Ace-Garageguy Posted July 30, 2014 Posted July 30, 2014 (edited) 150 mph in a '65 Plymouth? First that's a little hard to believe. Not impossible. I just question that speed? This is a 426 Hemi car. It was rated, in 1965, at about 425HP. Some claimed 525HP. That will push a car to 150+ if it's geared right. I also have a hard time believing anyone walked away alive from that? Nobody said anything about "walked away". "Survived" was the word used. Being brain-dead jelly on permanent life-support is still technically "surviving". Edited July 30, 2014 by Ace-Garageguy
slusher Posted July 30, 2014 Posted July 30, 2014 I used to work for a guy who got a phone call from the police in the middle of the night, informing him that his son had been in a horrible accident. He said his son was only 4 years old and asleep. His Granada had been stolen out of the driveway and some dumb kid wrapped it around a telephone pole at speed. The kid was badly hurt and successfully sued my friend's insurance company for a big number! Funny thing, the fact that he stole the car wasn't admissible in court! All that could be said was that he was driving the insured's car and he had an accident. Its not right but I could believe it. I don't think stealing a car is a felony unless you cross state lines. Not sure..
Ace-Garageguy Posted July 30, 2014 Posted July 30, 2014 Its not right but I could believe it. I don't think stealing a car is a felony unless you cross state lines. Not sure.. Stealing a car with the intent to "permanently deprive" the owner of the vehicle is usually a felony, no matter if state lines are not crossed. It's a big deal. Muy bad. In other circumstances, it can also be a lesser charge like "joyriding", and may depend on the jurisdiction, perpetrator's age, prior record, value of the vehicle, etc.
PappyD340 Posted July 30, 2014 Posted July 30, 2014 I went to school with a kid that got killed when he was 16 he had a bad 55 chevy and hit a telephone pole at about 50 mph less than that and that 55 looked just as bad if not worse than that dodge but he was crushed by the engine it was actually driven back to the drivers seat. He had a closed casket funeral. My point is it would seem impossible to survive a crash of that magnitude judging by the looks of that dodge! ( just my opinion )
Lunajammer Posted July 30, 2014 Posted July 30, 2014 The story appears to be from Spring of 2012. Not much info but the consistent info is that he jumped a curb and hit other objects including a tree.
Harry P. Posted July 30, 2014 Posted July 30, 2014 Something doesn't add up here. The photos of the wrecked car don't correspond to what you would expect to see after a car hits a fixed object at well over 100 MPH. The engine would have been in the front seat. There is definitely more to this story than "car hits tree at 150 MPH." The damage is completely inconsistent with that sort of impact.
ChrisBcritter Posted July 30, 2014 Posted July 30, 2014 (edited) Anybody else wonder what sort of collision this was? Certainly not a single point impact. Looks like he got airborne and crashed through a whole lot of heavy tree limbs rather than hit the tree trunk. Edit: Looks like several of us were wondering the same thing. Anyway, shouldn't be too hard to check court records to ID the thief and find out how badly he was (hopefully) injured. Edited July 30, 2014 by ChrisBcritter
Ace-Garageguy Posted July 30, 2014 Posted July 30, 2014 Yeah, but you know the media. It's a lot more "shocking !!!" (OMG OMG !!!) to say it "hit a tree at 150" than to say it maybe was capable of 150 but wasn't going anywhere near that fast when it plowed through some limbs and bushes.
Rob Hall Posted July 30, 2014 Posted July 30, 2014 (edited) I think even the Graveyard Carz guys would pass on trying to restore that...the decklid, taillights, tail panel, left rear wheel, and rear bumper can be salvaged...the rest is scrap. Edited July 30, 2014 by Rob Hall
Mark Posted July 30, 2014 Posted July 30, 2014 If it's an original Hemi car, it will magically be "restored"...
Rob Hall Posted July 30, 2014 Posted July 30, 2014 If it's an original Hemi car, it will magically be "restored"... Yeah, dig out the vin tag and swap it on another body...
1930fordpickup Posted July 30, 2014 Author Posted July 30, 2014 Does the story sound good if you say it hits a sapling? That would be no. It is all about the headlines that grab us. I posted this because of the damage that this car had and the fact that someone lived.
Bruno Posted July 30, 2014 Posted July 30, 2014 Looking at the pics, it's not a hemi, looks more like a 426 commando...
Rob Hall Posted July 30, 2014 Posted July 30, 2014 I notice on that salvage site it lists as being sold...I wonder how much it sold for in wrecked condition? $50?
1930fordpickup Posted July 30, 2014 Author Posted July 30, 2014 Someone posted that it went through a block wall or two before it hit the tree. There are pieces of block on the intake , it may be true.
moparfarmer Posted July 30, 2014 Posted July 30, 2014 My guess is that it was set up as a super-stock nostalgia drag car, and wasn't intended to be run on the street. Of course, nobody told the moron who stole and destroyed it. John Hagen's car from Minneapolis..Watched it race many times at Keystone Dragways just east of Winnipeg...Sweet car...
unclescott58 Posted July 30, 2014 Posted July 30, 2014 150! And it hit a block wall before the tree? Been thinking more about this, and talked about it with another car buddy. Then looking at the photos from the salvage yard. I know you Mopar and Hemi guys would like to believe this happened at 150. But, the more and more I think of this story. It's just that, a story. If somebody told me that car hit a tree at 60 or 70 I'd buy that. But, at 150 even without the wall, that car should be a lot worst than that. Scott
unclescott58 Posted July 30, 2014 Posted July 30, 2014 By the way, I forgot. The 426 street Hemi was not offered from the factory until 1966. If I remember correctly? Wouldn't a '65 be equipped with the 426 wedge engine from the factory? Scott
Tom Geiger Posted July 30, 2014 Posted July 30, 2014 Look where the man is in the photo. The round object is the air cleaner. The engine didn't wind up in the drivers lap, which is probably what saved his life.
DynoMight Posted July 30, 2014 Posted July 30, 2014 What most likely happened: The idiot steals the car. Drives off, realizes, this is a fast car! And speeds off down a road, thinking it was a straight road when it actually had a turn or two. He's probably going upwards of 90+, sees the turn, brakes lock up, the car goes sideways, the driver side front hits the tree, throwing the block and everything else to the left! The idiot survives, the car doesn't... My mom told me a story of her neighbor who was tired of having kids knock down his mailbox in their cars, messing it up. So he dug a 4 foot hole and mounted his mail box on a solid steel rod and poured concrete in the hole and stuck the mailbox in the concrete. That thing was going nowhere. A kid and his buddy come down the street, and try to run over his mailbox. The car wraps around the mailbox, driving the engine back into the interior, totaling the car, they survived but were in critical condition. Remember, this was at 2-3 o'clock in the morning. My mom said she heard a loud bang and screaming, the neighbor coming out on the front porch and yelling at the kids for trying to run over his mailbox. The whole car was around this mailbox. He got sued by the city but they dropped the charges, because, hey, the man was tired of his mailbox being run over! The mailbox is still there.
Joe Handley Posted July 30, 2014 Posted July 30, 2014 (edited) I guess if this was considered survivable, who knows........ Found a news story to go with it! http://newsfirst.lk/english/2014/07/china-crash-victims-miraculously-survive-car-crushed-flat-lorrys-load-pics/46361 Edited July 30, 2014 by Joe Handley
1930fordpickup Posted July 30, 2014 Author Posted July 30, 2014 I wonder if the speed was figured by measured skid marks and such?
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