Page 1 of 1

Seat belt installation

Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2015 3:30 pm
by John Beyea
I looking for an article;from several years ago; on how to fabricate a 90 degree angle bracket w/welded studs which was welded to the outside of the floor pan @ the junction with the vertical section of the jump seat area to facilitate the installation of seat belts. If you know of or have a copy of it, I would like one.
Thanks,
John Beyea - hzy034@comcast.net

Re: Seat belt installation

Posted: Fri Dec 25, 2015 2:37 pm
by Bob Cannon
Short of finding the article on the subject you want, here are some pictures of seat belt mounts I recently installed on a 58 Cab undergoing restoration to give you an idea of how to make "solid" seat belt mounting brackets. The brackets are made from 12 GA steel, about 2 x 2.5" and were bent in a vise to give a 1/2" bend on top and bottom. A 1/2" hole was drilled in the bracket and in the bend of the upright sections of the car (do this last part just before installation). The standard seat belt mounting bolts use a 7/16" fine thread (the only non-metric fastener on the car?), so a nut with a 7/16" fine thread was welded on the outside of the brackets. The brackets were then mounted on the car and welded. These will accept either seatbelt bolt (standard or eyebolts) and won't pull out or deform the pan. You can use either a sleeve (made from a piece of metal tubing) or a 7/16" nut on the inside to space the final position of the seatbelt away from the carpet. If the bolts are long enough, you could also use a nut on the outside as a "locknut" to secure and space the bolt. It took an hour or so to fabricate these; I cut the metal with a plasma cutter, but a saber saw with a metal cutting blade works just as well. I used a TIG to weld the nuts onto the brackets; MIG to weld the brackets onto the car. A MIG will work fine for both jobs, just turn the heat up.
IMG_4637 (1).jpg
IMG_4637 (1).jpg (82.67 KiB) Viewed 2603 times
IMG_4635.jpg
IMG_4635.jpg (65.93 KiB) Viewed 2603 times

Re: Seat belt installation

Posted: Fri Dec 25, 2015 4:13 pm
by Martin Benade
That is a nice job, pretty much replicating the factory T6 mountings in a nice strong spot. John, if you are not wanting to do a welding project, brackets like Bob made would work as custom washers with nuts, nothing would have to be welded in if your car is not rusty. I do not think studs should be used, use actual seat-belt bolts so you know they are the proper strength.