Bob's 57 AGIN is back to the shop (Santini's)

[57AGIN]

Now moving to the damaged radiator looking from the driver side then on to the battery ground connection.

[57AGIN]

Moving on toward the rear of the engine compartment and on to the exterior of the car on the passenger side (the door that won't open) and ending at the steering wheel which I must have banged pretty hard. The horn ring broke and at the hub of the wheel all 3 connections have cracked the paint & probably the plastic beneath.  My wife has always said I'm hard nosed. lol

[57AGIN]

Moving now to the rear end and starting with the left rear tail light, the left rear bumper being pushed into the quarter panel and ending up near the license plate. I'm sure we will find more to work on, but this is a general look at the damage.  Nothing that can't be fixed and in some cases made better (brakes for sure).


Bob
57 AGAIN

[RICH MUISE]

A lot of owwies there, Bob!
The guys on the Hamb had a thread going earlier this week about the hazards of driving our beloved street rods on the roads anymore. Even with the upgrades you have with steering and brakes the sad truth is the performance of the new cars with all of their high tech systems have made our cars, even with the upgrades, much more dangerous to drive than 15 years ago. An 18 year old with a 10 year old beater is probably driving a vehicle that can outmanouver or outstop pretty much all of our cars. Even speed wise  our modified, hopped up cars can be beaten by 10% of the new cars coming out of detroit. Your accident looks to be a perfect example of that discusion. But that isn't going to stop any of us is it? We just do what we can to improve the odds.

[djfordmanjack]

hats off to Bob for taking all of that and staying calm. looks as if the 57 should get an at least up to the beltline repaint to match all colors. all the small bruises will have to be repaired anyways, I am sure the b pillar and the striker plates area will need repair too.
Our cars were built very light. when I look at my wagon with all interior panels off, it is merely 1 thin piece of sheetmetal, without any reinforcement making the quarter panels. also the front fenders are just one layer of tin.
Rich, your thoughts are 100% truth. Driving ONLY vintage cars for more than 20 yrs myself, I feel the same, we have been outruled by the modern cars AND drivers (most younger drivers have never driven a vintage car so they don't know what it is like at all. that's why they squeeze into any safety gap that we might want to have to the car up front). I just quit driving my small vintage Volkswagen in daily use last season because of exactly that reasons.
Bob, I see you did have safety belts in the car. are they 2 point or 3 point shoulder harness ? I am thinking about putting belts in my 57 wagon, but I am not sure about running 3 belts without head rests. would appreciate your info. glad to hear that your nose was harder than the chrome...

[57AGIN]

RICH MUISE & djfordmanjack:

Rich you unfortunately are quite right, my daily Driver a 2008 Shelby GT is a good example of that.  But, I didn't spend all my pre-retirement buck on a car that all it would do is look nice.  I'm going to drive it, even in this insane Southern California traffic.  Before I started the original upgrades the car was literally an accident waiting to happen.  Drum brakes, bias ply tires, and so on.  I'm going to work on making it safer, but it won't ever be able to have all the modern technology that goes into the modern vehicle. I know this it will be fun and I just hope there won't be a next time.

As far as the seat belts, the current ones are just a standard lap belt setup, front and rear. That is the same setup I had when I had my first 57 as a teenager, but then I just did it because I thought they looked cool. I've been looking at getting a set of Simpson belts that include a shoulder harness.  I sure wish I'd have had something like that on last Saturday.  As for whip lash, it was odd I guess that I didn't wind up with one, I hit the Z pretty darn hard.  But no, my only issues were the bloody nose/split lip and the bruise on my right leg just below the knee. Two days after the accident I bowled in my Monday night league and averaged 184, which is about 11 pins below my normal average.  The only thing I couldn't do was go surfing on Monday.  I just couldn't bear banging my knee on the board before getting to my feet, so I just had breakfast at the beach with my wife, kids & grandkids.  Thanks to our crazy California weather.

Bob
57 AGIN

[djfordmanjack]

Yes you are absolutely right, that our cars should be driven. although we have to update somewhat in some areas, brakes, safety belts, tires... I love bias plies but I bought a set of radial whitewalls and wider 6 and 7" rims for safety... FYI I bought shoulder harness belts (fully automatic retractable) for my vintage 1966 Mercedes daily driver from WESCO performance. they have a lot of different styles and especially colors to make them fit to vintage cars. even come with the old chromed aviation style buckles. you should check them out. in th pic you can see how the tan color nicely matches my interior and I can live with the winders on top of the rear shelve, for my family's and all other passengers safety's sake.

[JimNolan]

Bob,
   Boy, to me it's a lot of damage and you're lucky to not be hurt worse. I'm a big fat guy and that steering wheel would have been implanted in my spine. I do think the safety level of a vehicle should be directly proportional to where you live though. The insurance companies think so too. I've driven in California and I've flown a light plane over Orange Co. Once was all I wanted and I was a lot younger then.
   People around here think I'm nuts for needing a perfectly functioning choke on a carburetor. I just tell them I'm too poor to buy something and not use it full time. Besides, my kids aren't in to "old" cars so why do I want to preserve it for someone I don't even know when I'm dead. Sort of like putting plastic seat covers on a new interior so the resale value will be higher.
   Keep us informed about you're progress on fixing the car and the experience you have with your insurance company. God knows the people that actually drive these things could benefit from your experiences.
   If you're ever close to Warsaw, IN you've got a bed and food here. Good luck.
Jim

[JPotter57]

I like your attitude on old cars, Jim...you're right, why should anyone preserve it for someone else?  Enjoy it yourself, that's what it's for...

[Ford Blue blood]

I'm with you Bob....didn't build it to sit and rub the paint off.  My 36 has been hit twice in it's many years and it all "rubs out" with a little work and good insurance.  Never been injured and just so happy to hear you came out healthy as well!  Can replace the sheet metal, hard to fix the body.....goes without saying, keep us posted on yourself and the car.

[hiball3985]

I guess I'm one of the crazy ones too. My 57 has become my daily driver for the past two years after driving a 1960 F100 from 75-2013. Like most it has been a labor of love, blood, sweat, and $$$ and I didn't do it so it could be a driveway decoration. Traveling So Calif is a bit nerve racking and takes some of the enjoyment out of it. I blame a lot of this on the car manufactures who have designed cars to make them as idiot proof as possible. The result is people who would normally have trouble negotiating a parking lot able to drive at insane speeds on the streets and freeways  Things like women driving top heavy SUVs at 85mph on the freeway while on the phone is common today. 

[BP57CUSTOM]

Bob
Sorry about your crash and really glad no-one was seriously hurt. On the lighter side the same thing kinda happened to Robert Mitchum one time when they tried to box Him in. His car was fixed and back on the "Road" again in 2 days. Hope yours will be fixed that quick.
Barry

[RICH MUISE]

Bob...got thinking about your comment on going to bigger brakes. If I recall you had a pretty good disc system on your car already. I'm wondering if your existing system was good enough to lock up the brakes, if going to the expense of bigger brakes is going to do any good at all. This goes back to our discusion of upgrades will never be up to the new car systems...and here obviously I'm talking about ABS brake systems. I mean, once you are to the point of being able to lock up the tires...

[lalessi1]

Bob...got thinking about your comment on going to bigger brakes. If I recall you had a pretty good disc system on your car already. I'm wondering if your existing system was good enough to lock up the brakes, if going to the expense of bigger brakes is going to do any good at all. This goes back to our discusion of upgrades will never be up to the new car systems...and here obviously I'm talking about ABS brake systems. I mean, once you are to the point of being able to lock up the tires...

Rolling friction is static friction which is greater than sliding friction. Bigger brakes allow the driver to apply greater braking force with less pedal pressure and in a more controlled fashion. This greatly aids the driver in staying in the rolling friction realm thus facilitating faster stopping. Bigger brakes will stop a car faster than smaller brakes every time given proper pedal application. ABS just makes it easier. Really....

[JimNolan]

Bob...got thinking about your comment on going to bigger brakes. If I recall you had a pretty good disc system on your car already. I'm wondering if your existing system was good enough to lock up the brakes, if going to the expense of bigger brakes is going to do any good at all. This goes back to our discusion of upgrades will never be up to the new car systems...and here obviously I'm talking about ABS brake systems. I mean, once you are to the point of being able to lock up the tires...

Rich, those are my sentiments exactly. Discounting ABS systems and making sure brake drums are balanced and brake cylinder pressure is applied evenly, how is a brake pad the size of a hair brush going to be better than a brake system with enough brake pad to make 10 hair brushes. But, they all tell me I'm wrong, less braking surface equals better braking when cars are concerned. They tell me it's documented. So, don't go there, you'll get eaten alive. lol