lap belts in the back seat...

[dansalisbury72]

I am trying to install a car seat in the back of my 109" SW so my 5 year old can roll with me, but I am not having luck with the lap belt installation. Does anyone have any suggestions or preferably any photos of how they installed a lap belt in the back seat? I don't see anywhere that I can anchor down a seat belt, other than drilling through the floor and hoping that I hit something steel (other than the gas tank).

thanks...

Dan in NC

[adkrover]

I was able to drill through the floor of my 1965 109 and hit a structural member without removing the fuel tank. I purchased my belts with an extended strap going to the floor to get the buckle up above the seat for easy access.

[dansalisbury72]

adkrover - thanks for the note - so you basically drilled right into the frame then?

thanks...

Dan in NC

[lew_sa]

This should provide a good reference:
http://gunsandrovers.yuku.com/topic/4619/t/Seat-Belts.html

I recently did the same install & it didn't take long at all. The hardest part is sourcing the shoulder brackets. I got mine from Rovah Farm, but Trevor indicated the brackets are getting v. hard to find.

R/,
Lew
'65 Dormi

[KevinNY]

Get a Jeep CJ rear seat, they come with belts that anchor to the seat frame.

[adkrover]

I didn't drill into the frame itself but rather into the cross members that run perpendicular to the frame. They are a "u" shaped channel that stiffen the sheet metal of the floor. On the bottom of it all, I added a few thick fender washers to prevent it from tearing through if something really awfull were to happen. It was fast and easy. I believe I found my belts at JC Whitney but you could also try Jegs or Hemmings. Any company that caters to the restorer's market will sell them since belts were not really used before 1970.

I got lucky with the top shoulder strap because my truck's PO had ordered them by mistake from I think our host. He was putting belts in the front seat and ended up with extra parts that just happened to fit handily in the rear. If you can't find them, they could easily me made by someone with even basic welding skills. It's just a piece of angle about 3" horizontally by 5" vertically that tie the roof to the door post with a big nut welded on to thread the shoulder strap into. Mine are buried behind the interior panels but I'm sure someone here has one you could get a photo of. Also, some of the online Rover parts dealers have pretty good parts drawings you could look at to get the idea. Call our host first and see what they have. I find a lot of places have things lying around that they don't bother to put on the web so if you can't find them by surfing, let your fingers do the walking.

[dansalisbury72]

all great info, thanks fellas, appreciate the feedback.

Dan in NC