Fwd: <VV> Steering Shaft - the human spear.

[HallGrenn at aol.com]

In a message dated 12/6/2005 7:40:34 PM Eastern Standard Time, jld at wk.net 
writes:
the the '65 steering shaft serves as a spear to the driver in front end
>collisions.
I don't think the straight shaft is any more dangerous than other cars of the 
time.  I prefer the late '65 and '66 short shaft for its better safety and I 
really like the collapsable columns of the '67, '68 &'69 cars (and the side 
beams in the doors of at least the '68 and '69--I think the '67s had them too).  
I've told the story before of my early '65 Monza being totalled at high speed 
when I hit a farm tractor with cast iron weights on the wheels and water 
filled tires (for traction in the field).  I was doing 60+ and remember the speedo 
spooling down through the 45 mph range as I hit the tractor.  The steering 
wheel did move back about four inches and the dished wheel collapsed saving my 
chest (except for the bruises).  The whole front of the car was shoved back 
into the front crossmember, the gas tank was pushed back into the floor under the 
pedals and that part of the floor moved inward too.  I walked away from it 
with enough presence of mind to roundly chew out the tractor operator (after 
checking that he was all right) who had crossed the two lane road directly in 
front of me.  With only a lap belt I almost lost my left eye when my glasses 
shattered against the steering wheel (it moved upward) and drove the glass into 
the eye socket.  Had I had a shoulder belt I would have had bruises (big 
ones)only.

Had he been a little earlier or later I would have been able to maneuver 
around him.

Bob Hall
Group Corvair