Need some advice

kwm · 04-09-2008, 08:36 AM

I said I would never do it but I am contemplating selling my 83SC. My wife starts back to work and school soon after having our daughter. I have to then pick our daughter up from daycare at least a few times per week every week. I can't really do this and feel safe in my SC. The alternative was to just drive a 01 S10 that I have mostly for home projects, yard work, stuff like that on the days I had to pick her up and my wife and I both were fine with that. Well the s10 is now approaching 100k and I am no longer sure how dependable it is. The fuel pump is starting to go out and I was combating this by just keeping the tank full which seems to work fine when it was just me in it but now I am starting to wonder if I am being responsible enough here. Being responsible in certain areas like my own well being was never my strong suit. All of this has brought me to wonder if I should sell my car and get a new mid-sized crew cab truck like a Canyon which I really probably can not afford but where does the keep-the-baby-safe-madness stop?

Super_Dave_D · Super_Dave_D's Garage

how is the S10 safer than the 911??? I take my 6yo out all the time and dont worry any more for her in my 911 than I do in my 08 Pathfinder. Maybe i'm just not being responsible.

Rich76_911s · Rich76_911s's Garage

Although I don't remember it. I rode in a 911 when I was a baby, and I turned out not great, but OK

Fix the pickup truck. An 01 with 100K shouldn't have quite hit the point of no return. A fuel pump is a lot cheaper than new car payments for 3 to 4 years.

Don't buy a new truck you can't afford.

id10t · 04-09-2008, 08:44 AM

I grew up in my 356 - no seat belts, kids seats, etc.

Keep the 911, or sell it and the S10 and get something new(er) that you have confidence in

stomachmonkey · 04-09-2008, 08:44 AM

I drop my daughter off every morning in either the 911 or the Bronco II beater.

It's only 2 miles and the elementary school is inside our Community so my situation may not reflect yours.

kwm · 04-09-2008, 08:45 AM

I dont necessarily feel that my 911 is that unsafe but my wife does. I also am aware that there are car seats to it in my backseats and I have seen cars with them in there but the car seats we have now do not fit back there. I too as a kid rode in many unsafe cars like all the classic Mustangs my dad had but that doesnt mean I will do that with my own kid.

kwm · 04-09-2008, 08:48 AM

Oh yhea my wife only finds the 911 unsafe b/c once like 4 years ago it did catch on fire and I almost died...HOWEVER...ALLLLLL of that has been fixed. Man women never forget things like that do they?

Tishabet · 04-09-2008, 08:57 AM

women!

Christien · Christien's Garage

Ok, well that's an entirely new and significant bit of information!!

First, always carry a fire extinguisher - if you don't track it, get a mounting bracket installed like the type required by PCA for track dates - if it's done properly, it's inconspicuous, not in the way of anything, and within easy reach of the driver, even if you're trapped in your seat.

Second, get an inspection done of whatever caused the fire, to prove to your wife (and to yourself!) that whatever caused the problem is fixed beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Following these, there's not really any reason the 911 is any less safe than any other car. Personally, I don't buy the argument that it's safer than other cars because it's easier to avoid accidents - that assumes the driver is able to avoid the accident, which is not the case much of the time. But they're very well engineered cars - so much so that the basic design didn't change between 1965 and 1998.

vash · vash's Garage

keep the 911, fix the truck.

DavidB911 · 04-09-2008, 09:18 AM

I think those s10's are pretty reliable, unless you neglect them, just like any car. Try to tell your wife you will be extra careful if you have to take the 911. My dad still has the s10 that he drove me around in and I think I turned out perfectly fine.

Rot 911 · 04-09-2008, 10:43 AM

Damn I give my 7 year old daughter rides on the back of my motorcycle!

911boost · 911boost's Garage

I dropped my daughter off to daycare every day from when she started daycare as a young infant, until she was about 2 when I sold the 1986 Cab. What are you talkign about the back seats for? In my mind, it is perfectly safe to put a youngster in the fornt seat, using the stock shoulder belt and a car seat. You don't have airbags, so there is no reason to not use the front seat.

Now, your whole car catching on fire thing, I can't help you there.

I do carry a fire extinguisher mounted to the floor, in front of the passenger seat use a BK mount in the turbo. My whole family goes for rides in it btw.

Now, does the hospital, or the local PD, offer classes on how to properly install a car seat? I know that in CA they did that for my sister. If they do offer that, take the SC in, and have them show your wife that the front if safe for a car seat.

Bill

tabs · 04-09-2008, 11:58 AM

Your fkin nutz....what fkin planet are you from....ohhh yeah America the planet of the neverending resources. A small repair bill on the S-10 is far cheaper than spending money on a depreciating asset like a new car...get a grip....

tcar · 04-09-2008, 12:50 PM

Atta boy tabs... tellin' it like it is...

+1

The Gaijin · 04-09-2008, 12:59 PM

Mid size crew cab is not that safe. I have seen plenty of flipped SUVs and trucks on ice & snow slicked roads. A well maintained 911 is not an unsafe car. Keep the Enclave for the family rides.

There is madness out there - and stress. And that is what will get you.

MT930 · 04-09-2008, 01:06 PM

My kids beg me to drop them off at school in the 911, they still fit in the back.

Fix the truck keep the car.

M.D. Holloway · 04-09-2008, 01:15 PM

keep the car, sell the wife

mikester · 04-09-2008, 02:05 PM

I've had my son in the Porsche now since he was a baby but I only do it around town on the residential streets mostly. sometimes we get out a little bit but I'm not terribly comfortable with it because the seat belts in my '80SC do not work as well with a car seat as those in a more modern car. So as much as I feel that the car is fairly safe - probably and definitely more maneuverable which is a very big deal - the seat belts do not hold a car seat in place very well. I have tried to fix this but been unsuccessful. The seat belts work fine for regular passengers but they just are not designed with car seats in mind.

I also have a second child on the way, since I was going to need to be able to haul more than one child at a time we purchased another car (used Volvo). For now the SC will be going up for sale. Prices on some of the more modern P-cars are coming down so I don't really feel like when the time comes I won't be able to step into one if I need to.

I will miss it, it's my 3rd but I don't think it will be my last.

911boost · 911boost's Garage

Mikester, I used this ratcheting thing, I don't remember what it was called, but its blue and yellow. It really cinches the seat belt nice and tight, and I feel it was/is as safe as the belts in my newer cars.

Bill