Tragic 69 Camaro Crash of the Year !!!!!!!

[JIM]

I have been tring to get some help to post pictures of this story with no help. The 69 Pace Car camaro that was pictured here in the Turkey Rod run friday picts met an untimely end on its way home last week. A very good friend of mine bought it and was tranporting it back home to Pa. I left Daytona Sunday at noon headed back to Pa only to encounter 3 accidents slowing 95 just north of Daytona, cruised thru Georgia to wind up stopped just south of the South Carolina border, i had exited to get food when my phone rang . My paniced neihbor told me he had been in an accident at mile marker 5 in S.C. and he needed my help. It took me an hour to get 5 miles. What I saw was not easy on the stomach but he was unheart. His Duramax dually, 35 foot 2 car trailer and 69 Pace car got tangled up and slid jacknknifed backwards down a 65 foot ravine rolling everything over and over. You wont beleive someone walked away from this. I need help to post the rest of the pictures on here .

Jim

[Salvatore]

Boy oh Boy what a shame. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif Hopefully everybody is alright.

[JIM]

I can only post camera phone pictures here need some help to post the others.
Heres the truck it lost all the front suspension, the trailer rolled onto the cab crushing the pass side down to the seats and then again on the pass side, ripped the bed right off of it.!!!

Jim

[JIM]

another from the back

[JIM]

The car after it flew thru thru air and hit a tree upside down 20 feet in the air

[JIM]

more of the car

[JIM]

The drivers side

[JIM]

After having I95 shut down for 2 hours and 4 hours to recover everything out of the ravine I towed the flipped trailer and the pace car back home 700 miles. A white knuckle ride as the trailer and car were way to much for my 2500 Surburban

[Tarrytown SS427s]

That's terrible..Glad he is okay though. Do you know what the cause of the accident was?

[AutoInsane]

I'll be the first to ask... is your friend ok??? I guess this is why we all have insurance on our toys... http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

[JIM]

He walked away with a 1/2 cut on the back of his neck banged up but OK cars are replaceable People arent !!!!!!!!

The other pictures are coming soon. !!!!!
He had bought it sunday at 10 so Hopefully Insurance will cover it. My friends from Grundy met us in route to look at it their thoughts were his company should cover it..

[camarojoe]

Glad your buddy is OK...looks like a horrific crash. What are his plans for the car now?

[67L78conv]

Posted on behalf of Jim, glad to here that he is OK.

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[BARNFOUND YENKO]

Ouch it hurts to look at that! As stated above glad that your friend is ok. What was the cause of the accident?

[72-SS-L48]

I am at a complete loss of words. Thank God your friend is unhurt.

-Dave

[JIM]

Well it may have been a bad ball, the trailer is a month old as was the receiver. The ball snapped clean off have both peices, as he changed lanes to avoid some idiots stopped dead all hell broke loose throwing the truck and trailer into a jackknife and pushing the drivers side thru the guardrail backards with the car and trailer rolling over him !!!!

[67L78conv]

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[67L78conv]

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[JIM]

Heres the before picture from the friday turkey rod run posting here

[Dog427435]

[b]What a shame!! http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/no.gif

[COPO PETE]

Glad for friend is OK. I'm sick about the car!
Peter

[BUIZILLA]

post pic's of the ball please..

was it 15k or 20k rated?

I think he was parked right behind me at BellAir plaza? I kinda remember the truck with PA plates being there also.

[PeteLeathersac]

Whttp://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gifW!!!

So glad to hear everyone's Ok as things could easily have turned out much different..

http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif
~ Pete

[BARNFOUND YENKO]

What is his the plan for the pace car? Total it?

[TimG]

Having recently lost my 1970 Z28 in an accident, I feel for your friend. I also lost a 14,000 mile '69 Pace Car in a warehouse fire in 1992. That was a car I was going to keep forever. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

[Bill Rose]

Man, thats a lousy way to wrap up the weekend. It's hard to to figure how someone could walk away from that truck. It's good to know that the safety equipment on the truck, did what it's designed to do. Many of us haul these cars/trailers down highways at 70+ mph for hours on end, and never think something like this is will happen to us.

We always stop at rest stops and check out the trailers/hitches/safety chains, etc, and also check the car and straps inside the trailers. I would be very interested in how this happened, and how it might be avoided in the future, for those of us who do this through the show car season. I'd also like to see the trailer ball, if thats at all possible. That is the one part of the hitching system, that I usually don't think about failing.

This looks like a violent crash that happened in a split second. Someone was stopped up ahead, and he tried to swerve to miss them. Why would the ball snap? Did it snap because he couldn't slow down fast enough and the truck jack-knifed, causing the hitch and/or ball to be torn apart? Is/was the broken off ball still latched up inside the trailer coupler, after the crash? Were the trailer brakes working properly? Did the safety chains stay intact? Did the cable for the trailer brakes pull out like it should have, and slow the trailer ..... or did the ball snap, and that caused the crash? Maybe this will never be determined, but it might be helpful to know, so others can take the necessary steps to hopefully avoid this carnage in the future, so some good can come from this disaster.

[L78steve]

I was traveling back from S.FL and made it to Savannah when I hit the dead stop. Was told there was a bad one ahead. Had to run RT.321 to get back to Hendersonville. I only run 60MPH with a trailer. Just too many variables.

[69Tom]

[ QUOTE ]
Well it may have been a bad ball, the trailer is a month old as was the receiver. The ball snapped clean off have both peices, as he changed lanes to avoid some idiots stopped dead all hell broke loose throwing the truck and trailer into a jackknife and pushing the drivers side thru the guardrail backards with the car and trailer rolling over him !!!!

[/ QUOTE ]

Jim--glad your friend, or anyone else, for that matter, was not seriously injured or killed. That could have easily been a fatal crash. It seems like he did a great job steering the vehicle away from the rest of traffic.

I'm guessing this is being done, but have your friend make sure a thorough investigation is being done on the cause. He may have a products liability claim against the manufacturer of the ball. While I'm not a fan of unnecessary litigation, in this case, I definitely feel it's warranted--companies can't go around selling defective towing equipment. It's not only dangerous to the driver of the towing vehicle, but also everyone else on the road.

[BUIZILLA]

the reason I asked about the ball is there were 2 incidents that I remember involving high $$$$ offshore boats having accidents due to the ball snapping at the shank taper, a couple or three years back, they were Asian made quality regardless of the stamping rating.... one accident was in the Ft Myers area and the other was out west somewhere... for insurance reasons the ball capacity rating MUST match the trailer GVWR or better... just an FYI

[BARNFOUND YENKO]

Would you guy's think this car is fixable or totaled?

[SuperNovaSS]

What a bummer. The car looks to have faired much better than the truck. Is the trailer that was used to tow the wrecked Camaro home the same one that flipped? If so, how was it checked over before putting it back ito service?
Barnfound Yenko,
Anything is fixable but I imagine it is a parts car at this point. If it is fixed I imagine it will never be the same.


Jason

[JIM]

I tow about 25,000 miles a year from here all the way to Scottsdale , Fla and everywhere and back every year with my own trucks. I am crazy rechecking everything at every fuel stop straps, tire temp, lights etc. I checked the flipped trailer out really well,it faired pretty good a couple of broken hooks where the car pulled out, dented fenders that we straightend , BUT no damage at all to the nose. The ball was still in the receiver. My buddy Jeff was shaken when I got there and he handed me a souveneir from the scene what he thought was a gaurdrail nut that had been sheared. I looked at it and commented thats the ball nut and threads. at that point the nose of the trailer was still 65 feet down burried nose first. When they hoisted it up the bank shure enough the ball was in the nose with no damage to front of the trailer at all. The safety chains were sheared as was the breakawy, but thats it. His Lawyer is looking into the ball and receiver as it was only one month old as was the trailer all being bought brand new from the trailer company. if You look at the pictures of the back of the truck you can see the receiver clearly missing the ball. He had replaced his 3 car wedge last month with this setup just to have fresh equippment and avoid the DOT hassels of the 3 car wedges as of late. I will get picts of the ball and post them. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif

Jim

[Andy]

If you know any mechanical engineers(with a PE) or a metallurgist, it would be worth taking it to them to see what they think caused the failure. A fracture would constitute a failure of the part due to a stress concentration in a particular area caused by a void in the material(small piece missing), or an area that wasn't radiused correctly. Where it fractured at would have rough jagged edges on the outer border. If the ball failed in necking, you would see what appears to be an elongation/thinning of the area where the fracture would be. If the part was designed incorrectly and the defective part illustated that the portion of the design that was incorrect caused the failure, then you could have a valid case for a lawsuit against the manufacturer.

In my opinon it sounds like it failed due to not meeting the rating for which it was given and it wasn't radiused correctly.

A question, where the ball meets the shank, was there a smooth radius there? Or did it look like the ball was cut on the bottom and affixed to the shank with no radius? The reason I ask is that if it had a radiused edge, the stress would be significantly lower than it would be with out it.

Its good to know that he is alright. Sorry to be long winded, but as an engineer when I see problems like this, I try to use the stuff from the books to come up with a reasonable answer why it could have happened.

Oh, one more thing. Most of the time, when something like a trailerball, winch cable, rope....anything that is load rated is desgined by an engineer or company, a factor of safety is usually incorperated. For instance, if the trailerball was rated at 10,000 lbs, but had a factor of safety of 1.5, then the maxium load it should be able to withstand would be 15,000 lbs. This is done primarily to protect the customer. Most people don't know exactly how much things weigh they they are towing/lifting, but they have a general idea. Its better to build a product with some extra capacity than build it with only the rating that is stamped on it.

[CC Rider]

Sorry to hear this, glad everyone is OK.

[69Tom]

Andy, interesting explanation there. Hopefully Jim's friend's attorney is on top of this.

Well Jim, if they part the car out, tell your friend I'm in need of a RS headlight set up if he's able to sell it and it still works.

[Canuck]

Gald to hear the driver was OK. That is one sick image.
I would have thaought that towing with a Dually would be a safe bet, however if the only contact point on that long trailer was a 2 5/16 ball that tapers down to 1 inch at the shaft then that was not enough.

There are better hitch solutions out there. This is what I use:

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll49/paulolds/Arrowfullsmall300.jpg

Hensley Arrow

[Steven J]

Wouldn't it be possible that the ball snapped as the truck rolled ? If so, can you prove that the broken ball caused the accident, or was it the accident/loss of control that caused the ball to break ? http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif

[markjohnson]

I see that the 'ball hitch' has become the focus of this thread. Please keep us updated on the cause of this crash. I've seen trailer balls in the store that are 'quickly-interchangeable' by sliding different size diameters over a straight shank. No thanks....not for me! In fact, I have an expensive Stainless Steel ball on the back of my Duallie and sometimes I look at it and hope that it's not that same soft stainless steel that hardware store bolts are made from. Those hardware store stainless bolts are extremely soft and twist off easily. I'd hate to have a trailer hitch ball of the sale material.

[Tarrytown SS427s]

[ QUOTE ]
Wouldn't it be possible that the ball snapped as the truck rolled ? If so, can you prove that the broken ball caused the accident, or was it the accident/loss of control that caused the ball to break ? http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

This is a good point. Regardless of the performance of the ball, it is certainly possible that a similar event would have happened even if the ball didn't break. Perhaps the circumstances leading up to the ball's failure (the jack-knifing, etc) put the load on the metal above its rating..

[Musclecarkid]

If Jim's friend found the nut and shank from that 2-5/16 ball at the scene of the accident, then it did not cause the accident. Most likely it sheared on impact with the guard rail or as it rolled in the ditch. Remember the cause of the accident was hard braking to avoid stopped vehicles, which resulted in jack knifing the truck and trailer. The whole rig hit the guard rail backwards while jack knifed. Anyone want to guess the stress factor on that 1 inch ball shank on inpact?

[JIM]

The Broken nut with the threads attached were laying on the highway in the right lane. If it had snapped when it rolled it would have been down in the mess not just laying there.

Jim

[Musclecarkid]

How far from the scene did he find it? I say it broke on impact or as it was sliding while jack knifed.

[mfchassisworks]

That car is repairable, hopefully it gets saved. Glad he didn't get seriously hurt.



Andrew

[70 Forest Green Zee]

Jim....if you have more pics that you want posted, send them to me via email and I'll be happy to post them for you.

[email protected]

Really sorry about your friends truck and Camaro....if there's any silver linning in this story, at least no one was hurt!!

[69bronzeT5]

Poor poor Camaro. What a shame. I really hope it get's fixed. This isn't the first trailer related accident I've seen lately and it definitley isn't the first accident regarding muscle cars going or coming from shows either.

[72-SS-L48]

Jim,

I'm curious to know, was the car thrown from the trailer? Or did the straps hold it to the trailer and when the emergency crews got there they removed it?

-Dave

[JIM]

The car was thrown from the trailer snapped the tie downs on the deck on rear. 1 tie down still attached to the trailer 1 still on the car bent the daylights out of the racthets.


To answer an earlier question the ball was rated at 25,000lbs pictures to follow

[Schonyenko2]

I agree. It's fixable. I'd want to set it on a frame machine before anybody cut on it. JMHO

[JIM]

Can some one take the very first picture that is an attachement in the beginning of this post and put here to show how it all ended up Please. Thanks Jim

[Xplantdad]

[ QUOTE ]
Can some one take the very first picture that is an attachement in the beginning of this post and put here to show how it all ended up Please. Thanks Jim

[/ QUOTE ] http://www.yenko.net/attachments/432461-1129091650%5B1%5D-1.jpg

[BUIZILLA]

Jim... did the truck have a brake controller? it shouldn't have jacknifed if it did, and was adjusted correctly...

[JIM]

Brand new and worked fine. I towed that trailer after it had flipped 700 miles home with NO problems Brakes worked great we both have the same controller. Again there was no damage to the A front frame of the trailer which would have been there from jacknifing together. My speculation from being there and tring to figure it out with people at the scene for hours was as jeff moved sharply to the left lane the ball broke seperating the trailer , the momentum pushed the nose of the trailer into the left rear bumper throwing everything into a backwards move rotating the truck to strike the guardrail with the drivers side doors as confirmed by Jeff. The saftey chains pulled everything around and as the brakes locked it went down the ravine tumbling until the chains gave up. remember the brakes have a 2 second delay and this happend in a split second. The truck looks like the car and the trailer went right over the roof and ejected the car as it rolled for the second time.

Jim

[BUIZILLA]

that makes sense then.... you can adjust the delay to about 2 tenths of a second though the gain adjustment, a 2 second delay can be fatal, as you've traveled more than 4-5 times the total length of the tow rig, or about 300 ++' before the trailer brakes are energized to the adjusted strength. He was over the rail and headed down the hill before the brakes were energized.

[JIM]

I cant tell you exactly what the delay was but its not instant I used that number as a reference. but there is always a momentary time delay before they engerize. He has towed for 20 plus years so it wasn't new to him.

Jim

[JK98SS]

To the statement that the ball shouldn't have been at the scene. When it broke, it was still travelling the same speed as the truck and would have continued down the road as well. So it is possible.

[472 R/T SE]

How did the trailer handle with the car loaded up backwards like that?

Sorry 'bout your friend, glad he's OK. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

[JIM]

It was fine, it was centered over the axles to give just enough tounge weight. 700 miles back here hit rain entering Washington DC all the way here for the last 100 miles even that wasnt too bad just had to be really aware of the idiots everywhere cutting Us off.
I have some other picts that Jeff just sent me I hadn't seen just after it came to rest that I will be putting up.

Jim

[rpoz11]

Sorry to hear this unfortunate result.
http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

[wheelhop]

I've hear of an extremely similar accident happening because the car was loaded in an enclosed trailer backwards.

[musclecarjohn]

Sad to look at,glad everyone came out OK...

[JIM]

Had to tow it backwards to keep from ripping the top all the way off of it. With the windshield frame smashed and the holddowns ripped off of it it was the safest way to transport it. You can tow like that if you center the weight so your not tail heavy with No tounge weight.

Jim

[Mark_C]

How does insurance work on something like this? You buy a car, load it on a trailer to take it home, then what? Did he have an agreed value policy written for the car before the trip? If its somehow covered by the trucks and/or trailers insurance policy, certainly its not going to cover whatever the car is truely worth.

[JChlupsa]

take the ins $$ and buy the Divorce Sale one on the LA Craigslist

[Sean Ryder]

did he have sway control or a weight distribution hitch...

[wheelhop]

[ QUOTE ]
Had to tow it backwards to keep from ripping the top all the way off of it. With the windshield frame smashed and the holddowns ripped off of it it was the safest way to transport it. You can tow like that if you center the weight so your not tail heavy with No tounge weight.

Jim, so you towed it home from the accident backwards. What about when the accident happened? Was the car on the trailer backwards?

[JIM]

It was loaded forward centered correctly. He tows almost as many miles a year as I do , here there and back again.
Jim

[eclassic-cars]

Jim...Please call me I am tired of leaveing messages!!!

Dave

[67L78conv]

Jim requested a few more pics of the accident be posted.

http://www.chevroletcamaros.com/images/69ipcaccident/69camarocrash1.jpg

http://www.chevroletcamaros.com/images/69ipcaccident/69camarocrash2.jpg

http://www.chevroletcamaros.com/images/69ipcaccident/69camarocrash3.jpg

[sYc]

It looks like he was towing with a one ton, four door dually. If that is the case, that car, on an open trailer, could be loaded on the tongue, on the back, anyhwere, and not be a problem. And even if the trailer brakes were not working, would still stop in a reasonable distance.

As per the ball, my guess it snapped when the trailer jacknifed, hitting the truck. Just think of the force that would create (leverage) when that occurred.

[BUIZILLA]

where is the load leveler bars and friction sway control bar? where they on there??

I had that EXACT truckn and I can tell you 100% without those it WILL come around on you... that thing sits high on the chassis anyway, and has little tires, when the nose dives, the trailer nose rises up, and swings things around... I have an employee that just had this happen to and he flipped a tow rig on I95 just south of Melbourne Fla

[72-SS-L48]

Did he tow with load leveling sway bars on the hitch? They look like these.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v441/mosportgreen66/DSCN0299-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v441/mosportgreen66/DSCN0300-1.jpg

Second, did the airbags deploy in the truck?

-Dave

[Tarrytown SS427s]

I don't think the rating of the truck has anything to do with it. The placement of the car is going to have a direct affect on the tongue weight, which will have an impact on weight on the rear suspension of the truck regardless of the truck's rating. When we got our enclosed a few years ago we were very careful with setting up the full load tongue weight. I could roll the car an inch forward or back and completely change the weight on the tongue scale. What it came down to was loading each car in and finding the perfect vehicle position over the axles, and then marking the position of each car. I know it was said that everything was done correct and by the books, but we are all human. Maybe the car actually wasn't correctly loaded over the axles prior to leaving.. There are so many variables to this, we'll probably never know the answer.

[REMIX]

Wow, very sad. No matter, this fellow is very, very lucky to be able to tell his story. Glad he is okay.

RMX

[firstgenaddict]

I use VERY HEAVY CHAINS WITH SCREW CLOSE ATTACHMENTS RATED FOR MORE THAN TRAILER PLUS VEHICLE WEIGHT... had a set of S hooks straighten out on the boat once... ONCE!

[firstgenaddict]

THE SAFETY CHAINS IN THESE PICTURES WON'T STOP CRAP FROM HAPPENING!

[ QUOTE ]
Did he tow with load leveling sway bars on the hitch? They look like these.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v441/mosportgreen66/DSCN0299-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v441/mosportgreen66/DSCN0300-1.jpg

Second, did the airbags deploy in the truck?

-Dave

[/ QUOTE ]

[firstgenaddict]

You might as well attach the chains with PAPERCLIPS!

[Bill Rose]

Those are the typical chains that come with most trailers. I replaced them, when I got my new trailer a couple yrs ago. I bought heavy 7/16 chains and heavy hooks to attach to the truck. I always hook up the 12,000 lb load leveling bars too...... but if you have a panic stop and the trailer/truck jack knives like this one did, I bet it's all gonna come apart, no matter what kind of equipment is back there. The real answer is to SLOW DOWN, PAY ATTENTION,in case you do have a panic stop, and have a bunch of insurance on the truck, trailer and the car.

[firstgenaddict]

Honestly I believe that trailer companies that use such substandard crap should be held fully liable. PERIOD!

[72-SS-L48]

[ QUOTE ]
THE SAFETY CHAINS IN THESE PICTURES WON'T STOP CRAP FROM HAPPENING!

[ QUOTE ]
Did he tow with load leveling sway bars on the hitch? They look like these.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v441/mosportgreen66/DSCN0299-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v441/mosportgreen66/DSCN0300-1.jpg

Second, did the airbags deploy in the truck?

-Dave

[/ QUOTE ]

[/ QUOTE ]

I was more concerned with whether the trailer in the accident had those leveling sway bars. I know when towing a U-haul for example verses our enclosed 24ft, those sway bars make a huge difference.

However, now that you bring attention to the safety chains, I will look into replacing them with heavy duty chains. Although as previously mentioned, in the God forsaken event that tragedy does strike while you are towing, I don't know how much HD chains would help. I guess I just never want to find out. Moral of the story, drive safe, slow, and continuously check over the trailer, tow vehicle, and vehicle being towed while on the road.

-Dave

[firstgenaddict]

Yes levelers will help the pullability (is that a word? NO lol) immensely... we use proof chains and attachments... the Reese would rip off the frame before the chains would break.

[72-SS-L48]

[ QUOTE ]
Yes levelers will help the pullability (is that a word? NO lol) immensely... we use proof chains and attachments... the Reese would rip off the frame before the chains would break.

[/ QUOTE ]

Can you elaborate on what type of proof chains and attachments you use? Where did you get them? Details?

Thanks,
Dave

[x Baldwin Motion]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
THE SAFETY CHAINS IN THESE PICTURES WON'T STOP CRAP FROM HAPPENING!............However, now that you bring attention to the safety chains, I will look into replacing them with heavy duty chains.

[/ QUOTE ]

I had a hitch malfunction in a turn while towing a boat, one chain snapped and the other held. The tongue came around and slapped the left side of the truck. Fortunately low speeds and an empty road prevented disaster. HD chains the correct length and shackles NOT HOOKS, a smart step up for safety.

[speedyal69]

Just some info on trailer balls in the 2 5/16 balls vally trailer hitches have balls that are rated from 6,000 lb to 30,000lb and the shank sizes go from 1 inch on 6,000lb to a shank of 1 1/4 on the 30,000lb ball. It is a very tragic thing that happened to this guy and am glad to hear he is ok. I know I changed my ball from a 10,000lb to the 30,000lb after I found out there was a higher rated ball just to be safe and the price was not much more and also installed chain with a rating of grade 80 for tow trucks .I would of thought the place that sold him the trailer and the new hitch would of gave him the right ball for the trailer but you never know .

[rodder]

friend of mine just bought the 1969 camaro and its going to calif to be rebuilt by a retire bodyman in wallace calif

[rodder]

friend of mine just bought the Camaro today and its going to Valley Springs Calif to be rebuilt

[rodder]

camaro is headling for calif to get rebuilt

[L89DRMR]

Got it, it's off to California.

[1969l78]

Where is it going http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hmmm.gif

[JIM]

The car was totaled by Encompass insurance only 2 weeks ago, they paid 50,000.00 reqested the car and the ball to settle. it was the owners understanding it was going to the salvage pool, as he inquired about buying it back. it has a salvage title as the title had to be transferred in to Encompass's name and received by them before they issused the payment which they did.

Jim

[rubbinisracing]

I wouldn't recomend either of the 2 grades/types of chain that have been mentioned in this thread.

"Proof Coil Chain": is very low quality and is better known as Grade 30 or Sysyem 3. The next chain up the the gradient is Grade 43 or System 4, this is the minimum grade desired for safety or tie-down. The best chain is the next grade up, Grade 70 or System 7,also known as Transport chain, with this chain the next smaller size has the same tensile strength as the next larger size of System 4. In other words, a 5/16" System 7 chain is equivalent to a 3/8" System 4, Grade 80 chain or System 8 is required by OSHA/MSA for overhead lifting, it works well in this application but is not suited for shock absorbtion or tie down use.

As far as Stainless Steel balls, you need to know what type stainless the ball is made from. Austenitic (300 series) stainlesss is very resistant to corrosion but can't be heat treated, it's tensile strenght is equivalent to a grade 2 cap screw. Martensitic (400 series) is less resistant to corrosion but can be heat treated. 400 series stainless cost less than 300 series. After heat treatment it is equivalent to a grade 5 bolt in tensile strength. There are other S/S available but you most likely won't see them available in these aplications.

Personally, I would stay away from "cast" balls and use only forged or those machined from a solid piece of steel and then heat treated.

Laugh at me if you'd like, but I discovered something that surprised me about trailer towing not that long ago. I sold my last trailer years ago when I "officially quit" drag racing so now I rent them when needed. A little over a month ago, I had to go to the local U-Haul place to get a trailer because the normal outfit I used was totally booked. After I slid the drawbar into the receiver on my pickup truck, I greased the ball. The U-Haul guy looked at me like a deer caught in the headlights. When he finally recovered, his only comment was: "I've been renting trailers for more than ten years and I've never seen or heard of anyone greasing a ball". My response was pretty simple: "You never grew up on a farm with my (late) Father. He'd have had your ass for not doing it."

Now, I know a few of my old drag racing buds still grease trailer balls whenever they hook up the trailer. They couple and uncouple easier. They don't make a lot of racket when you tow and they never seize up (can you imagine something simple like a ball joint if it never saw grease?). My pal Alf Weibe likes to tell the story of how he got his butt chewed by his wife on one of her few trips to the track...wearing white slacks. She encountered the receiver on his unhooked-Suburban...and the rest is history. But I digress.

So are Alf, me and a few other guys I regularly hang out with the only ones who hate the squawking when you pull a trailer with a bone dry ball and hitch? Or am I (and a few other old farmers) missing something?

Putting my asbestos fire suit on now <g>.

Wayne Scraba

[mockingbird812]

My balls are greased! http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

...guess that makes two of us<g>.....ha ha!

Wayne

[x Baldwin Motion]

[ QUOTE ]
My balls are greased! http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

I am constantly greasing my balls http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/scholar.gif
(.....and everything else connected to the seven gang Jac's) The Seventh fairway is bumpy and I hate squeaks!!

Ha! I figured (hoped?) I wasn't alone...

http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Wayne

[al8apex]

where is the car again? http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Bill Rose]

[ QUOTE ]


" The best chain is the next grade up, Grade 70 or System 7,also known as Transport chain, with this chain the next smaller size has the same tensile
strength as the next larger size of System 4.

[/ QUOTE ]

So you're saying grade 7 would be a better chain to use on trailer coupling, that grade 8?
What would be the best dia chain in grade 7 to use on trailers?

Also, what about the hook? Wouldn't the hook be just as important? Also, the way the chain is attached to the trailer is important, I would think.

[rubbinisracing]

Bill,

3/8" chain would plenty for safety chains. Yes the hook is equally important (they are graded as well), that's why the new term is system 7, referring to a match set of equal strength components. Grade 80 is not designed to absorb shock, so yes, system 7 is the best for towing applications. I use grade 8 bolts and nuts with thru-hardened washers to attach them to my trailers.

Hint: If your going to buy some system 7 chain and hooks, call your local heavy duty truck parts dealer and ask for transport tie downs in system 7. He should have them in 5/16" & 3/8" in either 20' or 25', You can buy a chain assembly with 2 hooks cheaper than you can buy the chain by the foot

[Bill Rose]

Thanks Howard. I was looking at a couple sites that sell tie downs, towing chains, etc....and you're right. It's cheeper to buy a grade 7 tow chain, than to buy chain by the foot. Thanks again!!

[rodder]

the shipper will be picking up the camaro sometime this week and off it goes to Calif i will post picture of the camaro as it being rebuilt

[al8apex]

so you say the car will be going to California? http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[thumper83]

Where?

[L89DRMR]

All doubt is gone now about which state the car is heading to; http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gifI wasn't fully convinced until the fourth mention of California.

[thumper83]

LOL

[Xplantdad]

Is Valley Springs in Northern or Southern California? http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/naughty.gif

[rodder]

Jim does your friend has any picture of it befor it got wreck would like some i am the one that going to repair it . Been a auto bodyman for 50 year would real like some picture you can e-mail me at [email protected]

[rodder]

it is in the Northern of Calif near Sacramento Calif

[rodder]

The car was paid for Monday and the shipper is picking it up in the next two days and heading for calif to me where i can started to work on it i have fix lot more car worse then that

[jl8dale]

Very cool!
Post some pics of its progress!

[bwag]

I wonder how much the salvage title will affect the value of the repaired car when it goes up for sale?? Not to mention the extensive online documentation of the damage.

[rodder]

SHIPPING WAS FAST SHIPPER PICK UP THE CAMARO FRIDAY AT 3:00 PM AND CAMARO ARRIVED IN BURSON CALIF AT 4:30PM MONDAY CHECK OIL AND WE JUMPED THE BATTERY AND IT STARTED RIGHT UP NOW THE WORK BEGUN FUN FUN http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[1969l78]

any pics

[rodder]

Hi i need right and left door for this 1969 camaro anyone have doors you can e-mail me at [email protected] with picture and price

[Mr BB Chevy]

<span style="font-style: italic">...Spent my days with a woman unkind, Smoked my stuff and drank all my wine.
Made up my mind to make a new start, Going To California with an aching in my heart.... </span>

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

don't need doors, just a buffer...

[69 Post Sedan]

Any progress pictures of this Camaro?