Morris Minor with young children?

[howlindawg]

Hi all,

I've just joined the forum as I'm considering looking for a Minor for occasional use.
However, I'm soliciting opinions from owners on the practicality of using a MM with a babyseat for a 3 year old.

Is it feasible to use a babyseat in the rear seats?
Which models (if any) might be suitable for modification to accept rear seatbelts?

I'd really love to be able to make this work but if it's not going to be possible to include my daughter in occasional outings it may just be an itch that needs to wait another few years to be scratched.

Thanks,
Martin

[amgrave]

I know someone that sold on a moggy because I think he got done for not having an ISO baby seat fitting and, I stand to be corrected on this, but I think you cannot fit the proper ISO fittings in a moggy. If this is correct you may have to wait till the little one puts on a few years before enjoying ownership. If the ISO fitting info is wrong someone will be along soon to correct me.

[philthehill]

There are no factory fitted/embodied or certified rear seat belt mountings in a Morris Minor.

Here is a link regarding fitting baby seats to motor vehicle.

http://www.which.co.uk/baby-and-child/b ... t-fitting/

There is a list of related items to the left of the page also.

Personally I would be very reluctant to fit a baby seat in the rear of a Minor unless the seat mounting(s) can be proven to be compliant and suitable.

As above it may be better to wait a while.

[Corn22]

A seat for a 3 year old should work with a normal seat belt, ours does

[faversham999]

3. If your vehicle doesn’t have seat belts

If your vehicle doesn’t have seat belts, for example it’s a classic car, you aren’t allowed to carry any children under 3 years old in it.

Children over 3 are only allowed to sit in the back seats.

These rules only apply if your vehicle was originally made without seat belts.

[John Naylor]

We have a pair of inertia reel seat belts fitted securely through solid metal and good quality car seats fit easily. Not all cars have ISO fixing and it isn't a requirement. Our grandchildren love riding in Bertie and we wouldn't risk carrying them if it wasn't safe.[frame][/frame]

[philthehill]

John
Whilst you may be able project sound engineering judgement as regards fitting a seat belt/baby seat in a Minor not everyone is able to do so.
My concern is that everything is considered OK till it goes wrong then the self recriminations start.
Children are too precious a commodity to take any risks with however small the risk.
Personally I would not let my grandchildren travel in a car that has not been fitted with approved seat belt/child seat mountings and are appropriate for their age/height etc.
Phil

[herclepercle]

Hi,

One thing I would say is stay away from a 4 door until they are old enough that they won't randomly try and open the doors - there's no childlocks so a 2 door or a Traveller are actually safer than the more practical-sounding 4 door.

[howlindawg]

Thanks for the replies, they're all appreciated.

My thoughts were running towards a 2 door saloon or traveller.
Non isofix childseats requiring a 3 point harness are readily available.

Assuming I'm willing to pay for a competently engineered solution, which models can be retrofitted with inertia reel belts and are any particular years more suitable than others for conversion?

Martin

[SteveClem]

The inertia reel belts fitted to my Traveller have been fine. A bit fiddly when dropping or raising the back seat as the belt has to be slid down the narrow gap between the side of the seat and the inside panel,but not a real problem.

[ManyMinors]

I must say that, when our children were young, we had no problems at all using our Minors (a saloon and a traveller) everyday with the children in the back, restrained by well fitted inertia reel seatbelts and child seats of appropriate design.
Although I don't consider myself a "risk taker" I do think sometimes it is possible to over worry about safety - probably why the roads around us are now blocked everyday with enormous 4 wheel drive vehicles driven by young women with one small child in them "because they feel safe" .

[irmscher]

You just have to be careful where you mount the fixings .Have a look on the search facility as its been covered

[Andy W]

This sums it up well...[frame][/frame]
Looks like you would be quite legal to take your 3yr old out for a drive using the rear seats.
Fitting rear seat belts is also feasible if you wish.
Personally, I've recently bought a Traveller & can't wait to take my great nieces out in it!

[orb596]

We have been carrying our daughter in Minors since she was born. She's 7 now and wouldn't forgive us if we went out without her! I fitted the rear belts in the convertible we currently have - it's a fairly straightforward job.

[howlindawg]

Well again, thank you all.

It seems like a MM could be a perfectly viable option with modern seatbelts fitted front and rear.

Stay tuned for future threads along the lines of "How to fit a balance bike in the boot of a saloon" and "best picnic basket".
I'll trawl through the accumulated posts and I'm sure I'll be back with more questions.

Once again, thank you for the constructive advice and welcome!

[neilmorey]

I've been looking into this too and the standard Traveller option seems to be to use the Securon 264 belt with strengthening plates in the wheel arch and below the floor at the mounting points. There are quite a few threads on fitting but this seemed most comprehensive.
http://morrisminorowners.co.uk/viewtopi ... =18&t=6768
Apologies if it is wrong to cross refer to other forums.

There are however some much more thoroughly engineered solutions in VW type 2 vans and if you are close to one of the fitters then it could be useful talking to them. For example.
http://www.ssvc.org.uk/phpbb/viewtopic. ... 7&start=15
If you look at some of the images a steel angle has been bolted below the seat for the bottom mount and bracing welded into the side panels. Won't be cheap but looks like they can fabricate a robust solution.

[MrIan]

Reading all this makes me wonder how we survived as a children in the early 60s in the front or back of moggy saloons, moggy vans , mini vans with no seats let alone belts for years and 10s of thousands of miles. I know times have changed now and I feel it's sad that we have to strap children down into approved seats that are bolted into the vehicle structure by an approved method so we feel they will be safe. Yet I enjoyed sitting on a rug and sliding around the back of a moggy van !!!!!

[philthehill]

Times have changed, more cars on the road, higher average road speeds and everyone in such a hurry and most drivers have a considerable lack of patience and there is too much distraction i.e. road furniture etc. to keep the drivers mind/attention on the road ahead and keep good peripheral vision.
Whilst you can aim to be as good a driver as possible the other driver(s) on the road are of an unknown quantity and that is the problem.
Modern cars are crash tested to determine weak spots in the design and incorporate a safety cell for driver and passengers - I cannot remember ever seeing a Minor of what ever style i.e. car, traveller being put through a crash test regime - so how does the Minor body shell reacts to an impact from various directions - does anyone know!

[neilmorey]

Reading all this makes me wonder how we survived as a children in the early 60s in the front or back of moggy saloons, moggy vans , mini vans with no seats let alone belts for years and 10s of thousands of miles. I know times have changed now and I feel it's sad that we have to strap children down into approved seats that are bolted into the vehicle structure by an approved method so we feel they will be safe. Yet I enjoyed sitting on a rug and sliding around the back of a moggy van !!!!!

I can't help agreeing as I have the same Traveller that my Dad bought when I was 2 and replaced when I was 9. For the first 2 years I was transported in the back of a mini van.

I guess we were lucky to never have anything more than a minor bump. But the world and the law has changed since then with more traffic travelling faster.

[MrIan]

Times have changed, more cars on the road, higher average road speeds and everyone in such a hurry and most drivers have a considerable lack of patience and there is too much distraction i.e. road furniture etc. to keep the drivers mind/attention on the road ahead and keep good peripheral vision.
Whilst you can aim to be as good a driver as possible the other driver(s) on the road are of an unknown quantity and that is the problem.
Modern cars are crash tested to determine weak spots in the design and incorporate a safety cell for driver and passengers - I cannot remember ever seeing a Minor of what ever style i.e. car, traveller being put through a crash test regime - so how does the Minor body shell reacts to an impact from various directions - does anyone know!

Obviously the floor crossmember would help side impact but only at floor level, looking at a moggy I doubt there's any protection/strength to resist a side impact, Front or rear hit i'd say are not too bad as the front has the straight chassis legs against the crossmember in the middle of the car. Also the body (if original panels and in good condition) will be a thicker steel (didn't they at one point in production have to reduce the thickness of the front body panels on the moggy as they were too strong/thick?).
I feel that modern car design has as a by product created this feeling of safety in cars what with crumple zones and flippin airbags everywhere (my rover 75 had about 8 in the front ie steering wheel seat base and side above door window) it all helps to make the driver feel indestructable and in the hands of todays numpty driver !!! well !!
Why not put the money into restricting the power of general new modern cars and slow everyone down. Everyday general cars don't need to have the power to wheelspin or ''do donughts'' or do 120mph.