BJ60 @ 90kph vs. Honda Civic - Another reason glad I drive a 60 (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Apr 5, 2020
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Location
Calgary, AB
Hopefully I'm in the right section of the forum for this kind of post.

So, on the afternoon of September 13th, the dreaded finally happened. I've been driving my 60 since the day I turned 16, and 3 years on, I've had a "serious" crash in it. I was doing 90kph along a secondary highway, when a mid-2000's honda civic decided to ignore a stop sign and pull out directly in front of me. I swerved, but he realized his mistake and for some reason, chose not to get out of the way of the 5,000 pound arrangement of steel that was barreling towards him.

I braked, and was probably doing about 80kph when the impact happened. I ended up pulled off to the side of the highway, the truck still idling, with no cuts. I looked around. The front of my hood looked a little higher than i remembered, and my passenger fender was bent. I got out, and heard hissing from the sidewall of my passenger front tire. The solid rear bumper of the civic had punctured my sidewall. I looked for the civic - it had taken down a sign, gone all the way through the ditch, and was embedded in a fence, an undeniable complete write-off.

I am incredibly proud to own a 60. It saved me from getting serious injuries - or even worse. And I was able to drive away from the accident with only a spare tire change.

Here are some photos of the incident.


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Does anyone have any tips for where I could source replacement parts? I live in canada, and if I can find something cheaper than SOR it would be nice.
 
From the photo, looks like your frame may be bent a little. Hopefully not. I'm glad you are okay. Thanks for sharing.
 
From the photo, looks like your frame may be bent a little. Hopefully not. I'm glad you are okay. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks. Don't think it's bent, but I'm going to have it checked anyways. Fingers crossed though, as I'm not looking forward to a frame swap....
 
Thanks. Don't think it's bent, but I'm going to have it checked anyways. Fingers crossed though, as I'm not looking forward to a frame swap....
Even for if it is, it might be fine. Maybe make it harder to get the panels to line up? I feel bad for you though.
 
I hope everyone is ok and that the accident report is written in your favor.
Thanks. The other driver only had a few scratches, and luckily for him my truck isn't totaled. RCMP said the other driver will be charged for something - what, I am not sure - so it looks as though things will likely be in my favor.
 
At first i thought 90mph was going to say how tf and why were you going so fast. Glad everyone is ok
How would definitely be the biggest question, haha. Naturally aspirated 3B and 31" tires do not enable much speed :p
 
Thanks. Don't think it's bent, but I'm going to have it checked anyways. Fingers crossed though, as I'm not looking forward to a frame swap....

You can go to a frame shop and get it straightened. I did that for my 4runner that was mangled. It was $1000 and I'm sure cheaper and easier than a frame swap. This was in Vancouver, not sure what's available in Calgary.

For used parts you could try EBI Cruisers in Poco.

Here is one being parted out in Chilliwack, looks like a nice fender etc. Is a 62 fender the same as a 60? Not sure why anyone would part out such a nice one, although on closer inspection it looks like the frame might be toast.

 
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The only difference between a 60 and 62 front fender is how the turn signal/side marker lamp is mounted. You can make some minor adjustments and they interchange.

In addition to EBI (extreme bends) there’s also Radd Cruisers in Kamloops for parts.
 
Check with local club. There are four in Alberta, someone there might know someone
and also be able to provide advice on how to deal with insurance and or specific
repair company dealing with an older truck.
That’s pretty comprehensive repair needed. Are you up to doing the work yourself?
Local guys should be able to find you a good shop too.
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Glad you’re okay! I’ve had a few Hondas (and the like) rear end my 60 in city traffic over the decades, with only minor stock bumper damage to me and serious (SERIOUS) damage to them....
Theres a good cruiser-head/mechanic just up from you, near Edmonton, John (goes by jzilla here on mud), he might be a valuable resource of parts, send him a PM.
 
Thanks to everyone for the advice, I really appreciate it. I know Mike at Pro-active automotive here in calgary and he's friends with the RMLCA; he's a toyota master mechanic and he likes cruisers too. So far he's been pretty great.

Does anyone know of a good bumper I could get to replace this one? The ARB style would be best, (Something to protect the full front of the truck and not just lower than the grille, since I drive in deer country a lot) but I'm not impressed by their tow points. I would prefer something more like the solid steel bar I've currently got, as it seems a lot stronger than the ARB option. And since insurance will be paying for it, I would rather just buy one pre-fabricated.

I had always planned on welding tubed sides onto this bumper, but never got the time. Wish I had though, might have saved me a bit of damage.

Thanks again, you guys are awesome.
 
Be glad for flimsy front thing. If you had a heavy steel bumper, the whole shock
probably would have gone straight to the frame, making it bend further and worse than it did.
Look at the vendors list, there are 3-4 really good nicely designed bumpers made.
 
Be glad for flimsy front thing. If you had a heavy steel bumper, the whole shock
probably would have gone straight to the frame, making it bend further and worse than it did.
Look at the vendors list, there are 3-4 really good nicely designed bumpers made.
Agreed heavy duty bumpers are great for minor accident major ones with another vehicle can do more damage to the chassis
 
Agreed heavy duty bumpers are great for minor accident major ones with another vehicle can do more damage to the chassis
In that case, would the ARB be too heavy duty? Or is there still enough flex in those? I don't plan on giving up driving this thing as a daily driver any time soon, so I would definitely like more protection for my precious bodywork, but I don't ever want to be in a situation where the frame is bent to the point of damaging other parts. I have a spare frame so minor damage isnt the end of the world, but I don't want to rip the body mounts or damage the engine...
 
I have front and rear bumpers i took off a customer fj60 he wanted stock bumpers back on and have another fj60 here that has @TRAIL TAILOR front amd rear bumpers on it can tell you the arb are flimsy compared to the bumpers Jason builds
I was gonna say the same. The ARB sets higher, recovery points are dodgy, but it seems designed to fold if you tag a kangaroo.
Tail Trailer's bumpers have recovery points that extend from the frame mounts and seem to be designed to fold small desposible cars instead. He also sells heavy duty recovery points if you choose the ARB.
 

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