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Seat belt anchor bolt thread stripped - can it be fixed?

Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2013 8:25 pm
by GeordieDave
Has anyone successfully repaired the B pillar upper seatbelt mount? Mine has had the thread stripped and the bolt won't hold.

Maybe a helicoil job? What thread size is it? My Securon seat belt kit doesn't tell me the thread size :(

The seat belt has been moved down - see picture - but this is an uncomfortable location, so I'm told.[frame]Image[/frame]

Re: Seat belt anchor bolt thread stripped - can it be fixed?

Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2013 9:20 pm
by simmitc
That top hole is NOT correct. The lower hole is where it should be. Yes, I agree that the higher position is more comfortable, but it is not designed as a seat belt anchorage, and that's why the thread has stripped - it is only a piece of thin tin, not a reinforced anchorage with proper nut. In an accident, it is questionable whether it would take the strain. Stick with the lower mounting.

Re: Seat belt anchor bolt thread stripped - can it be fixed?

Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2013 9:36 pm
by GeordieDave
OH!!! Thanks. I've looked through my photographs of the car (car is in storage) and the driver's belt is in the higher position[frame]Image[/frame]

I've got new inertia belts to fit but I'll have to reposition them. There's another job to add to the growing list then, although this one has become very important all of a sudden :-?

Re: Seat belt anchor bolt thread stripped - can it be fixed?

Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2013 11:33 pm
by mike.perry
The seat belt anchorage should be fitted as shown in the photos[frame]Image[/frame][frame]Image[/frame]
The four door and Traveller are fitted on the B post.
Fit inertia belts, static belts are a waist of time.

Re: Seat belt anchor bolt thread stripped - can it be fixed?

Posted: Tue Mar 12, 2013 6:28 am
by Declan_Burns
This is how mine are fitted.
Regards
Declan[frame]Image[/frame]

Re: Seat belt anchor bolt thread stripped - can it be fixed?

Posted: Tue Mar 12, 2013 9:26 am
by ASL642
http://www.mmoc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f= ... 29#p397332

I've fitted these in my convertible - available from Tom Roy. They fabricate an "L" shaped bracket (seen in picture above) which bolts to the side of the car (2holes) and also raises the seatbelt to a more comfortable position.

Re: Seat belt anchor bolt thread stripped - can it be fixed?

Posted: Tue Mar 12, 2013 5:43 pm
by GeordieDave
The L shaped brackets look perfect. Can you supply approx. dimensions/thicknesses please? I might be able to make a pair at my car restoration night class and save myself 40 quid!

Re: Seat belt anchor bolt thread stripped - can it be fixed?

Posted: Tue Mar 12, 2013 5:47 pm
by GeordieDave
[quote="Declan_Burns"]This is how mine are fitted.
Regards
Declan

Declan, that's how the passenger one is fitted at the moment (correctly & safely!) but it is a static belt and keeps slipping off the shoulder. I've got a pair of snazzy red inertia belts to go in, as soon as I get those fab brackets :P

Re: Seat belt anchor bolt thread stripped - can it be fixed?

Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2013 12:00 pm
by ASL642
Will get the dimensions to you asap :wink:

Re: Seat belt anchor bolt thread stripped - can it be fixed?

Posted: Sat Mar 16, 2013 11:46 am
by bpr81a
GeordieDave wrote:The L shaped brackets look perfect. Can you supply approx. dimensions/thicknesses please? I might be able to make a pair at my car restoration night class and save myself 40 quid!
[frame]Image[/frame]
Dimensions are:
Length of 'arms' 165
width 40
thickness 6
bolt centres 120

All measurements are in millimetres 'cos I was told not to use proper units.
It appears to be made from 2 strips welded together, not cut from a flat sheet.
The upper hole has a seat belt nut welded on ( welded all the way round, not just tacked)

Re: Seat belt anchor bolt thread stripped - can it be fixed?

Posted: Sat Mar 16, 2013 8:41 pm
by GeordieDave
Thanks for the details and the picture, it's a big help.

I was at the cow shed working on the car today and sure enough there's no bolt in the A pillar where the belts were anchored. The bolts were just threaded through the thin steel :o

I'll put some bungs in the holes and get some of these brackets asap!

Re: Seat belt anchor bolt thread stripped - can it be fixed?

Posted: Sun Mar 17, 2013 11:04 am
by chrisryder
I worry about the leverage on those L brackets... ok, 6mm is pretty thick, but they're still likely to bend in a crash... Will slow you down at least... but then what happens when you bounce back into your seat and whack your head on the corner of it? :o

Re: Seat belt anchor bolt thread stripped - can it be fixed?

Posted: Sun Mar 17, 2013 2:22 pm
by ASL642
Chris they're actually shouder height not head height - and that's me 5'2" in a standard Minor seat. :wink:

Re: Seat belt anchor bolt thread stripped - can it be fixed?

Posted: Sun Mar 17, 2013 3:09 pm
by GeordieDave
I was thinking of going for a sideways T shape instead. I'm in negotiations with my local steel fabricator :D

I suspect that once we get above a certain speed we're on thin ice anyway, regardless of seat belts :cry: