Crashworthiness of a 77 280z

[hr369]

This is an unpleasant subject not talked about very much for obvious reasons but nonetheless its something to pause and think about. I personally think the car did pretty good considering what happened to the z.

Tboned @ 60 and he survived! 

 

"Well its going to be a good while before I can make any progress on the car or the thread. I was in a major car wreck about 5 weeks ago and unable to do anything with cars. My friend and I (friend driving) were t-boned at 60mph and rolled for 110 ft. My friend only got a srape on his forehead. I was not so lucky as the vehicle that hit us was on my side. I had my right lower leg broken and had a titanium rod put in. I alos have a fractured right ankle, left knee, 3 vertabrae, and right cheek bone. Possibly a couple fingers lol. I had to go to an ICU because my lungs reacted to the trama in a potentiolly fatal way and I couldn't get oxygen. I pulled thru that and just need my bones to heal and strength to come back. Until then the car, and thread have to sit. We were in a 77 280Z, and were hit by an S10 who ran a stop sign. Pretty much just saying this thread isn't dead but it won't be updated for a while"

Edited March 25, 2017 by hr369

[S30Driver]

Wow, very sorry to hear about but glad you are ok and on the mend.   Rest up & get better soon!

[hr369]

7 hours ago, S30Driver said:

Wow, very sorry to hear about but glad you are ok and on the mend.   Rest up & get better soon!

Wasn't me but easily could have been my wife in that passenger seat.  With all the drunks and cell phone users out there its a very real possiblity

Edited March 25, 2017 by hr369

[Patcon]

All things considered, I would say he is lucky to be alive. Especially from the looks of the car

[Dave WM]

You know this is a real issue, used to be if you were off the streets by the time happy hour started up, you could avoid the drunks (pretty much) but I swear its worse than ever with the darn cell phones, I mean I see people literally driving without looking where they are going, relying on peripheral vision I suppose. I end up driving early on Sunday, seems the least amount of distracted drivers are on the road.

[gwri8]

Lucky to be alive, for sure.  This is scary for anyone involved or to have witnessed.  I always remember wrecks like this when a young driver wants S30 as their first car. That's why I preach the safety factor to them.

[Travel'n Man]

Glad you are able to make the post hang in there. Cars can always be replaced. Praying for a quick recovery for you and your buddy

Sent from my SM-T350 using Classic Zcar Club mobile

[grannyknot]

Hope your buddy heals up soon, how did they get him out? I don't see any cut marks from all those tools the firefighters carry now, maybe they actually got the passenger door open.  If that same collision had happened to a 240 or 260 I'm sure it would have had a very different outcome for the passengers. I have heard people talk about the crumple zones that were built into these cars but I have a hard time believing it was much of a consideration before the 280z's came out. The early 240 was basically a large beer can and it wasn't I think until 73 that they started adding reinforcements in the doors.

But you are right, it's a topic that isn't discussed much, I guess because really there isn't much you can do about it .

[EuroDat]

Chris,

I agree the 240Z is less reinforced in places, but I don't know if a 240Z or a 260Z would have been much worse. The reinforced door deflected some of the impact, but lets face it the improvements made to the 280Z are marginal compared to cars these days. And it was an S10, a bit like getting hit by a concrete block travelling at 60mph. You have luck on your side surviving such an impact in an S30.

Ive weighed up the risks and try to reduce them by avoiding places were accidents occur often and drive outside peak hour when it is not so buzy. The rest is just luck I guess.

[heyitsrama]

Glad to hear you're alive, hope you heal up quick!

Did you have any safety equipment in the car?

I was driving my buddies Morris Mini and felt like a jelly bean inside a jar, no belts, no headrest on the seat. Thought to myself a full cage might be worth it... but that car needs plenty of other stuff.