Old Car Safety

[dhbfaster]

Car accident stats are always interesting because different cars attract different age groups and people with different attitudes. Not calling you old Roger, but.........

[ew1usnr]

Car accident stats are always interesting because different cars attract different age groups and people with different attitudes.

Are you calling Roger unsafe at any speed?

I was driving my Falcon a couple of weeks ago when I saw a woman driving a black, late model Corvair convertible with the top down, It really was a sharp looking car. I waved at her and she waved back.

That being said, I simply do not see Corvairs very often. I look for them at car shows and they just are not there. The public liked Falcons better at the time and Falcons outsold Corvairs by a wide margin. Falcons probably also proved to be longer lasting and more durable than Corvairs over time. I remember my father saying that all Corvairs did was leak oil. Corvairs wound up having a reputation as being unsafe and their re-sale value probably went really low. It would have been like owning a Chevy Cobalt now after all the hoopla about their bad ignition switches. Or like Ford Pintos after a few of them exploded.

Thanks, Don for posting the link for the Ford film strip where they compare the Falcon to the Corvair. Maybe I am biased, but to me the Falcon looks like a more practical and better car for less money.

It does seem to be a hazardous combination to put the gas tank and a gasoline-burning heater furnace next to one another under the hood on the Corvair. The gas tank would rupture if the car ran into anything. People worry about the Falcon gas tanks and what would happen during a hard rear-end collision, but it would be more likely for the car to be to sustain damage to the front in a wreck because cars typically are moving forward.

[BadBird]

The old cars have so many endearing qualities linked to our youth and the love of how they were built, their beauty, their uniqueness and all the other traits that keep us driving and restoring them. What one of us sees as a reason to keep one would not be the reason another of us would own a particular car.

The newer cars have the advantage of many years of learning and improving. Let's not forget that the difference from driving a 2016 car and the 1960 Falcon is 56 years. Go back to the 1960 and relive the cars 56 years prior to that and you are driving a 1904 Ford. Quite a bit of improvements there also.

I just remember my 1957 Chevy that I drove in high school. It was only 7 years old when I bought it, but still seemed old and needed so many repairs all the time.

Now Carol drives a 2000 Honda Civic that has never needed repairs, still feels new, drives like a charm and is hopefully going to provide us with many more years of use.

My 2004 Chevy Silverado after 108,000 miles still hasn't had a tune up, replaced the plugs, anything and it still gets 17 MPG. It is 12 years old.

It isn't fair to compare a 1960 Falcon to a 2016 car in regards to safety anymore than it would be fair to compare the 1904 ford to the 1960 Falcon.

I know one thing. Driving my Falcon is fantastic. But so was driving a brand new Corvette with 670 HP. NO comparison, but both have their own experiences.

IF we keep the rubber side down, drive at the speed acceptable for the location, pay attention to our surroundings and like always assume some jerk is trying to kill us, we will continue to keep driving them for years to come. Drive safe, have fun, don't drink and drive and no texting.

That being said, I can't wait to get my car on the drag strip and rip through the gears going as fast as my little yellow car can go. Larry

[Luva65wagon]

Why is everyone always pick'n on me?


For the record - yes, I drive like a grandpa. I admit I do follow the speed-limits. Wave at the officers holding radar guns. The last accident [I may have had anything to do with] was in the late 70's. Have been hit three times since. Was hit while driving down I-5 by a late 90's Mustang. He exited the express lanes at Northgate and went three lanes over and hit the rear-end of my panel tuck. I saw it, but barely felt it. I pulled over and waited for WSP to arrive. The Mustang had about a 3' deep cavern formed in the right front. Totaled. Mine had a very minor bend in the bumper. The WSP said I could go after taking a report, but I never heard anything afterward. Once was in my wagon when I wasn't even in the car and once was in my 07 Escape as I was stopped, signalling a left, and someone decides to ignore I'm there and hits me in the rear.

But what was said about accident numbers being based upon the car and the type of purchaser probably has some value. A Kia Rio for instance is an entry-level Kia and more a youth car. Ironic that the Soul was advertised as a youthful car, but I see very few youngsters in them - as opposed to something like a Scion XB.

I still think if you put a new car up against old, the new better be thankful it's got all of that safety stuff when it hits real steel.

[Wilbur]

I drive like a grandpa too, and I've avoided many accidents are a result. I don't own a cell phone, so I never take calls when I drive, and I won't even drive with drivers who use "hands free" devices because I was recently in a car with one such driver while they blew a stop sign and nearly killed a bicyclist who very deftly avoided being creamed by this person's car.

Sorry, I'm done with idiots who insist on driving while distracted. I won't even TALK to some friends while they drive because some people just cannot drive and talk.

It's dangerous out there, like somebody stated, you have to drive like other people want to kill you. It really is that bad. I usually ride a bicycle, ON THE SIDEWALK, and I still dodge cars daily. Even on sidewalks you have people speeding in and out of McDonald's parking lots or any parking lot, blasting right onto the sidewalk, or people driving right into you when you cross a crosswalk.

For the record, I have been hit FIVE TIMES or more while WALKING across crosswalks in Seattle with the light being GREEN TO WALK, well, white to walk. True story, now I cross crosswalks with my head spinning in circles to view ALL traffic from all direction and I shout at the top of my lungs at cars that continue driving toward me while I cross.

It really is as dangerous as if they were trying to kill you. Last summer I saw a woman lying in the street, Lake City Way around 125th, in that MAJOR crosswalk lit up like the fourth of July, some clown just hit her and hit her so hard her body and head were imprinted in the shattered windshield and paramedics worked on her as she lay in the street.

The summer before only half a block down, the road that leads from DICK'S onto Lake City Way, I saw a woman laying UNDER A CAR in the crosswalk as paramedics worked to save her.

It really is becoming sick, many drivers are truly beyond belief seriously ****ed up in the head and it's only getting worse. You can find the stat online, this year we are going to EXCEED 40,000 Americans dying on our roadways.

Let that number sink in...

The number of Americans seriously injured every year are in the HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS.

Let that number sink in...

It's dangerous out there and sooner or later, as a nation we're gonna have to address this.

Speech over.

Badbird, I know the pleasure of ripping through gears, I used to own a 1969 MGB with a Chevy small block V8 for a motor. How I miss those days! My bone stock little V8 Falcon, a '64 with 260 cubes and factory stock, while it puts a smile on my face, is nothing compared to a truly potent car.

I guess if I had the cash I'd buy something new, with gobs of power, on the other hand, if I had that kind of money, I'd want something like a 1950's Ferrari Barchetta, or an Aston Martin DB5, or a 30's Bentley, and on the other hand I'd buy the new car because any vintage car I want will cost hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars. So a new Turbo Porsche will be cheap by comparison.

I would like to buy myself a 50's Allard J2, I believe the model is, a 2000 pound cycle fendered car with well over 300 hp from its 331 ci Cadillac motor, it was a demon back in the day and could probably still give 90 percent of modern cars a good run for their money with that power to weight ratio.

Dennis, the charm of your utterly untouched, unmodified car is also very appealing, especially as described by you. I occasionally look for a '63 Falcon V8 convertible and I would like the car to be exactly as you have yours, unmodified, exactly as original.

As you've seen me write before, my own "bone stock" unmolested '64 Falcon V8 sedan is a constant struggle because I would like to modify it but I hate to touch it.

Currently the ONLY mods are a bolt in 1 inch anti-sway bar up front, and that dang ugly aluminum radiator I have in it. One day I'll list an ad for a trade on here, trade my nearly new alloy radiator for an OEM nearly new Falcon radiator.

I may even return the original air cleaner to the engine bay, I forgot about that mod, I have a chrome air cleaner housing on it and it's ugly.

Aside from these things, my Falcon is original, unmolested, a bare bones basic '64 Falcon V8 with manual: brakes, steering, and transmission, no frills, no chrome other than the bumpers and a single strip down the center of the sides of the body, and the windshield surround.

It's a very basic wonderful car, I will not add disk brakes, and the only mods from here may be bolt on/bolt off stuff like a fiberglass front bumper, fiberglass hood, and frankly I don't even think I want to add the alloy intake I bought for it.

I considered headers but I may avoid even those, I want me a "Dennis-mobile" now, you've dang near got me convinced that I want an utterly bone stock time capsule that drives exactly as the factory intended it to.

Hopefully, one day, I'll get to see your car in person! If your car were a convertible I'd be plying you with cash! That's the type of condition I hope to find my convertible in! For now, due to my not having a garage, no nice cars. My beaters are fine without a garage but would benefit from one.

My unmolested '64 Falcon, I really wish I had a garage for that. I'm working on it! I can't wait to see this car painted and looking good!

[BadBird]

Good speech Wilbur. Larry

[ew1usnr]

I have always used my turn signal as a courtesy when making lane changes while in city traffic, but I will have to remember to stop doing that.

What happens now is that when I indicate my intent to move over, the driver behind me in that lane sees that signal and instantly floors it to close the gap. This seems to be the routine response from other drivers now.

While driving to work a couple of days ago, there was an opening and I tried moving from the center to the left lane. I was already halfway over as the guy that was behind me shot forward and just kept coming. I looked down and his fender was maybe one foot from my car door. I swerved back into the center lane and that "character" gained about one car length distance ahead of me.

[Luva65wagon]

Dennis. This reminds me of an incident I was in about 35 years ago - right after I moved to Washington. I was car-less at the time and getting rides from a coworker who behaved exactly as you describe. If someone signaled, he'd floor it. God forbid another car would be in front of him to slow him down. One day he did this and the car in front of him hit us. I sided with the person we hit. I didn't get to ride with him anymore.

I felt so much better about it.

[ew1usnr]

I ... and frankly I don't even think I want to add the alloy intake I bought for it.

Is this an aluminum manifold for a 260 with a two barrel carburetor? Or does an intake for a four barrel also work with a two barrel?

My Falcon had an Edebrock aluminum intake manifold and four-barrel carburetor when I got it. I bought a two barrel carburetor, throttle linkage, cast iron intake manifold, and air cleaner cover off e-bay to put it back to original.

The original-equipment cast iron intake manifold weighs 40 pounds as indicated on a bathroom scale. The Edelbrock Performer aluminum intake manifold weighed 15 pounds (25 lbs less).

DCP_3802.JPG

[Luva65wagon]

Or does an intake for a four barrel also work with a two barrel?

Only with an adapter...

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/mrg-1933/overview/

[ew1usnr]

Only with an adapter...

Hello, Roger.

That is interesting. If I ever have to remove my stock intake manifold for some reason, I will give some serious thought to re-installing the Edelbrock aluminum intake. Changing things, though, can lead to complications.

My car had this Edelbrock Performer #1404, 500 CFM, four barrel carburetor with manual choke on it when I bought it:
DCP_3807.JPG

DCP_3808.JPG

The background as to why I removed the "high performance" items and went back to stock was that the previous owner had changed the throttle linkage in order to make the four-barrel carburetor fit. This photo is with the two-barrel carburetor installed but with the modified throttle linkage still in place. It is just a rod connected directly to the pedal crank:
1 arm and link rod.JPG

Having a correct throttle linkage is (in my opinion) very important. You can't just stick something in there and expect it to work properly. The arc of the pedal range has to match carburetor throttle range. The spring tensions have to be correct to make the pedal comfortable to use while still providing a positive return. The original equipment throttle linkage for a V-8 engine and a Ford-O-Matic transmission is a complicated, engineered mechanism that incorporates swing arms, two springs, and transmission kick-down rod:
1960 168 Ford Parts Manual annotated.JPG

I had to watch e-bay for a long time to find the right parts, but I eventually found them and everything went together nicely:
The correct linkage installed.JPG