all around.

Driving habits (mine): I don't drive (anything) now (at the age of 65) like I did when I was 16 (you know, when all of us knew everything and had life figured out). I particularly don't drive the Bonneville like I drive my STS-V. I love the Bonneville (the STS-V, too, in a different way), and while I have her insured for a reasonable amount, I don't equate that to the pricelessness of keeping her as she is, or the potential impossibility of finding various parts in the event of disaster. In short, I drive the Bonneville like an old man (I try not to annoy other drivers), with my head on a swivel, and not in any hurry to get into the left lane of the highway. I also have a realistic view as to other drivers on the road: they're real people, too, with lives and loved ones, and they deserve to stay alive and unharmed (particularly unharmed by me, as I am somewhat in control of that).

Driving habits (others): I think with the advent of video games and an entire generation which has now been raised on them, some kids (under 30) get out on the roads thinking that GTA is a real thing, and Tokyo Drift should be the norm. They bob amd weave through traffic in their little rice burners without a care, assuming that everyone else on the road is just an NPC (non-playing character, for those of us over 30), and the worst that can ever happen is we get "bumped" off the road and are taken out of the game.

The moral of the story? Yes, we can drive these cars on today's roads. We just need to take extra care, and not expect a 60-year-old car to respond to our every whim like a modern vehicle - or worse, a video game simulation. There is no forgiveness for our slower response times as we age, and only we can compensate for that by driving like the adults in the room.

Glad to read that the driver survived, but this should serve as a wake up call to many. He will never get that car back - the one he restored by himself. That - and the loss of that beautiful piece of history - us the real tragedy.

Drive safely everyone.

[PunchT37]

How many modern cars are crashed like that leaving car shows?

[locomotivebreath]

Does anyone know what hospital that he’s in ? I’d like to make an offer on that rear bumper and mayb the diff .

[hgerhardt]

Who needs all 5 lug nuts when 4 will keep the wheel on just fine:
Could have been a wheel lock, but doubt it.

[DaleO]

Seeing these pictures and hearing the story's make me think of lap belts, yikes.

[Ashley P]

A co-worker is a volunteer "first responder". He's old enough to have seen the "old cars" and now the modern stuff, with crumple zones, and air bags. He says people walk away from things now that would likely have killed them in an "old car".

Couple that with how many times a "driver" with their nose in a phone is coming at me in my lane, and it's almost scary to drive my lap belt autos.

[salem1912]

Reminds me of my brother hitting a telephone pole. Hit so hard it split in two swung up in the air and came back though the windshield and landed next to him in the front seat. a matter of inches.He was lucky to say the least. Glad this fellow is ok!

[camerjeff]

It brings back bad memories of watching one of my best friends from H/S hit a Telephone pole with his 69 442, just after graduation, Neither he or his girlfriend survived. It was horrible still gives me shivers. It as a sad summer. Neither one of them were wearing even the lap belts, the way most people drove before the seat belt laws cam into effect. It made me shudder again today remembering it. I was following about 1/2 a block behind him when it happened. we were both driving like the 18 year olds we were doing about 70 in a 55 zone on a 2 lane road. I did start wearing seat belts after that. And I no longer felt immortal after that. I do hope the drivers will be OK and learned something from both incidents.

[Formulabruce]

My 71 Firebird had factory power disc/ drum.
It Stopped FASTER than my '72 with a WS6 rear and 4W disc brakes...BUT..
The 72 will SLOW DOWN Much Much faster than the drum rear bird because it does NOT lock up.
Stopping.. drum brakes lock and maybe slide or fade on second try..
A friend is a Florida driver Fort Meyers area. He says if he leaves room in front of him for safety. The smallest car will Race around him to seize that location. This causes constant calculation. Florida has the Worst highway in the USA for accidents and fatalities. East west, Tampa to Orlando.
So I do 4 wheel Disc, and get proportion just right.