hawk911

so my daughter has outgrown the her old car seat and I'm searching for a suitable alternative, either a booster or bigger car seat. No seat pads as it's the 92 cab which originally had the luggage dump. I have a belt, but need to order new ones for my son to fit on the other side now. He'll fit in her old seat so I'm not worried about that.

She's 45lbs, and about 44" tall. She has to be law be in either a car seat or a booster. The problem I'm finding is the boosters are too wide to fit in the space.

Laker

Hawk, can you please post pics of the current set up, as I am in the same boat, just a few years behind you. Thx

Laker

I was thinking the point of the booster is to position the child correctly for the shoulder belt. The booster itself provides no added protection. Have you considered a custom 5 point racing harness that can be positioned properly w/o a booster?

hawk911

well, with the cab configuration, I didn't think it was possible.

Also, does anyone have acceptable replacement belts for the Porsche rears? Could be either retractable, or cinch type

Bates

I have installed cinch lap belts and installed the 3rd (top) anchor in my C4 coupe. Set-up has worked very well for carseats (required a mighty-tite belt tensioner so I could sleep at night). At one point I purchased a 5-point harnesses, but the were way to big for my kids, even when in their smallest configuration. The problem I always found with the OEM setup was with the female stalk... too tall for little one's. Here is my current configuration:
-OEM lap/shoulder belt
-OEM female stalk, but with the plastic housing removed
Further, I rotated the female (now) floppy belt 180 degrees. My seven year-old fit's perfectly in this set up and everything is as tight as a drum.
-5 yo and 2yo must still ride in lap-belted/mighty-tite'd car seat.

Rob

The Stig

I got a cheap high back one at Walmart. Can't recall the name. The fit is ok.

But my daughter is tall and I'm worried about head clearance with the rear window. I'm going to pull the airbags and let her ride upfront in her booster.

hawk911

I have the Wal-mart version too-- Cosco 22209-wal highback

mroddis

I read an article in EVO a few months ago about specially made kids seats. I'm sure it's not cheap but might be worth it in the long haul given how long they need to use them? I know they made a bench, but not sure if they do custom stuff....
http://www.multimac.co.uk/home

hawk911

I'll guess it's even more expensive coming back to the Us from across the pond.

911Jetta

(text below doesn't address cab. owner needs)

I was worried about the same thing with my 7+ year old son. I love how safe they are in the back seats (They are sitting in an incredibility strong part of the car!), but his head was almost touching the rear glass. With the seat all the way back, I moved him up front for a bit but I didn't like it.

After looking at the booster frame I decided I could use a multi- tool to cut the back of seat base to lower the seat down a couple inches. Since my son is almost 8, he only needs a booster bottom...therefore time to experiment a little and see what I could cut?

You can see from the pictures that I was able to cut-out over 4 inches from the seat, and shape the seat so it perfectly sits flush on the bottom and seat back. I was careful to cut into the parts of the frame that raised the seat, and I also took out a portion of the side support per my son's request. The whole seat (upper and bottom) is still intact - with integrated seat belt-holder, however it's much more flexible given the amount of material that was cut out. I decided to keep the seat top intact as it's still connected to the upper tether mount.

So in a nut shell: My son out-grew a seat that was an excellent fit for him (and the car) since he was 3. Now that he needs just a booster, I took the seat and whittled-out 4 inches of the support. Now he has an excellent fitting booster that is still connected to the upper tether mount. (and I got a new tool in the process!)

Do whatever it takes to get them in the car!

Laker

Thanks for the detailed pictures Udo (Jetta) I guess Hawk is afraid of the camera Like you said, the cab is a different animal all together. My wrench has some ideas, so I will be sure to update everyone with what we come up with.

hawk911

Udo,, you could use that black edge material to keep a nice smooth edge for the cuts, rather than all the painter's tape

Laker... I'm not afraid o nuthin! Just didn't have time.

Bates

911Jetta-
Great pics (patient kids!). I have the exact same seat and the same dilemma - 3 kids. Thanks for the write-up.

911Jetta

Thank me? It all started with your great thread! I thank you.

I still remember pulling the back panel off and finding the tabs, just like you photographed...even remember going to the Ford Stealership and ordering the parts. The dealership owner came out an offered to buy my car!

Child's carseat top/center anchor install: my first how-to


I just noticed from your thread title...it was your first DIY! I've passed your DIY around to a couple people over the years...I'm sure it's helped more than a few guys "justify" the 964 as a family hauler! DIYs like that make this place so awesome. Thanks again.