1971 Dart Swinger~ lap belts and other questions about classic car safety

Synchro246

New member
My husband just registered this muscle car he's been working on for 5 years. He's very happy. I'm happy for him.
I asked if he wore his seat belt when he drove. . .
He calls lap belts "paralizer belts" and asked me "would you rather get my life insuance money or collect disability while having to take care of me for the rest of your life?"
I can't answer that question.

So, I know someone here can direct me to real info reguarding what *sounds like* bunk about his "paralizer belts". If they are somewhat hazzardous is there anything we can do to make it better?

Also, we can't decide if we will ever put the kids in this car. I'm sure people used to put their kids in these very same cars without seats. . .:eek:
If we decide to allow the children in there at some piont are there any special considerations about installing a carseat in a classic car?
 
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southpawboston

New member
My husband just registered this muscle car he's been working on for 5 years. He's very happy. I'm happy for him.
a "schwingah"!! (as my buddies call them). congrats to your hubby! i'm jealous.

I asked if he wore his seat belt when he drove. . .
He calls lap belts "paralizer belts" and asked me "would you rather get my life insuance money or collect disability while having to take care of me for the rest of your life?"
I can't answer that question.

lol, i know what my wife's answer would be! :D

So, I know someone here can direct me to real info reguarding what *sounds like* bunk about his "paralizer belts". If they are somewhat hazzardous is there anything we can do to make it better?

i haven't done internet research on this, so i won't bother trying to find links, but i think he's right... i'm not quite certain but i think you can get spinal dislocation quite easily with lap belts alone from the distension of the spine in a frontal crash. plus the steering wheels were not collapsible like they've been for the last 25 years. also think about the damage you would incur getting a solid steel steering wheel (and maybe even the column) jettisoned through your rib cage.

since that platform was still being used up to the mid 70s (75, i think), i think the very last years they were made you could get them with 3-point shoulder/lap belts. not sure if it was standard or optional. but they weren't retractable, IIRC. it was a non-retracting belt with an adjustable buckle plate. when it wasn't in use, you clipped it up on the headliner above the door. there may be pre-drilled and threaded holes for bolting them in...

Also, we can't decide if we will ever put the kids in this car. I'm sure people used to put their kids in these very same cars without seats. . .:eek:
If we decide to allow the children in there at some piont are there any special considerations about installing a carseat in a classic car?

i wouldn't put kids in there. but if you had to, the car *should* have pre-threaded holes in the frame at the reat seat bight for bolting in rear lap belts (if there aren't any already). but, there's nothing pre-existing for a shoulder belt. you could probably get something retrofitted, but i wouldn't trust it for a child seat.
 

didymama

New member
this was my first car. i had lap belts in the back IIRC and i would use those with a car seat. this car is a tank. i honestly think that with the belts they had you could get a good install with little effort. however, i would put something like dycem under the carseat since the upholstery was slick also IIRC. congrats to hubby-i know the project feeling-my dad spent most of my childhood in the garage restoring model As!
 

southpawboston

New member
i had lap belts in the back IIRC and i would use those with a car seat. this car is a tank. i honestly think that with the belts they had you could get a good install with little effort.

but IIRC you can not properly install a current carseat with a lap-only belt. am i wrong?
 

scatterbunny

New member
A lap-only belt is perfectly fine for securing a harnessed carseat--that's the only thing a lapbelt is good for. ;)

A lap-only belt is not okay for a booster seat because there would be nothing restraining the upper portion of the child's body.
 

Synchro246

New member
LOL- I was scared there for a second because our Roundabout is installed with a lap belt only in our Civic.

I have some of that "approved" non-slip matting that could go under the seat, because, YES they are mighty slick.
I also have a sheet of deer skin which is equally thin and less compressable. I keep meaning to ask if that's an ok "seat protector"--- ahhh but for another thread. I feel like a spin-off queen here.

I'll be sure to congradulate my husband from all of you guys, I'm sure he'd appreciate it.
 

Jeanum

Admin - CPS Technician Emeritus
Staff member
Nothing helpful to add here, just wanted to say this post brought back some childhood memories of riding in the back seat of my friend's parent's fire engine red Dodge Dart Swinger. :) It was a 70s model but I don't know the exact model year, and it had seatbelts but I can't remember whether the front seat had shoulder belts or not. I don't remember having to duck under a shoulder belt to get into the back seat, so probably lap belts only. My friend's baby sister rode in some sort of rear facing infant seat in that car, and IIRC it was installed in the front seat. :eek:

My friend's parents had the "cool" cars, while my family had the boring family station wagons, lol. Another friend's dad drove a Porsche with no back seat, and he would drive us kids to the ice cream parlor in it. I remember riding in the back with no back seat or seatbelts. :eek: He was a surgeon, and meant well to treat us to a ride and ice cream, but I shudder in retrospect about what might have happened.
 

southpawboston

New member
another thing that i forgot to mention... if in fact your swinger has rear lap belts which you intend to use to secure carseats, they should probably by exchanged for new ones. this can be done relatively inexpensively. who knows how reliable 35 year old webbing is, being exposed to years of UV, moisture, etc... i would say the same for the front ones as well...
 

flipper68

Senior Community Member
LOL- I was scared there for a second because our Roundabout is installed with a lap belt only in our Civic.

I have some of that "approved" non-slip matting that could go under the seat, because, YES they are mighty slick.
I also have a sheet of deer skin which is equally thin and less compressable. I keep meaning to ask if that's an ok "seat protector"--- ahhh but for another thread. I feel like a spin-off queen here.

I'll be sure to congradulate my husband from all of you guys, I'm sure he'd appreciate it.

A note about using shelf liner or dycem - It can MELT in hot weather (made a big mess on some leather seats). Maybe shouldn't leave a CR in the car for the long term.

Using seat protectors is discouraged (its 'after market' - not crash tested), however, it's a relatively minor misuse. Be sure you can get a solid install w/o the liner as the liner can make it appear that the seat is securely installed.

Besides, I'd think a CR would greatly reduce the cool factor of the car. :rolleyes:
 

Synchro246

New member
LOL, yes cool factor goes wayyyyyy down. When dh sees the dents the CR is going to make during install he's going to flip and demand that it not stay in and probably want to reduce the overall number of times we install the seat.

I just found out today that this one does have shoulderbelts in the front, but dh refuses to wear them due to the cool factor and the fact that he has to put them back after use. I tried to explain that the shoulder belt probably reduces the "paralizer" quality and probably reduces the chances of him slamming into the non-collapsing steering column. The un-coolness of it is currently outweighing all that. :(
 

Jeanum

Admin - CPS Technician Emeritus
Staff member
Maybe you or your DH could call the Car Talk guys on their NPR show (their website has contact info. at www.cartalk.com). One of them has or had a Dodge Dart convertible that he speaks fondly of, and he refers to as his Dodge Dartra because it sounds more exotic, lol. His co-host and brother likes to make fun of him and his cars, lol. It's a fun show but also informative. Even my DH who is so not a car person likes to listen to it with me because it's fun. Listeners call in with car-related questions, so maybe they could talk some sense into your DH or give him some pointers about updating the seatbelts. It's not uncommon for someone to call about their SO's car and/or to have the show hosts help settle an argument, lol. :)
 

southpawboston

New member
Maybe you or your DH could call the Car Talk guys on their NPR show (their website has contact info. at www.cartalk.com). One of them has or had a Dodge Dart convertible that he speaks fondly of, and he refers to as his Dodge Dartra because it sounds more exotic, lol. His co-host and brother likes to make fun of him and his cars, lol. It's a fun show but also informative. Even my DH who is so not a car person likes to listen to it with me because it's fun. Listeners call in with car-related questions, so maybe they could talk some sense into your DH or give him some pointers about updating the seatbelts. It's not uncommon for someone to call about their SO's car and/or to have the show hosts help settle an argument, lol. :)

hehehe, i've met those guys!! (i live in their "fair city"). they run a garage in "our fair city" named the "good news garage".

yes, tom had the dart(re)... much older, i think it was a mid 60s... and it was a convertible! the car got totalled a few years ago when it got rear-ended when his son was driving it (it may have been a garbage truck that hit it, i can't remember). "dartre" was an allsion to jean-paul sartre.

anyway, jeanum, i think that's a fantastic question to call them about!

EDIT: here's a link to tom's beloved dart:

http://www.cartalk.com/content/features/dart/
 

flipper68

Senior Community Member
I just found out today that this one does have shoulderbelts in the front, but dh refuses to wear them due to the cool factor and the fact that he has to put them back after use. I tried to explain that the shoulder belt probably reduces the "paralizer" quality and probably reduces the chances of him slamming into the non-collapsing steering column. The un-coolness of it is currently outweighing all that. :(

But the NASCAR drivers and other professionals all wear 5 point PLUS seatbelts. No one says they're uncool.

On the topic of uncool, there's a bill in our state legislature to repeal the mandatory helmet law for motorcycles for drivers over 21. :mad: IMO, the only way that should pass is if we can also repeal the need for insurance or taxpayers to pay medical or disability bills that might arise from a helmetless driver.
[The alleged reason: allow more "tourism" or economic $$ from people going to the big SD bike rally. . .oh shoot, where is it? I can't believe I'm blanking out.]
 

southpawboston

New member
you think that's bad? try NH... no helmet law, and car seatbelt use is only required until age 18. state motto: "live free or die". so a lot of darwin award winners hail from there. :rolleyes:
 

nisi

Senior Community Member
Sturgis.

And that's possibly the most idiotic reasoning I've ever heard. If that's their concern, why repeal the whole law? Why not write in an exception for out of state residents? It would be easy enough to enforce - if the cyclist is helmetless check for out of state plates.
 

Colleen

New member
How "cool" is it going to be when he's dead from not wearing his seat belt and his babies have no dad:( Sorry so blunt. My DH is a car FREAK, 69' Chevelle, Grand national, street bikes, dirkbikes, etc.... Just recently he agreed to wear his seat belt (and cut down on the # of times he spins tire/donuts in the middle of traffic) using that line; and scaring the sh*t out of him with all the you tube crash videos. Tell him congrats on the car, my DH put his heart and soul into his Chevelle starting at age 13, we know how good it feels to finish and have a kick *ss car in the end:D
 

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