Rear Seat belts

[new to this]

i have fitted rear seat belts in my brothers car,the reel are mounted by the rear shock absorbers,so they pull from the top over the back seat rail they work good ,

but would like to know would this mod but any strain on the back seat rail ?

dave

[73stagman]

Do they extend and retract smoothly when the hood is down?
I've just fitted static belts to the rear of mine but think that a lot of stress will be put through the rear seat frame if they are ever used in anger. They are there for a comfort blanket in my book. I will be driving as if they are not there when I have the grand kids in the back!

[edd]

My reel will be mounted on the bolt provided bottom of the wheel arch . I then have a slot in the cubby panel provided by a porche seat belt slot.The cubby panel has a slot already provided so this was this was the original intended route I'm sure . I'm not a fan of belts sliding past fabric it will wear after a while .
Edd

[new to this]

neil

they work smoothly with the tonneau cover down,have not fitted hood yet

[new to this]

My reel will be mounted on the bolt provided bottom of the wheel arch . I then have a slot in the cubby panel provided by a porche seat belt slot.The cubby panel has a slot already provided so this was this was the original intended route I'm sure . I'm not a fan of belts sliding past fabric it will wear after a while .
Edd

edd

have not drilled any other holes just turned the belt fixing round,i did this for two reason , 1 when you sit in the back and move around as you do the belt feels uncomfortable ,2 with new cubby panels did not want to cut holes in them ( mine you still not fitted the cubby yet) there next on the to do list,but was going to make new bottom brackets

dave

[73stagman]

Absolutely right Edd.
Im more concerned about the retractable belts being free to retract and leave no slack.
They (retractable belts) were never intended to be fitted in the back of a Stag and the third mount has no option but to load up the rear seat frame when its pulled tight.
I know the cars were modified for sale in Australia where design rules enforced the retro fitting of the three point belts and a mounting point was "designed" but I wonder how much crash testing was done with these car shells.
Also if the folded hood pushes the seat belt down when its closed then as soon as its snapped tight in an accident the belt will try to lift the hood frame and the tonneau cover so the side latch hooks and their mounts must be strong enough to take that load. I doubt if they are even nearly strong enough.
If the belt is much lower than the back of the seat then when it snaps tight the force down onto the rear seat squab and frame is as strong as the crash force plus any inertia generated by the moving body....any slack in the belt will delay the inertia locking device and means that the body is already accelerating by the same rate as the car is decelerating...increasing the load on the rear seat frame.
So are the seat belts in the back anything more than a "better option than nothing at all"... Probably since the days of crash testing has proved they are a good bit better than the lap style belts but they will never be the safety devices fitted to our every day cars.
Mounting them sideways I guess is ok if they are the sideways mounting type but not every type can be mounted that way but at least that way the belt is free to be pulled out and retract without leaving any slack..
Like I said we probably should fit them, for our kids sake, but drive like they arent there and try to reduce the risk of them ever being required to operate to their full potential however good or poor that might be. God help us avoid the careless driver at the rear though....over which we have no control!!
Unless someone can come on here and categorically convince me that as long as they are fitted properly they will do the job properly! (Id like to see some crash test data or pictures!)

[edd]

edd

have not drilled any other holes just turned the belt fixing round,i did this for two reason , 1 when you sit in the back and move around as you do the belt feels uncomfortable ,2 with new cubby panels did not want to cut holes in them ( mine you still not fitted the cubby yet) there next on the to do list,but was going to make new bottom brackets

dave

It's all good as long as you have fully clear re coil . If someone is moving about and the belt moves out and not back with the persons movement then it will not be worth having the belt on . I'm still not convinced you'll get free movement.
I will test mine soon .I understand the movement thing but I'm sure the bottom will move and run through the to the chest area as it's still a pulling action . I'm fitting mine soon so will soon see .
Edd

[edd]

My Honda crv tightens my belt for me if I pass a little too close to an object . It's a little strange to feel it tighten quickly but very reassuring.
Edd

[Guest]

Has anybody got leftover rear seat belt receivers to sell?, although my belts are as new the receivers were at some time in the past left under the seat and in a pool of water, there is no way to restore them so need replacement.

John