Kids in your classic car

The wife and I have been discussing letting out 9 month old daughter ride in our vintage car. The springs in the back seat are so soft that the car seat base has a lot of play no matter how tight I pull the seat belt. Additionally the car, like most old cars, would probably fair poorly in a crash.

The tentative compromise is that she can ride in it when she is old enough to show interest. I realized this weekend, though, that this means it will be at least two more years before the family can all go for a ride.

What are the rules in your homes?

Those was a time, when I was but a wee lad, when those weren't called vintage cars. They were just cars. My evil parents used them to drive us everywhere.

If a project car has recently given us a number of problems, no carrying the kids around in it until it's had a chance to "re-establish trust" by running well for a while. Other than that, if we can fit a car seat in the car in what looks like a secure fashion, it's fine.

Oh, and we can't put the car seat in the middle of the pickup anymore. My 3 year old figured out how to move the column shift with his feet.

The closest to a classic that I've got is an '85 RX-7 and I've taken the kids for a spin on a few occasions. My theory is the same as GPS's.

I won't let them ride in the rallycross car, though, even though they constantly beg me. There's no plastic left in the interior in the places that their head might strike in an accident and the bumper crash bars are missing, so being a "compromised" car, I don't like the idea of having them in that car in traffic. The RX-7, though, is a stock interior with all the 1985 safety equipment, so it doesn't strike me as too risky to have them go for a spin with me.

My view is this. For daily duty where you are in the rush hour grind and everyone (including you and me) is in work mode is where 99% of your miles and 99% of accidents happen. Driving your classic/race/vintage/toy tends to be weekends and special occasions. For starters there is lower traffic density at these times and so the chances of being in an accident is less. Also you tend to be more aware than usual. Add in the responsibility of having a young one on board means you will be even more aware at junctions, lights etc.

I say go for it. I survived and my parents didn't even own a car with rear seat belts until after I left home. My transportation as a baby was laying down cross ways in what is laughably known as the back seat of an MGB GT that was the family car and race car at the time.

In reply to Giant Purple Snorklewacker:

I completely agree with your point, and I make it often relating to other things.

The flip side is that there was also a time when you rubbed whiskey on the gums to help with teething, and no one wore seat-belts because they didn't want to get trapped in a wreck.

pushrod36 wrote: In reply to Giant Purple Snorklewacker: I completely agree with your point, and I make it often relating to other things. The flip side is that there was also a time when you rubbed whiskey on the gums to help with teething, and no one wore seat-belts because cars didn't have seat belts.

FTFY.

...and for the record... the whiskey thing still works.

My real threshold for exposing my kids to danger is the same one I use... if I expect to suffer then I don't take them along. If I expect to emerge unscathed then it's reasonable to assume they do too. I try to resist the urge to smother all the fun out of their life in the name of safety. We do wear bike, motorcycle and ski helmets these days when we take the ride. So, yeah. There is a balance somewhere between neurotic over-protection and dangling them over balconies by one ankle so they can see Niagra falls a little better

Rules at my house:

-Wear seat belts. If the car didn't come with them, no kids until they are added.

-Car seats required for young kids.

-Daily driven cars need to have a few more safety items. Particularly crumple zones and shoulder belts. It's just a statistics thing- the odds are too high for me to feel comfortable. I'll take them for cruises in a classic, but a daily driver is different.

-Don't be a "Dud-Dad". The kids have a blast riding in classics, and I intend to let them.

My kid has been riding in the 911 since they were two-ish. The rear seats do not have seatbelts, so the car seat has been installed in the front passenger using the seatbelt.

I think the issue would mostly be what do laws in your area require? If in seatbelts and you don't have any then you need to install some. Or if only in back seat then only in back seat. Etc. Checking local laws would probably be the easiest solution.

I can tell you my mini-me loves going for rides. In fact the 911 is their car of choice right now, probably more because they get to ride up front than it is the old car though...

I'm trying to get approval for a big ole American 4 door sedan so they whole family can cruise in the classic comfortablly.

YMMV.

Step away from the bubble wrap and let the kids have some fun. That or sell the car and turn into this.

I'd rather have them die young, knowing what fun means, than make it to 20 and not know how to have fun.

Car crashes are the number one cause of death for people under age 35, and that risk goes up a LOT with an older car. Fatality rates (per mile driven) have In a fatal accident, a 1,000lb difference in vehicle weight translates to a 100% increase in the chance that the person in the light car is the one who died. That's an "average" crash, not even getting at how much risk you add by driving around in something genuinely old without any modern safety features.

I still drive my Miata with a kid in it all the time (usually at lower speeds around town) and that's getting close to as unsafe as an older classic. But after having someone run a stop sign and t-bone me at just 25 mph a few years ago, I'm both a LOT more careful in the car and also kind of continually asking myself "is it worth it to drive this car today?" I'm getting closer to saying "no" and switching things up for either a more modern roadster or another sedan.

Still, it'd be so hard to get rid of it. The boys love the Miata and the fact that only one of 'em can ride in it at a time makes it good father-son bonding time. I know it's something they'll actually remember some day. With two seats they're legally allowed to sit up front, which is an experience denied most kids these days, and it's got a low enough belt line that they can even stick their hands out the windows. I've got so many memories of driving around in crappy old MGs with my dad that it feels E36 M3ty to deny them that.

ppddppdd wrote: I've got so many memories of driving around in crappy old MGs with my dad that it feels E36 M3ty to deny them that.

This is the only relevant sentence in this entire thread. This is the one to listen to.

For me it was a E36 M3ty old 1962 Chevy truck fishtailing down a dirt road in the middle of nowhere.

These are the things that teach kids about fun and the only things they will remember in 20 years. Don't turn them into sticks that are so scared of living, they never do.

For the record my car is a '68 Pontiac and this incident (http://jalopnik.com/5816178/lexus-attacks-two-classic-cars/) is what makes me question things.

I appreciate the input from everyone.

pushrod36 wrote: For the record my car is a '68 Pontiac and this incident (http://jalopnik.com/5816178/lexus-attacks-two-classic-cars/) is what makes me question things. I appreciate the input from everyone.

I'll hazard a guess that your chances of getting struck by lightning are greater than dying in a classic car crash.

I'll also hazard a guess that getting killed in a modern car crash are substantially higher than getting struck by lightning.

Maybe you should sell all your cars and just walk everywhere.

pushrod36 wrote: For the record my car is a '68 Pontiac and this incident (http://jalopnik.com/5816178/lexus-attacks-two-classic-cars/) is what makes me question things. I appreciate the input from everyone.

That car got hit so hard it was shifted over one entire parking space - that much energy in a crash, and you're pretty berkeleyed no matter what you're in. But if it's just one kid... note that a center mounted child seat wouldn't have been affected by the doors being pushed in even in a pretty over the top bad scenario. You'd still have to worry about whiplash.

I agree.

That wreck should not be the standard by which you measure this. If it is, then wrap the kid in bubble wrap and don't leave the house.

A child in a car seat in that wreck would have been at risk regardless of the vehicle. Car seats are not as effective for side impacts, and little kids don't like to be violently shaken.

It's a risk management vs return on your investment question. (Risk vs fun). Not a worst case scenario question. The worst case is always the same.

I have a 1967 mustang fastback. I installed lap belts in the rear seat. Last year my 4.5 year old rode in his seat, which still had a harness. The lap belt was fine to hold his seat. My youngest (now 1.5) has not ridden in it yet. I have a dilemma this year, as my now 5.5 year old doesn't use a harness in his seat normally anymore. I'm reluctant to have him ride with just a lap belt.

I am going to look at whether I can put his harness back on his seat - if so, that will be fine. If not, I'm honestly not sure what I'll do. I'll probably let him ride with the lap belt. I think the 1.5 year old will have to wait for another year or two.

In reply to klb67:

I added a Schroth street sport style racing harness to my '60 Elky. I'm fine with my (older) kids using that.

Basic goal was to keep the juicy upper tidbits from getting smashed against the steel dash when folded in half by the lap belt.

It's a cruiser, not a drag racer.

Tim and I hauled our kids around in all manner of silly vehicles, including a Manx and the rumble seat of a Model A, so we're probably horrible parents and no one should listen to us. Like several other posters, however, we did have some limits: Our daily drivers were always modern cars with up-to-date safety equipment, and we used the classics with our kids on a recreational basis.

Of course that didn't stop us from dragging Tom and Katie to Michigan last year in a 1966 Mercedes, but they're both nearly out of their teens and too big to cuddle anymore, so we figured that would be ok. (I keed, I keed--about them being too big to cuddle, I mean. We totally did 3000+ miles with lap belts and no airbags. We probably endangered them more with the fumes.)

Margie

The 2.5 year old girl like to ride in the Morgan. So when she gets delivered to Grandma's WX permitting, she gets a choice of "The Big Truck" the M-B 190, or the Morgan. Its usually the Morgan. With that said, she also loves the Lotus. The car seat puts her almost at window level, she can see and get the wind in her face.

To get to Grandmas house is a little less than a mile on back roads. I haven't ventured out into the world with her in the Morgan yet due to the seat belt situation. Where I live in WV, Im able to extend to her what my Grandpap did for me...

Leo

Marjorie Suddard wrote: Tim and I hauled our kids around in all manner of silly vehicles, including a Manx...

A guy in my local Corvair club used to drive his daughter around regularly in back seat of a Manx (with a Corvair motor) in a child car seat (fully exposed to the elements of course). He said he took her offroading in the same configuration, he said she would even sleep through most of it.

It would be interesting to see what sort of person she is when she is older. I am guessing the effect will be very positive.

I'd say wait at least until they can appreciate it and don't use it for regular driving. When I was a kid, my dad had a 1970 Barracuda. He would throw us in the back seat, no seat belts, and be doing 100 MPH before hitting the interstate.

Just don't do that.

aircooled wrote: He said he took her offroading in the same configuration, he said she would even sleep through most of it.

It always amuses me when I see an advertising agency trying to showcase how quiet a car is by showing a baby in it asleep in a child seat. Apparently they're unaware that babies are quite capable of sleeping through being driven down crumbling pavement pedal to the metal in a 40 year old pickup with 40 series Flowmaster mufflers and turndowns.

Most of us already lived through riding in what is now a "classic car".

Anyhoo, my wife and I bought a car seat for my 1966 that seems to work pretty well. It is rear-facing, uses just the lap belt, has a post that goes down to the floor, and two straps that go to the front seat base. The kid (now 23 months old) absolutely loves riding in the car (much preferred to the wife's Saab wagon) and has been riding in it since he was about 9-months old. He even rode in it to his first day of daycare

Here's a very similar seat (looks to be the "new" version of what I have):

Oooh, a chance to share a picture of my then 4yo in my Factory Five.

It was a HOT day and I was afraid I'd gone too far but the next morning, when questioned what car we should take to breakfast, the answer was "COBRA!!!!!". And for the rest of the summer, that was the answer. I had to talk her out of it.

I don't expect her to become a gearhead but hopefully where other kids have vague recollections of watching Sponge Bob from the back of an SUV, she looks back fondly at the memories of drives with daddy, when getting there was part of the fun.