Seat Belt Mounts

[Guest Battery Bill]

Hi Folks

Any Ideas on how to fit the inboard (Tunnel side) seatbelt mounts?

We are squeezing our massivly cut down Recaros in so there is not much room.

We think we are going to make a bracket up from the Box section seat mount to hold the belt.

I have been told that possibly some people bolt a stiffening plate to the Tunnel panel and bolt the belt to that.

Surely the SS tunnel panel is not deemed strong enough to hold a seatbelt.

Any ideas would be gratefully recieved

Bill and Joey (And Sometimes Katie)

www.billbrown.org.uk

[Guest TerryBarry]

What we really need here is a drawing - I'll work on that

In words -

OK so you have a strengthening angle running under the floor for the rearmost seat mounting bolts.

Imagine a Wide”U” section piece of steel running across the tunnel at floor level with two 7/16 UNF nuts welded on to accept the seat belt bolts.

This is bolted through the floor into the strengthening angle

You then have two clearance holes through the S/S tunnel sides to line up with the UNF nuts .

 

Are you still with me ???

 

Terry

[Guest Ant]

Here's my solution - different to the above.

 

My inner seatbelt bolts go horizontally through the tunnel sides rather than vertically through the floor. Inside the tunnel is a piece of 3mm mild U section with captive nuts welded to it. This is then bolted with three M10 bolts down through the floor and into a 1ft square piece of 3mm stainless plate. This plate is sandwiched between my rear angle section and the floor panel, and has several of the tunnel side fixing bolts going through it too. For the U section to move at all not only would the tunnel sides have to severly buckle but this stainless 1 ft square plate would have to be pulled upwards, which would in turn mean the floor buckling, and the horizontal angle section across the car would have to sheer. If that lot happened then you'd probably die from whiplash anyhow!

 

Ant

[Mitch]

Hi All

If using the Recaro seats supplied by robin hood. There is a bolt hole fixed to the seat which just happens to be the correct thread (7/16unf this is a test requirement) for the bolts supplied with the seat belts.

This is were Vauxhall mount the seat belts thus it is approved.

This is were mine are attached with a drop of thread lock.

SVA examineer peered down and i explained how i had done it and was quite happy.

May help if you take pictures of belt attached before putting seat in.

Mitch

[Guest Battery Bill]

If using the Recaro seats supplied by robin hood.

Hi Mitch

We are using the Recaro seats "But" We have cut away most of the metalwork below, we have it down to 50mm height to the cushion. (Less than a Cobra) and £200 cheaper.

We needed to do that so we sat in the car not on it.

We have decided to weld some steel staps with fitted mounting bolts to whats left and will be bolting it to some box section under the floor.

We will now make a bracket coming up from the box section to mount the seatbelt to.

We will also have to make a bracket to move the outer mounting point back, as we have the seat back so far .

I think it would probable been easier to have surgery and removed a few inches off my legs.

Cheers

Bill and Joey

[Mitch]

Hi Billy

I to cut the runners off mine, but I cut in-between the bars so I still had about four/five inch of a foot left to bolt through the floor (I drilled the rivets out of the runners)

I made four 1" X 1/8 strips for the length of the seats and drilled holes to match the seats "feet". I then put one length above and one below the floor (sandwiched) and bolted it all down, there's also a 4" strip that goes across the car, which it all picks up on at the rear and the angle at the front.

The seatbelt mounting points were still on the bottom so i used them.

I will try and get a piccy if this isn't clear

Mitch

[Guest Battery Bill]

Just like Terry said in fact, Thanks to all

Bill and Joey

[Guest SteveL]

Hi Guys

 

Just a thought. Has anyone just bolted their seatbelt mounts straight through the floor, onto some sort of plate to spread the load, so that the metal mount was flat to the floor? Would the fact that the belt and metal mount were at a 90 degree angle make this a non-starter for any reason?

 

Steve

[Joel]

Has anyone just bolted their seatbelt mounts straight through the floor, onto some sort of plate

 

I've done this with my seats, using an 8" x 8" plate. Similar thing with that belt mount near the tunnel too, except I used a length of angle rather than plate. Not SVA'd yet of course - there'll be plenty of head scratching if it fails.

[Guest neil gale]

Guys

 

As i understand it, RH intend the seat belts to be bolted through the floor and the under floor strengthener, as shown in the RH brochure. This puts the belts at a 90 degree angle, and RH are fully prepared to back this. The underfloor strengthener is also classed as part of the chassis, if fitted properly.

 

I may be changing mine to this as they failed sva for not being attached to chassis. The seat bolys through the underfloor strengthener at the back, and has some additional angle for the front mounts

 

Neil.

[Guest Andy Hamilton]

This is how I did mine,

 

I put the under floor strengthener across the width of the car to pick up on the rear semi-trailing arm mounting plates, bolted it through there with M12's. I then put some small pieces of angle right next to the tunnel wall, and bolted them down to the strengthener. I attached the inner seatbelt mount to this bracket and through the tunnel wall. Hopefully the drawing is attached. The drawing only shows one of each bolt! I couldn't be bothered drawing the rest.

[Guest Battery Bill]

Hi Andy

That is kind of what we have in mind.

How are your seats have you cut much off them?

See u

Bill and Joey

[Guest Andy Hamilton]

Hi guys,

 

As you know my seats are Recaro's out of a capri (86). I have taken the whole of the bottom section off the seat including the mounting section and runners. I have then modified the mounts so that they are only 1 inch high, and re-attached them to the seat. I think there is about 4 inches from the floor to the lowest part of the seat squab. i.e. your backside! I have then swapped the mounts over from one seat onto the other so that they sit more inboard on each seat on the tunnel side. This gives the clearance to the bracket in the piccy.

[Guest Battery Bill]

Sorry to appear thick Andy but, What piccy?

We made our mounting tonight Joey used the Arc welder and managed quite well, it will be on the website tonight

Bill and Joey

[Guest Andy Hamilton]

The piccy in the post a few before this one.... OK a drawing not a piccy as such. If I had left the mounts in the normal positions, they would have sat right on top ot the little angle bracket in the drawing. Keep up the welding Joey, It may come in useful later in the Robin Hoods life!!