Question Classic Car

My husband just bought me a 1969 Ford Mustang. I have two small boys that are still in car seats. My husband would like to install the LATCH system into the Mustang. I have looked all over the web to try and purchase the system but can not find it. Can I buy the system and most important, can it be installed in my classic car? If the LATCH system can not be installed, is there an alternative to keep my boys safe in the back seat? Thank you.

LATCH cannot be retrofitted to older vehicles. Either a vehicle comes with it, or it doesn't. Top tether anchors can often be retrofitted on older vehicles - though you may have a tough time with a classic car, but the lower anchors cannot be.

As for a safe way to install a carseat, I believe lap/shoulder belts are available to retrofit classic cars in the back seat, so you should be able to put those in. If there are existing belts, it's still a good idea to replace them unless they were recently replaced, just because it's possible seatbelt webbing can degrade over time - and almost 40yrs is a long time.

Is the plan for this to be an occasional vehicle? If it was to be a regular vehicle, I'd have some concerns about the crash safety of the vehicle in general because of it's age and lack of safety features, but if it's going to be mainly a collector vehicle or very occasional method of transport this may be less of a concern. It's something you'll want to consider before transporting the boys in it regularly anyways - at least in cases where another vehicle is an option.

Thank you for the input. My husband and his buddy (the ones restoring the vehicle) are discussing welding a bar that goes from one end of the back seat to the other, beneath the seat. You would be able to attach the latch system on the car seat in between the top half and bottom half of the seats. What are your thoughts on that? Traci

Traci said:

Thank you for the input. My husband and his buddy (the ones restoring the vehicle) are discussing welding a bar that goes from one end of the back seat to the other, beneath the seat. You would be able to attach the latch system on the car seat in between the top half and bottom half of the seats. What are your thoughts on that? Traci

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I'm guessing this might not be what you want to hear, but that would most definitely not be safe. LATCH anchors go through specific testing, and have regulations regarding the diameter of the anchor and the anchor spacing itself in addition to the pull strength testing that it must undergo.

LATCH isn't safer - it's what a lot of parents are more familiar with as more & more vehicles on the road have LATCH, but it's not safer unless you can't get a good install with the seatbelt (and the vehicle has LATCH, without LATCH you'd have to get a different seat instead.)

LATCH was designed to make more carseats compatible with more vehicles, and to simplify installation. It has somewhat succeeded, but there are limitations as to when parents need to switch from LATCH to seatbelt based on child weight, as well as whether a specific seating position allows the use of LATCH... many vehicles don't have center LATCH, which means if you want to use LATCH, you have to install the seat outboard... center is most protected, so in that type of situation - provided a good seatbelt install can be achieved in the center, seatbelt is actually safer than LATCH because it allows the child restraint to be installed in the most protected position of the vehicle. Sometimes, a seat just plain installs better with the seatbelt than with LATCH - and if that's the case, seatbelt is again safer.

So I honestly wouldn't worry about whether or not the vehicle has LATCH. Do make sure when they're restoring though that the vehicle has new lap/shoulder belts put in - this will be very important once your kids get to the age & size of moving from a harnessed seat to a booster seat.

And also, given the age of the vehicle and that I don't know the shape the body is in etc, make sure that where the seatbelt is anchored is in good condition. It's not a simple matter of holding in 40lbs or 80lbs, because the weight of the occupant is multiplied many times over in a collision - the higher the speed of the collision, the more "weight" the seatbelt must hold in. So make sure the vehicle is in good condition at the anchorage points for the seatbelt. And if the vehicle didn't come factory with seatbelts, have them do some research on how to retrofit seatbelts so that they're able to find a safe anchorage point. I know nothing about the technicalities involved, I just know that it's important. :thumbsup:

My dh put in lap/shoulder belts in classic car about 12 years ago. He ordered them and he installed them on the frame of the car. It had instructions of how to do it. Sorry, I can't help more than that. We don't have that car anymore.

Traci said:

Thank you for the input. My husband and his buddy (the ones restoring the vehicle) are discussing welding a bar that goes from one end of the back seat to the other, beneath the seat. You would be able to attach the latch system on the car seat in between the top half and bottom half of the seats. What are your thoughts on that? Traci

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No, you can't jerry rig a LATCH system. It would be unsafe, maybe even deadly.

Remember anytime you use the word rig or think it in conjunction with carseats it's a bad bad idea.

I would look into having all the seatbelts replaced since they are much older and possibly deteriorated or been in an accident etc.