one thing that worrys me about driving my split is having a front impact, ie hitting something in front of me and there being about 2 inches between the front of the van and my legs.
Has anyone every have a crash like this, how would the van stand up to it?
is there any mods i can do to save my legs if it happend.
lets face it the brakes are .... so its not so unlickly is it!
Ive never seen it discused so i thought i would ask.

don't worry the misses is always hitting things in the splitty and the bus is ok but sometimes she has to reverse to make sure its completly dead,

I kinda know where your coming from, I've got a family on the way now and its started to make me think a bit more ....

Anyway Dan who runs 'Accidento' the 21 window samba drag racing van has had a really nice roll cage fitted. I saw it at the SSVC Ace Cafe swap meet do and was impressed by the design because it offers plenty of protection and doesn't get in the way. He said he was going to put some details up on his web site...I think it would cost £300-400 to have fitted..

ps, if you haven't allready, fit dual circuit brakes.......single circuit is just too risky for a daily driver.

One thing is definately don't lower your bus....

When you lower it you have even less protection than you did already - originally you would ride over the top of most vehicles in an accident, therefore damaging the chassis more than your legs.

Lowering does look cool though

Also never use fibreglass bumpers!

Chewie got hit by a truck in his split and survived. Mind you he was already in an ambulance!

I remember seeing the pictures of the bus after that accident - he was so lucky - that poor bus

I've recently purchased CSP front disc's to go on the front of my van.
They cost over £600 when you have to include a dual master cylinder, but compare that to replacing the nose on a van due to running in the back of someone.

Never mind the fact that you or your family could get hurt or worse god forbid killed.

I'm also converting over to irs this winter so the front disc's are even more important as i won't have the benefit of the reduction gears slowing me down.

Lastly fit 3 point seat belts for everyone. Mine only came with lap belts in the front but again I've dug in to my pockets to ensure safety.

Just sit back and count how much money you have spent on your van such as the wheels, engine, interior etc. If like me it will be a great deal.

I consider safety of my family & me more than the wheels i run.

How did you fit three points to the front?

Thanks for the replys guys, unforyuntly my van is lowered, has irs and the orginal crap brakes so i spose its not the safest van out there, authough i do have 3 point belts, they are fixed onces so not that good but better than nothing. the bumper is so low now it would just go underneth anything!
when we have the long planned resto at the end of next season the brakes are defently getting uprated, i would like to keep the orginal wheels so not sure what system im going to use yet.
im not sure about a role cage, maybe if it was hidden behind the kick pannels then that would be great but i dont want to look like a boy racer.

There are two ways you can go about upgrading to 3 point seat belts.
Assuming you already have mounts fitted for lap belts you need to fit a 3rd.

The best is to weld a mount in to the B post similar to modern cars. I chose this only as I am having a full restoration and will be covered up.

Alternativly you fit the mounts behind the front bulkhead that makes up the seats. This is easy and the panel covers everything.

Alan Schofield chose this way on his Samba and he also supplies the mounts. Once fitted with static belts you would think it was factory fitted.

These mounts are also used to fit in the rear of the van for passengers.[/url]

kempy wrote:There are two ways you can go about upgrading to 3 point seat belts.
Assuming you already have mounts fitted for lap belts you need to fit a 3rd.

The best is to weld a mount in to the B post similar to modern cars. I chose this only as I am having a full restoration and will be covered up.

Alternativly you fit the mounts behind the front bulkhead that makes up the seats. This is easy and the panel covers everything.

Alan Schofield chose this way on his Samba and he also supplies the mounts. Once fitted with static belts you would think it was factory fitted.

These mounts are also used to fit in the rear of the van for passengers.[/url]

CSP disc's can be used with standard wheels as long as 15".
It's a great piece of kit. Just a shame my sprints cover it up.

kempy wrote:CSP disc's can be used with standard wheels as long as 15".
It's a great piece f kit. Just a shame my sprints cover it up.

They definately don't. They only fit over the Chrome 356 wheels.

Paul

paul_f wrote:

kempy wrote:CSP disc's can be used with standard wheels as long as 15".
It's a great piece f kit. Just a shame my sprints cover it up.

They definately don't. They only fit over the Chrome 356 wheels.

Paul

Just looked at the CSP literature that came with the disc's and it definately states that they can be used on standard 15" wheels.

However i did buy them early on in the year and things may have changed.

Creative will know for certain, as i purchased via them.

Mike

http://www.csp-shop.de/cgi-bin/shop2/sh ... 5458a&pn=0

says that they don't fit over bus 15"

I think they do fit over beetle 15" wheels