I want to get some ideas for what modern seats and shoulder belts work in A-bodies. I have seen here Sebring seats work well and add shoulder belts as well. Can you post your seat choices and how you may have added shoulder belts either in the seat or connected to the car.
Modern seats and shoulder belts
- Thread starter drewmac
- Start date
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66Dvert
Working on my custom car parts again!
I used a sebring convertible seat setup since the seatbelts are integrated on the front seats not on the floor. I know there are other seats out there that work buut I had the wiring diagram to make the sebring seats belts work just like they do in the sebring.
pauly v.100
Well-Known Member
Same here. I made sure to re-enfrorce the floor too so that in a wreck, both me and the seat won't go flying out the windshield. I'm on my phone I can't post a pic until I'm torn away from this lovely Seattle weather and return home at the end of the week. -pauly
Treblig
Well-Known Member
Here's what I did. New impact activated (reel type) shoulder harness belts. I mounted the base (for front seats) directly below the factory B-pillar attach point. My Barracuda came with the old shoulder harness belts that attach at the top of the B-pillar (second pic). For the rear I bought the same belts but then I built a metal frame to have a solid mount for the reel. I also used this metal (frame) cage to mount my amps and speakers once the seat is installed everything disappears and you have shoulder harness belts front and rear.
The metal frame bolts directly to the bolts that hold the rear seat in place so I wouldn't have to drill any new holes in the body.
treblig
The metal frame bolts directly to the bolts that hold the rear seat in place so I wouldn't have to drill any new holes in the body.
treblig
MattP
Well-Known Member
^^ Same thing here. 3 point retractables using factory mounting points and Procar buckets.
mopar jimmie
Mopar Jimmie
Just go to your local you pull it yard and walk around and look at all the offerings, the one near me charges 18 dollars for any seat no what its from .
12valve
Well-Known Member
I don't have any pics to show right now, but I'm using BMW M3 convertible seats in the front. They're power, have good lateral support, have a convenient flip forward set up, and most importantly they have the shoulder belt integrated into the seat. I made a frame under the car that is welded to my subframe connectors to deal with the shoulder belt being part of the seat. For the rear passengers, I am working on reinforcing the C pillar to mount the upper shoulder belt to. The inertia reel will be mounted behind the interior panel, and the seat belt will come thru the panel near the top, more like a modern car
coffeedart67
Well-Known Member
I would second the reinforcement. I know from experience that a very sudden stop at 35 mph and 120 lb person can rip a bench seat out of the floor of a 67 Dart.
Treblig
Well-Known Member
If you use the shoulder harness type belts all the force is absorbed by the seat belt bolt on the tranny tunnel and the bolt at the top of the b-pillar. If you get a seat with the seat belt incorporated in the seat then you absolutely need plenty of support under the floor.
Treblig
Treblig
smartken22
U.S. Navy Senior Chief
I am using Simpson 3" blue lap belts (no shoulders) with my Procar buckets. I am on Det in Florida right now, but when I get back home next week, I will post some pics of that setup. It looks really nice and is a nice upgrade over the stock lap belts.
Carson13
Well-Known Member
2005 Benz buckets fully powered and heated. I didn't end up using my tracks. I put the first bolt through the front outer hole, and just needed a 1 1/2" wedge spacer for the front inner. The tracks were flat and the seat just wanted to be there. Shoulder belts coming soon.
74Dusted
Stock Piler of 340's
Sounds like the Talon/Laser/Eclipse seats I installed in my '73 340 Duster. Only without the power/heat option.
The tracks were flat and matched up almost perfectly with the A-Body floor. Instead of a 1.5" Spacer, the T/L/E seats required a 1" Spacer on the Front Inner mount.
pauly v.100
Well-Known Member
Sebring vert seats.
smartken22
U.S. Navy Senior Chief
Here is a lap belt setup.
2 Darts
A-body Addicted
I put front shoulder belts from Dodge vans into my 72 Demon and 73 Dart Custom. The van belts are long enough for a two-door and there is enough room on the inertia reel for it to work on the 4-door, too. The inboard link is almost too short for use with a bench seat, however. The reel has to be mounted parallel to the ground. Otherwise, it will not lock up when it should. I used the stock two-belt system's mounting points. I did make some modifications to the belt mount plates in order to make things fit.
When looking for belts in the local pick 'n pull, watch for cuts and frayed edges on the belts and vehicles that have been in frontal collisions. Before mounting the belts, I cleaned them. It was amazing how dirty 30-year old black belts can get. The cleaning also gets rid of stuff that had been ground into the belt and could compromise its effectiveness.
When looking for belts in the local pick 'n pull, watch for cuts and frayed edges on the belts and vehicles that have been in frontal collisions. Before mounting the belts, I cleaned them. It was amazing how dirty 30-year old black belts can get. The cleaning also gets rid of stuff that had been ground into the belt and could compromise its effectiveness.
Can someone show their upper mounts? My 67 Barracuda has lap belts only with no upper mounts showing. I had a '76 duster years ago with 3 point belts so I have an idea where they should be. If I don't have a upper mount showing how do find out if there is a mounting point under the headliner. Do I have to cut the headliner to install one?
2 Darts
A-body Addicted
You'll have to cut small holes in headliner to put the bolts into the mount. Try the threads below for how someone else addressed a similar problem.
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/...ad.php?t=56265
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/...t+Belt+Install
Treblig
Well-Known Member
Here are some pics of my shoulder mount belts. The mount point is just in front of the clothes hanger and directly above the window chrome strip.
I mounted the reel by removing the rear side panel and putting a hole in the metal panel just below the cardboard panel.
treblig
I mounted the reel by removing the rear side panel and putting a hole in the metal panel just below the cardboard panel.
treblig
This link is all messed up....Pics no longer match what FASTBACK340 was doing.
I remember it being a great thread before :dontknow:
coffeedart67
Well-Known Member
I at first thought you guys were crazy replacing the seats, Wednesday went on a 40 mile cruise and my back and stomach still hurt, I'm hoping it was lifting a 100 lb pipe at work and not the seats. My problem is finding something that doesn't look too out of place in a convertible. If I win the lottery I would have my seats redone in a stock appearing style with lumbar support and more bolstering to the sides, and have them modified to recline slightly.
pauly v.100
Well-Known Member
A member here has a beautifully done early A vert with Sebring seats that looked natural. Search Sebring seats , you should find pics. Also Google corvair kid. -pauly
blue missile
Well-Known Member
I have the CTS seats in the back, and the procar seats in the front. The CTS seats have intergrated 3 point belts and the front ones have retractable 4 point.
Andrew
Andrew
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