In a message dated 11/18/02 2:24:06 AM Pacific Standard Time,
jessica@LUNULA.COM writes:

<< I looked at these '87 Wolfy seats myself.  They were folded at the
 time, and are clearly the folding, removable rear-facing jumpseats you
 describe, not the seat-on-a-storage-box. There were two of them.>>

Maybe Chris Turner will jump into this thread. I have never heard of an 87 so
equipped from the factory. He may have. Makes me wonder if somebody may have
added them.

<< All infant seats in the USA are now rear-facing. >>

Designed to be rear facing but I have seen people put them in backwards.

<< This sets off BIG alarm bells for me.  A rear-facing infant seat is
 rear-facing because in a front-impact accident, the weight of the
 infant's body and head are distributed straight back into the infant
 seat. This is to prevent injury to the fragile, still-developing
 neck/spine. A rear-facing infant seat should never be placed rotated
 in the car, as it defeats the purpose of having the infant be
 rear-facing to start with!>>

Jessica if you are installing it in a rear facing seat, attaching it
backwards is actually installing it correctly.

<< A toddler seat (designed to be forward-facing) or an infant/toddler
 seat (designed to be switched around to forward after the child is
 30lb or so) I hypothesize could be safely placed in any seat that is:
 A) bolted securely to the frame of the vehicle, and
 B) has good belts.
 I also hypothesize that a toddler seat installed in a rear-facing
 jumpseat might actually be a safety improvement as it would give the
 toddler the same whiplash protection that a rear-facing infant seat
 gives to a baby.>>

I agree with all of these.

<< But there may be drawbacks that I don't know about...cargo would need
 to be well dogged-down so as not to become missiles...etc.>>

As discussed in this forum before, cargo acting as missiles is harmful to
adults as well.

<< Do you know if the rear bench is bolted to the frame? >>

Here's some more clarifications. The Vanagon based vehicles (Westy, bus,
pick-ups) are all unit-body (or unibody) construction. They are not made like
American SUV's which typically have a separate frame which the body is bolted
to. A unibody vehicle uses part of the body as the frame as well. So say
"bolted to the frame" technically speaking, just about everything is bolted,
screwed or welded to the frame in a Vanagon. As for your rear bench question,
they are all secured by bolts at reinforced areas of the unibody. There are
several benches available on this vehicles. They are attached in various
different ways. Most use the main hinge area as it's main securing point. The
Westy benches are bolted to a separate box which is bolted to the floor.
Carat and Multivan benches found in vehicles with plastic side panels are
bolted the same as the bus Weekender benches but have a steel extension as
these benches are narrower than normal benches. Regular benches are also
secured to the floor in addition to the same points as the Weekender benches.
It's too much to go into in a single posting. Please pmail me if further
detail regarding this matter.

BenT