Exposed rear fuel tanks in 20's cars

[Guest]

I have a couple of pictures of a 1925 Star<BR>and 1927 Cadillac, taken from behind, that<BR>clearly show the fuel tank sitting clearly<BR>visible behind the rear axle, and totally unprotected from any rear impact.<P>Were these makes typical of the era, in that<BR>the tank was in such an exposed position?

[Tom Deering]

Fuel tanks were partially exposed beyond the rear of the body well into the '30s on some cars. Of course that was before cell phones and cup holders so folks weren't that concerned with rear end collisions.

[ply33]

That gas tank location was pretty typical of most manufacturers but not true of most cars. Ford had somewhere around a 90% market share and Ford had a different way of doing most things. On all but the latest Model T Fords the gas tank was under the driver's seat. On the late Model T and on the Model A Fords the gas tank was built into the cowl (a.k.a firewall). The Ford placement of gas tanks can also be questioned as far as safety is concerned.<P>However, tanks on the rear are not quite as exposed as you may think on many cars: The frame rails generally extended behind the gas tank and often a spare tire on the back served as a pretty good bumper. Remember that these cars were built before the days of engineered crumple zones, so the frames were often pretty stiff and did a reasonable job of protecting anything within the frame rails.<P>Of more concern than the gas tank in the event of an accident is the body shearing off the frame and/or collapsing inward on the passengers. The use of plate glass on most windows added to injuries. You are also looking at non-padded dashes, non-collapsible steering columns, and no seat belts. You have a very high probability of being hurt or killed if you are in an accident at, say, 60 MPH in any pre-WW2 car as compared to a modern car.<P>If you want a car that is built to anything like modern safety standards, look to a late 1950s or early 1960s (or newer) Volvo or Mercedes. Or look at a car of most any brand built in the last 15 or so years.<P>But the biggest contribution to vehicle safety is the driver. So drive defensively and you can be pretty sure you will die of something other than driving an antique car.