<VV> Steering Shaft - the human spear.

[VAN A. PERSHING]

In one of the recent posts re: '65/'66 Differences, someone menyioned the fact
the the '65 steering shaft serves as a spear to the driver in front end
collisions. I got a chance to test that theory when I crashed my '65 Corsa
summer before last. A guy pulling a hugh trailer turned left in front of
me and I nailed one of the trailer axles at about 35 or 40 mph. The point of
impact was directly in front of the steering box. It shoved that area of 
the car back a good two feet. (You can see a picture of it at 
www.geocities.com/vapershing/corvair.html) The nice crushable trunk area
really saved my bacon. I ended up with a sore neck, a rash across my chest
from the seat belt and - I bit my lip!

The steering wheel only moved toward me about a half an inch. Upon examination
I observed that the shaft bent downward. My conclusion is that in order for
the shaft to come back and spear the driver, you'd would have to be doing a
wheelie during the crash!! But, that's an experiment for another time....