Excitement can kill a build, or you.

[Getrdone]

Just a thought. When I built my first Camaro I am guilty of tube anxiety. It is a condition when tubes start coming together and the car starts materializing. You get excited to see the next tube in and it materialize into the dream you have in your head. Hopefully, someone will read this and just slow down a little bit. Don't read into it, as this applies to no one directly or indirectly. Take the time to clean and fit your tube with care. Sleeve when required and notch a clean notch. Your life depends on these tubes and welds, and so does anyone riding with you. You are obliged to do your best if anyone other than yourself is going to ride in the car. It does take a considerable amount of time to prep and fit a joint properly.
I will share some tips and weld procedures that I assume are basic knowledge. I guess they are not inherently obvious, as I had to be taught also. The point I am making is, as the tubes fly, take the time to do it right. You will have a safer more valuable car in the long haul. I am still no master fabricator, but a good fabricator is one that does not know it all, and is willing to admit he has a lot to learn.
Just random rambling from someone whom gets up a 4 in the morning for no apparent reason!

[Getrdone]

Just some thought. Having been a 911 Paramedic for 11 years I have seen some things that have "enlightend me" over the years. Things that come to mind. Girls face almost hamburger from street racer mounting a dam extinguisher on the a-pillar. It is a missle right at there face when it comes off. I was rear eneded once, and in the day off pull out radio's, one flew out and hit me in the shoulder leaving a grapefruit size bruise. Unsecured items can kill you.

If your passengers head can hit a tube while in there seat, it WILL cause a head injury in a wreck. The last thing you want to watch is a trauma surgeon drilling a hole in your child's head to ease the pressure. I know that tube should be 90 degrees at bump, but will it kill someone. A wreck of the mildest kind is way more violent than I can explain. Bodies fly. We don't always ride with the proper seatbelt tension. It just aint comfy. I have seen facial trauma from hitting the rear view mirror and contacting objects "a mile away". Even with belts.

We ride miles from help or a trauma center, think about that, and your loved ones.
I am not trying to scare anyone or claim I have the safest car, but dive only as fast as your car is safe. Plan on a drunk yahoo T-boneing you on a holiday weekend and you will be the one walking away. If you do have tubes in the proximity, stick a helmet on. The melon aint to tough and cracks easily. Even if it dont crack, it will swell enough to kill you.
I have told my boy several times to grab his belts if we roll, and I know this is almost useless. I should have limb restraints (looking into it) cause you cannot stop your limbs once they fling about. It is nearly impossible. And yes, I was the passenger in a flipped Mustang 5.0. It happened so quick and violently only my sphincter reacted. All the "I'll do this and this" wasn't even a flash in my head. Just bam, bam, bam DONE!

[Getrdone]

Just a thought..........I am quite the thinker this morning!

[Sneaks]

This isn't a bad idea for a thread. I've been in a few violent wrecks both on the track and on the street, with bikes and cars. This isn't to me about scaring each other but making us think so we can stay safe.

When I ride my motorcycle, I'm constantly playing the 'what if' game in my head. Like following that truck overloaded with old mattresses, hey, if those ropes break, what is the plan? I learned that a KE 250 can make it over one mattress at 40mph. I didn't try 2.

I'm planning on putting window nets in my baja. I don't plan on running at high speeds over the dunes since it is going to be a woods/mud buggy but I've also thought that my first reaction to tipping over is to put my hand out...with the windows down that means it is going to hurt without something to stop me.

I have a 12 second Mustang I occasionally drive on the street. It has 5 pt harnesses and competition seats. You ride with me, you snug 'em down. If you feel comfortable, they aren't tight enough.

i hate seeing guages screwed to the bottom of the dash, if you've ever sliced your knee open on a VDO, you'll move those puppies some place safer. Plus, guages should be close to the line-of-sight so you don't have to look for them. What about switches?

When you stop to fix a flat, don't toss the jack into the backseat when you are done, knowing you will put it away properly 'when I get home.' I'd hate to feel it in the back of the head in an accident.

Watch what you keep in your pockets, they can become impalers in an accident.

Do you have a radio in your car or do you depend on a cell phone in case of an emergency? Do you carry a spare? As fusername what happened to his cell while doing some very mild off roading. If NLW didn't have her phone, that could have been a very long and wet afternoon for the two of them. Don't forget a mag mount for your radio, in case your car ends up on its lid, you can slap it on the bottom of the car and still transmit. Anteneas don't work too well driven into the ground.

How is your battery secured?

[welsh619]

I started teaching myself welding and fabrication a week or two into the paramedic program. Its been two years and i have learned a lot in both fields but i am not too proud to admit that i still have a lot to learn. I read a few books and looked at a lot of pictures but would appriciate any welding/ fabricating tips you might want to throw out there. Thanks for the "teachable moment".

[motorbreath53]

funny how many fire/medic/ems types share this hobby.... good thread man.

[kyle_pc_75]

Yeah, good thread. Don't forget checking lugs, properly torqueing axle nuts, etc. I've lost a wheel at 5 mph at the end of an exit ramp coming off I-80. How lucky to you think I felt?

Helmets when riding rough terrain are an excellent idea, especially in little VW's.

Proper fuel system setup and checks is essential.

Kyle

[Punchdrunk Monkey]

What a buzz kill!! I sharpen the end of the tubes just before I weld them half way around and the only loose thing in my car is the 48qt cooler so I can still reach back and get a cold one while I'm being safe and keeping straped in my lap belt! And I do have all 5 lugnuts, it's just I share them on 4 wheels.

[Joxracing]

This is an awesome thread.

it just really puts in it my head, that racing seats and belts, and a roll cage need to go in this spring.
oh, and brakes to.

[Getrdone]

Another one I had in another thread. I run a single circuit master. Well, the brake light switch after on year spewed itself. I had about three pumps, then it was e-brake. Funny how that came in handy. If I were running 3x3's with no mechanical e-brake, I would def. use a dual circuit.

[Getrdone]

And yes, I lost a wheel on my dirt road from not checking my nuts when I got the BTR's. That's how I learned to immediately "recognize" the pogo feeling.......If you sense it in your rear, you are about to lose a wheel!

[dezertryno]

What a great thread. Dual masters for brakes...if you change the brakes from stock, spend the extra $50. It is literally priceless is something fails. Some brakes better than NO brakes.

Spend the time to really learn proper welding technique. I work in heavy construction (bridges) and we see cold welds all the time. A little more heat goes a long way, literally.

Steering shafts..... If your welding is in question, pay the $30 to have a professional weld the u-joints on. A 3/4" tube to the chest WILL kill you.

[DonT]

What a great thread. A 3/4" tube to the chest WILL kill you.

Good point, literally and figuratively.

[Leatherneck]

Ran across this one, good one to revisit.

[bikesndbugs]

Good points

how about a 3 point belt with a full cage?