Reminds me of an accident I saw way back in the '60's. I was hanging out at a motorcycle dealership (used to do a lot of that ) and one of the dealer partners was showing a guy who had just bought a new motorcycle...a Triumph 500cc Daytona (twin carb, hot cam) the clutch, front brake lever, gear shift lever, rear brake, throttle, etc.

This was the customer's first bike and for it's time this little Triumph was a pretty hot performer.

Anyways he took off in the back lot after his brief training session, with too much throttle and apparently unsure where the brake controls were and slammed into the back of one of the partner's car....a nice, big Simca Vedette...smashed the taillight of the Vedette.

I think the accident drained the newbie owner of his motorcycle enthusiasm...I should of offered to buy it, might of got a good deal..

BTW...the Vedette was an interesting car....big for a French made auto and it was the last car (1960's) to use the Ford V8 60....the small flathead V8 (136 cubes I think, if I recall....221 cubes was the standard displacement for a Ford flattie V8, back then) which was available in 'later 30's Fords.

It was interesting hearing that Simca...obviously a very French looking car....but not with the usual 4 cylinder drone of an exhaust note...instead a lovely V8 burble.

There you go....today's history lesson on the Ford V8 60...from someone (yours' truly) almost as old as that redoubtable engine.

Les

 

Glad to hear you and your truck are all right sherm. Thats a little scrape on the fender though!

 

Well there is hope for you yet, my Eastern Friend!!!

You know its all in good fun, I am looking forward to your reports to us on the pros and cons of each one. I intend to drive the new dodge and Dmax after harvest to see how they stack up to the new SD.
There is nothing bad with brand preference and loyalty, but comparisson is always good to ensure best value. I am much the same way, I kind of almost have my mind made up, just check to see if anything changes its direction...

 

on paper, reading through the brochures, the ford outperforms the dodge in everything for capacities and capabilities. more power, more torque, not sure on fuel economy. reading through the 6.7L forum looks promising. empty mpg seems to be in the 17-19 range with us calculations...

The dodge dealer seems to have pooh for service, which isn't enticing at all, I definately wouldn't buy local. A few years ago my wife (then my gf) was looking at a car at the gm dealer and they tried to force an upsell into a more expensive vehicle that we/she didn't want, I had words with them about it. If the same peeps are there, I won't want to deal there either. Luckily, the Local ford dealer has awesome service and friendly staff... there's an infinity chance that i'll be buying ford. I'm not planning on buying anything else, but I do want to drive the competition to see what they're about.

 

see over here Warren... today i tested a dodge ram, 3500 diesel.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...rd-diesel.html

 

I smacked my 81 Carravelle into road sign on black ice. Right into the fender and the wheel. I had to replace the upper ball joint. It got bent from the impact, and I was not going fast either.
So they should check the joints and A frames. A hit like that can bend them. Watch how the tire rides and where the tread sits. Just look at a spot you drove through that will leave tread marks. The impression will show how it rides.
Glad it was not more serious and your OK there Sherm.

 

I would hope that a 2008 Ford F150 is a whole lot tougher than a '81 plymouth caravelle. I han an alignment done last week and it was out a little but not much. They trued it, the wheel is straight again, and it doesn't run away at all. I will have them go through it with a fine tooth comb tho.

The one good thing about it being a lease, is that Fomoco technically still owns the truck. They won't allow any 2nd rate or usd parts to be put on the truck in the reconstruction process.

 

That Carravelle was one tough car. I bought it from SGI for $200 fixed it for inspections. It was an old lady that owned it and she ran into the back of a grain truck. There was only 60,000 km onit at that time.
Well I really totalled it on the highway. To avoid a stopped car turning left. I took the ditch. hit an approach. The car came to a dead stop. It was still running. But the frame was buckled into the passenger floor. The seatbelts did their job and left me sore for a few days. I only had 5000km on a new motor in the car. So never made a claim. I would not got what I put in the car for the motor.
The car sits out back waiting to give up its useable parts.
It was something to see where I skidded to the approach and see the backend 6ft over from where she skiddied in. Witnesses said the back of the car went straight up then came back down. They thought the car was going to flip over.
That was my fault for the accident. I looked away from the road and when I looked back there she was. Glad I did nothit her too. Two kids in 3rd seat on small Olds wagon.

 

Having done at least 150+ wheel alignments for bodyshops. Also most of the time get to install the components from SGI for them. Trucks normally fair well as most things are heavy cast parts now. Cars normally require more parts but you can have a vehicle that came in with a front wheel missing. Change all the bent parts and put it on the alignment bay, 9/10 times camber and caster are in spec. Some bent parts can only be found once you get it on the alignment bay by looking at the S.A.I reading.


The thing that is annoying with SGI is they will only fix what was damaged in the accident. You could have a truck that was rear ended and needed just a rear bumper. Alignments are mandatory for SGI but this truck could need four ball joints and a tie rod making an alignment a waste of time. Still have to do though even once its off the rack its out of spec.

SGI needs to make inspections mandatory every two years but they need to do them in house. Way too many inadequate inspections are done by crooked shops. I know of a place that has had people offer up to $1500 to pass a vehicle but they have high standards not to deal with that BS.

Should be SGI inspects it and gives you a sheet. Then you could repair it yourself or go anywhere you want to compare price and get repaired. Then go back to SGI for a quick inspection to make sure and then they stamp it approved.

Way too many poorly maintained vehicles out there on the road. Had a few that if you tried to lift it on the body you would fold the car in half.

 

I think they used that body style (4 door Plymouth Caravelle) as police cars back then...eventually many of them became taxi cabs...hard life for tough cars....what's the engine...a 318 V8 or 225 slant six ?

 

It was a slant 6.
I agree with you Nathan.
I always been saying a person could open a shop that just does inspections. A shop that is unbias and does both inspections, Not repairs. They will tell you what is needed to be done.
This place would not only do SGI write offs and out of province, inspections for people shopping for a car. They could bring in a car they are interested in buying. Then the shop gives them what is found or not found. It wil protect buyers.
Here a tidbit that bothers me.
A SGI write off can get fixed and recertified by a dealer. They sell it. Then another accident. SGI even though it has been certified. Will pay less to the car because it was a previous write off.
The previous damage may be minor, like hail damage. Something that did not make the car unsafe.

 

I had my truck appraised today. 4300.00 worth of damage, says SGI. I talked to the Ford bodyshop, and the manager figures a little more than that,but says he'll take care of dealing with SGI for me.

Nathan, I had an alignment done already to be sure the truck was safe for highway travel. I'm no pro at reading alignment reports, and I should scan it in to show you, but It looked to be about 3/16 of a degree off spec. Is that lots?

 

That sounds well within tolerance. If its driving normal then your fine. Only camber, toe and worn shocks wear tires. Caster is for ease of steering return and can be used to adjust for road crown.

 

Oh wow, that sucks. Sorry I just saw this thread. Every accident is different on the result of damage inflicted and showing on a vehichle.
Back in high school a buddy of mine had a 91/2 Chevrolet 1/2ton and it was parked on the side of a street in town while another friends mom backed into it with some van (venture, windstar, something like that) and just the way she hit the Chevy, the truck box was a disaster while the van had minimal damage.

But I have heard before though Dodge pickups don't look pretty after slight accidents.

I don't necessarily think its a new lack of maintence problem way back when many people as well did minimal maintence, people are just stupider drivers now, and they can't tell if there's impedending breaking unless a warning light goes off

 

Saw a video of the new Camero get hit in an accident. It was not that hard or fast of a collision. But man did it's front end disinegrate. The right front wheel crumpled back even, showing it suffered some frame damage. It hit a chevy SUV in the right wheel. The suv was still drivable. The camero needed a tow truck.
That tells me they are not that safe. They maybe bigger than the 80's and 90's Cameros. But they have a safety problem I think.