C'mon, Lydia, you've seen at least one MGB with kid
seat -- mine, at the 1989 All-British Car Show in Palo
Alto! Yes, kids *love* sports cars. (Note that very
young children, however, are sometimes more prone to
ear infections and should not have the wind whipping
by their ears at 40-50 mph. Keep the top up, or get
Petunia a hat. I think a pudding-basin helmet with
leather flaps over the ears would be a big hit.)
Besides, putting a child into a convertible is so
easy: you just lift her (those of you with male children
can just read "her" in the generic sense :-) over the door
and plop her into the chair. Then it's on with the
safety gear and "Whee! Say whee, Daddy!"
It shouldn't be difficult to devise a way of mounting a
child seat to the parcel shelf in a B. The big problem
is in the top -- but I think your '65 has a removable
top, yes? Later Bs (like my '71) with the folding tops
would have the classic problem of two things occupying
the same space at the same time, so I'd just have to
unbolt the top if I did that. (Hmmm, this is a way that
all three of us could go in the car at the same time;
maybe I'll work on a prototype.)
Technical problems: Note that the battery cover is
a flimsy piece of lightweight metal held on with five
Dzus fasteners. It is not structurally suited for
mounting anything heavier than a tuna sandwich. The
shelf behind and around the battery cover, however, is
a fine place to mount anything sturdy -- such as a
roll bar. My suggestions:
- Find the dimensions of the seat you intend to
use -- width, depth, etc. (Personal recommendation
is to get one with a proper 5-point harness, not
one of the shield-types.) Be sure you drill the
holes *wider* than the seat so that you have some
room to adjust the belt when you install it.
- Use aircraft-grade eyebolts mounted through the
chassis and held in place with large washers to
distribute force around the area in case of impact.
(Refer to the SCCA's instructions on mounting
safety harnesses, or check a Pegasus Racing catalog
for hardware, and sorry mine isn't on my desk!)
- You can use street-quality seatbelts, or you can
use racing-type lap belts. Some of this will depend
on the kind of seat you use; ours has a framework
beneath the seat, through which the belt passes,
while some are designed to have the car's safety
belt go across the child and the seat itself.
- Note also that California law requires infants to
be in rearward-facing seats for a certain time; the
rule of thumb is to keep them facing backwards till
they are old enough to hold up their heads on their
own. Be sure to allow for this mounting possibility
when you figure out where to put the seat.
Kids and MGs are entirely compatible. The worst part of
the combination is trying to get them out of the car after
you're home! "No, Daddy, again, again!"
--Scott "This is what Safety Fast means!" Fisher
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