Belting along
1967 MERCEDESBENZ 230
After my son was born in the winter of 2016, I hardly drove the Mercedes Fintail. In Italy, pre1973 cars without seatbelts – like my Fintail – are legal, but only if the occupants are at least 18 years old. Also, children up to 14 or below a certain height/weight have to use child seats or boosters that, of course, have to be secured through seatbelts.
I felt guilty for depriving my young son of rides in the 230 but, once I’d made the decision to fit belts, I discovered that in Italy the situation is almost tragic: the only parts available are of the cheapest quality and design, usually sold at hardware stores, and as for specialist installers – well, you can forget it. I find this attitude of fitting something cheap just to avoid a fine ridiculous when it’s so important for safety; if you have to alter the originality of your car, at least do it properly.
The solution seemed obvious: drive the Mercedes to Quickfit Safety Belt Services in Stanmore, UK, a mere 870 miles from home. I was already contemplating this when, as a member of ICJAG (International Chief Judge Advisory Group), I was invited to judge at the Salon Privé concours at Blenheim Palace. What’s more, a ‘test car’ was needed for the ICJAG preevent training, which gave me an additional excuse to make a road trip to the UK!
After a moment of surprise at the other end of the phone when I gave Quickfit my Italian address and phone number, we made an appointment to have the belts fitted. The journey north went perfectly and the 230 covered more kilometres in a single day that it had in the previous two years. I felt very proud indeed when the English border official at Calais recognised the 230 from Octane and welcomed me with a smile.
The only sign of the day’s intensive drive was that the engine oil, which had been almost transparent the evening before, had turned a hazelnut colour – but its level was still perfectly at the ‘maximum’ mark on the dipstick.