Question - Adapting Rear 3-Point Seat Belts to an Older Car...

[BonzoHansen]

Maybe, but still the forces are all pulling one way. I don't see value in reinforcing on top of the package tray if you spread the load out enough underneath. But maybe. Like you said that is not practical here. And OEs don't. I harp on that as I think they spend millions engineering those things.

[79T/A]

Well if you can tie the top plate to the bottom plate it will only add to the area the force is distributed over, but that would be tough to do, be either a lot of bolts or a serious weld.

I was thinking a lot of bolts. Four of them. Plus the one in the middle holding the belt itself. I suppose a plate only in the bottom of the package tray would work as it's highly unlikely crash forces would pull the plate through the tray. I just tend to be paranoid about mounting restraint points to just sheet metal (In non-factory locations), especially after a shock absorber actually punched through and destroyed the mounting point in the back of my old third gen back in the day (Waaaay before I had the ability and the tools to fix it properly).

[BonzoHansen]

I've seen shocks punch through frames. And air shocks through a frame. Or a sway bar mount ripped out of the frame. But those are markedly higher levels of force. Plus I'd not want to punch too many holes in the tray sheet metal itself - that is the part we don’t want to fail, that is why we spread the load across more of it. There is only so much real estate there. I'll take my chance with one or two bolts with a nice reinforcement.

I still think that if OE's mount top retractors with a bolt or two it's fine. The force just isn't there. If a 2x4 or 3x5 piece of 1/8" steel rips through the tray I'd prefer not to think about what the rest of the car looks like. In any case it’s still a leap ahead compare to lap belts.

[The Fixer]

Well, I have some good news finally. I stopped by a local hardware store today to ask if he had some steel plate. He didn't, but directed me to a welding shop across the street (which I didn't even know existed!) and the guy there had a ton of scrap. He cut me two pieces of 3/16" steel in a 3"x4" rectangle, smoothed all the edges, and only charged me $5. I climbed into the trunk after I got home and they fit perfectly, so I just need to drill the holes and I should be in business. Woohoo!

[BonzoHansen]

Win!

[Tru2Chevy]

Awesome Steve! Post up some pics of the finished product when you get a chance.

- Justin

[79T/A]

Awesome Steve! Post up some pics of the finished product when you get a chance.

What he said!

[The Fixer]

It's been extremely slow working on it - I get about 20 minutes in every couple of days, but I've made progress. I have the 2 holes drilled in each steel plate and picked up my extra hardware, so everything is ready to be bolted in - just have to find the time to climb in there and get it done. It'd be a helluva lot easier if I could remove the jute padding that separates the trunk from the interior, but I fear I'll destroy it and that would suck. I might need an extra person to tighten the bolts from inside the car while I line everything up inside the trunk. Fun.

[The Fixer]

Well, they're in, they work, and they look factory!!! Here's a pic of the reinforcement plate from underneath -



Here's how they look from the top - I just had to dye the plastic caps on the buckle and shoulder part -



And here's how they look all finished - the color is a perfect match for the OEM front belts as you can see in the pic. I'm sorry my interior looks like two different colors - stupid flash!



Thanks to all of you guys for the great ideas, it was a huge help in getting this thing done and legal!

Edit: Don't worry, my son doesn't ride in the back without his booster seat, he was just showing the belts off and I had to take his pic there.

[LTb1ow]

Looks real nice!

Job well done man

[BonzoHansen]

Nice job Steve.

I found in the back of the Z my oldest was off the booster before the other cars because the belts went across him correctly.

[The BIG Show]

I have an 85 LeSabre that needs the rear shoulder belts so I can put my daughter's seat in the back also.
let me know how it turns out.

Where did you get belts?

Thanks.

[The Fixer]

Here's the link from the supplier - Beam's Industries.

http://www.seatbelts.net/products/wsch256.php?list=4

That was the style belt I used, it looks pretty close to OEM. You'll have to measure and do some checking, but IIRC I used the one with the 12" plastic sleeve for the receiver and just pulled the belt out of the sleeve so it would be the right length to reach up onto the lower seat cushion. Hope that helps you!

[Artful Dodger]

A job well done...