Kid's carseat in a 1940 Plymouth?

Hi all. I have a 4 year old who as of yet has not gotten to ride in my '40 Plymouth because it's not set up for a car seat. By not set up, I mean it doesn't have seat belts, and currently the seat cushion, and frame for it, fit in snugly but are not actually fastened to the car in any way. Any ideas/suggestions? Thanks!!!

 

yeah,,install a lap belt. HRP

 

Yep. They're relatively cheap online.

 

Install seat belts and secure the seat frames to the car. Its a 4 year old, do everything right to keep the kids safe. Don't be cheap or half-***ed when it comes to a kids safety.

 

In my 53 Belair, I ran a chain under the rear seat(fastened to a double layered sectioned of the floor with grade 8 bolts and big washers) and use the tether straps on the car seat to attach to it.

 

I went to a Model A club meeting in Ashland Or. a few years ago. On the way out we were about three cars back when a 3/4 ton pickup hit a '29 Pheaton head on! Everybody in the Model A was hurt. What saved them from fatalities is that they ALL had seat belts on. I told my buddy Rich "We need to go home and put seat belts in our cars". I didn't let my grandchildren go for a ride until I had belts in both cars. I bought a removable child booster seat for my 5 year old, and belted her and the seat in next to me.

 

A lap belt is the best way to secure a typical child seat.

When you install a lap belt in the rear make sure you bolt it through the floor and into some sort of reinforcement so the bolts don't just pull right through if there is ever an accident.

I just put all new seatbelts in my Chevy last fall (had another kid, time to upgrade what I already had in there) and my daughter actually picked out a non-retractable 3-point for the rear seat. They were MUCH cheaper than the retractable ones.

If he's 4 sooner than later he'll be out of the actual kid's seat and just using a booster. At that point a lap belt is "okay" but a three-point lap/shoulder belt is safest.

 

Thanks everyone. Really helpful info! I'll be checking out the available options with safety as priority number 1. Gotta get the car setup for my son before the upcoming car show!