Barry Wolk

Well, much time has passed. I drove the car across Michigan 9 years ago. Picked the worst day. It was the largest organized garage sale in the country lining both sides of the old Indian trails converted to main thoroughfares long before the freeways were built. I'm about to show it at Eyes n Design and I've misplaced the brake adjustment info and the links posted here are dead. Help!

Absolutely, it was a '92 Freightliner that should never have been on the road. Had it had an accident avoidance system it still would have hit us as the brakes on the truck had cammed-over. I just bought a 2021 X5 Hybrid. It's chock full of collision avoidance and lane-holding features. The only way to change lanes without wrestling is to consciously use your turn signal. I'm ashamed at using my turn signal less than I should have. I've become a much better BMW driver. This was the best electric assist car for me. I've had it for two months and run it on electric 99% of the time. I've used 2.2 gallons in 540 miles. My year to year electric bill for charging hasn't gone up at all. My computer says I'm getting 90 mpge. I don't know that I'll be the perfect candidate for an all electric, 'cause this is a blast to drive. Having a 292hp twin-turbo mated to a 111hp electric motor that replaces the torque converter literally puts you back in the seat, rivaling Porsche's offerings. I have a mild case of Parkinson's in one wrist that's brought on by the stress of traffic. I found that giving the traffic salute solved the quake, temporarily. However the lane holding of my new vehicle offers me, and anyone around me , a safer space to drive with me. Like the comments about self-driving cars, you do have to drive them, even though they protect you. We have a little-used 2-lane near us. My wife was unnerved by the motion of the steering wheel when I let the road crown take it near the shoulder. It corrected the action and centered the truck in the center of the lane. Could be a lifesaver. I've heard so many stories of people trying to steer back onto the roadway from a dropped shoulder. People often do not survive that correction. Damn, it's been almost 6 years.

I'm pretty sure that's a Flyer, but it likely has an Australian body. Since Australia had little automotive production of their own they heavily taxed completed imports. You could avoid onerous taxes by buying a running chassis, complete with RHD, fenders and running boards, hood and cowl. Companies like Richard's had dockside facilities where you could drive a chassis in and leave with a completed car. They also gave discount tariffs for Total Knock Down cars. I have pictures of an Australian Flyer, and like this one, has a more prominent belt line.

Just saw this, been busy. I'd love to see a photo.

This is reported to be the missing H & E car, but the poster is not willing to offer any information. The car may be in the Chicago area.

I've just featured your build on my Continental Division FB page. https://www.facebook.com/groups/538252899910181/

Roger, you continue to astound. Will your car have set belts? ;)

I miss the shows, but I don't mind talking about old car safety. No heartache at all. Most of our problems are physical. I now have to hire people to do what I used to do myself. That's the biggest change. Seat belts clearly save our lives. That's a message worth spreading. Some may be tired of hearing about it. They're the ones that need to scroll by the message.

The moderators can lock it up if they please, but you assume that we can move forward. Our lives have been irreversibly changed. We haven't traveled in over two years when we had been attending 4-6 Concours a year. We've only done one local show. My wife won't ride in the collector cars anymore. She hasn't driven one since the crash. She hasn't judged since the crash. It's not easy to move on.

Glad I checked in to see your progress.

Cool find. I knew that there were Roadsters bodied in Australia. Have yet to find a photo of a US version. I'm sure they were made as they would have been the price leader in hard times.

I believe I have the only running and roadworthy example of an American-bodied Continental Flyer 4-door Sedan in the western hemisphere. They are very rare in the US because they are all steel, except the actual floorboards. They brought a premium during the scrap drives of WWII over cars with wood-framed bodies. Ours is a 3-owner example with 50,000 miles. The original owner was 6'9". I have plenty of room at 6'6". The only modifications are a 6-volt fuel pump on a momentary contact switch and a relay and wiring for fighter 50/50-watt headlamps. The original owner moved the seat back and up 4" and I did have to heat-bend the shift lever so it didn't have to be between my knees. A little known fact is that this is the first US car with a wiper below the windscreen. They were able to do this as the windshield is fixed and doesn't tilt out at the bottom for airflow.

Thanks to the moderators for the thread clean-up.

Thanks for all the kind words, everyone. It has been a trial, on many levels. Even though my wife was badly injured, she really stepped up in my care after the crash. It was a wonderful feeling that so many people stepped up to help us out. That part of M-14 is a problem for my wife. There were a couple of trips to Ann Arbor that she had to drive as I needed a couple of steroid injections. She was visibly shaken and exhibited the "white-knuckle" reaction one would expect. Yes, the lap belts save our lives. I had shoulder belts installed on the Mark II, but she still doesn't feel safe.

Here we are, nearly two years out and we've not made a full recovery. Never will. My poor wife has PSTD and now hates travel by car. Travel by air is difficult for me because of my much slower pace. My wife made it pretty clear in her victim impact statement that she's lost interest in the hobby. She doesn't even want to ride in the old cars, let alone drive hers. She received counceling and we've both received physical therapy, but didn't gain much. Working on cars is much tougher as bumps on the head or getting cut is a real concern now that I'm on blood thinners. The crash pretty-much took the joy out of actually working on cars. Interestingly, we bought the car from a large collection that belonged to a semi sales dealership owner's estate. I ended up hiring them to represent us as they knew both sides of the trucking laws, although, they didn't have to work very hard as after the preliminary deposition their attorney was overheard talking to the insurance adjuster and saying, "You really, really, don't want these folks on the witness stand." They jumped at the chance for a mediated settlement. That, too, was a breeze, taking under 2 hours. It started out with the mediator asking if we minded if the huge insurance company's chief adjuster apologized to us personally before the negotiations began. The mediator said that had happened only once before in his 20+ years in the business. We soft-landed on a big pile of money, but it didn't really help, or change our lives. All of our losses were covered under the classic car policy and our medical coverage. Our personal items, like phones, pads and clothing were covered under our homeowner's insurance. Since this was a third-party settlement our health insurer isn't entitled to recover anything under Michigan's no-fault laws. The attorneys took their agreed one third after deducting their expenses. I didn't know about that caveat. So, we're wealthier, but no healthier. The driver has been convicted of "causing a permanent bodily injury" and after avoiding trial will be sentenced shortly. After what she did the worst that can happen is 90 days in jail, the loss of her CDL for a year and a $500 fine. She's supposed to pay restitution, but we've decided to not make her do that. We've been adequately compensated. Thanks for all your kind wishes. The laws of physics were on our side, but we would have died had we not been belted.