914 as kids first car? :(, nervous about this one. Options

[Brian Mifsud]

Hi All,

Hypocrite that I am, I'm nervous about my kids desire to own a 914 as his first car. I bought and drove one as a "Step Up" from my hot-rodded '69 Beetle when I was 19. I just feel though that there are a hell of a lot more people on the road driving earth-moving Suburban/lifted 4x4s etc than when I was young (early 80's) and that the likelihood of getting run over/punted in a 914 these days is much higher.

Now, this has no basis on fact, just my hunch, and probably my protective instinct so...

Do you think that a 914 with these mods might be enough to ease my fears?

- Fully caged including door bars to slow down side impact incursions

- Safety harness?

- Added bright LED Brake Light bars

- Fuel Cell to minimize the gasoline-in-the lap fun of VW's and Porsches

- automatic Fire supression system

- Use a '75 or '76 model year for the honking big 5MPH bumper added safety margin

- Better than stock tires and brakes

- Driving school - (Learn to handle the car on wet curvy roads, no ABS, etc)


Okay, clearly I'm a paranoid guy... I really would have preferred that my son drive something forgiving in a crash like a mid/late -90's Mustang

Opinions?

Thanks

Brian

[Brian Mifsud]

My eldest is pretty responsible. He's mechanically inclined also which really helps. I taught him how to saw wood with the bandsaw at age 8 and he reliably uses spacer blocks to keep his hands away from the work and eye protection like I taught him. He ended up being the teacher's aid in his junior high school shop class, teaching the other kids how to run the saw, wood lathe, drill press etc. He has his 1st degree blackbelt in Tae Kwon Do at age 14 and has been teaching younger kids for 1 1/2 years.

That said, I lived a much less "sheltered" life at his same age. I road my bicycle all over town at a much earlier age going to baseball practice etc with the associated "traffic awareness" needed. I learned to drive a manual shift on the forklift at my "break every child labor law out there" job in a factory at age 12. Driving my VW Beetle was easy after learning how to operate a clutch.

Anyhow, a "modern" beater can be had cheaply to let him develop skills with forgiveness.

Thanks for tips on roll cages.. hadn't thought about the entrapment issue.