Child Restraint conversion.

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HardRockR

HardRockR

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Bismarck ND
Has anyone converted the back seat lap belt in a duster to 3 or 5 point restraint. Wife won't let the kid's right in the duster anymore, car seats are too small for kids now, help.

Anyone know of someone who sells new or refinishes grille trim at a reasonable price. Seen some NOS trim on ebay, 700$ Just can't afford it.
 
Have a look at this thread:
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=80675

Very interesting in my opinion. He used seats from a Volvo that have integrated shoulder belts.

As for being safe for kids... there was a guy on here that got his Duster CRUSHED in between 2 trucks with his munchkin in the back, from what I remember he was a little shaken up but nothing major. Even with that said, I did change my 73 2 piece belts out for the one piece 75+ type a while back ( for safety reasons ) and would definitely consider the same type of mod for the rear seats if I have the opportunity
My oldest calls my duster "the screaming metal deathtrap"
 
My 2 girls love riding in the wagon. They are 6 and 8, my wife would like me to have shoulder belts in the back seat but it is not a deal breaker.
The girls have named the Station-Wagon, Stan-Willy. I take them to school just about every morning. The other parents have more of a problem with my car, except for the dad who drives a restored 62 Imperial (also lap belts only).
 
I gotta tell ya it is a wonder any of our parents survived their child hood long enough to have us!! Their cars didn't even have belts!! All of these vehicles are death traps!!

LOL...just kidding! I mean the the belts them selves may not be as good as the ones today but the cars themselves are built way better and I am assuming that most of you are far more aware of how you drive (and the others around you driving) when you are driving your favourite classic than when you are in the grocery getter or commuting!!

I don't mean this as a shot towards you for wanting to upgrade! I mean it against the soccer moms who give you the death glare for daring to take your kids out in that "thing" and then they proceed to apply make-up and talk on their cel phones while having their morning coffee with THEIR kids in the back seat!!

Dennis
 
One of the things that people seem to forget, too, is that one of the reasons we have airbags, extra restraints, now, etc. is because the CAFE laws have forced the car manufactures to lighten the cars up. Less metal, ie, thinner gauge, more plastic in the outer shell.

We got my wife's '87 5th Ave this way. A 16 year old bought it, but his mom wouldn't let him have it because it didn't have airbags, ABS, it had *gasp* a V8! (yeah, a 318 2bbl, big deal). But the M-bodies were the safest cars on the highway in the '80s and much into the '90s (Volvo's claims be damned).

Ever seen the side impact beam in an E-body? Damned things are huge and
makes the door heavy.

And don't forget the factor of a unibody. Those little crimps and wrinkles in the floors are crumples zones, even back then, before the PR guys decided to market them as such.

You're upgrade is a good piece of mind for the wife, but really, the A-body is a safe car. There's a lot there to absorb and cushion a hit and the belts are good things as long as they are cinched properly.
 
Agree with the wife. 100 percent. Tell her you wish you had jumped on the Cash For Crap program. You could have a new Toyota with shoulder belts, airbags, and sticking accerater and bad brakes.
 
I'm right there with you Ramenth and Redfish.
Don't get me started on "safety" features of newer cars, for the most part they are "laziness" features.
Don't know how to drive in the rain/snow without spinning your tires? No problem - traction control.
Don't know how to apply the brakes in your car? No problem - ABS
Can't remember to put your seatbelt on? No problem - we'll install a buzzer and a dummy light in the dash to remind you.
Can't be troubled to look behind your car while backing up? We'll install a camera.
Don't know how to parallel park? We'll build a car that will do it for you!!

Don't get me wrong, those things save lives and get people out of bad situations......BUT if people were paying attention in the first place or knew how to drive (knew what their vehicle was capable of doing or not doing) or (I know this is crazy talk) took responsibility for their own safety...
People have taken the increased safety measures as an excuse to be lazy instead of as an insurance policy for "unforeseeable circumstances" ( like a dear running out in front of you or a tree falling onto the road or flying monkeys...well you get the point. )

Now to flip to the other side... There are too many other drivers that you have to worry about NOT to make some sort of safety upgrades along the way. I doubt that very many of us would drive a v8 abody with drum brakes and poly tires on a regular basis on today's roads.

Like I said, I'd consider doing the volvo seat thing to my car if the funds were available.

Whew, Oh, on to discussion of adding shoulder belts to the rear seats.
The retracting mechanism would most likely have to be mounted in/under the rear deck at the corner to allow them to move freely. The lower mounting location would be where the stock lap belts bolt to the floor. The hard part would be making it look like it was stock where the belt routes into the rear deck or sail panel.

As for the grille trim, PM waggin for some advice. He did a nice tutorial on stainless refinishing a while back.
 
player1up, once upon-a-time Brock Yates wrote an article asking if people would drive safer if it was a sword which popped out of the steering wheel. It really posed the question of offsetting mentallity. The insurance industry did a study published in Auto Body News (or one of the other trade mags) which actually backed up Brock Yates. People were braking later at stop signs, etc, thinking that ABS would bring down stopping distance. Not what it's actually for: keeping a car under control in slippery stopping conditions, they actually believe it will stop a car sooner. Younger people have started tailgating more. The airbag will keep them from getting hurt, right? (I actually increase distances when I'm driving the wife's car. I've had an airbag in my face. I didn't like it.) So when you speak of the other guy, you're entirely right. I'm speaking for the safety of our vehicles. They are, without a doubt, entirely safe.

I will agree with you on the peace of mind issue for your wife, though. If she has it in her head that your car is unsafe she will never be satisfied with the idea that our older cars are entirely safe, even if it's proven to her.

So, I'd consider rear shoulder straps out a car if you can bolt them in to a reinforced structure on your car. Just bolting them in on the package tray isn't going to be any better than not going without them, as a matter of fact, it could be worse. If you're going that route, grab the shoulder straps out of something like an older Tauraus and get the reinforced area on the sheetmetal to go with them.

Case in point. The rear shoulder straps and retractors out a Taurus are going in the old man's '54 Ford. The area in the OE Taurus package tray is going to be fitted and welded into the package tray of the '54. This will keep the retractors where they need to be in a crash. It also serves another purpose: the package tray cover itself is nothing than just an upholstered piece of cardboard, trimmed to fit right into the '54. Pop's going this route because he has the interior out of a Taurus and the package tray cover has the contour of the backseat.

If you can find something along these lines, with a package tray cover roughly the same size, you should be able to use the cover itself, too, to cover up the retractors. I don't know what's out there, as I've only had a wrecked Taurus on hand that fit the bill for what Pop wanted. A trip to your local U-Pull-It boneyard with a measuring tape and an idea should be able to help you find what you want.
 
Most of the car seats I've seen work fine with a lap belt and a tether at the top of the seat. On the Duster, you would need to reinforce the package shelf to provide a secure mount for the tether.

...Or if you have a child restraint issue, you can let 'em ride up front. (LOL)

Attitude Adjustment crop.JPG
 
If you are willing to , your local aprts yard will have rear shoulder belts with retracters mounted on or under the package shelf. You might find some that will install fairly easy from a import ( honda ).
I've already cut my package shelf for a thrid / high mount brake light fixture so adding should belts wouldn't be a heartache. Choosing something that looks decent might take me a while.
 
Be carefull. The shoulder belt must be at the correct height or spinal damage can occur during impact from belt pressure.
 
Yes
I went to the wesco site and looked at their installation instructions, please dont bolt it to the floor. Spinal compression is ASSURED if you set it up that way and have an accident.
Andrew
 
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