shoulder belts in an 88 soft top

[zed]

I have what appears to be factory non retractable shoulder belts attached to my hood sticks. Some sort of clamp wrapped around the stick where the belt attaches.

I notice the re-enforced threaded holes behind the seats top of the bulkhead.. Are these for seat belts? They appear to be.. fine thread and re-enforced and all.

IF so.. Is there a kit floating around.. or a good set to use?
I've done the search and found those couple of setups using a lot of extra hardware. I don't have a roll bar.. or I'd be set..

Any advise?
Thanks a lot.

[antichrist]

My Air Portable came with them connected to the top of the rear tub rail where you describe. I wouldn't use anything attached to the hood sticks.
I don't know about a kit, never looked for one. But I will tell you the eye bolt that screws in to a hard top series for the seat belt anchor has the same thread. At least on mine it does.

[zed]

so maybe An air portable seatbelt setup.. something to look for.
How is it set up. REtractor on the top of the bulkhead.. then anchored at the door frame only? Or is there a shoulder riser on it somehow.

[antichrist]

They aren't retractable seat belts. Not that fancy :P
When I have the hard top on I move them up to the side panel. I expect you could get a set of Series III belts to work, if you get the fixings too, but I've never tried it.

[zed]

Yea.. they're terribly long.. but i'll go grab them off the stix and see what happens....
guess I'll probably skip retractable..

Was really only thinking about it due to the attachment to the sticks.

I've always been a big seatbelt wearer.. But it makes me feel like an idiot putting on a seatbelt that could well just snap from its support..

[zed]

Just did it.. It fits a lot better than with my clamp.. THe clamp appears to be made for the purpose. Its not just some jury rigged up nonsense. Its galvanized special parts.. not just an agglomeration of U bolts and bar stock. Still it mounted to high and off to the side to be useful in a convertible. It wouldn't have kept me anywhere near in the seat.. though maybe would have kept me from hitting the steering wheel squarely.

Think I'll order up a set of these.. must have missed them previously when browsing wesco.

[autoguy]

or you can go for overkill and use a 5 point racing harness, i did

[zed]

Yes.. I could... But its un-needed.. a bit embarrassing.. (why is that guy doing 45 mph on the interstate and wearing a 5 point harness in a vehicle with no roof?) and uncomfortable. I've got all the points I need already available. I ordered up those seat belts. Should make it a bit nicer. Ive seen a few european pix of vehicles with a similar setup. The retractors aren't pretty.. but being able to pick up your wallet you dropped at the drive thru would be nice.

[pickuprover]

Ugrade those grade 5 bolts to something more like grade 8 at minimum. Also, check underneath the seat box and make sure that you have a plate to distribute the load of the bolt that holds the "existing" anchor to the seat box. Mine only had a small washer on the other side, and if in any sort of accident, well, it would have pulled though without even a hesitation....

[msggunny]

Originally Posted by pickuprover

Ugrade those grade 5 bolts to something more like grade 8 at minimum. Also, check underneath the seat box and make sure that you have a plate to distribute the load of the bolt that holds the "existing" anchor to the seat box. Mine only had a small washer on the other side, and if in any sort of accident, well, it would have pulled though without even a hesitation....

Mine has a bracket welded to the cross member under the back of the sea box. It looks like its factory.

Let us know how those work, i want to do the same but only after you try.

Take one for the team.

[zed]

My lower point is just the little 3 hole plate (2 larger holes) that bolts through the door sill bracket which is steel and rather thick. Bolts won't pull through that before it buckles.

I've got a question though. SO.. grade 8.. very hard.. very strong and very prone to cracking vs bending or stretching. The seat belt bolts Don't seem to be hardened in any other vehicle I've ever owned.. a seat belt bracket is just a 2 -3 inch fine thread punched piece of 3/16ths steel. It needs to be secure but I think you might be underestimating the tensile strength of steel. The bulkhead back has 6+ inch long channel with a fine thread bolt welded to it. the bulkhead then the galvanized steel across the top. Should be fine.

Maybe I shouldn't use grade 8.

Though I will get some hardened washers for the seat belt bracket on the floor.

I'd think almost everyone would have already done this. The land rover belts are irritating and so many go off roading. It sucks to roll with no belt on. Well it sucks to roll anyway with no roll bar or helmet.

[msggunny]

If you do it, please post pictures. i had the 5 point harnes going, but its a PITMFA and i am just using lap belts now.

There is just something about eating the steering wheel in a wreck that makes me cringe a bit...

Thanks.

[jimfoo]

Originally Posted by msggunny

There is just something about eating the steering wheel in a wreck that makes me cringe a bit...

Yeah, it's not much fun. BTDT.

[zed]

I will definitely post pics.
I've already ordered the above seat belts from wesco performance.
Another company that lures you in with a price then charges you an exorbitant shipping fee. I still used them because their instructions were so detailed.. it was very helpful..

An example of their fees. a 6 lb box (what UPS calls it) to hawaii from california USPS.. 50+ dollars. When I calculate the postage its around $10. Making their "handling fee" 40 dollars. they charged a about 7 dollars for me to have it shipped to a relative in NY UPS ($15) who will ship it to me for 10 bucks.. but it adds a week or so.

I keep running into these companies that swear up and down that shipping will be 60 dollars or something to hawaii. "about the same as fedex over night" when I get it it has a 6 dollar stamp on it. WHAT THE HELL!
Just happened to me on EBAY too.

Only places I trust at all right now is amazon (amazon proper not the amazon sellers) and british pacific.

Heck amazon takes it in the keester to give me "super saver shipping" some times. Especially since they insist on using those gigantic boxes and shipping them ups 3 day.

[zed]

Originally Posted by jimfoo

Yeah, it's not much fun. BTDT.

Yea.. that's what collapsable steering wheels and columns are all about. The rover doesn't appear to have either.. at least the steering box isn't up on the bumper like in the "olde days".

There's no 2 ways about it.. the series is not a crash friendly vehicle.. ergo the illegality of importing them and their defender distant cousins.

Seems to be VERY low on most peoples lists of things to upgrade as well.

I'm all for road tires.. disc brakes, decent suspension and sturdy harnesses.

Reason I'm averse to 5 points is that it won't fit my kids. I don't bring them on the highway.. but they still need to be secured well. I also need to be around to raise them.. main reason I sold my bikes.. then I get this "death trap". At least its not so fast that I'm likely to get stupid with it. It demands attention while driving.