The most dangerous part of those old cars was the steering colum. The column was a solid unit and would be driven directly into the chest during a front end accident, especially if unbelted as most people drove in those days.

 

They choose a 1959 for 2 reasons I can think of. 1 it was the 50's anaversary of the crash safety firm that does all the crash tests today, and 2 the 1959 Bel Aire was not all that popular.

I was wondering if anyone was going to notice the dirt comming out of the rocker as well. Those old cars held alot of dirt in all the little nooks and crannies they had. That is one reason they rusted so bad.

For those of you who dont know GM was building chassis' that were essentually hourglass or X shaped. The idea was to build a rigid chassis that would not "diamond" in a collision and still flexable enough to give a confortable ride. Well it worked, those cars didnt diamond when they got hit they turned into a banana and were nearly impossible to repair once that happened. The hourglass chassis only lasted 4 or 5 years.


Massey

 

i would have liked to have the bumpers and roll pans off that car but after that crash ill take the rear. i could use a spare set for the families custom 56 chevy

 

You only put on makeup and text in your new cars then huh? RTFLOL

 

Exactly! Seeing how new cars can save your butt, no need to be careful, right? We're not even safe sitting at a stop light. Recently, there was a woman who was too busy putting on her nail polish, and she plowed right into a guy sitting on a motorcycle at a red light. He was killed and she's going up on manslaughter charges, as she should.
Oh, and that makeup and text thing of mine was supposed to be a secret.

 

Here I found some images of the chassis that the Bel Aire had under it. Not very strong if you ask me. Oldsmobile had a similar chassis under their cars back in the day too but they still had side rails. The 60-62 Chevy truck was stronger and similar to the Olds Chassis. Sorry I could not find the Chassis pictures for the Truck.

Massey

 

I would love to see a crash test of a 69. I have seen this video before and after going through my recent accident on I-4 I can tell you I feel safer in my probe than the camaro. The airbag saved my life. I know my camaro feels like a tank and building it from the bottom up one would think it would fair better in a crash. Probably not.

The expressway is intense at times. As in tonight. I left work early.....its dark.......pouring down rain......its bumper to bumper.......I watch cars dive in and around the semi's.........nothing but stop and go. I don't like driving on it much anymore. Probably when the camaro is done I will be taking a longer way to work.

Also why I am trying hard to put away the $1000 I need to change to disc brakes.

 

...Didin't mean to out ya

Would discs help much w/out an ABS system? when it comes down to it you can only stop as quickly as your contact with the ground allows you to...as drums will already lock up your tires and skid will discs actually make a stopping distance improvement? Maybe they do but I am curious to see something about it.

 

Yeah, sure you didn't!
As far as discs in front go...you have to experience front drum brakes while driving in the rain, going through a big puddle, then stepping on the brake pedal only to find the brakes act like they're soaked with oil. After you clean out your pants, disc brakes just might be the next thing you consider doing.

 

like to see that crash with a 56 olds.