I think you made a good point, my goal for this truck is to make it as safe as it could reasonably be, considering its age, and after that, keep it to lower speeds and stay off the freeway. I'm no hot-rodder, more of the type who would haul firewood, furniture, junk, etc. in it, but also use it for a daily driver.

Thanks,
Sam

 

fmc400 is right these things aren't safe, its not hitting something that hurts you in a crash its you hitting the inside of your car or truck that causes injury. But I don't let it bother me at all people drove cars with out air bags and and crumple zones for years and most came away just fine. I bet cell phones kill more people on the road than all the safety features save. You can make up a lot of ground by just paying attention and avoiding accidents. As for collapsable steering colums, I broke two ribs and cracked my sternum on one in a 68 Mustang. The early ones weren't all that collapsable, totally flattened the steering wheel but no noticable collapse.
-Johnboy

 

The safest vehicle is one with an alert and courteous driver.

 

all the cars around me with crumple zones will absorb my big trucks impact as i rip them to shreds.. i seen it time and time again here in alaska, where the truck drives away and the new compact car driver is strung all over the road dead. u keep you new safety features... i will keep my big heavy truck.. now if im hitting a solid concrete wall that dont give or a big rock.. sure i will take the small car with the cush zones..

 

Get seats with seatbelts built in. Newer F150's and Dodges (I don't know the years) both have had them built into the seat itself.

 

The 2004 and later F150 Super Cabs have the seat belts mounted to the seat itself.

The problem I found when looking to buy a new 2004 was...the buckle portion is mounted on the far outer edge of the backrest.

Not only is it hard to reach, but if one is a tall person, the belt can rub on your neck...not pleasant!

Because of this seat belt jazz, I bought a Crew Cab instead.

Late model GM passenger cars also have this same seat belt arrangment.

 

Ok, thanks, that is good to know. I'm also VERY familiar with the belt rubbing my neck, and its not pleasant at all. Also, as I plan to install the three point belts, would the cab need some re-inforcing where the belt guide attaches to the cab? Or just drill a hole and bolt it on? (Its pretty much a redneck truck anyway)

Thanks,
Sam

 

install a sfatey cage in it with 5 point harness then you wont need a collapsable column! or you can also install a colabsable column with that! skys the limit on these tuff old trucks. leave the plastic trucks for the toddlers.

 

Thats an idea, but I doubt I'd have the money... (This is my first vehicle, and boy did I pick a doozy!) The column might have to wait too, but from what I've read it won't go right through me, the wheel will get wrenched upward and mess up my face instead. Kinda a trade off. Oh well, I think I might start a new thread on the seatbelt subject, its kinda getting buried in this thread.

Thanks,
Sam

 

Thank you for sticking up for knowledge and brains! The reasoning may be sound on some of these posts, but get this, IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO THINK, YOU HAVE TO KNOW! (There is a related, inverse axiom. It is; It is not enough to know, you have to think.)

And if all you can do is apply some 20 watt brain power to the issue, think about this: The best selling vehicles for the last 30 yrs are full size trucks. Almost every other vehicle you come up against is a MODERN full size truck, with collapsible steering columns, mandatory seat belts, crumple zones, airbags, etc., etc. They are bigger, stronger and have far more safety features. Our old tin POS's will lose that battle. With us as the casualties.

I'm not stupid. I know that these old beasts belong in car shows, mud pits, drag races and mostly in a garage.

They are NOT safe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

them new trucks cant handle crumpling for them and our old trucks and the occupants will be destroyed or crushed severly. use your thinking cap.

 

Compared to the safety of modern trucks and large SUVs, our trucks seeeeeee-uck. But, I'd much rather drive my '73 on the road now rather than back in the '70s.

These trucks were a lot less safe when they were new because they were surrounded by stuff that was just as heavy (if not heavier) and in many cases more substantial...aka the Cadillac Sedan DeVille and Eldorado, Lincoln Town Car and Ford LTD.

At least today you have a much better chance of hitting or being hit by something that is made with a lot more plastic and is 1000 pounds lighter. I'd rather get hit by a new Honda than an old Cadillac!

I think that the increased safety of vehicles has only encouraged people to drive more recklessly because they feel they cannot possibly be seriously hurt. Plus, for every one safety feature some folks get in their cars, they just seem to participate in another activity that is unsafe.

Here are some translations for modern safety equipment based on my personal observations.

Five standard airbags= "I can drive and talk on the cell phone or watch a DVD!"

12 crumple zones= "Hands at 10 and 2 is for clocks!"

Five-star crash test rating= "Side and rear view mirrors rendered obsolete."

Traction control and anti-lock brakes= "I can drive as fast as I want over any road conditions."

Getting injured in an accident caused by own stupidity and carelessness= "Lawsuit against the other driver(s), investigation of manufacturer, expose' on Dateline about the ineffectiveness of modern safety equipment, and use of settlement money to purchase new, 'safer' vehicle to test the limits of. Repeat as necessary."

Some of the worst drivers I have ever seen have been driving minivans with kids in them. Horrifying.

Am I completely blameless here? Unfortunately, no. I tend to be a much more cautious driver in my truck than I am in my car because I don't have much modern protection. I go slower, watch my mirrors judiciously, and give myself much more space from the car in front.

I still don't use my cell phone when I drive, no matter what it is I'm driving.

Sorry for the rant...I just had to get it out.

 

I feel pretty safe in my 70s Pick-up and I am not worried what a little tincan Toyota, Honda or Kia is going to do to me. It's like I mentioned the muti-tasking dimwit drivers in their 3 ton short buses that have me nerve wracked.

Josh

 

True.

And you made a reasonable point about the number of Caddys not equaling the number of trucks, but let's not forget that you still had 50s and 60s behemoths on the road too. My '69 Plymouth weighs 4600 pounds, and it was classified as a mid-size car! Ever hear of a Fury? Or a Monaco? Or an Impala? Or a Matador? How about a New Yorker, a Newport, a Montego, an Imperial, Lincoln Continental, Oldsmobile Toronado, or Pontiac Grand Prix? Not even taking into consideration the station wagon versions of some of these cars...and they were very common. Up to the beginning of the sub-compact market in the early 70s, the only time you would regularly see a 1.6 or 1.8 on a car was if you looked at the oil capacity of it.

Consider this too...even the sub-compacts of the 70s were mostly made of metal. The smallest American car of the 70s was probably the Pinto...and that was still getting hit with a 3000+ pound Molotov cocktail.

 

safety in my opinion is a perception, driving automobiles is inherently dangerous no matter what you drive. I FEEL safe in my 77, for many reasons. i drove a Honda accord for a while and NEVER once felt safe in it. i am 6'2'' and about 300lbs, i don't fit properly in small cars, so in that aspect my 77 wins.

in a side impact, i would be hurt much more in a small car as my body presses up against the door. 100% of the impact would be transfered directly into my body. in my 77 i do not touch the door, so i feel safer. 77 wins.

in a roll over, in the Honda my head touches the roof enough that i have to tilt my head sideways and there is also nowhere to hide because of the giant center console. in the same situation in my 77, my head does not touch the roof and if i had to there is the possibility i could escape to the floor. 77 wins again.

in a rear end collision, most cars go under my bumper and smash my trailer hitch doing severe damage to the other car, i drive away as if nothing happened. (yes that DID happen) the Honda would have been severely damaged, but because of the headrests, i would hopefully suffer no whiplash. this one the Honda wins.

in a front impact in a Honda my knees touch the dashboard, so when the crumple zone crumples, and the engine moves back wards, my legs may break. in my 77 this is not an issue. the Honda has airbags, the 77 does not. so if i hit the steering wheel, i will get hurt, but the seatbelt should prevent this, and i ALWAYS wear it. so the 77 wins.

so is my 77 safer? i doubt it. but do i have a better chance of getting hurt in the Honda in spite of the safety features? i believe i do. so i FEEL safer in my truck. do the same things apply to every one? no, a smaller person will be MUCH safer in a honda than i am in my truck because of all the safety features that my truck doesnt have.