QuestionMy mother-in-law recently bought a 1957 tbird and my 5 year old son is dying to go for a ride. I have a booster seat for him but it says that it must have a shoulder belt (which it doesn't have), the car is a two seater, do you know how I can install a shoulder strap on? I don't know if I should install it to the seat or to the car itself, it has a removable hard top.
Also do you know a good place to find parts for this car? She wants a a/c installed and a radio as well and we simply can't find them.
AnswerI don't know of a way to install a shoulder belt that would meet current safety laws. Keep reading, at the bottom I have what I feel is a good solution, but first some other stuff:
you don't say which state you are in, but in my state, Illinois, the child must have a shoulder belt. I have the same problem with my grandchildren and my 57 Chevy.
It should be possible to add a shoulder belt that can bolt in behind the passenger seat but it will also have to have another part to clip into, and most important, since it isn't factory, it won't pass any real inspection.
I would recommend you contact your local Secretary of State office or the State Police and ask your questions.
For adults, a car built without seat belts can carry adults without penalty, but kids have no say in what they do really, so they MUST be legally belted in. In Illinois the rules say a child over 40 pounds can ride in the BACK seat of a car with just lap belts if no shoulder belt is provided, which will work for my '57 Chevy but not the T-Bird.
One option could be to use a full safety seat for your son, assuming you can find one big enough to grow with him for a couple years (instead of just a booster seat). This type of seat will have its own built-in harness. But you will still need to stabilize it from behind on top. You can put just a single belt, securely bolted straight behind the passenger seat, that comes over the top of the passenger seat and can hook into the top of the accessory seat. I would think this would pass inspection if used with vintage lap belts that you can get for this car if it doesn't already have them.
This way you don't have to have the corrosponding belt to hook a shoulder strap to. Also, this single belt can be put behind the seat and hidden so as not to take away from the looks or value of the car when not carrying your son. I would feel comfortable with this type of setup for my own grandkids.
As to your other questions, I would recommend you visit:
http://www.hemmings.com
Or buy a copy of Hemmings Motor News at any good magazine/bookstore. They have a specific T-Bird section and I am sure there are many suppliers that can get you about anything you want.
If you don't care about the car being 100% original, there is a company called Vintage Air.
http://www.vintageair.com/
They make great systems to go into about any car. I don't see a specific system for the 57 Thunderbird, but they make universal systems and have tech help. They may also be able to recommend an installer in your area, if not, a GOOD (may be hard to find!) repair/mechanics shop should be able to handle this.
Before getting work done to the car though, make sure to get references and insure the car against vandalism, and theft, and any damage done by the repair shop!
if the car is a really nice example, they may want to stick with 100% original style parts, and that can be done, but it will take finding a suitable donor car with all the brackets, wiring etc. Then you will probably need to get the parts reconditioned before putting the system in. It can be done, but will take time and some money.
Vintage air is all new parts, and will go quicker in most cases, but will NOT look original under the hood. It probably will hurt the resale value of the car a little, but to some people a working A/C in the summer is worth more than 100% originality!
Finding a vintage radio is much easier, but there are companies that advertise in Hemmings that will take an original radio and modify it to AM-FM (not available in 57!) and you can even put in stereo speakers and have it still look stock. I am not a fan of modern aftermarket stereo/CD players in the dash of an old car, but you can do that also, and most good (there we go, finding GOOD places again!) :) stereo shops can do this kind of work, just be sure to insist that they not cut up the car a lot and install speakers and run wires where they won't detract from the originality of the car.
Visit a few Cruise-in's and car shows in your area and start talking to the Street Rod, and customer car people. They deal with aftermarket A/C, radios and more all the time, and can probably recommend a shop to do the work. If you talk to enough people, you will start hearing some of the same names/shops and those are the ones that are the best usually, and this has the advantage of Street Rod/Custom people usually being on a tight budget so they find people that do good work for less money.
Don
