DIY seat belts (1 Viewer)

[gavel]

Has anyone tried fitting either 2 point or 3 point seat belts in a "U" shaped body? Our local dealer won't fit them. Our m/h is a 2005 model and therefore we do not have to fit seat belts but we feel it is a priority.

 

[haganap]

I have thought about fitting a side facing seatbelt on ours but having had a look at it came to the conclusion that it would be a waste of time.
I am sure it can be done but to make it effective? you may have to wait till Geo comes on to give you that information., especially on the legality, I believed that if it was fitted it had to meet certain criteria but I stand or sit to be corrected.:Cool:

 

[Geo]

From an MoT point of view you could literally fix your new belts to the floor with self tappers
It is not our mandate to ascertain if the fixing method works in practise, how would we determine that fact, what forces and how do we apply them??
I'm afraid retro fitting of seat belts is an unknown quantity, as a vehicle examiner I would possibly hope to have a better idea than the butcher,baker or candlestick maker, but thats all it would be,my opinion
I mentioned the real world in a previous post because we do all work and live in the real world, and in the real world it is perfectly possible for any reasonably thinking, and the operative word is "thinking",man to fasten in retro belts, provided he uses proprietary manufactured parts for that purpose, one of the simplest to get right is your boy racer 3 point racing harness, all that is reqd there are the proper floor plates that are sold with them and a little care in placing them.
next easiest are the lap bet type,not as good but better than nothing, after that comes the three point inertia type, but they in my opinion require some understanding of vehicle construction and are best left to the professional, or persons from an engineering /mechanical background
No slur is intended on butchers, bakers, or candlestick makers
But believe me, there are some very dangerous individuals out there,its my job on a daily basis to protect them from themselves
Geo

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[gavel]

DIY seat belts.

Thanks Haganap and Geo. What a grey area. Do I understand right that retro fitted belts are not subject to MOT? We have a 2 berth van can we fit 2 rear seat belts to accommodate 4 people? I am interested in the racing harness idea. Where are the floor fixings placed. I can understand 2 fixings but not 3 floor fixings [quite a tongue twister]. Thanks Gavel M.B.E

 

[haganap]

hi Gavel MBE?

The harness that Geo refers to is a racing harness used on race cars used for rallying etc. I used to have one on my race mini many moons ago.

One would go on the left, one would go on the right. The third would go behind the seat and come over the head with a strap on each shoulder which would conect to the two on each side that come across the lap.

Hope that answers your question:Confused:

However these type of belts are normally designed to go with a bucket seat used for racing,, therefore I could not answer the probabilty of one ofg these fitting in a u shaped
lounge without some form of messing around.
There is an option of fitting a lap belt in a similar way (without the third strap) You would need to make some similar plates to the harness, however there is a member or two on here that given the spec could probably make some, try wildman, he makes things.:thumb:

Good luck

 

[Geo]

Thanks Haganap and Geo. What a grey area. Do I understand right that retro fitted belts are not subject to MOT? We have a 2 berth van can we fit 2 rear seat belts to accommodate 4 people? I am interested in the racing harness idea. Where are the floor fixings placed. I can understand 2 fixings but not 3 floor fixings [quite a tongue twister]. Thanks Gavel M.B.E

Mot seat belts rules a very complex depending on exact seating plan and their positions, what are deemed to be seats and what are not, but as a rule of thumb ALL belts fitted MUST comply with mot regs and the regs are as always to a minimum standard
What I am trying to tell you is that there are no regulations in the mot test to help decide if the mountings used would actually work if push came to crunch
so long as I cant pull them through the floor and there is no obvious flexing of the mount, and where they are bolted too has no corrosion within 12" and they clip and unclip or retract as intended then they pass (assuming they are of the correct type for the position used )oh:
Using the 12" corrosion rule as an example the floor could well be fully corroded at 14" and it would still pas the MoT, and then you would get a 14" disc of metal floor pull through in the event of an accident
so you see MoT regs are no help in solving your problem,in what you do and how you install them
Geo

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