people in my small town give lots of space to these behemoths on the roads for good reason. i also drive very careful in it because i cant afford to have a fender bender.

 

Wade, I think about this every time someone does a front end clip swap on their truck or any other alteration from stock.

I would assume in the event that a privately restored stock or modified truck merited a large financial settlement the insurance companies would go after the owner since the work was either not as done as when it came from the factory or even if it can be determined that the vehicle, even though in stock configuration, was being used past it's intended life. I think the lawyers could make an argument for anything.

What about the family of five in the SUV that your truck just wiped out? How do you know you won't be the one that walks away from such a catastrophe? That's a very irresponsible attitude to have. .

With your first sentence of this reply you pretty much stated that you needed to hide the inferior quality of your welds.

 

i was joking about that weld saying.

And i dont drive stupid.

this truck rarely goes on paved roads and when it does i drive slower than highway speed.

 

i understand the danger of these trucks but you assume i drive like a bat out of hell.

 

if you doubt my welds then you weld them instead.

 

i am not made of money nor do i want to be.

 

Even the companies that do custom wheels professionally, like American Wheel Specialist, will only guarantee their wheels for off road use. None would be DOT certified. The lawyers would know what to look for if an accident occurred. Stu

 

First, I don't know if I can weld any better than you, I do know I know many people that are trained, experienced welders that I would trust their welds a lot more than I trust mine, or yours. If I'm going to take a big truck down the road at 50 mph going toward some one else coming toward also at 50 mph I would want to know my welds had good penetration without any kind of distortion. All it takes is one of your wheels breaking apart. You have to think about the unsuspecting people around and coming at you.

Being not made of money is not a reason for not doing something the correct, safe way. If you can't afford to be safe then don't do it.

 

To clear the air, I think it's cool that a 16 year old kid is willing to work on these old Ford trucks, so please don't take my statements as an attack on you personally. I just wanted to point out that when Bad Chad chops up a wheel on YouTube, people need to consider the legal implications that go along with something like that.
w

 

Insurance companies will not only inspect the vehicles involved, they will investigate everyone involved. They contact neighbors and friends and ask questions about how you did your work, what your experience is. They will look under every rock to find a reason not to pay if the claim is a large enough amount.

 

Wade, I agree we should discourage the younger people from getting into this hobby but part of that is providing our experience and knowledge that we have gotten over the years. It's all part of learning. We learn by other's experiences.

 

When the option of welding centers comes up, it is implied/given that it would be done properly! [by a certified, trained professional entity and can do it with the requited precision necessary, and have safe reliable results.]

The cavalier attitude and convenient keyboard conveyance of anecdotal risk compensation measures is just immature.

Just as for everyone who wants a 911/Lambo/whatever, not all of them has and can afford one. Same can be said for our trucks. If you can't afford it (say outfitting it with proper wheels), well, that's the harsh reality; There is no guarantee/right/entitlement for you to do so.

However, it is not all doom and gloom! You have a whole forum of excellent experienced people who have been around these trucks for longer than you have been alive who would want nothing more than to see you succeed. With humility, utilize them and everything they bring to the table. Many of us have dealt with things on a strict budget and know how to get some bang for bucks, and know when and where (and not) to make compromises.

 

To Stu's point, I worked at a Datsun shop back in the early 80's, one of the owners was asked to be an expert witness (which he did) and he said the defense attorney hired a metalurgist to determine the cause of a suspension failure. They will find the cause of an accident.....some of these Mustang II front ends that we see are sketchy at best, makes me cringe.
w

 

That is a fact.

Any issue they can find that will give them a reason not to pay will probably be used.

When building any of these old vehicles, care should be taken on any of the critical parts that are to be used.

 

To add to the subject of insurance pay outs, or the insurance companies desire to avoid paying, recently a Youtube lawyer, a real lawyer with a Youtube channel, had a subject about a guy who was involved in an accident that he caused $5k in damages. There was no argument that he was responsible but when the claim was presented to his insurance company they denied his claim because he didn't supply all of the information to the company about his family and who was living at his house. He had to two kids, a twelve year old daughter and a fourteen year old son. He didn't list his fourteen old son because he didn't think it matter since the kid wasn't a licensed driver. To the insurance company the kid had access to the car and could potentially get in it and drive it. They will find a way not to pay.

Another thing, I hate when someone in a death trap rat rod gets in a accident. The first thing the media will do is report an "old car" was involved in an accident. Every chance there is to make a black mark on the hobby will be taken by the media and government. We had to do everything possible to prevent negative press.