Cars before airbags

[Q]

Let's say you buy a car from the 70's, and it has no airbag. Can you pay to get one installed, or will you have to buy a whole new steering wheel, or what?

I've always just wondered this out of curiosity.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I'm sure you could...the question is, why would you want to?

You would need a new steering wheel and possibly a new steering column and rack along with all the sensors that trigger the airbag. Probably cost you a pretty penny once all was said and done. I doubt you'd find too many places that would be willing to retro-fit an airbag to a 30 year old car either.

 

[CalvinHobbes]

Just wear a bubble wrap suit when you drive the car.

 

[MedicBob]

For a price anything is possible. Not plausible though.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
I'm sure you could...the question is, why would you want to?

You would need a new steering wheel and possibly a new steering column and rack along with all the sensors that trigger the airbag. Probably cost you a pretty penny once all was said and done. I doubt you'd find too many places that would be willing to retro-fit an airbag to a 30 year old car either.

 

[Jugernot]

Originally posted by: Quintox
Let's say you buy a car from the 70's, and it has no airbag. Can you pay to get one installed, or will you have to buy a whole new steering wheel, or what?

I've always just wondered this out of curiosity.

If you really want to blow your mind, take a look at car before... say 1960s... no seat belts! 🙂

 

[Q]

Originally posted by: Jugernot

Originally posted by: Quintox
Let's say you buy a car from the 70's, and it has no airbag. Can you pay to get one installed, or will you have to buy a whole new steering wheel, or what?

I've always just wondered this out of curiosity.

If you really want to blow your mind, take a look at car before... say 1960s... no seat belts! 🙂

THEY HAD CARS BACK THEN?!!

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: Jugernot

Originally posted by: Quintox
Let's say you buy a car from the 70's, and it has no airbag. Can you pay to get one installed, or will you have to buy a whole new steering wheel, or what?

I've always just wondered this out of curiosity.

If you really want to blow your mind, take a look at car before... say 1960s... no seat belts! 🙂

Yeah, they were wonderful cars. A driver could crash one, be killed in it, because they were so stout that all the energy of the impact was imparted to the driver, and the car could easily be fixed and resold. None of the uni-body, impact absorbing, crumple zones like cars today have.

 

[LS8]

Ahh back when cars were made of heavy gauge steel!

A friend of mine has a late 70s Mercedes SL. It has a 5.0L V8 but he jokes about it a lot because it's a slug - there is no plastic on that damn car, everything is steel or wood!

 

[LTC8K6]

Everyone died on every trip back then...

 

[CurseTheSky]

I doubt it would really help you much.

Protect you from the steering wheel / column? Maybe. You also have to consider that it probably doesn't have a collapsible steering column, any crumple zones, etc. An air bag would probably be a godsend in a 30-40 MPH crash, but you're still pretty much screwed beyond that.

When my Mustang is finally ready to go (2-3 months hopefully) my focus will be on brakes, steering, and suspension. I'm not going to drive it around pretending it's an invincible tank - if I wanted to do that, I'd drive a tank. Instead, I'm going to focus on avoiding accidents.

 

[thedarkwolf]

Originally posted by: LS8
Ahh back when cars were made of heavy gauge steel!

A friend of mine has a late 70s Mercedes SL. It has a 5.0L V8 but he jokes about it a lot because it's a slug - there is no plastic on that damn car, everything is steel or wood!

and probably still weighs less then a new camry.

 

[Colt45]

real men don't need airbags.

 

[Rick James]

ahh the 70's no abs or airbags. The good old days

 

[zerocool84]

I remember doing my first panic stop when I still drove my old stock bug. Damn it was scary. Brakes locking up and everything. I made sure I practiced panic stopping after that.

 

[DivideBYZero]

Obligatory, 'If you car has ABS and Airbags you haven't even got a pair of testicles' comment.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero
Obligatory, 'If you car has ABS and Airbags you haven't even got a pair of testicles' comment.

Real men avoid crashes, they don't try and make them less painful! This is why I disconnected my ABS, removed the beams from my doors, and have the airbag sensor taken off and airbags removed. All stupid, extra weight!

 

[DivideBYZero]

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero
Obligatory, 'If you car has ABS and Airbags you haven't even got a pair of testicles' comment.

Real men avoid crashes, they don't try and make them less painful! This is why I disconnected my ABS, removed the beams from my doors, and have the airbag sensor taken off and airbags removed. All stupid, extra weight!

Tru dat.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero
Obligatory, 'If you car has ABS and Airbags you haven't even got a pair of testicles' comment.

Real men avoid crashes, they don't try and make them less painful! This is why I disconnected my ABS, removed the beams from my doors, and have the airbag sensor taken off and airbags removed. All stupid, extra weight!

Real men ride motorcycles and wear jackets made out of barbed wire. 😛

 

[Q]

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero
Obligatory, 'If you car has ABS and Airbags you haven't even got a pair of testicles' comment.

Real men avoid crashes, they don't try and make them less painful! This is why I disconnected my ABS, removed the beams from my doors, and have the airbag sensor taken off and airbags removed. All stupid, extra weight!

:laugh:

 

[JDub02]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero
Obligatory, 'If you car has ABS and Airbags you haven't even got a pair of testicles' comment.

Real men avoid crashes, they don't try and make them less painful! This is why I disconnected my ABS, removed the beams from my doors, and have the airbag sensor taken off and airbags removed. All stupid, extra weight!

Real men ride motorcycles and wear jackets made out of barbed wire. 😛

what if I just have barbed wire on my motorcycle jacket?

 

[DivideBYZero]

Double airbags FTW. 😉

 

[mooseracing]

Originally posted by: Jugernot

Originally posted by: Quintox
Let's say you buy a car from the 70's, and it has no airbag. Can you pay to get one installed, or will you have to buy a whole new steering wheel, or what?

I've always just wondered this out of curiosity.

If you really want to blow your mind, take a look at car before... say 1960s... no seat belts! 🙂

Most had no seatbelts until 64 when they became a requirment the next year or so.

Don't forget the normal statement of seatbelts save lives but cause 90% of injuries.

 

[AMCRambler]

My 1966 Rambler has no airbags. It does have seat belts but they're only lap belts. No shoulder harnesses though! That thing is built like a tank though. Solid steel chrome bumpers on both ends, rear wheel drive with a torque tube enclosed drive shaft and a 3 speed automatic.

 

[Itchrelief]

Originally posted by: JDub02

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero
Obligatory, 'If you car has ABS and Airbags you haven't even got a pair of testicles' comment.

Real men avoid crashes, they don't try and make them less painful! This is why I disconnected my ABS, removed the beams from my doors, and have the airbag sensor taken off and airbags removed. All stupid, extra weight!

Real men ride motorcycles and wear jackets made out of barbed wire. 😛

what if I just have barbed wire on my motorcycle jacket?

Only if it's razor wire. Don't wuss out and put it on the outside, either.