Classic Beetle - Safety?

SMM

Hi,

I've been thinking lately of buying a new (not necessarily new but different) car....and toying with the idea of a classic beetle . However, it seems they're probably not the safest for everyday driving due to the lack of airbags, immobiliser, etc. Just wondering, does anyone know if airbags, immobiliser can be retrofitted into a classic car? Probably a bit of a silly question, but any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks

peasant

you could easily fit a hidden "kill switch" that kills all power to the engine and serves as an immobilizer.

As for airbags, I doubt that it would be technically possible, if so it would be ridiculously expensive and kind of pointless anyway

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEA8GnqhLlg

TomMc

Seat belts had to be retro fitted to old Beetles, so that in itself highlights how things have changed over the years. I think replacing the drum brakes with discs would be the first thing to do along with wider (5.5/6.0" wheels and tyres. Anti-roll bars, upgraded shocks and all that the only options in terms of improving on safety. Add a fire extinguisher on board and all that.

www.machine7.com

crosstownk

SMM wrote:

Classic Beetle - Safety

A paradox - relative to today's level of car safety (NCAP5, etc).

dlofnep

You don't buy a beetle to be safe.. You buy it to be cool. How many cool people do you know were ever safe at any period? Standard beetle wheels are notoriously thin, brakes are outdated also as previously mentioned..

mildews

Check out www.emiliosbeetles.com, he is based in dublin and an absolute Beetle nut. My very first car was a '73 Beetle and he did all the servicing on it and any body work that was needed. If you are going to buy a beetle, ask Emilio.

My biggest regret................................................Selling it..

maidhc

A classic car has to be treated with a certain amount of respect; this includes realising that if you hit anything modern you will come out pretty bad.

It is also fair to say you won't be travelling the m1 at 80mph in a classic beetle nor throwing it into sweeping bends.

Personally I don't think i would have a classic car as my daily driver.

kona

SMM wrote: »

Hi,

I've been thinking lately of buying a new (not necessarily new but different) car....and toying with the idea of a classic beetle . However, it seems they're probably not the safest for everyday driving due to the lack of airbags, immobiliser, etc. Just wondering, does anyone know if airbags, immobiliser can be retrofitted into a classic car? Probably a bit of a silly question, but any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks

whats the point in buying a classic and fitting it with the actual crap that ruined cars in the first place.
immobiliser is useful but the safty stuff just defeats the purpose, youd be better with a corsa or somthing.

but heres a suggestion, all minis after 1996 came with Multi point injection, airbag, and side impact bars;) and full leather if you find the right model.

ive a classic mini as a daily drive, they require a million times more maintenance than modern cars but i find that part of the fun.
also its a drivers car i can feel the road, all the controls are real, when i press the clutch its super heavy(race spec) no abs so ill skid, no traction control so i spin up real easy,no power steering is amazing(not when parrallel parking).
ive driven , civics, glanzas etc, NOTHING compares to the mini for sheer fun when driving.
and they hold the road as well as a 4x4 so you can hit bends at 60kmph no hassle, probably faster.

and plenty of tuning options available, mine will easily do over 110MPH(dunno kmph) only a 4spd box.
if your a real nut you can put a 2.2 V-tec into it.................

cantdecide

There was a more modern type called the 1303 (also a 1302) that had relatively modern strut suspension which might make it more practical. It had a slightly less attractive stubby nose, though. Mexican ones were made right up into the naughties but I doon't know if you can get them in RHd

blastman

kona wrote: »

and they hold the road as well as a 4x4 so you can hit bends at 60kmph no hassle, probably faster.

Eh? Since when were 4x4s reknowned for their cornering ability?

TomMc

^^^ I think he means 4wd/awd cars not suv's.

Run_to_da_hills

Back in the 90ies my mother exchanged her 67 Beetle for a Volvo 240 because of safety concerns. Beetles like Splittys and Bay windows have absolutly no protection in the front end collisions, they are tail happy when it comes to cornering on gravel, wet roads or ice. They can also cost a fortune to run on petrol. In this day and age these cars are best kept for classic runs.

old boy

i had a couple of them, they were not 2 bad on the juice, i have had worse

Run_to_da_hills

old boy wrote: »

i had a couple of them, they were not 2 bad on the juice, i have had worse

I had the 1200 in Dublin which was not too bad if I took it handy. The 1600s, Variants and transporters were quite thirsty.

kona

TomMc wrote: »

^^^ I think he means 4wd/awd cars not suv's.

yup twas a bit late, and i couldnt think of a different name.

i dont consider SUVs to be worthy to use public highways, they are a waste of space, time, materials, petrol, and 100 grand!

colm_mcm

Jebus! check this transporter crash test out

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ukq-UUQAcZs

promethius

Back in the 90ies my mother exchanged her 67 Beetle for a Volvo 240 because of safety concerns. Beetles like Splittys and Bay windows have absolutly no protection in the front end collisions, they are tail happy when it comes to cornering on gravel, wet roads or ice. They can also cost a fortune to run on petrol. In this day and age these cars are best kept for classic runs.

Couldn't find anything on crash tests for the bay window vw camper but after seeing how badly the later model fared i'd be genuinely petrified to drive one! Any of those old style vans without the engine mounted in front of the cabin seem like death traps.

peasant

colm_mcm wrote: »

Jebus! check this transporter crash test out

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ukq-UUQAcZs

For the umpteenth time ...that wasn't a test of the car but a test of the equipment. They loaded that van with sandbags and hammered it into the wall at a speed of 120 km/h. No car would look good after that.

Here's a real crashtest for a VW t3 van
http://tw.video.yahoo.com/video/play?ei=UTF-8&b=3&vid=1857733&gid=3334799

--amadeus--

I've run classics as my daily driver for the last 5 or 6 years and they are perfectly fine, practical and safe as long as you respect them and treat them properly.

A beetle won't have all of the safety gizmos of a modern car and retro fitting them isn't an option. However - as has been said - you won't be zipping along at 120kph in one so lower speeds make accidents less likely (or less damaging if they do happen). Your biggest concern will be morons who pull out in front of you thinking that 30 yr old cars can stop / slow down as fast as modern ones. The key is anticipation, pay attention and you'll be as safe in a classic as any other car.

Second point is that a classic car doesn't have to mean unsafe. My first classic was a 1967 mercedes W108 250S. It had all round disc brakes with a split hydraulic system (as fitted to modern cars), safety cell, seat belts front and rear, power steering, etc. Best of all it was well over a ton of solid steel. Now you can get a Nissan Micra with ABS, airbags, impact protection, etc but if the two of them collided I know which car I'd rather be in!

3ps

I had an old Merc W123 estate and a micra nearly ploughed into me on a back road. Their entire car was shorter than my bonnet......

Run_to_da_hills

3ps wrote: »

I had an old Merc W123 estate and a micra nearly ploughed into me on a back road. Their entire car was shorter than my bonnet......

Modern cars have crumple zones to absorb impact, thats why they collapse even in relativly minor impacts, many older cars dont instead you take the full brunt of the crash with broken bones!

--amadeus--

I wouldn't agree 100% with that...

You are right that crumple zones are designed to absorb energy. The principle is partially that the crumple zones absorb the energy and increase the duration of the deceleration phase of the impact. Basically if two solid objects impact then they will come to a halt immediately, if one has a soft surface that absorbs the impact then it will take longer to stop, decreasing the decelerative force.

What is being ignored here though is mass and conservation of momentum. If a ton and a half of 30 yr old Mercedes hits a Micra weighing less than half that then the older car will pretty much go through the smaller one and - crumple zones or not - the occupants of the Micra will be at a greater risk of injury. Where the Micra is significantly safer is if the impact is onto an immovable object - you're safer crashing a Micra than a big old Merc into a wall because in that case mass and momentum work against you (the older cars greater mass and momentum create more energy making the impact more damaging)

3ps

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqMEGA76HsE

TomMc

Amadeus, you didn't see 5th gear a while back.

Found it here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3ygYUYia9I

ianobrien

If you get a classic car, as others said you wont be driving at 120kph. So, what you do is relax, take it easy and watch of other idiots on the road. Leave a bit extra space to the car in front. Get the brakes up to tip top condition (they'll surprise you as to how good they can be) and fit a remote servo if there's none in the car.

Anyway, with a four speed box, driving at 120kph can be sore on the ears and pocket!

For an immobiliser, just take a wire from the positive side of the coil and send it to earth. Then, the car will not start, no matter how much cursing they do. To start the car, just break the wire! How I did it was with a OE connector under the steering column, along with all the others. The wire was fed through the loom, and OE wire was used. To immobilise the car, just join the wires under the steering column. To start it, break the connection. Simple:)

--amadeus--

TomMc wrote: »

Amadeus, you didn't see 5th gear a while back.

Found it here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3ygYUYia9I

(SPOILER - watch video first!)

That was really interesting. The NCAP has done a huge amount to publicise and standardise safety and it's great to see it working because those old Volvos had a great safety reputation. That said as soon as he said a 5* rating I figured the smaller car would do well.

What is a little more worrying is just how few superminis have a 5* rating. Put a Matiz or a Saxo against that Volvo and I would imagine you'd have a different result. A long way off topic now but it's shocking that cars that there are still current models (Kalos, Matiz, Panda, Picanto, Smart City Coupe) that only have 3* ratings.

At the end of the day though all of this stuff only comes into play if you crash, it's better to avoid the impact in the first place and that's all about the driver, not the car!