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Child Seats in Vintage Mustangs

868 Views 6 Replies 4 Participants Last post by  Mikes65
Much to my 2-year-old's glee, I'm going to need to transport her in the fastback a lot more in the future. I don't have any rear seat belts, but have been planning to add some soon.

Here's the deal: I currently have lap belts in the front seats and can strap in her car seat with a great deal of effort when it's absolutely necessary. The problem is in the location of the buckle. Current seat belts have the buckle off to the side... after it's been fed through the car seat, you can pull it good and snug. But with vintage style lap belts (the kind I guess I'll be installing in my rear seats), the buckle is in the center. Once it's threaded through the car seat, it's next to impossible to grab the buckle and pull out the slack.

I plan to add 3-point shoulder belts to the front seats - I suppose they could be tightened as well as any new car. But ideally, I'd like the child seat in the rear.

Anybody have a solution for securing child seats with vintage style lap belts?
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I agree to place the child seat in the back, I dont see anyway around this except to replace that one seat belt in the back with a universal type button release. I got mine for about $16.00 each and my child car seat is a breeze to latch and unlatch. You could always replace the vintage original belt when you dont need the car seat anymore. Good luck. James
G
Dan-

I have a 5 yr old that often rides in the front seat of my 'vert in his car seat. I am not sure about yours, but the car seat I have has a cloth cover. All I do when I put it in my car is to pull the cloth cover down and I can access the buckle fairly easily then.
G
I've driven my 2-1/2 year old boy around in the front and back seat of my 65 2+2. I didn't have any problems with the 'vintage' style seat belts front or rear. Echoing earlier replies, the child seat cover lifts up so you can tighten the belt. My son loves to ride front or back. When he was rear facing, the back was awesome for the view out of the fastback rear window. Up front he likes to watch the gauges and the shifter.

Two notes: You'll need to get someone to modify the rear lower seat cover with slits for your belts, or you'll have to buy a seat cover with the slits already there. When I installed mine in my '65 2+2, I bought a '66 seat cover that had the belt holes already in place.

Note 2, if you put the kid up front, be sure to remove or reposition the door latch on the passenger side. My son could open the door with his foot. Not good.
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My car did not come with seat belts, so I went to pep boys and bought what they had. I adjusted the buckle side so it comes out about 4" out onto the seat and ran the other side long and pull it completely throught the seat. I can get the seats really tight that way.
Gordy
G
I dont' usually type in capitals, but this is important:
NEVER HAVE A CHILD UNDER 4 IN THE FRONT SEAT. They are a lot more physically fragile than adults and they will be more protected in the back of your car, especially a coupe or FB.
This is speaking from some experience.
I agree with the above posts. I put her in the back seat passenger side (easier to see/reach her). The seatbelt issue does kinda suck, but I am able to loosen my belt, put the seat in and then tighten it. It is actually a better fit than my Explorer. Getting it off is a PIA. You almost have to reach down from the top of the seat to unhook it.

My 18 month old daughter loves the ride from the back seat. I guess that because the front seat backs are lower and she is higher, she can see EVERYTHING. My added advice is to invest in some cheap seatcovers... Bottles and Sippie Cups do leak, and cleaning them up off of my white vinyl sucks! I would like to enforce the "No Food in Car" Rule, but that's impossible!

Anyone have an idea to remove cranberry juice from my headliner? /forums/images/icons/smile.gif
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