Air bag bypass switch?

[TOMLESCOEQUIP]

Jeff........one thing puzzles me.........You have "396" in your user name(popular chevy musclecar engine) a spinning T-Bird as your signature, and you drive a chrysler???? Whats up with that???????????.................Tom

 

[Jeff396]

I'm an equal opportunity automobile purchaser. In my opinion, Chrysler is the only maker offering a full size sedan with some sporty style without jumping up to a Cadillac or a Lincoln. Ford has the Crown Vic and Grand Marquis....which is what my 80 year old dad drives and I don't think GM offers anything after getting rid of the Caprice(not that it was sporty either).

Now I know showing these will get groans from the peanut gallery, but I just got rid of a '65 Corvette Roadster with a 396 in the fall when my wife got laid off. I didn't need to but I really didn't enjoy the car as much as my Bird so it got me on the stick to sell it finally.....no regrets!! Here's a picture of the Vette when it appeared in Vette magazine......it was a beauty!!!
Jeff

 

[Jeff396]

And here's a picture of my '64 Bird which isn't is as nice a condition. However, I enjoy the car ten times more than I ever did the Vette.

Jeff

 

[Jeff396]

My wife drives the Chrysler....I drive a Ford.

Jeff

 

[Bird]

Well, Jeff, I guess I'm losing my mind, getting too old, and/or talking out of turn. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif I checked the Windstar this morning and it does NOT have a switch to disable the air bag. The F150 does and I read through the manual on the Windstar when I bought it for my wife and could have sworn it had the switch, too, but I was wrong.

 

[Jeff396]

I guess that makes more sense. The only vehicles that get the switch don't have the ability to put a car seat in the rear. Even the four door Avalanche I mentioned above can be configured to not have a rear seat when in pickup mode. The confusing thing is that many would be happier if we would start buying smaller vehicles but having a passenger side air bag that can't be disabled makes that a problem for most Soccer moms (or soccor dads like me). I'm surprised the fuel efficiency groups haven't realized this yet. Then again, they always say the safest place for a child is in the rear....so we opt to buy larger vehicles.

Jeff

 

[Jeff396]

I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner. It just occurred to me to do a search on air bag switch on the net. This is the site I came up with. It has a by state list of places that will install a bypass switch.

Air bag switch

Jeff

 

[TOMLESCOEQUIP]

Jeff........My son's college fund (1965)..........He's 7yrs old.

 

[Jeff396]

Very nice, love the color!!! Don't know how I ended up with black but it looked real good next to the saddle interior. College fund was my initial plan but life changes. As it is, I'm not too sure it would have been worth dramatically more than I paid for it. It was, however, a good temporary savings account. What is it they say "You can't drive a T-bill". /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Jeff

 

[TOMLESCOEQUIP]

Daughter's college fund(1969) she's 6 yrs old..........65 has white int. ..pretty but not real kid friendly. No air bag switch in either one........lucky to have seat belts !!

 

[JDGREEN4ME]

Nice car, I always loved that body style and a rag top too... /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[rlw]

My opinion - which may not be very popular, but:
If the kid is not in a booster seat, put the front seat all the way back and buckle them in. I sure as heck wouldn't be going out and spending $20-30K on a new vehicle just to cart the neighbors' kids around. If the neighbors don't like it, let them drive their own kid. This is a good example of how the media scares the public into taking extreme measures to avoid remote possibilities. Do you also make your kids wear gloves, elbow/knee pads and helmet when they go out to ride their bicycle?

 

[TOMLESCOEQUIP]

I remember long trips from OH to Minnesota to visit grandma in the sixties. I was the youngest of four kids and had to ride in the back seat with my two older brothers........Eight years older than me..........i got pushed off the seat and rode halfway to Minn. on the floor with my older brothers feet on me!!.........That was a child safety restraint in the 60's.......And somehow I lived to tell about it !!! ..........TOM

 

[Jeff396]

I did the same thing when I was a kid.....but you'll never convince me that we're not better off with the seat belt laws or motorcycle helmet laws in states that have them. Now the air bags I could do without which is why I'm planning on keeping my truck that doesn't have any for as long as I can make 'er last.

I ended up finding this site and am still waiting on an estimate to install their air bag cut off switch. I have already printed out my government permission slip and faxed it in. They say it should take about two weeks to turn around.

Air Bag Switches

RLW,

I'm not going out and spending $20 - 30K on a new car just so I can cart my neighbors kids around. I would be spending $20 - 30K on a new car so I can cart my kids friends around. There's a difference. And I do make my kids wear a helmet when riding a bike. Not the gloves and knee pads 'cause that's just cuts, bruises and road rash. But the bicycle helmet is actaully a good govt. regulation....IMHO.

Jeff

 

[Jeff396]

Here's a quick follow up for any who are interested. I did end up getting an air bag bypasss switch from a company called Simple Solutions. The switch and optional remote light cost me $180 including shipping. When I ordered it I found out that it was possible to install it myself so that's what I did. Simple Solutions includes instructions for your specific make of car. The hardest part of the 2 hour job was trying to figure out how all of the panels in the car come off now that auto companies like to hide all of the attachment points. The switch, which I mounted in the glove box, requires a key to turn on and off. The remote light, which I mounted near the radio, lights up when the airbag is disabled. Pretty slick! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Jeff