Alfa Crash Safety

[Bill_Magoffin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

FWIW I'll add my two bits on the crash worthiness issue.

I have had the unfortunate experience of having a 1980 Alfetta GTV 2000
finish it's days beneath me.

Without delving too far into the circumstances, back in '87 I was
rear-ended by a Holden Statesman (about the size of a Chebby Caprice) when
I was doing 0 KPH (0 MPH) and it (conservatively 80KPH(50MPH)). He hit me
square on and pushed me into a similarly size Ford Falcon in front which
had its brakes applied at the time. I got it square on too.

It was a BIG hit.

My wife and I were the only occupants.

The result was a follows:

Rear end compacted so that the tail lights were adjacent to the back of the
rear wheels. The rear wheels appeared not to have moved.
The fuel tank had been pushed down and was in bad shape but had not
impacted the passenger compartment.
The sills had bent upwards behind the doors on either side and there was a
ripple just behind the door opening.  It looked like it had slightly bent
upwards, (down at the front and back) like an inverted banana.
Both doors still opened and closed.
I didn't get a good look at the driveline or underneath but it looked no to
have moved substantially.
The front damage was to front apron and the front part of either fender,
nothing structural.

Neither of us were hurt at all...the Statesman was totalled, the entire
front end demolished, but the occupants OK. The Statesman is a fairly crude
device with big heavy chassis rails at the front...so I doubt it would have
absorbed much energy at all.

The our car was declared "written off" by the insurer. People who saw it
were amazed we were unhurt.

We had a lesser accident in our '91 75 a couple fo years back which only
felt like a touch from inside but required the rear chassis rails being
straightened. The other car (another Ford Falcon) looked very much second
hand. (once again he hit us in the rear).

I for one will vouch for the inbuilt energy absorbtion ability of the
transaxle cars...first hand!!!

Regds

Bill

------------------------------