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MG MGB Technical - Child seat in back of GT

I thought I might find this in the archives, lots of discussions, but no positive answer.

Has anyone fitted a child seat in the back of a GT? or does anyone have any pictures or information on how this is best achieved?

For what it's worth the seat is for my daughter who is three and a half.

Neil
Neil McGurk

I found this:

http://www.geocities.com/goodychrischild/MG_childseat.html

...but would still appreciate any more information that anyone has.

Neil
Neil McGurk

It has been done by a number of people, including the PO of my V8. Check its legality. *If* you can get a non-approved child seat it may still be legal to use it with non-approved mountings, I'm pretty sure it is no longer legal to use an *approved* seat with non-approved mountings. It may also be illegal now to use an unapproved seat for a child.
Paul Hunt

Neil,

Unless you can do it so as to meet all the legal requirements, just don't do it. If your daughter were to be injured in an accident, I don't think you would ever forgive yourself.

Having said that, I think of the chances we unknowingly took with our kids back in the '60s and '70s. So I'm NOT trying to invoke any guilt here. We got by with it back then because we didn't know any better. It's rather ironic because that's the intended purpose of the GT rear seat!

Indeed if you find a safe, legal method, then I could take my granddaughters for a ride. That is if it would also be legal on this side of the Pond. As a retired American with assets in the stock market, I am currently taking a more charitable view of government regulation!

FWIW,
Allen


Allen Bachelder

Try getting a MG 1100. They are REAL sedans with REAL backseats. The MG version was the "sport" version. They are very comfortable, roomy, and fun to drive. I see them advertised all the time on your side of the pond.
william fox

Or a Z Magnette!

Allen
Allen Bachelder

Neil,

I looked into this too. A PO had put seats in the car, but that was in the 1970s/80s when parental expectations were somewhat more relaxed!

The rules are irrelevant on the basis that a child only needs to sit on a proper car seat if the car has rear belts. The implication being that without rear belts then you can simply allow them to rattle around!!! Or push the passenger seat back and wedge them in I suppose. Daft...

http://www.childcarseats.org.uk/law/fromseptember06.htm#over3upto12

The link you gave shows a pretty basic seat with the diagonal strap unlikely to be anywhere near your child's shoulder. More like a lap and lap strap. My son, now five, has a Maxi-Cosi seat and it will not fit in the back height-wise even with the seat removed. If I remove the back and just use the booster, there would be no way of getting a shoulder strap in anywhere near his shoulder either.

He now sits in the front, but the length and angle of the shoulder strap means that he always falls forward a bit under braking. He has asked for a 'proper' five point harness like Dad!

I don't suppose you've suggested that Mummy would like to sit in the back instead???

Neil
:-)
Neil

Neil,

Actually that's the current solution, mum goes in the back if we are all three in the car! Problem is it's her car.

I'm going to play around with a solution similar to Chris in the above link, if I can get a satisfactory set up I will post some pictures.

Neil.
Neil McGurk

The Britax Duo Isofix is good for children up to about four, with a Securon 200 static belt fitted for securing the seat itself. I believe the fixing points for the rear belts are there on all but the earliest car. The seat is short enough to give enough leg-room with the front seat fully forward. Older children will have an issue with headroom and for those look for a Britax Elite (recently discontinued so ebay is your best bet). It fixes in the same way and again has an integral 5-point harness for the child. You may need to remove the "reclining block" but it fits well. You'll need to take out the rear seat cushion in both cases.
Steve Postins

This thread was discussed between 22/09/2008 and 26/09/2008

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