Babies: Ghia Killers?

[John Moxon]

Life is a lottery...live it while you can.

Did you climb trees when you were a kid...have a soap-box buggy, ride a bicycle without a crash hat, play with fireworks, swim out of you depth, do all sorts of crazy thing you parents would have had a fit had they known? Yeah me too.

Eliminate risk from your kid's lives and you eliminate all the fun...experiences that colour their lives and provide them with memories which will make them realise your childhood really is the best time of your lives.

Strap them in and drive.
_________________
John.
Judson Supercharger Information on The Samba
My 1958 Shorrock Supercharged Karmann Ghia
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!

[Ojai63dbl]

John

Well Said. live life dont sit in a bubble.

I think many of us forget that defensive driving goes a long way - sometimes this means not competing with 80mph highway traffic and taking the slow lane.

Yes you can keep up, but do you want to.

--
My view (for what it is worth) -- well maintained -- no worries, not maintained - maybe you should worry.

Drove to Santa Barbara, CA from Ojai for years on a great twisty road (150) - cruised 101,405, etc , done LAX == all in a ghia or a double cab -- its about being sure to stay out of the way - think about the cars limitations, and having an exit strategy.

[Ojai63dbl]

and the follow up

Babies = ghia killers

not at all - think of the kid as an excuse to restore it for a year or two, gotta do something afterthey wake you up at 3 am -- or as I used it a place to take a nap under so my wife wouldnt see me. (Double cab is a perfect height (ghia not so much)

[ibilisi]

[retrowagen]

I'd suggest far more adults die in Karmann-Ghia-involved accidents than do children. And that number is exceedingly small. The odds are likely greater that your child will be hurt whilst riding in a "modern."

I'm with John - go enjoy life, with your family, in the groovy contraptions that tend to be considered members of the family too!
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David Ruby
President, Karmann-Ghia World Club

[Bobster-CYW]

My eldest who is nearly 3 wont go in the ghia any more as its too noisy, preferring the wifes golf. She has been in it when she was a baby but that was it.

I now have another daughter too which makes going to shows in the ghia a no go with the family as there just isnt the room for tents, pushchairs, food etc so we have to take two cars.

Im definately keeping the ghia (else how would I explain to my daughter where her middle name of Karmann came from!) but am also on the lookout for an early bay too !

[KIDSPEED]

Well it's good to see there are more who seem to feel more like John & myself regarding this, than not. Enjoy life, enjoy that Ghia. There are too many other things in life that have no upsides to them to be worrying about a simple pleasure like a ride in a classic car.

[KarmannMarco]

I bought my 69 Coupe when my son was only 2 ( almost 2 years ago )
We have a 2001 New Beetle and a 1995 Isuzu Rodeo for Daily driving so there was no real excuse not to get my Ghia. It has not effected our way of life one bit and we are a paycheck to paycheck family like most people.

[squonk]

[hkoch]

My kids(2 & 6) enjoy my vdubs almost as much as I do. When my son was born I was going to drive him home from the hospital in my 70 ghia, but my mother in law insisted I did not. In retrospect I dont think the hospital staff would have let me anyway. Now my daughter has just figured out that I named her after my favorite car. I think shes okay with it. Im sure most people think I need my "worlds best dad" shirt burned as I am compromising my childrens safety by letting them ride in a antique car. Im with alot you guys, Im not going to saftey bubble my kids either.

[Altema]

[Altema]

PS: Every one of our children, except for the two month old, has been past 100mph...

[61 BUS]

[Altema]

[copellos]

ahhh how cute is that..

[bjeles]

To bring back an old topic.

Not the safety side, but more so how it was done.

I am looking for a safe way to put my kids car seat in my 71 convertible Ghia. I made hard mounts in the rear for the latch system, installed his seat but did not feel comfortable with it, the rear seat does not seem to have enough back support, and then when I put it in the top hit is and couldn't operate it anymore.

Also when it was installed in the middle rear, it looked like his feet/legs would have to go between the drivers and passenger seats because of the size of the child seat.

Background, my son is too young for me to consider putting him in the front seat in his car seat right now, although that was a much easier mount setup and very secure but is a few years down the road this is just a personal choice.

I removed the rear seat of my double cab and made a custom setup for him in that for the time being, he rides in my bugs without issues but loves to kick my seat, I have not altered my bus for him yet.

I have other cars but the ghia is the newest in my collection and I'd like to drive it more and be able to pick him up from daycare on the way home etc without being limited to make sure I get home to switch cars and still pick him up on time which is difficult with traffic and getting out of work on time.
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My cars
1961 rag
1962 convertible
1965 double cab
1965 SO-42 http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=470425&highlight=survivor+westy
1974 thing

[thruhiker74]

I have two kids, one is 2.5 years old and the other is almost 9 months. I just bought my first Ghia a couple months ago and have had a blast with it, as has my son. Got seat belts installed and set up his car seat in the back (passenger seat needs to be folded forward for him to sit comfortably, but whatever). I plan to have many a good father/son moment with him and this car. And plenty good father/daughter moments when my little girl gets older too. The problem will come one day though when one of them asks for the keys!
In the meantime, I've now got an assistant in the garage!

[rickpereira]

My kids love the Ghia, in fact my profile pic is a photo of my wife pregnant with our first who is now 3 and the car was under way. It was finished by the time the second little one was born. The Ghia is as much part of the family history now for either my wife or I to let it go. If you look at my build page you will see how we enjoy the car as a family while we all still fit. Once we no longer fit I am looking for an early beetle to rescue

[Samer1275]

My son is seven months old. My Ghia was never a transportation car anyway. Financially, we are fine with keeping it, so there was never a thought of selling my Ghia.

I will say though that my son has proven to be a Cayman killer for me. Maybe I'm too responsible now but we recently sold our condo that we were renting out. I planned to use the money from closing to buy a first generation Porsche Cayman. The change in perspective made me change my mind. I put the money into paying off part of our home mortgage instead. I will be saving a bunch for his college fund as well. One of the reasons we are only having one kid is financial. Recent study showed it costs $250K in the US to raise a kid to 18 years. College adds $160K+ depending on school. So maybe I can convince my wife in 20 years that I can afford a 300 SL since we only have one kid.
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1969 Karmann Ghia Coupe

[bjeles]

Thanks for the input. I looked up your seats rickpereira that's looks perfect. I did something similar for solid mounts on the bottom with latch hooks but don't have the upper anchor point. Anybody put a baby's eat in the rear of a vert and have pictures if the setup?
_________________
My cars
1961 rag
1962 convertible
1965 double cab
1965 SO-42 http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=470425&highlight=survivor+westy
1974 thing