LymanSS

Hi All,

I've finally gotten my 2002 on the road after about seven years in storage. Now that I'm driving it, my 2 1/2 year old son desperately wants to ride everywhere in it. I did try strapping in a car seat using the seatbelt, which was enough to get him hooked. But I have to say - I don't like the way it mounts and I can't really get it all that tight. The LATCH mounts didn't show up on Corvettes until 2003, so to get a really good installation I'm going to need to make some changes.

Before I go further, I've been searching on this topic, so I know a bunch of people are going to jump in and say that it's not a great idea to put a child seat in the front seat of any car. However, after reading a bit, here are my conclusions on that topic:

1. Rear facing child seats are not appropriate in the front seat because they place the child too close to the dashboard and windshield, virtually ensuring that they will strike those surfaces in a hard impact. Furthermore, the airbag, if active, will attempt to turn the child into pulp. Bad idea. However! A front facing seat does not position the child any closer to those hard surfaces than a normal occupant would be, and if properly mounted, should prevent impact.

2. Airbags are designed for adults and children are just too squishy to endure their force. Soooo... there's a switch to turn that off.

Based on the above, it makes sense to me that a properly mounted child seat and a disabled airbag in a corvette should be about as safe as a child seat in any other car.

That leads me to the mounting problem. So far I've seen a few options:

1. Use the seatbelt: this stinks. I get it to ratchet down in place, but it's still waaay too loose. I put all my weight on it (it's a lot of weight) and I still can't compress it enough to get a snug fit.

2. Retrofit a 2003 or 2004 seat frame with LATCH anchors. This is one of the best options, but it's expensive and time consuming

3. Use some other mount. Currently I'm thinking about the Brey Krause lap bar mounts. They aren't quite positioned the way LATCH mounts are, but since the are in the same spot as the seatbelt mounts (which are supposed to be adequate for child seats) it seems like they should work. So far this is the most appealing option to me from a cost, labor and effectiveness standpoint. I also looked at the Hardbar/Vetteworks lap belt mount, but it looks like that mounts to the floor, and has eye bolts sticking out at odd angles. I have no reason to believe that's at all effective.

I'm leaning toward the idea of using the harness mounts. And if I decide to get five points later on, I'll already be part way there.

Has anyone tried this or seen another solution? Suggestions or criticism are welcome.

Thanks!

Scott

Rexde1

Can you put the seat all the way back then tighten the belt and move foreward till its tight?

Mr.Bill

You can latch the belt by pulling it all the way out and it will then latch as it goes in. My 2002 works this way.

LymanSS

Thanks for the responses. I have been pulling the belt all the way out to get it into the ratcheting mode. Then I compress the child seat down and feed the belt into the retractor. This gets it to stay in place, but it's definitely not tight. I play around with the seat position a bit to get more, but in the end, it's still loose enough that I can pull the seat forward a good inch before it stops me. So far, I can't get it nearly as tight as it is using the LATCH mounts in my Accord.

I'm also concerned about the top tether. Running that over the top of the seat doesn't seem great because it can slip off to one side, at which point it goes slack and does no good at all. Anyone have suggestions on that part?

Scott

Loc

Once you get it tight stick your knee in the seat and use your body weight to press the seat down and pull it tighter. Also remember to put the seat all the way back because the airbag will only deploy about 18 inches from the dash. With the seat all the way back it will keep the ill man far away from the bag. Don't worry about the top strap from the Latch system the seatbelt will hold him tight.

stryderss

here you go boss i have these in the vette and my 97 jeep it works great and the seat doesn't budge.
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index...uctId=12382301

stryderss

I can even install the seat sometime and show how it fits. just use a towel or something to protect the seat skin

3sACROWD

This looks like a very good solution.

It sounds like you're doing all the right things with the installation process and turning off the air bag. Unfortunately it doesn't seem like the seat belt is cooperating.

The other option would be to fabricate your own LATCH anchors and attach directly to the seat frame. I never really looked at how they are designed. Do you have access to a Vette with LATCH anchors? If not, I can pull my seat and try to get you pictures.

chill99

I've been toting my daughter around since she was in an infant. She's now 4. With all seats, rear facing and forward, I've never had an issue getting the seat fitted tight. I lower the seat as far as possible and back as far as possible. Then install the seat using the seat belt. I pull the belt all the way out and let it ratchet back and get as tight as possible. Then I just raise the seat straight up, not forward. It gets quite tight. Not as tight as the latch system, but it doesn't move much.

My biggest problem is that my daughter like the G-force of taking off fast, so I constantly hear "go fast Daddy". And of course, what's a Dad to do but please his daughter! LOL!

LymanSS

Thanks everyone for the helpful feedback. That ratcheting mechanism looks like it might be the perfect solution. I'm definitely going to try that.

As for the power seat method... I'd love to have a power passenger seat, but the Z06 didn't offer it. So I can only slide back and forth and adjust the seat back angle. If I do swap seats, I may try to convert to a power seat frame.

As for fabricating my own LATCH mounts, I've given that a little bit of thought. The stock LATCH mounts on 2004 appear to be a metal bar with two loops on it, riveted onto the back of the seat frame. If I could get that part, I'd just drill and bolt it on. If not, I think I could fabricate one and probably weld or bolt it in place. But all of that requires tearing the seat down. That's what led me to the idea of using race harness mounts, since they're basically designed for this.

I think I'm going to try to get that ratchet thing and then see how it fits. If that doesn't feel right, I'll re-evaluate.

I'm still not sure what to do about the top tether. It keeps slipping off the top of the seat and going slack. I think I need a strap that splits into two parts and goes around the seat. Any thoughts?

Scott

Toque

I have had my seat in my car since he was 6 months old.
He is almost 9 yrs old now.

Just turn off the air bags, and "ratchet" the seat belt.
There is also a hook in the trunk behind the passenger seat that I used to hook onto the top of his seat.
It has it in my 04Z06 anyways.







He sits on this booster seat that I got at Walmart right now and I "ratchet" him in with the seat belt real tight.....




Toque

Anti_Venom99

My wife slapped me for even asking about putting the car seat in the vette. She thinks its way to unsafe

flaagan

You can most definitely do it. Before I put my Corbeaus in I let my buddy strap his young daughter in her child seat into the '01 so he could take her for a ride in "uncle James' fast car."

About the only thing I made certain of, and you should too, is to disable the passenger airbag before setting off.