What Safety upgrade would you add to old Muscle cars?

[keepat]

Below is a list of safety upgrade that Kurt and I are planning to make to his Mustang. If you have any suggestions or additions please post.
Thanks
Pat     



1. Install headrest on front seats
2. 3 point retractable seat belts
3. New ididit collapsible steering column
4. 4 wheel power disc brakes
5. Fuel tank armor or fuel cell
6. Upgraded suspension
7. 17" wheels and 245/45 tires
8. Power rack & pinion
9. LED Sequential taillights
10. Center brake light
11. Fire extinguisher
12. New glass
13. Brighter headlights 

[68X426]

How did you miss roll bar? If you're doing all 13 items on the list you got to be prepared to roll it.

[69chargerrt440]

Its not safety, but fun: 6-Speed manual trans   

[68X426]

Oh, and intermittent wipers.    It's raining like hell on my little piece of the USA right now.

[tan top]

hydro boost  braking 

[Troy]

I'd have to say fire extinguisher, brakes, seat belts, and brighter lights/bulbs for safety. Of course, the brakes will accentuate the weaknesses in the suspension. The steering column would be much more valuable with the original belts (because hardly anyone uses them).

Troy

[John_Kunkel]

If I could option a brand new 2011 car without all the mandated "safety  features" I would do so.

But, that's just me. 

[elacruze]

Nobody knows that most people who die (d) in rear-end collisions in older cars died because the front seats broke to the rear, and their necks were broken by the back seat? I keep waffling on new seats for that reason (and of course their comfort)

Nobody wants to get hammered from behind, but it happens. Just three days ago I saw an accident in which a very nice late-30's Chevy sedan got hit from behind by a teenage whatever. Nobody was seriously injured, but the guy driving the Chev managed to stop in time...

[doctor4766]

Dual airbags perhaps?

[doctor4766]

Oh, and intermittent wipers.    It's raining like hell on piece of the USA right now.

I added a switch to my Charger actually.
One of the best mods one can do, since the factory wiper switch is an arm's length away and is a PITA to keep switching on and off when it's only raining lightly.
I fitted it down below the dash so it's very discreet and removeable with no visible holes

[maxwellwedge]

The best safety upgrade I did was to my brain......It is a lot more (but not completely) rational than it was decades ago when we ran amok in these things.

[472 R/T SE]

No side curtain air bag pix please.

Pat, I tried PMing you but your box is full.  A while back you asked about the muffler off my '77 HD Low Rider.  I also have the half windshield & an AMF Harley Davidson tarp with the old #1 insignia as well as some old period correct literature I'm gonna try & sell.

Interested?

[Mike DC]

Nobody knows that most people who die (d) in rear-end collisions in older cars died because the front seats broke to the rear, and their necks were broken by the back seat? I keep waffling on new seats for that reason (and of course their comfort)

Nobody wants to get hammered from behind, but it happens. Just three days ago I saw an accident in which a very nice late-30's Chevy sedan got hit from behind by a teenage whatever. Nobody was seriously injured, but the guy driving the Chev managed to stop in time...

So true.  The bending seatbacks aren't always fatal but they can sure mess you up.  They really are unsafely weak in a lot of these cars. 

-------------------------------------


Rollbars/rollcages -

Good for safety when the rest of the car is built around the idea.  Fully harnessed seatbelts, driver with a helmet, etc.  But unpadded bars can be lethal to your unpadded head. 

IMHO it's not always bad to have a cage in a street car but you have to give these issues some real attention.  The tubing needs to be out of the way, which is not always possible in these old cars.  And most of the rollbar padding on the market is too soft.  If it's comfortable to hit your head on it then it's not stiff enough.   

[skip68]

Anti-lock brakes to me would be one of the best upgrades.

[keepat]

Its not safety, but fun: 6-Speed manual trans   

His mother & I bought him a 5 speed for Christmas, better MPG add some safety??


Thanks guys for the input I like the intermittent wipers!

Pat

[miller]

The bell that dings when you don't put on your seat belt.

[bull]

Jeez, how did anyone survive the 60s without all this coddling? The MOST I would do is shoulder belts as far as safety is concerned but much of your list seems like performance upgrades rather than safety to me. If I wanted a bunch of safety stuff I'd just drive a new car and sell the classic. I don't know what year we're talking here but regardless, I'd just leave it alone and focus on performance stuff. Maybe a fire extinguisher to keep from having to watch your money go up in smoke.

[Ghoste]

I'm with you Bull (and Maxwellwedge).  It's one thing for competition but but for a Sunday drive in my Charger...

[Mike DC]

Jeez, how did anyone survive the 60s without all this coddling?  The MOST I would do is shoulder belts as far as safety is concerned but much of your list seems like performance upgrades rather than safety to me. If I wanted a bunch of safety stuff I'd just drive a new car and sell the classic. I don't know what year we're talking here but regardless, I'd just leave it alone and focus on performance stuff. Maybe a fire extinguisher to keep from having to watch your money go up in smoke.

I know what you're saying, let's not rollcage & harness every car on the road. 

But at the same time some of these things we're talking about should have been done by the factory.  Collapsible steering columns?  Seatback frames that hold up tolerably well?  What could possibly be argued against these two things, for example?  They would add maybe 5-10 pounds of total weight to the car and no other side effects. 

[Old Moparz]

Below is a list of safety upgrade that Kurt and I are planning to make to his Mustang. If you have any suggestions or additions please post.
Thanks
Pat     



1. Install headrest on front seats
2. 3 point retractable seat belts
3. New ididit collapsible steering column
4. 4 wheel power disc brakes
5. Fuel tank armor or fuel cell
6. Upgraded suspension
7. 17" wheels and 245/45 tires
8. Power rack & pinion
9. LED Sequential taillights
10. Center brake light
11. Fire extinguisher
12. New glass
13. Brighter headlights 

I've added some simple upgrades to cars I've had over the years that can be considered performance as well as safety. Things like a front sway bar, radial tires, better shocks, fire extinguisher & halogen headlights. I plan to swap the front drum brakes to disc brakes when I get to the front end on 2 cars. I need a new windshield on my Satellite because it's scratched & clouded in the corners, but didn't think of it as a safety item. It would be nice to add even more, but there's only so much I can afford.

[bull]

To me it's the novelty of the experience too. I used to hammer on my 70 nearly every day between the age of 16 and 27 with no seat belts, no disc brakes, a half-assed defroster, worn out suspension and steering, etc. Not that I don't like that stuff but when I'm driving a classic car now I want a nostalgic experience. I want to feel like I'm drivng a car and in control instead of just a passenger there to keep it between the lines. When you drive older cars your skill as a driver must be accessed, if there's any to be had. Now it seems that with every new model year more and more of the control is taken away from the driver and handed to the onboard computer. Same with the maintenance. It's gotten to the point where now I'd rather spend $15k restoring a '73 Fury than buying anything new.

[keepat]

I agree old muscle car should feel like old muscle car, and yes one or two item on my list could be consider performance upgrade but they all make the car safer to drive!   
To be clear this is my son Kurt's 1st car and the deal I have with my wife, is Kurt bought the car with his own money and he will pay for any & all cosmetic upgrades. And I will pay for any and all safety upgrades to make the car as safe as reasonable possible. This is a father/son project and we are doing all the work together. It's not a Charger but we are building a Bullitt replica, so I may build a Black 68 Charger when we are finished the 68 Mustang. Here is a link to the build  http://www.imboc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=184589
Thanks!
Pat         

[bull]

Nice car. I'd take one of those in a heartbeat.

My dad did something similar for (to) me when I bought my 70 Charger at the age of 15, but his idea of a safety upgrade was a performance downgrade. He didn't care about seat belts or brakes, instead replaced the 383 with a 225.

[Old Moparz]

Nice car. I'd take one of those in a heartbeat.

My dad did something similar for (to) me when I bought my 70 Charger at the age of 15, but his idea of a safety upgrade was a performance downgrade. He didn't care about seat belts or brakes, instead replaced the 383 with a 225.

That's like putting training wheels on your ten speed.   

[68blue]

It was brakes for me, almost a must these days.

[zoecube]

The only thing I would change are :brakes, seatbelts and if it dosen't have a tilt steering wheel switch that out.