How to fit a baby seat / carrier in the back of classic (an Alfa Junior in this case);
Did this with the a pair of Securon Fixed diagnol seatbelts
Located these fixing points under the rear parcel shelf, turns out the shelf has ready made holes in it at the point where these are
And these under the under the wheel arch covers, near the base at the front.
Just had to locat a fixing point in the centre around the transmission tunnel. As the fixed belts had quite a long webbing on the clips, I decided to mount them at the base of the rear bulkhead, this way the hole I drilled was "dry" & I could easily access the bolt from the boot.
used a single long bolt & mounted both centre clips on the single point, with a spreader plate (below) in the boot. Didnt weld it in, but I may do later.
once that was all in, I sat in the back & tried it out - lovely & comfy.
Next the baby seat..........
We have a couple of Maxi Cosi seats, one I normally keep in the 159 & one in the house for my wifes car or to stick into the buggy which takes the maxi cosi. So I opted for stealing the one out of the 159 & will probably leave it in the Junior for the time being........you'll see why later.
with much trying I went through the following;
1) can I put it in the front seat & my wife in the back........ No my wife is 6'1" and wont fit in the back of the junior.
2) Can I put it on the rear seat........... no, it wont fit, its too deep for the front seats to be back enough to sit in.
3) can I put it in the centre of the rear seat............ no......... the wife doesnt like that.
4) can I put it front facing........... yes it will fit that way........... but no, its not designed to be in that way & I know the wife will say no !!
5) if its too deep, what if I take the rear seat upright out......... YES it fits.
I got the wife (who as mentioned before is tall) to sit in the pasenger seat & bring the seat as far forward as is comfortable & as vertical as is comfortable, I then removed the upright cushion of the rear seat. Put the baby carrier in the deep sculptured base & it sat quite snuggly.
Adjusting the fixed belt system so that nearly all the slack was used up in the diagnol & lap section. But with the clip section shortened as much as possible, thread the webbing around the normal points that you would use on the maxi cosi, clip the belt in. Lovely & tight. No forward or backward movement at all, & about an inch movement sideways each way (which is not bad at all).
You can see from the pics how & where the straps were all adjusted.
Final test was to put the wife back in the front seat - shes comfortable.
Popped the 8month old (16lbs) in the car seat (has to be done by me sitting in the other rear seat to angle her in and around the webbing that goes across her lap).
As it turns out, its a bit of a faf getting the car seat in & out (I have to get in the back, loop the webbing over & round)........takes about a minute to take out or put back. Easy by having the straps already set, which means you don't have to adjust the straps once its set up. But either way I have elected to leave the seat / carrier in the back of the junior.
I have now bought some black vinyl to put on the rear bulkhead that is now exposed, as otherwise this will make it a bit noisy, and smells like the boot due to the now not covered up shock access panels.
Been meaning to do this for months - all done (including seat belt install) within 3 hours.
The wife hasnt been out in it yet, because we couldnt take the little one. First outings 3 up were Kimbolton fayre & Harpenden Classics on the common.
Did this with the a pair of Securon Fixed diagnol seatbelts
Located these fixing points under the rear parcel shelf, turns out the shelf has ready made holes in it at the point where these are
And these under the under the wheel arch covers, near the base at the front.
Just had to locat a fixing point in the centre around the transmission tunnel. As the fixed belts had quite a long webbing on the clips, I decided to mount them at the base of the rear bulkhead, this way the hole I drilled was "dry" & I could easily access the bolt from the boot.
used a single long bolt & mounted both centre clips on the single point, with a spreader plate (below) in the boot. Didnt weld it in, but I may do later.
once that was all in, I sat in the back & tried it out - lovely & comfy.
Next the baby seat..........
We have a couple of Maxi Cosi seats, one I normally keep in the 159 & one in the house for my wifes car or to stick into the buggy which takes the maxi cosi. So I opted for stealing the one out of the 159 & will probably leave it in the Junior for the time being........you'll see why later.
with much trying I went through the following;
1) can I put it in the front seat & my wife in the back........ No my wife is 6'1" and wont fit in the back of the junior.
2) Can I put it on the rear seat........... no, it wont fit, its too deep for the front seats to be back enough to sit in.
3) can I put it in the centre of the rear seat............ no......... the wife doesnt like that.
4) can I put it front facing........... yes it will fit that way........... but no, its not designed to be in that way & I know the wife will say no !!
5) if its too deep, what if I take the rear seat upright out......... YES it fits.
I got the wife (who as mentioned before is tall) to sit in the pasenger seat & bring the seat as far forward as is comfortable & as vertical as is comfortable, I then removed the upright cushion of the rear seat. Put the baby carrier in the deep sculptured base & it sat quite snuggly.
Adjusting the fixed belt system so that nearly all the slack was used up in the diagnol & lap section. But with the clip section shortened as much as possible, thread the webbing around the normal points that you would use on the maxi cosi, clip the belt in. Lovely & tight. No forward or backward movement at all, & about an inch movement sideways each way (which is not bad at all).
You can see from the pics how & where the straps were all adjusted.
Final test was to put the wife back in the front seat - shes comfortable.
Popped the 8month old (16lbs) in the car seat (has to be done by me sitting in the other rear seat to angle her in and around the webbing that goes across her lap).
As it turns out, its a bit of a faf getting the car seat in & out (I have to get in the back, loop the webbing over & round)........takes about a minute to take out or put back. Easy by having the straps already set, which means you don't have to adjust the straps once its set up. But either way I have elected to leave the seat / carrier in the back of the junior.
I have now bought some black vinyl to put on the rear bulkhead that is now exposed, as otherwise this will make it a bit noisy, and smells like the boot due to the now not covered up shock access panels.
Been meaning to do this for months - all done (including seat belt install) within 3 hours.
The wife hasnt been out in it yet, because we couldnt take the little one. First outings 3 up were Kimbolton fayre & Harpenden Classics on the common.
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) in an inconceivably short space of time (the wall was very sturdy) and the wheels had remained perfectly in place....
