Date:         Mon, 29 Oct 2007 23:32:03 +1300
Reply-To:     Andrew Grebneff <andrew.grebneff@STONEBOW.OTAGO.AC.NZ>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Andrew Grebneff <andrew.grebneff@STONEBOW.OTAGO.AC.NZ>
Subject:      Re: Vanagon Crash Pix
In-Reply-To:  <vanagon%2007102820285120@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Content-type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1; format=flowed

>Great to hear your boy is well!! When my son first got his license, he
>pulled out in front of a 3/4 ton Ford pick'em-up truck. The truck struck
>him with its front right, making first contact onto the Syncro's driver
>side headlight and tearing across the front, pretty much wiping out the
>front, minus any vitals......just plain luck (no injury to either party.)
>He drove the Syncro home, but the Ford had to be towed. Its front right
>quarter panel crumbled into the wheel, trapping it and puncturing the
>tire. The radiator was history too and spilled its guts at the scene. I
>was pretty amazed, having always wondered about the van's structural
>integrity.
>I will always remember how concerned I was when he was late coming home. I
>sat and sat in the front yard, then, hearing that familiar waterboxer
>coming around the corner, the first thing I saw was the antenna sticking
>out at a weird angle.....and I knew. He pulled into the driveway and
>promptly crawled into the back, crying. He knew how much I loved my
>Syncro......I was just happy he without injury.
>Good Luck. Miguel

I hope your son heals completely and quickly. He was probably lucky
that he was driving a T3.

Both the front and rear ends of these vehicles appear to be built to
take large impacts. They use the other vehicle, seemingly anything
smaller than a locomotive or stranded battleship, as a crushzone. I
remember one listee years ago who said he was stopped on a highway
behind a line of cars and was hit by a moron in an Econoline which
was travelling at unreduced speed (55mph or so) and shunted him into
the Honda in front. The Econobox and Honda were totalled and the bus
was still drivable, and he intended to repair it (he suffered
whiplash injury, so the bus was retireved by the truck operator who
took the wrecks away, and who commented on the low extent of damage
to the VW). He never did get back to the list to tell us how he and
the van were getting on.

T3 occupants are probably more likely to suffer whiplash, seatbelt or
head injuries (from hitting the dash or B-pillar) than deformation of
the bus' structure.

Hmmm... something to note is that inertiareel belts do not
necessarily stop heads reaching the dash... not only do the belts
stretch, but they also compress in the reel. Newer belts with clamps
hopefully don't suffer the latter fault. The further forward the dash
is, the better the chance of avoiding headstrike with any given belt.
Rear-engined VW vans are good in this respect.
--
Andrew Grebneff
Dunedin
New Zealand
Fossil preparator
Seashell, Macintosh, VW/Toyota van nut
‚ Opinions stated are mine, not of the University of Otago
"There is water at the bottom of the ocean"  - Talking Heads