03-04-2024, 02:15 AM | #1 |
Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2021
Posts: 9
|
Safety cage?
Maybe I am too anxious, but it does not feel safe taking my small grandchildren for a ride in my 29 Tudor. Have anyone been thinking of installing some kind of safety cage in a model A for touring purpose? There must be others having the same feeling??
|
03-04-2024, 05:13 AM | #2 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 2,101
|
Re: Safety cage?
What, Huh?
|
Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) |
|
03-04-2024, 06:27 AM | #3 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: VA
Posts: 1,410
|
Re: Safety cage?
A real roll cage like race cars have would be a very extensive modification. I rely on the experience of 60 years of driving and 54 years of motorcycle riding to avoid accidents. Riding in a 2024 Mercedes S500 is not without risk.
|
03-04-2024, 07:33 AM | #4 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Western North Carolina
Posts: 3,897
|
Re: Safety cage?
As you get older you wise up. The best drivers are the safest ones.
Feurst, A lot depends on where you live and where you drive there. I like 4 lane rural roads with 55 mph speed limits. The people who want to pass can and not ride your bumper. The in town roads with 25 mph speed limits can also be safe but you have to watch out for idiots who run red lights or want to pass you just because you are driving an older car. Don't assume that just because you have a green light that you are safe to go. Move over when safe for impatient drivers. Leave plenty of space in front of you. Avoid accidents looking for a place to happen. Group tours are probably one of the safest things you can do. Stay in the middle of the pack and keep plenty of distance in front of you. The tours are usually at a slower speed even on the interstate. Impatient drivers are usually stuck at the rear of the pack. Watch out for people pulling out from side roads. Make sure your brakes are top notch. If you have to stop on the road, pull well off. Have working turn indicators and hazard lights.
__________________
A is for apple, green as the sky. Step on the gas, for tomorrow I die. Forget the brakes, they really don't work. The clutch always sticks, and starts with a jerk. My car grows red hair, and flies through the air. Driving's a blast, a blast from the past. Last edited by nkaminar; 03-04-2024 at 07:47 AM. |
03-04-2024, 08:48 AM | #5 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Arcadia, Ca.
Posts: 251
|
Re: Safety cage?
Great idea! A cage to surround you with a 10 or 11 gallon tank
of gas at your front lap.
__________________
1928 Roadster Pickup 1930 Tudor 1943 Ford WWII Jeep 1968 Taco Minibike Member, Santa Anita Model A's Arcadia Ca. Last edited by Dino's A; 03-04-2024 at 09:44 AM. |
03-04-2024, 09:12 AM | #6 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: santa rosa ca
Posts: 257
|
Re: Safety cage?
Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)
|
03-04-2024, 10:13 AM | #7 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2020
Location: SF Bay Area
Posts: 1,077
|
Re: Safety cage?
You don’t define “small”. In many states there are requirements for child restraints (child seats, for example) that almost always require lap belts to hold them to the passenger seat. In some states they apply up to age 8, at which point I’m not sure “small” would still apply. Granted Model As don’t have the side impact resistance of a modern car, but your efforts to make things safer for your grandkids might be better spent securing them in their seats with good lap belts and child restraints rather than creating a cage for them to rattle around in. Grandma, and my daughter, would not let me take the grandkids without them!
__________________
JayJay San Francisco Bay Area ------------------------ 1930 Murray Town Sedan 1931 Briggs S/W Town Sedan |
03-04-2024, 12:55 PM | #8 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Wa.
Posts: 5,409
|
Re: Safety cage?
...
Last edited by Pete; 03-05-2024 at 06:39 PM. |
03-04-2024, 05:51 PM | #9 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: VA
Posts: 1,410
|
Re: Safety cage?
|
03-04-2024, 06:15 PM | #10 |
Member
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Kansas City
Posts: 64
|
Re: Safety cage?
So are you afraid of a rollover or of a side impact? By the time you rule out the possible next worst scenario, and on and on, it will likely be silly looking and a source of a false sense of security.
Like trying to make a motorcycle safe, at some point I would put my efforts into another form of entertaining transportation or at least a different car. Then again, I would not take a small child on a motorcycle so the problem, as you describe it, would be solved. |
03-04-2024, 07:14 PM | #11 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2022
Location: Baldwinsville NY
Posts: 174
|
Re: Safety cage?
Before you install any type of roll bar/cage, check with your insurance company. They might not insure it because it'll be considered a racecar in their eyes.
|
03-04-2024, 08:16 PM | #12 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Connecticut Shoreline
Posts: 1,824
|
Re: Safety cage?
After 65 years owning Model A Fords I gave up in 2022 and sold the last one.
Safety had become one of the biggest reasons it was sitting in our garage. My family now drive Volvo’s. Do you think that is an over reaction? |
03-04-2024, 08:19 PM | #13 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Chicopee, MA
Posts: 1,402
|
Re: Safety cage?
This is the one I currently use. It fits 2, ages 0-7 years.
|
03-04-2024, 08:41 PM | #14 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Wa.
Posts: 5,409
|
Re: Safety cage?
|
03-04-2024, 09:08 PM | #15 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: 34.22 N 118.36 W
Posts: 1,057
|
Re: Safety cage?
Hmm,
Adding a cage to any street car is not recommended, a properly designed and built cage will become dangerous unless you wear a helmet. I have looked at a couple sedan type model A's that had reinforcement added inside the vertical corners tied properly to the frame to add rigidity. You cannot make a Model A safe per todays standards but you can choose where to drive it and control the speed. Drive it and enjoy it for what it is. Don't forget to take pictures of the Grand kids in the car, they grow up too fast. J
__________________
As Carroll Smith wrote; All Failures are Human in Origin. |
03-04-2024, 10:29 PM | #16 |
Member
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Kansas City
Posts: 64
|
Re: Safety cage?
|
03-04-2024, 10:39 PM | #17 |
Member
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Kansas City
Posts: 64
|
Re: Safety cage?
I think johnneilson pretty much summed it up. Very well said.
|
03-05-2024, 02:21 AM | #18 |
Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2021
Posts: 9
|
Re: Safety cage?
Thanks all for Your opinions!
|
03-05-2024, 07:10 AM | #19 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2019
Location: Stoneboro PA
Posts: 120
|
Re: Safety cage?
You wouldn't be so paranoid if other drivers weren't out to get you
|
03-05-2024, 06:39 PM | #20 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Wa.
Posts: 5,409
|
Re: Safety cage?
This whole thread has become a crock.
|
03-06-2024, 12:30 PM | #21 |
Member
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Kansas City
Posts: 64
|
Re: Safety cage?
Deleted my rant but cannot disagree... even though I'm not sure exactly why you say this.
|
03-13-2024, 10:17 PM | #22 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Millbrae, CA
Posts: 504
|
Re: Safety cage?
Don’t know if this helps, but I had a similar concern about 30 years back. What I built for my closed cab pickup will not meet any particular safety standards, but I felt it made significant strengthening to the B pillar area and gave me a mounting point for a shoulder harness. It is simply a thick wall 3/4” rectangular tubing going up near the B pillar and crossing over to the other side. The tubing is attached midway to the B pillar with a strap and bolt. In my case, it was painted black body color and does not stand out excessively.
|
Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) |
|
03-14-2024, 05:05 AM | #23 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: VA
Posts: 1,410
|
Re: Safety cage?
Quote:
|
|
03-14-2024, 12:34 PM | #24 |
Member
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Kansas City
Posts: 64
|
Re: Safety cage?
Did it work?
|
03-15-2024, 12:09 PM | #25 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2022
Location: Canton, Michigan
Posts: 118
|
Re: Safety cage?
hahaha
__________________
--------------------------------------- 1929 Model A Tudor "Stay away from negative people, they have a problem for every solution" Model A Ford Club of America Model A Restorers Club Motor City A's Club |
03-20-2024, 11:43 PM | #26 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Millbrae, CA
Posts: 504
|
Re: Safety cage?
Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)
i previously said it was made of 3/4" rectangular tubing, it actually looks more like 1" tubing, maybe 1-1/4" While this is not a sedan, and instead is a pickup, you can see that it blends in reasonably well. As it is my vehicle, not a customer's, I only have to satisfy myself that it provides a higher level of safety than a vehicle with nothing done. |
03-21-2024, 05:11 AM | #27 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: VA
Posts: 1,410
|
Re: Safety cage?
Very subtle and it blends in well.
|
03-21-2024, 08:14 AM | #28 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 2,101
|
Re: Safety cage?
Russ, very nice job!
|
03-21-2024, 08:55 AM | #29 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Long Island, NY
Posts: 3,470
|
Re: Safety cage?
Many states require youngsters be strapped into an approved safety seat situated in the back seat of a car. i think at least 2 or maybe 3 of these seats could be mounted in a Model "A" Tudor.
__________________
Bob Bidonde |
03-22-2024, 03:51 PM | #30 |
Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2021
Posts: 9
|
Re: Safety cage?
Good Work, Ross!
|
03-22-2024, 04:10 PM | #31 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 7,496
|
Re: Safety cage?
Quote:
Even though my installation is not approved (which is a requirement to be legal), I am 110% confident that I am waaaay better off than having nothing at all (which is legal). Go figure!
__________________
I'm part of the only ever generation with an analogue childhood and a digital adulthood. |
|
|
|
Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) |
|