Seat belt options for a convertible

[Fluid Power]

Guys, need advice for seat belts. I am running Corbeau seats, was going to run a 5 point harness, but not sure how to mount the belts. I understand not mounting them to the floor. I am going to use the back seat for the little ones, so mounting to the rear seat belt positions is out. Harness bar is an idea. Thoughts?

Darren

[dubbleu]

Google (Tigar cage roll bar) that is what Im going with. It looks like a good bolt in solution. It's made by Air Ride suspensions I think.

[gearheadgarage]

The AirBar is a nice, tight fit.

Many people use three point retractable harnesses from Morris Concepts. Since you have a conv't. check out Juliano's 3-point harnesses. They come with the right loops and plates to attach through/to the rear inner quarter structure with minimal fab.

[bigtyme1]

Does anybody have picks of how a 3 point is mounted in a convertible?

[Fluid Power]

Does anybody have picks of how a 3 point is mounted in a convertible?

Ditto that!

Darren

[gearheadgarage]

I only had 1 link on this laptop- it gives you the idea.....
http://www.gearheadcars.com/show-gallery.php?gcid=1&cid=13

[JRouche]

Ok.. I have two cars that Im trying to work out the seatbelt issue with. Both only had lap belts to begin with. One is a convet, Fiat. Yeah, yeah, my name isnt Tony but I still have to fix it, again and agian :)

The other is my 62 nova. It is kinda a similar issue because I cant mount a high point for the three point belt because it would look wrong for the car. All the windows rolled down and there is the belt flapping in the air. Just ruins the look.

So I bought some belts from Juliano. And I got a set from Wesco for the other car. It was by accident. I meant to buy the same belts for each car. Well as it looks I bought the same belts. They look identical. I swear they are the same belts.

Anyway. After about a year with them in the convert I started having problems. The belt wouldnt retract without a snap by me on the shoulder strap. And it got worse and worse. Till it would stay slack no matter what. F that!!! I removed the belts and took them to the bench. I opened up the retractor and examined it, took it completely apart. What had happened was two sliding plates that were supposed to be in very close contact had opened slightly and allowed the plates to slip past the stopping point. The stopping point may have been the problem. It is just a lil tit of metal that was short enough to allow the plates to separate and ride on top of each other in a manner that it wasnt designed to. So the plates were intended to slide freely and hit a stop. Well they jumped the stop and were no longer riding on the intended surface. I fixed the misalignment and they work great, again. For how long? Who knows. They are still in the fiat, I have sebring (convert car) seats with belts for the nova.

But after that, and seeing how the retractors were built I would not recommend the belts to anyone...

And solly Fluid Power for hijacking the thread for a sec. But I think safety is paramount and just wanted to give some insight with my seat belts.

For your belts I would use a harness bar like what you said. Id prolly make my own but Im sure you will find some other units ready to go. JR

[JRouche]

Ditto that!

Darren

I dont have any pics of the fiat but can take some if you are interested. And I did a temporary type setup for the nova until I finalize the sebring seats.

What I did was use belt guides from a camaro, forget the year, 70s I think. There are alot of cars that use them. The guide is mounted to the outer shoulder of the seat, on top of the back of the seat. The anchor points for the belt are left and right of the seat and one to the rear of the seat on the floor. The retractor is on the floor at the rear anchor. The belt comes out of the retractor in a straight line to the upper corner of the seatback ( the guide). Its a setup that Wesco or Juliano offers.

And it prolly wont work with a car that has back seats. Neither of my cars have back seat. The retractor is placed about 1.5 feet behind the front seat. The belt would be in the way if you had a back seat.

And there can be a problem with this. The seat now acts as a structural member for the seatbelt. A seat that wasnt designed for this "may" collapse in a crash. The belt will push the seat back backwards in a major crash. And if the seat is not strong enough on the hinge the seat back will collapse backward. Sounds odd that the seat back will go backwards in a crash where all the loads are going forwards. But what happens is the retractor locks and the belt tightens and pushes downward as your body is moving forward. The downward force is on the top of the seat back. Most seat backs are angled to the rear while driving so when the seat fails, the upright portion falls down. Then that releases the tension on the belts and you fly forward. The seat back collapses down and you fly forward into the dash. Prolly not out the window cause yer still strapped in. But a decent crash into the dash will give you a visit to the undertakers office and a nice new pine box. JR

[The WidowMaker]

i too am looking for an option that doesnt include the typical 3 pt conversion that "flaps in the wind" as JR put it, and doesnt require a bar that my kids will be eating if in a crash. there HAS to be another option, i just cant find one.

[61ragtop]

i too am looking for an option that doesnt include the typical 3 pt conversion that "flaps in the wind" as JR put it, and doesnt require a bar that my kids will be eating if in a crash. there HAS to be another option, i just cant find one.


My thoughts exactly!!

[Fluid Power]

They guys at the Roadster Shop mounted the harness behind the driver seat to the floor. It still allows the rear seat to be used. This method is frowned upon for safety reasons but I have to believe it is better than just running lap belts. Thoughts?

The link:

http://www.roadstershop.com/completed-projects/roadster-shop-s-1966-chevelle

There is another picture further down.

I pm'd the roadster shop guys and asked about this, but they never replied. :( I was hoping for them to chime in.

I am leaning toward this method. Anybody have any more ideas?

Darren