Front End Fridays: Let's see 'um!

[gene49]

I just found these old pictures, so these are pictures of pictures, so sorry about the lack of sharpness. These are the same truck in that last picture of the groups in my post above. These 3 pictures were taken about 8 months after the picture with the coupe on the trailer was taken. I did buy it back from the insurance company, but ended up selling it for parts.

Head on @ 30 mph, I got out of the gas, but my foot never made it to the brake pedal. The 80 Dodge 1/2 ton 4x4 frame under the truck took most of the shock. The 4850lbs truck stopped dead at the point of impact from 30 mph, the car bounced backwards 20' from the point of impact. The frame was diamond and the left rail was buckled in 4 different places, the frame rail moved 8" in, far enough to smash the oil filter on the 360 Dodge motor. The lady on her cell phone made a left turn 20' in front of me, way back in 2011. Both drivers came out OK, her car had air bags. I got 11 stitches on my forehead and a sprained thumb on my right hand. the truck had lap belts, but I was not wearing it. My head hit the sunviser above the windshield. If I would have had the lap belt on, my head would have been at the center of the windshield. Everything I have built since then has 3 point lap & shoulder belt systems.
Sometimes we need to be reminded of what we build can face.

 

[Burgerman]

Crazy what can happen, and so quickly. We're gonna update our Pilot House to disc brakes soon. Appreciate the reminder. I think we will upgrade the seat belts also.

 

[gene49]

It happened really fast. I had just made a trip to the Post Office and was heading home, at a bit after 8:30 am on a bright sunny October morning, I was about 4 blocks from home. The street I was on was a 4 lane street without a center divider. She was in a line of cars when she made her left turn. All I saw was a red fender crossing the center line, then felt the impact.

The truck had great brakes, 12" discs on the front and 11" drums on the back, but I don't believe my foot ever made it to the brake pedal. Her right front fender made impact with the center of my front bumper and pushed the right side frame rail back nearly 6".

That truck had a Meyer snow plow bracket on it, behind the front bumper was a 3/8" 3x3 angle iron welded to the upright to form a forward facing >. That angle iron was bowed backwards nearly 6" in the center, the factory plow bracket was broken in 4 different places. Its hard to see in the last picture, but that right side leaf spring main leaf has 5" or so of the shackle end bent backwards almost 45 degrees.
From a nice pleasurably cruise through town, to a totaled truck with a sprained thumb and needing 11 stitches in about 2 ticks of the second hand.