Low back seats

[XLexusTech]

I see lots of folks lately going with TMI low back seats (no head rest) I thought that added risk for injury in case of an accident?

[Craig510]

Anyone running low backs on the street is an idiot and wants to become a paraplegic or die. So dangerous with all the cell phone use. A 5 mph hit will send you to the hospital and a 10 mph hit could be fatal.

It may look "cool" but it is just unsafe. The worst is when people modify late model seats to remove the head rests.

[XLexusTech]

Anyone running low backs on the street is an idiot and wants to become a paraplegic or die. So dangerous with all the cell phone use. A 5 mph hit will send you to the hospital and a 10 mph hit could be fatal.

It may look "cool" but it is just unsafe. The worst is when people modify late model seats to remove the head rests.

That's what I thought but yes I see a lot of head rest removal as well and I did t know if I was crazy or not for thinking g it was dangerous

[chuckd71]

People also ride motorcycles without helmets, have unprotected sex and smoke cigarettes. 99% of people are total and complete morons and should never under any circumstance be considered role models.

[CliffsBlueCamaro]

Good topic here. My wife and I got rear ended by a car doing about 50 when we were stopped in traffic. Our daily driver was completely totaled, and we were pretty banged up, but overall OK. Our heads snapped back and hit the headrests hard. The frame of my seat even twisted. Our necks and backs hurt for weeks afterwards.

I got to thinking about what it might have been like if we were in our Camaro with the low-back seats. That was enough for me to pull them out and replace them with high-back racing seats.

[Shawn01754]

Good topic here. My wife and I got rear ended by a car doing about 50 when we were stopped in traffic. Our daily driver was completely totaled, and we were pretty banged up, but overall OK. Our heads snapped back and hit the headrests hard. The frame of my seat even twisted. Our necks and backs hurt for weeks afterwards.

I got to thinking about what it might have been like if we were in our Camaro with the low-back seats. That was enough for me to pull them out and replace them with high-back racing seats.

Wow. That's a good contribution to this topic

[Craig510]

I was pretty sore for 2 weeks after this with my high back Corbeau FX1's.

[HotRod47]

My car is heading off to upholstery in a couple weeks. My father has been trying to convince me to remove the headrests as it is a cooler, cleaner look. While I don;t disagree it may look better, I argue the safety aspect. Especially when my kids take the car out. I think I would just about kill myself if something happened to them because I removed the headrest.

Thanks for making me more comfortable with my decision. This thread spoke directly to me, love the reassurance I wasn't crazy.

[icemanrd19]

I think a quality seat with a headrest looks better all day long. Thats why i went with some old school recaro seats from the 80s and had them redone. I bet i have better head clearance than anyone out there in a 67 camaro because i was able to get the seats low.

So are you all just removing the head rest because of looks to get that boat seat look?

[XLexusTech]

I think a quality seat with a headrest looks better all day long. Thats why i went with some old school recaro seats from the 80s and had them redone. I bet i have better head clearance than anyone out there in a 67 camaro because i was able to get the seats low.

So are you all just removing the head rest because of looks to get that boat seat look?

I have read threads were no headrests allows you to see more of the interior.. espically for show cars

[chuckd71]

I've never been in a situation where I couldn't move 3 inches to the left or right to see around one. Might make sense in a car that doesn't see the streets but otherwise there is no argument to be made for going without a headrest. If a headrest is going to make or break a car's appearance then there is something wrong with the car.

[SD67]

This is a great topic. I have discussed this with my builder friends and the answer is always that it looks cleaner. Especially for no post cars from a side view looking though the car. Not seeing posts, headrests or roll bars does give the car a clean look. I don't plan to do this on my 67 Camaro because safety is more important to me than this clean look. I also am 6'5" and need the tall support so I went with a set of new Recaros with headrests.

[CampbellshotrodsAZ]

Yes I didn't run headrests on the 71 Chevelle I built because 1. It does look better, and 2. Myself, and the owner are both tall... these early "headrests" are nothing more than an upper back rest for us, and he wanted the original buckets. Granted, this is more of a "show car" than race car.



And it's pretty narrow to point out the headrest as someone "choosing style over safety". Face it, if any of us were REALLY concerned about safety, we wouldn't be driving these old cars! These cars are downright unsafe in a regular collision these days. No crash testing, or crumple zones make for horrendous wrecks in these old cars, let's be honest here... you're taking a huge risk every time you drive an old car over something new.

[chuckd71]

And it's pretty narrow to point out the headrest as someone "choosing style over safety". Face it, if any of us were REALLY concerned about safety, we wouldn't be driving these old cars! These cars are downright unsafe in a regular collision these days. No crash testing, or crumple zones make for horrendous wrecks in these old cars, let's be honest here... you're taking a huge risk every time you drive an old car over something new.

So your logic is that since there are no crumple zones there is no reason to have headrests? There are many reasons why that logic is flawed, but if you have somehow convinced yourself otherwise then there isn't much to say. But wrecks as bad as the one you pictured make up a small fraction of accidents; in the real world where common things are common and smaller accidents happen every day no amount of mental gymnastics will change the fact that headrests are safer than not and it isn't narrow to point that out. It's the truth. Some of us outgrew trying to look cool for other people a long time ago, some of us did not. We all make our own choices.

[CampbellshotrodsAZ]

So your logic is that since there are no crumple zones there is no reason to have headrests? There are many reasons why that logic is flawed, but if you have somehow convinced yourself otherwise then there isn't much to say. But wrecks as bad as the one you pictured make up a small fraction of accidents; in the real world where common things are common and smaller accidents happen every day no amount of mental gymnastics will change the fact that headrests are safer than not and it isn't narrow to point that out. It's the truth. Some of us outgrew trying to look cool for other people a long time ago, some of us did not. We all make our own choices.

Did you not read where I said the original Chevelle seat headrests didn't even come up above my back? Nowhere near my head or neck? Same for the owner. I built that car for a family member, and he wanted a cruiser, what do you suggest I do? Demand he accept high back Kirkey race buckets or I can't help him? Do you berate the guys who have the original buckets too? The factory headrests offer zero head support for most people, you really need to tell them all to swap out their original seats as well. And sorry, in a cruiser hardtop Chevelle, high backs looks like crap. I know there are isolated cases here and there about neck injuries because of no headrest, but with how worried some of you all get over this, you'd think anyone who got rearended in a pre-69 car broke their necks, and became paraplegic.

And yes, headrests are a good thing, my Firebird will have them, but why are you coping such an attitude over how other people like their cars? We all have our choices, let us have them without berating us for it. I have my 58 Edsel I'm building as well, that sure as HELL isn't getting highbacks. I guess I just live life on the wild side. And what does "looking cool for other people" have to do with anything? Where did I say that? I build them that way because I want to. I think tall back seats on a car like my Edsel, or a non-racing Chevelle look dorky. So what? That's my decision to make. I'm well aware of the risks, don't lecture me on that, my CAREER is designing ground vehicle seats, I don't need you to tell me what you think I don't know.

[CliffsBlueCamaro]

...So dangerous with all the cell phone use...

Very good point. The lady that hit us was on her cell phone too. It's really sad that modern cars are getting more and more safe, but there are more and more injuries and deaths because cell phones are distracting people from doing the most basic thing you need to do to drive safely - LOOK UP and see what the hell is in front of you! This thought also played into my choice to remove the low-backs. There are far too many people running around on any given day staring down at the screen on their lap.

I've seen statistics that around 40% of all accidents each year on the road are rear-end collisions. It's the most common type of accident. I would bet that most of those are the 5 mph to 10 mph "fender-benders" you were talking about. I ultimately removed my low-backs because I wanted to protect my wife and myself from the type of accident we're most likely to be involved in - a "low-speed" rear impact because someone was staring at their cell phone.

[Schwartz Performance]

I feel like I'm reading political posts on Facebook lol.
”Your opinion is wrong!"

[CampbellshotrodsAZ]

I feel like I'm reading political posts on Facebook lol.
”Your opinion is wrong!"

Lol, pretty much. I understand where many people are coming from given that most of these cars race, and have rollbars... such as my 71 Firebird, which has a roofline that hides pretty much any seat you'd install. I wouldn't run anything but a headrest seat since I will drive it a lot, and race it. But I also build cars that are cruisers too. Sorry, a 50's hardtop should NEVER get a highback anything.