1975 VW Bug

[CathyandBrandon]

We are going to be getting this up and running and eventually the kids are going to want to ride in it but no shoulder belts in the back. Can those be put in? And Of course if it's just one of them riding with him then they can sit up front brandon uses a backless booster when he goes with dad anyway.

[papooses]

If you Google "Retrofit Shoulder Belts" you'll get some informative hits -- look for NHTSA & www.carseat.org (they're PDFs which this computer cannot view: the computer is not mine).

[southpawboston]

it may not be possible, you could check with the dealer of perhaps find some VW beetle forums to post your question (forums for specific cars often have members who know far more than anyone from a dealer, including the svc managers).

if you can't retrofit shoulder belts in there, you may be able to retrofit a saferider vest.

[scatterbunny]

I'm not sure the Ride Safer travel vest would be an option because it needs a tether anchor. The EZOn products would be better-suited, I think, because EZOn has their own tether anchor kit. But the seatbacks would need to be tall enough, or you'd have to use the highback booster that goes with the EZOn harness.

Hope you can get shoulderbelts installed!

[southpawboston]

I'm not sure the Ride Safer travel vest would be an option because it needs a tether anchor. The EZOn products would be better-suited, I think, because EZOn has their own tether anchor kit.

right, i was thinking that there's a chance a TA can be installed in the beetle, if not a shoulder belt anchor point. but there's a good chance that neither is possible in a car that old.

[wondering1]

Sounds like fun! There are many enthusiasts who can help you. Getting seats with headrests would be important if the car does not have adequate head protection.

[TheRealMacGyver]

Wondering1 try this forum: http://www.dune-buggy.com/ although they are more geared towards rail, fiberglass, and baja buggies, they are a very knowledgable bunch of people (kind of like here). I used them several years ago when I built a fiberglass Manx replica dune buggy and I couldn't have done it without them! Good luck

[southpawboston]

Sounds like fun! There are many enthusiasts who can help you. Getting seats with headrests would be important if the car does not have adequate head protection.

the front seats already have them for that year, but not in the rear. i don't see how you could get new seats back there with headrests without going totally custom... and way expensive.

[wondering1]

Nodding, the nice thing about a 5-point harness is that it gives the head protection. Are the front head rests high enough to go to eye level or top of ear level for the front seat passengers? It is hard to tell from the photos!

[southpawboston]

It is hard to tell from the photos!

what photos? :confused:

[wondering1]

I looked at google images to try to get an idea of what the 1975 bug looked like! Sorry for the confusion!

[CathyandBrandon]

Thanks!

The way I figure it my son won't be riding in it that much anyway.