| 33FordSequim | -- 12-26-2010 @ 11:08 AM |
|
Looking to put lap belts in 33 fordor. Front seat has lower steel frame at across back of seat. Could bolt the lap belt anchors to this seat frame. Or could bolt the lap belt anchors to body floor but would need to cut slits in lower seat frame for belt to pass up through the seat frame. Looking to minimize damage to original steel but get the job done adequately. Any suggestions appreciated. Thank you.
|
|
| Stroker | -- 12-26-2010 @ 3:56 PM |
|
I grew up, (as did many others on this Forum) without lap belts. My dad was a "believer", so we started installing them in everything we drove in the mid-fifties. Most of the early "kits", assumed that the car had never had belts, so there were some good guidelines for retrofitting cars included with the "new" seat belts. In later years, I got involved in land-speed racing, wherein belts were not just a requirement, but the design of belt anchoring methods were specified. Most of the early kits recommended anchoring to the floorpan with large (4-inch), thick washers. the idea was, that the washers wouldn't pull-through, and the floorpan was attached in multiple locations. As an anchor, your lower seat frame is only as good as its' attachment to the floor pan. If you are installing these for safety reasons, and not just some local or cosmetic requirement, then I would assume you want them to be functional in a high-G impact. If the latter is the case, then by all means anchor them with big washers to the floorpan or frame, as there is no advantage to the emergency responders to have you firmly attached to your lower seat frame. Small slits are easy to weld up. Those "slits" should be surrounded by grommets so as not to cut the belt in a crash. One trick I've used, is to slice 3/8" steel brake tubing with an air cutter and thin cut-off wheel. Form a metal grommet out of the tubing to provide a radiused non-cutting passage through the slit.
|
|
| EFV-8 Club Forum : | https://www.earlyfordv8.org/forum |
| Topic: | https://www.earlyfordv8.org/forum/viewmessages.cfm?Forum=18&Topic=2349 |