Author research - Vehicle options?

[Guest KateCS]

I was actually going to ask about the tempered glass for the side windows, since the laminated glass on the windshield wouldn't break the way I want it to....this is actually the reason that I was going to roll the car, simply so the hero could wake up in a pile of glass post-accident.  After looking at several photos of windshields in antiques after impacts, I decided that it wasn't going to be realistic.

 

If I don't *have* to roll it, I don't want to, because the damage done to the vehicle would be so much worse if he's having to repair pillars and the roof along with the front end damage.

 

If I have things in the things that dislodge during the accident, wouldn't the tempered glass break out instead of in to the car?

[Guest KateCS]

12 hours ago, Rusty_OToole said:

There is a pothole but it doesn't show much because it is full of water.

 

He hits the pothole which is unexpectedly deep.

 

The driver uses a trick an old timer taught him - better to 'dive for the cellar' than go through the windshield (car has no seat belts)

 

The driver is stuck between the seat and gearshift lever, half under the dash, head down, and the door won't open because it is against the ground. The seat back (moveable) fell forward which doesn't help.

 

 

The first three are exactly the scenario that I've outlined so far.  As I mentioned a while back, when my dad rolled his grandfather's Henry J, he dove for the floor...and this seemed like a decent setup for my hero to get himself stuck down there and not be able to get out.

 

Would only the seat back collapse in the 39 Ford or would the whole seat slide?

 

You outlined pretty much the exact accident I was looking to recreate AND gave me the additional help of why things would happen and how much damage the vehicle would sustain.

 

Hero is going to bring the car to a shop to get it fixed for his grandfather's birthday/anniversary.  Grandfather has owned the car for a long time (second owner, most likely? I'll have to do the math.) Grandfather has started on the restoration so the vehicle runs and stops, but is cosmetically ugly.  Grandfather will be away/not notice that it's gone for about 8 weeks.  Is that enough time?  The hero could have some boxes of parts which may or may not have been damaged in the crash.  Because who doesn't have parts laying around that they haven't gotten to install yet?

[Pomeroy41144]

I am a writer and published author.  My advice: keep it simple. 

 

Make it an ordinary crash that could be repaired easily.  Parts for Fords are plentiful, so driving around with boxes of parts might not be an issue.  The side glass will shatter sufficiently to shower your protagonist with auto glass.  A roll over would cause way too much damage to pillars and roof.  Trap the hero in the car with the displaced seat. 

 

Keep it simple and try not to pull your readers too much into the weeds with detail unless that is a crucial plot point. 

 

Good luck. 

Edited May 12, 2016 by Pomeroy41144 (see edit history)

[Rusty_OToole]

13 hours ago, Rusty_OToole said:

 

 

The seat has a latch that must be pulled to allow the seat to slide forward. It can happen in an accident that the seat slides forward but not usually. The seat back fold forward for access to the rear seat area and there is nothing to stop it flopping forward in an accident.

 

The 39 Ford is one of the most popular collector cars and almost every part is available as a new reproduction from specialists like Bob Drake. This is not true of other cars like Plymouth, Oldsmobile, etc. The only other car that enjoys such support is Chevrolet.

 

Here are some links I turned up on a quick search,

 

Headlights https://www.bobdrake.com/Fordparts2.aspx?Id=39headlights

 

Bumpers https://www.bobdrake.com/Images/CAT29/CAT29%20PDFs/CAT29-420.pdf

 

Running boards https://www.bobdrake.com/FordItem.aspx?Item=78-16450%2f1-BD&ReturnURL=/Categories3.aspx?Id=37runningboards&Category=8d991d8d-b679-4ad8-a277-f71cde6e8ba4

 

Wheel - the owner has a few spare wheels. You always have a few spare wheels, usually with cracked snow tires on them lol. Old cars often have a set of snow tires in the trunk, or you pick up a few at flea markets.

 

Fender - fibreglass fenders are available but you can find good used fenders if you know where to look.

 

8 weeks is plenty of time IF the guy has already scheduled the work at the body shop. I worked in garages and body shops for years. It is not easy to find a mechanic or bodyman who will work on the old cars, it has to be someone who likes that kind of work and they are always booked up weeks or months ahead.

 

All the parts unbolt and bolt on. Parts are available. Any scrapes or dents in the door or roof are not too difficult to fix. We avoid an accident bad enough to bend the frame or body.

 

The car already needed a few weeks work before the accident just to do a decent body and paint job and that is if there was no major damage or rust out. So, the accident did not make it much harder.

 

How about this for a scenario. Grandfather was a young buck in 1960 with a hot rod Ford coupe. He got married, bought a station wagon and put the Ford in the garage. Somehow he never got around to taking it out again. Grandson is crazy about old cars and hot rods. The 2 of them get the old car out and spend a few weeks working on it together, getting it running, fixing the brakes, sorting out the wiring etc. They schedule a date to go into the shop for a paint job. This is not a full restoration which is a much more complex affair. Just a nice paint job.

 

Grandson gets in an accident, takes the car to the shop. The bodyman assures him that the damage is minor and will not require too much extra work and the parts are available. But will add another $1000 - $2000 for parts and labor.

 

This is a very believable story, old cars turn up in this way all the time.  You could get the kid into a jam, make him think he is totally screwed, wrecked his grandfather's car, ruined his relationship with his grandfather etc then much relieved to find the damage is not as bad as he expected and he got off with a few bruises and lighter wallet.

 

[Rusty_OToole]

The only point not covered is whether 39 Ford had tempered side glass? They never used tempered glass windshields but most cars had tempered glass side windows.

[ply33]

22 minutes ago, Rusty_OToole said:

The only point not covered is whether 39 Ford had tempered side glass? They never used tempered glass windshields but most cars had tempered glass side windows.

I haven't found anything definitive, but this site suggests tempered side glass started to be used in the late 1950s: http://www.secondchancegarage.com/public/windshield-history.cfm No references are given though, so that could just be another person's opinion.

[JACK M]

I think a plate glass window could have hit a limb and made a mess of glass inside.

[60FlatTop]

I was really surprised that Lincoln waited so long to use safety glass. Authors, storytellers, and directors Do have liberties.

Bernie

 

 

[jeff_a]

Pomeroy from Illinois has some good points. Keep it simple and nix the rollover because of all the structural damage. If the character was driving along and lost control...have him see that a big dead arm of a tree was going to come through the windshield at him [he tried to get it stopped, but the car is still going 5 or 10 mph when it came through the windshield]...he ducks and heads for the floor on the passenger side. Rather than avoiding impalement on a steering wheel, he avoids that from a big damned tree: the gear change lever on his elegant but sporty '49 Jaaaaaag Mark V is very low and out of the way, compared to the long lever on, say a '31 Model A. Your driver might get away with just replacing the windshield and front bumper, and repairing the hood, a fender, and some lights.

Edited May 13, 2016 by jeff_a (see edit history)

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Any old car is likely to put the driver in a precarious position quicker than a new car will; keeping damage relatively light is more realistic, IMO for two reasons - first a major crash would likely injure or kill a driver much more easily in an old car (one can be pinned or trapped for a while in a lesser accident depending on how it occurs or is written) and second, restoration of a car can take years, even with a pro.  An 8 week repair after a collision is pretty good, not unheard of, but not bad.  Repairing a car with major major damage in 8 weeks could be a stretch.

 

The low slung Lincoln Continental "39 - '48 would be nice to use but for the floor shift need.

 

[Digger914]

We all have our favorite cars and for some reason we all seem to appreciate even the mere thought of other people showing an interest in our favorite cars, but when it comes to safety glass windows, history is history and Hollywood does what Hollywood does. From the 40's into very early 60, I can't think of a single American made car that didn't come with safety glass side windows. In the 40's and 50's there was a good reason for this, when that good reason went away safety glass side windows became more of a hazard than a help. My first restoration was a 59 Ranchero that came with a cracked side window, in 1982 the replacement glass available was tempered, not safety, but that doesn't stop Hollywood from trapping someone in a newer car and making them kick the safety glass out of a door window to escape certain death. Someone restoring to original will probably pay the extra bucks to have safety glass cut to fit, but any side window replaced in the past 50 years for normal repair would probably have been done with tempered, not safety.

[john2dameron]

If you can move your story to the late '30's I guess everything had a floor mounted shift lever and a front engine.  A '37-38 four door sedan of about any make would suit your story line.   

[FLYER15015]

Then there is Steve McQueen's last car....................

[Rusty_OToole]

It might be better to use something like a 1968 Road Runner. They were available with bench seat and floor shift. I remember those days and it was quite possible for a young guy with his first job to go to the dealer and buy one with a few hundred dollars down, or any kind of trade in. Lots of guys in their early twenties with good factory jobs construction jobs and union jobs did so.

 

Born 1949, bought the 68 Road Runner new when he was 19, got married and put the car away in 1973 or 74. The first gas crisis meant a tank of high test cost a fortune ($1 a gallon not 29 cents like in 68) trade in value practically nil because no one wanted noisy old gas hogs. So he bought a Pinto and put the Runner in the garage.

 

So now he is 67 and has a grandson who is about the age he was back in 68.

[Guest KateCS]

13 hours ago, Rusty_OToole said:

Born 1949, bought the 68 Road Runner new when he was 19, got married and put the car away in 1973 or 74. The first gas crisis meant a tank of high test cost a fortune ($1 a gallon not 29 cents like in 68) trade in value practically nil because no one wanted noisy old gas hogs. So he bought a Pinto and put the Runner in the garage.

 

So now he is 67 and has a grandson who is about the age he was back in 68.

 

The grandson is in his late 20s, early 30s.  So grandpa is probably around 70, assuming people had kids young.  This is also an issue with the hero--he was entrusted by the family to bring grandpa's car to the garage and wasn't careful.  And then there's a whole lot of, "you've always been a reckless sort of guy" image that is now cemented by the wreck.

[Rusty_OToole]

Did you know the 1951 Henry J came with a column gearshift?

[padgett]

70 is the new 50.

[Guest KateCS]

22 hours ago, Rusty_OToole said:

Did you know the 1951 Henry J came with a column gearshift?

 

I was aware of that.  which is part of the reason I wasn't crashing a Henry J when I wanted the guy to get stuck between the shifter and the seat.

[Rusty_OToole]

If he is 70 in 2016 he was 20 in 1966. He might well have bought a new Road Runner in 1968. I specify Road Runner because the base model came with bench seat, and floor shift manual trans. More expensive cars like GTO and Mustang had bucket seats and console which would prevent the kind of accident you describe. Also seat belts were mandatory by the late sixties, although a lot of people did not wear them. Their use was not mandatory.

Edited May 16, 2016 by Rusty_OToole (see edit history)

[Guest KateCS]

1 hour ago, Rusty_OToole said:

If he is 70 in 2016 he was 20 in 1966. He might well have bought a new Road Runner in 1968. I specify Road Runner because the base model came with bench seat, and manual trans. More expensive cars like GTO and Mustang had bucket seats and console which would prevent the kind of accident you describe. Also seat belts were mandatory by the late sixties, although a lot of people did not wear them. Their use was not mandatory.

In my state, seatbelts still aren't mandatory.  Nor are helmets when you ride a motorcycle.  Live Free or Die.  (Literally.)

[padgett]

If 20 in 66 was either in the military or had a deferment. Prime draft material.

[capngrog]

11 hours ago, padgett said:

If 20 in 66 was either in the military or had a deferment. Prime draft material.

 

You forgot the other option: Canada.  The two options you cited applied only if the guy was of the law-abiding sort.

 

USAF, '62 - '66,

Grog