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]

Originally Posted by bigtyme1

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-gal...?gcid=1&cid=13

[JRouche]

Originally Posted by Fluid Power

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