Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi all,

I needed a new driver's seat belt so bought one from ESM, the only one they do, for all Minors.

It's a Securon 500/45 but the stalk is twice the length of my original one & puts the receiver in the wrong place.

Looking through this forum it seems that the 500/30 would be just about ok (& fit the 4 door saloon also) with the 500/45 being ok for the 2 door saloon.

ESM are being very good & will take it back for a refund but say they have never had an issue with these 45cm stalks!

Is it just me or has any one else had this issue?

Andy.

It is nothing to do with whether your car is a Traveller, 2door or 4door saloon as all share the same floorpan. It is simply to do with where the seatbelt stalk is mounted. I have the 500/45 Securon belt fitted into the factory fitted captive seatbelt mountings in the rear floor of my 1969 Minor 4door and it is ideal but earlier cars (like our other Minor) don't have a mounting in that position.
I expect you have an earlier car and somebody simply drilled holes where they thought best suited the seatbelt that was being used?
I guess you'll either have to obtain a shorter stalk to fit to the mounting you have or use the new stalk you have and put a mounting further back as the factory did on later cars.

I have previously raised this issue with both the Minor Traders and Securon. On my 2 Travellers and a 2 door saloon, all with original floor pans, the captive nuts for the stalks suit the 30 cm stalks and not the 45. I argue that in any case the 45 cm stalks wave about far too much, get caught under folding forward seats and can trip rear seat passengers. Therefore my vote is for the 30 cm stalks.

As per ManyMinors' comment, I've found they are fine in all the cars I've owned with them fitted, using the original mounts, though yours may be in a different location. I always 'cross over' the buckles, I.e. clip the drivers side belt into the LHS buckle, and vice versa, and the length is of the 45 is just right What year is your car?

Yes - the stalks should indeed cross over the tunnel.

I did not know they should cross over

BMC Wksp Manual Section R34 /R35 / R36 /R37 /R38 & R39 Figs: R53 & R55 clearly show the inner lower seat belt fixing as located on the other side of the transmission tunnel to the front seat/seat belt being used.
Phil

philthehill wrote:BMC Wksp Manual Section R34 /R35 / R36 /R37 /R38 & R39 Figs: R53 & R55 clearly show the inner lower seat belt fixing as located on the other side of the transmission tunnel to the front seat/seat belt being used.
Phil

Nice info Phil....that solves the confusion regarding 45cm stalk suitability with such mounting points!


Just to be a complete PITA then ......My ('68) Traveller has one mounting point for both stalks on top of the the tunnel, behind the handbrake.
This is a seemingly factory fixed mounting point.
I'll try & take a photo or two later today & post them up.

Andy.

I am not aware that the single mounting point is or was a factory incorporated modification.
Non of the BMC sections quoted above show a single mounting point on top of the transmission tunnel.
I would suggest that having both stalks mounted on the same bolt is not a good idea.
If the mounting was required to be used in anger the loading force on the one bolt and surrounding body panel would be doubled.
It would be better to split the mountings and use a separate mounting plate for each stalk mounted on the underside of the floor / transmission tunnel.
The plates in the link below are most suitable.

https://www.merlinmotorsport.co.uk/p/ha ... il-plt-fia

Phil

Andy W wrote: Just to be a complete PITA then ......My ('68) Traveller has one mounting point for both stalks on top of the the tunnel, behind the handbrake.
This is a seemingly factory fixed mounting point.
I'll try & take a photo or two later today & post them up.

Andy.

I very much doubt it is a factory fit. Any Minor I've owned after about 1967 had captive mountings in the rear floor - quite far back as this picture shows. I took this picture from the RH side of the car looking in, so the transmission tunnel is to the top of the shot and the black carpet to the left is the upright section beneath the rear seat. The captive mounting for the seatbelt is the "black hole" towards the centre of the picture. It is because this mounting is so far back that the long stalks are needed in the Securon set. No doubt some owners have used short stalks and drilled holes elsewhere in the floor to accommodate them.[frame][/frame]

The factory fitted belts were surely all fabric, not interia reel, and therefore they would not have had stalks. Just a thought as to whether that would affect mounting points?

I'm sure that is indeed why the mounts are well back - the adjustment on the static belts was on the strap mounted in the position shown in the picture above. That's exactly how they were on my original dealer-fitted belts in my 68 Traveller.

Very odd...I have the mounting points that seem to be standard but my belts are mounted on the tunnel in what seems to be a
factory fitted captive nut..!

...trying to put a photo up...here's another attempt....


Oh pants! Never mind!

Hi Andy,

You'll likely find the photos will upload if you decrease the size - otherwise they don't, but you're not told why!

Those floor mounts you mention are almost definitely the originals, and I would use them if the are sound - as Phil says, load will be double on the single 'aftermarket' mount you have if you were unlucky enough to use them in anger. Additionally, if you use the original mounts, the 'standard' Securon belts with the 45 cm buckle stalk length will work

Found your photo's, they have popped up on the LED Bulb thread for some reason

I think those came from someone else....

Nope, those seat belt pics on the LED conversation are not mine...mine have vanished somewhere!
Computers & Morris Minors - two ends of the spectrum but both equally confusing!

I hear what everyone is saying about spreading the seat belt load by using two separate mounting points & think I will alter mine accordingly.
Strange how my car's single mounting captive nut appears built in...perhaps it's for mounting the rear passengers' Playstation stand..!