Baby Seat in an 88 Series IIa

[scott]

I was thinking there might be a market for a child carseat adapter kit that would connect directly to the rear tire swing away.

If it was set up to where their little feet reach the ground ya would have to get out and unstrp when it came time for a push

[LH Drive]

To answer your question, Yes a child seat (toddler) does fit in the front center seat area but you have to remove the seat back and bottom in order to be able to shift. The car seat I had came with an anchor strap that I secured to the back bulkhead where the spare tire mounts behind the seat.
Once my son's legs got too long he kept kicking the overdrive into neutral and I would loose power to the axle. You would think by this time I would just quit driving with him but NO, I just removed the overdrive shifter since I would only drive him around the block and not on the highway. (under 25 mph)
Would I get nasty looks from some people, yes but they probably also don't like dogs to ride without being in a proper size pet carrier.
My Series is classified as a "TRUCK" and in my state you are able to mount child seats inside trucks (reg. cabs) since you can no longer have passengers in the bed area like the good old days,,,,, including pets.

[LaneRover]

Would I get nasty looks from some people, yes but they probably also don't like dogs to ride without being in a proper size pet carrier.
My Series is classified as a "TRUCK" and in my state you are able to mount child seats inside trucks (reg. cabs) since you can no longer have passengers in the bed area like the good old days,,,,, including pets.

In Maine you can legally have a kid/car seat in the front seat IF there is no backseat available - and this is probably the case in most places.

[RoverForm]

i was 17, driving my father's suburban when some guy ran a stop sign while i had the right of way through an intersection, and i t-boned him. his fault, but i felt guilty as hell cuz my suburban destroyed his 4-door buick and severely injured his passenger. it was traumatic for me and i can't imagine how it was for them. his error definitively changed my driving behavior and car purchasing decisions to this day. haven't been in an accident since and that was nearly 20 years ago.

i went to look at a SIIa 88 in vancouver last month. the owner had a two seater up front with a two month old in the right hand passenger; i was surprised at first, but then upon closer inspection I saw that he did have newer defender or disco 3-point shoulder harnesses installed and everything appeared in safe working order.

the wife/mother was in the rear jump seat.

this is a concern for me cuz i have both 4 and 7 year old nephews, considering quick jaunts to the beach and skatepark during off peak traffic times, but will most likely not be hitting the freeways with them in the vehicle at all.

then there's the concern of the fuel tank directly under the right front seat, my SIIa is a RHD so this actually takes some of the risk off the youngins. i've always disliked the decision to put the tank under the seats. should be mounted in the rear like the 109s.

conversely, i do drive a '07 volvo v50 as my daily driver, which is obviously the better choice for children... but clearly it isn't nearly as much fun.

[BrooklynLR]

Original poster here. I just wanted to offer belated thanks to all who weighed in on the baby seat in the 88" question. Suffice it to say that I'm not going to endanger my infant for the sake of my hobby, which is why I'm asking questions now. And I do have our old trusty Toyota as a daily driver/baby transport. Your answers/philosophies/rants have yielded lots of food for thought, though, and I appreciate it.

[RoverForm]

not to add anymore fuel to the fire, but what do you think is the appropriate age for younger passengers?