One dead in Chevelle SS wreck...

[John S]

Very Sad for the occupants;
http://blog.oregonlive.com/breakingn...tion_afte.html

[THE TECH]

Sad indeed.

Wow! Car completely separated from frame.

[Derek69SS]

The story is over 3 years old, but it still sucks to look at those pics...

[6'9"Witha69]

Wow! Car completely separated from frame.

I have disassembled a few 69-71 Chevelles, and if it was the original bolts, yeah, that could easily happen.

Still can't believe people don't wear seatbelts.

[93Polo]

Very sad :( The story was posted up on chevelles.com

http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=186950

[Northern Goat]

Not to make light of a tragic event. But the pictures do prove that contrary to some beliefs newer cars maybe smaller and moer plastic; however they are a lot safer than old "solid steel" car we love.

[mc84_zz4]

I think the bolts failed, or the body mounts ripped out from frame or body.
I have seen many, many bad wrecks, this is the first I see where the frame separates.
Once the frame separates from the body, the structures lose most of their rigidity.

[Derek69SS]

I think the bolts failed, or the body mounts ripped out from frame or body.
I have seen many, many bad wrecks, this is the first I see where the frame separates.
Once the frame separates from the body, the structures lose most of their rigidity.

I would bet that had more to do with the aftermarket rigid rear control arms and the direct-hit that it took to the axle than any hardware failure. A stock rear suspension would have folded up and absorbed some of that impact instead of transferring it all to the frame.

[Vicinity]

Oh my God. That's awful. A roll cage just went way up on my to do list.

[93Polo]

Oh my God. That's awful. A roll cage just went way up on my to do list.

Be careful with padding and spacing on the rollbar, so that you don't hit your head in a accident.

[PoundinPoncho]

My guess would be a holeshot/burnout that the driver lost control. Story indicated fishtailing and the road appeared dry.

[go-fish]

No seatbelts? C'mon! I hate wearing seatbelts too but it's something you have to do.

[Six_Shooter]

It's been a long while since I read the details on the story, but I believe it was the body mount bolts failed or were missing, which caused the body to separate from the frame, in that incident.

[Ripped]

What I think about, when I read a story, like this; is the huge amount of power these cars have.

It is necessary to treat them, and drive them, with a huge amount of respect for that power. It's too easy to get all squirrelly without trying too hard. A small amount of contamination on the road surface, a large crown in the road, coming out of a turn too fast, etc. can get you sideways in a hurrey.

Especially when you have passengers, or are in traffic.

[Derek69SS]

It's been a long while since I read the details on the story, but I believe it was the body mount bolts failed or were missing, which caused the body to separate from the frame, in that incident.

I remember a lot of speculation about that, but in the pics, the mounts that people were referring to never had any hardware from the factory. There were 4 body "mounts" on a '69 Chevelle that never had a bolt in them. They were the 2 in the center of the side frame rail (right below the middle of the doors) and the 2 above the rear axle. There were only 6 mounts (8 counting the core-support) that ever had any hardware in them.

[6'9"Witha69]

I remember a lot of speculation about that, but in the pics, the mounts that people were referring to never had any hardware from the factory. There were 4 body "mounts" on a '69 Chevelle that never had a bolt in them. They were the 2 in the center of the side frame rail (right below the middle of the doors) and the 2 above the rear axle. There were only 6 mounts (8 counting the core-support) that ever had any hardware in them.

Correct, those additional provisions were for convertibles.

[406 Q-ship]

I remember a lot of speculation about that, but in the pics, the mounts that people were referring to never had any hardware from the factory. There were 4 body "mounts" on a '69 Chevelle that never had a bolt in them. They were the 2 in the center of the side frame rail (right below the middle of the doors) and the 2 above the rear axle. There were only 6 mounts (8 counting the core-support) that ever had any hardware in them.

All the Chevelles I have owned have eight bolted for just the body. One on each side of the firewall, one the middle of the doors, one each side right next to the front of the lower control arm mounts, and one on the left and right side just rear of the rear axle. Then there are the other four, two at the very rear of the body and the core support bolts. Convertibles have the two in front of the rear axle are bolted, where on the coupes it is just a cushion. I have never seen a body seperate on any Body on Frame cars unless the car was really rusted or the bolts were at fault, I believe that the body was not properly secured to the frame on that Chevelle SS. We have all seen poorly restored cars or just fluff and buff resale cars, so I would not be suprised to find that the bolts were loose, incorrect, or flat not there.

[Derek69SS]

You're correct, I forgot about the 2 right behind the axle... on mine, the one at the center of the door was just a cushion, like the one above the axle w/ no hardware in those 2 mounts.

I think the big difference in this collision was the rear suspension being aftermarket tubular control arms, they did not buckle, so the impact to the wheel was transferred directly to the frame. After all, it's just a ~1" x 1" square nut on the top side of some 18-gauge mild steel, so it's not surprising they'd rip out of the body easily.

[Vicinity]

What I think about, when I read a story, like this; is the huge amount of power these cars have.

It is necessary to treat them, and drive them, with a huge amount of respect for that power. It's too easy to get all squirrelly without trying too hard. A small amount of contamination on the road surface, a large crown in the road, coming out of a turn too fast, etc. can get you sideways in a hurrey.

Especially when you have passengers, or are in traffic.

I just learned this lesson yesterday. I came around a turn too hard and hit some oil and spun my car around. Luckily there was no one around, but it didn't seem like it was out of control until the last fraction of a second when I spun around.

[DarkBuddha]

Probably the biggest message I get from an accident like this is that these old cars have crapall for safety and crash protection. Just f'ing terrible! I used to be super hardcore about not running a cage or roll bar in a street car, but when I see stuff like this, I start to wonder if the potential dangers of having one are offset by the potential safety and protection they might offer in such a crash. Which would be worse: making hard contact with a door bar or having the entire side of the car fold up like a burrito on you? I don't know...