How can I put airbags in a 1960s Mustang and where are they available?

Answer 1

they weren't available until the 80's, but you could pick some up at the wrecking yard and swap out steering columns, some welding may be nessary. while your at it, seriously think about getting some disc brakes and a modern duel master cylinder :)

Answer 2

Let me start off by saying that for all practical purposes you cannot retrofit a 1960s Mustang to have air bags. That's the short answer.

Now, here's the long answer, and if you're interested in being safe while driving your Mustang, you might want to read it:

When your Mustang was built, safety wasn't something that most auto manufacturers took very seriously, especially in the United States. It was a time of cheap gas, high performance and low insurance rates. Cars were built to be comfortable, go fast, and look good. Period.

Decades prior, cars were starting to be equipped with very preliminary safety features, such as padded dashboards and safety glass -- laughable in today's world, but back then such a thing was at least an improvement over slamming your face into a metal dashboard and plate glass window. Remember, seat belts didn't come on the scene (in the United States, anyway) until the government started mandating them in the very late 60s -- and those were just lap belts.

A few manufacturers back then, such as Mercedez-Benz (now DaimlerChrysler) took safety seriously, in no small part because European governments started mandating safety standards long before the United States did. Even so, only those safety features
built into the car design (and so couldn't be removed, like crumple zones) made it to the cars in the United States.

In short, your Mustang (and any other domestic car of the period, along with most foreign cars) is a very unsafe car compared to cars of today. You might think "oh, this is a big car, it's reasonably safe", but there's footage out there of a mid-60s car being crash-tested (one of the first U.S. crash tests, very rudimentary) into a pole -- and the pole slices the car in two, literally. Those cars weren't designed the way cars are now, but there are still plenty of 'em out there.

For your Mustang, here's a sample of what I'm talking about...

1. Low seat backs with no headrests, so no whiplash protection;
2. Lap seat belts;
3. Non-collapsible steering column;
4. Engine doesn't drop below the passenger compartment in a head-on collision;
5. No crumple zones to absorb impact;
6. No side impact protection;
7. Metal dashboard (depending on the year);
8. Tons of protruding metal knobs all over the dashboard;
9. No design considerations for rollover protection or offset impacts (the most common kind);
10. Door locks not designed to stay shut in an impact;
11. No locking seat belt tensioners (again, depends on the year.)

Those are just off the top of my head; I'm sure there are others that are applicable. Again, this isn't really about the Mustang per se -- most cars of the period have the same basic list.

So, not only can't you get the airbags retrofitted, but you'd be wasting your time. In case you're not aware, air bags in modern cars are a supplement to, rather than a replacement for, seat belts. Even if you could add air bags to your Mustang, you'd be spending a great deal of money and getting very little safety in return.

If it's any consolation, people in the future will probably look at the cars we drive and consider them unsafe by comparison to the cars they drive. When you operate a vintage machine, you're going to be stuck with the best of the era, and there's no way to get the benefits of today -- be it in safety, efficiency, emissions, handling, speed, comfort, or what have you -- without redesigning the car almost from the ground up.

Still, people drive around in vintage cars all the time. You should just be aware of what kind of a situation you're in before you do it. If you're going to spend money on safety, here are the things I'd drop cash on:

1. Shoulder belts;
2. Headrests;
3. Disc brakes;
4. Suspension upgrades;
5. Modern wheels and tires.

The first two will help you stay in your seat (and off of the dashboard/windows) during an accident and avoid whiplash if you're rear-ended, and the other three will at least reduce the likelihood that you'll get into an accident because of vintage parts (like original wheels that are rusted out, or drum brakes that fade easily, or really really bad handling.)

Answer 3

Do you want "SRS (supplemental restraint system)" airbags OR do you want "air spring" airbags? You have got some good answers like the one above but if you want suspension components, then I would check places that specialize in that area. I would try searching the web or automotive section of the phone book.

Answer 4

Like the above poster old cars are death traps. Buy yourself a new car and live to tell about it. Putting airbags on this car is like buying new deck furniture for the Titanic.

Answer 5

You could but since the car wasn't designed for them you'll have to do a lot of cutting and custom fabrication. But then there is still no guarantee that they work in an accident. You'd be better off putting in shoulder belts.

Answer 6

I hope you have a lot of spare cash, because thats what it would take. And every time you go to buy any of the parts you will need you will probably be asked if you really want to wreck that car with all that high tech junk, Respect your older car and keep it original they don't build them like they used to.

Answer 7

drive to wife's mother's house and pick her up, do the same to your mother. Now you have 2 airbags in your car.

Answer 8

No and why would you want to screw up a vintage car doing something like that?