Seatbelt recommendations for 4 door saloon (front and rear)

[rayofleamington]

As mentioned in title - I'm after any recommendations as I'd like to get front and rear belts for a 4 door.
Preferably in red , however my first concern is to find out if people have had good/bad experience of the ones currently on offer.

[Declan_Burns]

Ray,
I have the red ones from Bully in the front and I think they are fine. The only drawback is the low mounting point under the rear window on the convertible which is not great for comfort and causes the belt to catch if you let it fly back when it is unbuckeled. I try and release it slowly and there's no problem. The quality is good.[frame][/frame][frame][/frame]
Regards
Declan

[ASL642]

Tom Roy do a right angle part which fits the B post (looks a bit like a boomerang) and raises the mounting point for the safety belt up . It's not pretty but can be sprayed bodycolour to disguise it. we've used it on our convertible. I'll get some pictures tonight. It stops the safety belt falling off your shoulder. All my belts have come from BM. We've fitted 5 cars with them, and haven't had any problems so far.

[rayofleamington]

brilliant - thanks guys

[stevey]

You wont have the same problem with a 4 door, mount the seat belt high up on the B post and the you can mount rear seat belts from the back parcle shelf.

[Declan_Burns]

Tom Roy do a right angle part which fits the B post (looks a bit like a boomerang) and raises the mounting point for the safety belt up . It's not pretty but can be sprayed bodycolour to disguise it. we've used it on our convertible. I'll get some pictures tonight. It stops the safety belt falling off your shoulder. ....

Lou,
I would be very interested to see a photo of Tom Roy's magic boomerang.
Regards
Declan

[Peetee]

I have successfully fitted seatbelts from a VW Polo to a 4 door car. Many would shy away from using second hand belts but you have to satisfy yourself they are in excellent condition. Obviously If the car they came from has been the victim of an accident, sat in a yard getting damp or the parts are already on the shelf then don't consider them.
Find a good, perhaps rust-victim doner where the belts are insitu and try them out. Use all caution but consider that almost nobody replaces the seatbelts when they buy a pre-used car.

[bpr81a]

Lou,
I would be very interested to see a photo of Tom Roy's magic boomerang.
Regards
Declan

[frame][/frame][frame][/frame]

[Declan_Burns]

Thanks Jon
Declan

[rayofleamington]

If the car they came from has been the victim of an accident,

according to the seatbelt manufactueres, the belt has some 'give' in it which helps to reduce injury, and if the car has been crashed then the belt is not ok anymore as it will have lost the give.
Personally I don't believe that as it's probably a way to sell replacement belts for crash repairs (most garages would not even dream of replacing belts in a crrashed car...)

However if you're getting second hand belts, I wouldn't want to get them from a crashed car either...

4 door front belts have a different problem - you can position the top mount too high or make something to have it at a good height, but whichever way you go they are too far forward for comfort.

[liammonty]

Hi Ray,

I've found the Securon belts supplied by lots of the traders for Minors are fine, both front and rear. I made up some plates to adjust the height of the front belts in our 948 (they bolt to the existing top and bottom mounts, with a hole drilled at the right height with a nut welded on the back to mount the top buckle). You can cover the steel bracket with headlining to make it blend in with the B-post- it's almost unnoticable then. Neither me (6ft) or my 5ft wife find that the belts are too far forward like this. Just when you clip these belts in to their buckles, cross them over (ie driver's side into passenger side buckle)- that way they fit nicely.

For the rears, again the kit from Securon is fine- reel mounted on the parcel shelf with a suitable spreader plate below. The only thing is, if your car is older than a 1098, the rear seat backrest is a little higher, so you may find you have to raise the height of the reel slightly with a bit of cunning bracketry to clear the seat. At least with new belts there are no worries as to whether or not they are in good condition.

Have fun!

[rayofleamington]

many thanks for the advice on rear seat height - I never realised there was a difference but now you mention it, I do remember more of a 'well' behind the rearbseat on the early cars and hardly any on the late ones.
You learn something new everyday! Thanks
Bracketry won't be a problem now that it's on the jpbs to DIY list ;-)