Seatbelts

[GDL]

I am after some lap seatbelts for the rear of my moggie. Can anybody suggest where i can get some from?

Also are lap belts ok for the front?

Cheers

Gareth

[mike.perry]

Forget about lap belts, they are for aircraft where you have a soft seat in front of you if you survive the initial impact.
You need proper 3 point harnesses to stop your head impacting on the steering wheel and the rear passengers head from hitting the back of yours.
I doubt if lap belts would be legal in cars later than a certain age.

[Fingolfin]

In my Minor, there are retrofitted lap belts for the front seats, and no belts at all in the back. I have been in a wreck in my Moggie, and the lap belts that my dad and I were wearing in the wreck saved us. However -- I have made the decision to replace those belts with traditional three-pointers, and to put three-point belts in the back, too. While lap belts do have a use, and in a scrape they're better than nothing, if you're really concerned about safety then you must go with three-pointers.

Of course, you should never have people sitting in any car without wearing a seatbelt. I don't allow people to ride in Mog's back seat for this reason.

Nevertheless, if you're really after lap belts for the back (and please please please don't do them in the front, because the dash is metal and the windscreen isn't laminated!), then I understand the British company Securon has some fair ones. In the States, we can pick up add-on lap belts at most automotive shops, but I'm not sure you've got the same situation.

[Dean]

GDL,

The moggy suppliers all do three pointed seat belts for the rear, they can be fitted and work very well. For ease I bought the 7/16unf nut captivated on a piece steel from ESM, this not only allows you to fit the belts but strengthens the surrounding material. The hardest part was cutting a slot in the steel parcel shelf to allow the belt through, I lined the edges with some rubber to protect the belt. I then bolted the real to the metal panel behind the seat, fed the belt through the slot and bolted the end to the wheel arch. I then bolted the buckle bit just to the one side of the transmission tunnel on the panel behind the seat. I'm quite happy to put photo's up if you think it will help.

[GDL]

cheers for the info. I gues i'll go for the 3 point system.

Dean thanks for the offer, i would like it if you could show me some snaps.

cheers

gareth

[Dean]

Firstly I drilled a 7/16 UNF clearance hole in the wheel arch.

The key is to drill the hole, so the bolt head is covered up by the seat base that is sat on. This is a shot of the passenger side rear.

[frame][/frame]

This is a view of the captivated nut from inside the wheel arch.

[frame][/frame]


The second job is to drill a hole through the metal seat backing panel and bolt the seat belt reel to it using a captivated nut. I used one supplied by ESM. I then cut the end off the bolt flush with the end of the nut. This is a shot of the drivers side rear. The seat will sit on the end of the nut, but you can't tell when sat in the back. Also you need to make sure the reel when bolted tight seats horizontally square in the boot, there is also an arrow on the end of the reel that needs to point vertical as the metal panel slopes back a bit. You don't want the belt locking all the while when trying to pull it out to fit.

[frame][/frame]

I then cut a pretty big slot on the metal parcel tray/shelf... my rear window was out at the time, if your screen is in be careful it is tight. The slot was about 30mm wide by about 70mm long, cut just where your shoulder would be positioned. For example if sat behind the driver the slot would be behind your right shoulder.

I then lined the scraggy slot with some pretty heavy rubber... but then I got inspired when I saw these TF seat belt guides.
http://www.alloycarparts.co.uk/index.php?option=mgrover

I got my mate to make some for me, I then made a parcel shelf cover from hardwood and covered it with some spongy stuff and vinyl material. The guides keep the belt well away from the rubber protection, they were bolted down with 5mm bolts. It was raining today when I took the photo's... so the parcel shelf looks a bit wet.
[frame][/frame]

I then drilled a clearance holes either side of the small transmission tunnel, right at the back of the seat base. I used the same ESM captivated nut underneath the car, but I had to bend it to fit inside the transmission tunnel. Like the one in the wheel arch I smothered it in seam sealer to keep the moisture out, I even made sure there was sealer sandwiched between the chassis and the captivated nut. This hole is for the bit the buckle fastens into.

[frame][/frame]

So the finished product looks like this with the seats in place.[frame][/frame][frame][/frame]

So I hope this helps... like I say the hardest bit is the slot in the parcel shelf, it gets a bit noisy too when filing it out. But I think for the extra work it gives a much more pleasant finish to the car.

Enjoy!

Dean

[joshs]

Hi sorry for the late question on this thread, Im looking at buying a identical morris minor to yours a series 2 4 door salloon. Have you been able to fit front driver and passenger seat belts as well as the rear ones. As i know the door pillar between the front and rear doors is pritty narrow.

Thanks josh

[Mandymoo]

bookmarking this..yeah Im computer Illiterate and have a round about way of doing things

[lambrettalad]

thank you Dean ,your pictures have motivated me in to making my todo list longer !!!!!

[team309]

Hello,
I've just bought a 1961 four door and I'm looking at fitting rear seatbelts. Looks like this has been discussed many times before! Sorry to dredge this thread back up again as it's almost as old as my car, but I can't access the pictures. Would anyone be able to share the pictures from the original thread please? In particular the recommended locations of the mounting points. Thanks!

[geoberni]

Hello,
I've just bought a 1961 four door and I'm looking at fitting rear seatbelts. Looks like this has been discussed many times before! Sorry to dredge this thread back up again as it's almost as old as my car, but I can't access the pictures. Would anyone be able to share the pictures from the original thread please? In particular the recommended locations of the mounting points. Thanks!

Hi
Images from that long ago are no longer available after changing the hosting company some years back.
For the correct details on fitting belts, get a copy of the BMC/BL Workshop Manual AKD 530, which is available from some download sites as a pdf, or as hard copy.
That provides the correct fitment points as per the original drawings.

[philthehill]

There are no instructions for fitting seat belts for use by the rear seat occupants in BMC/BL wksp man Pt No: AKD530, not even the 14th edition which was the last edition of AKD530.
So, purchasing a copy of AKD530 14th edition (or any other edition) will be of no help.

[geoberni]

There are no instructions for fitting seat belts for use by the rear seat occupants in BMC/BL wksp man Pt No: AKD530, not even the 14th edition which was the last edition of AKD530.
So, purchasing a copy of AKD530 14th edition (or any other edition) will be of no help.

Woops
You're right of course, I didn't notice the enquiry was about rear belts.
I really must pay attention and not 'speed read'.

[team309]

Thanks for the response. Having read the thread and a couple of others I have enough info to proceed - just thought the pictures would be helpful.

[Peted7202]

A recent guide

Seat Belt Guide.PNG (2.01 MiB) Viewed 2629 times