Cabriolet Seat Belts

1

1930Cabby

Junior Member
Has anyone installed seat belts in a Cabriolet? I have a 68B (early '30) and would like to do so.

One unknown is how to do something to keep the things from falling out the door when it is opened.

I am assuming there is no hope for a sholder belt - just a lap belt.
 
Hi,
I have the whole thing documented in an illustrated article for the 68C Cabriolet.
In a nutshell, I ran a perforated L bracket, across the car, bolted to the frame on each side, then I bolted the seat belt bolts to it, using grade 8 hardware all around. The belts just come up between the back and seat.
I then ran two other perforated steel pieces aft to give strength in case of a collision.
I ran a two inch nylon strap and snap from the rumble floor angle iron, over the folded top for when I have a child's car seat strapped in, and there is a third point needing fastening for the little guy.
I have found the wind-up retractors a great idea that isn't yet ready for prime time.

Write me at sailbruce@aol.com for the article and additional photos.
 
I keep the passenger belt latched to prevent drop out through the starboard door. On the port side; be mindful of the latch dropping beside the seat. It makes an awful clank when the door is shut.
 
Hmmm - not trying to hijack this thread, but are retractable belts available? Ones I've seen in catalogs appear to not have retractors. Thanks.
 
You can purchase retractors from Mac's Parts. They seem to work pretty well. We installed belts in a 29 Cabriolet this summer for a customer, for the main seat and the rumble seat. I custom made a wood brace under the rumble seat that matched the wood under the car, and bolted the rear belts to it. The fromt seat was bolted the the car body/frame.
 
Bruce, thanks for the suggestion. I found this site: http://www.gotbelts.com which offers a variety of seat belts. Has anyone installed shoulder and lap belts in a closed body A? Or just the lap belts? And does anyone have experience with Seat Belts Pros?

Bob - thanks for your response, too. I looked at the MACs offering - looks pretty straightforward and is certainly a way to go.

I am trying to make the belts as invisible as possible - color options help in that regard which makes the Seat Belts Pros a good option. Also found a possible color match in Snyders catalog.

Thanks for the help - as always!
 
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Click to see How I did seatbelts

The place http://www.ssnake-oyl.com/ will send you color samples.

Some seat belt install ideas

Shoulder harness is not impossible with the cabriolet. With the 68C you have a pretty firm point where the lower landau bracket fits in the the corner of belt rail. You could do something with the 68A,B by drilling holes through and counter sinking the screw head hole. I would think some kind of doubler in the corner to give the strength you would get with the cast iron 68C bracket.
Then there is making the interior compatible with the seat belts.
I decided against retractors and went with plastic ends on the button side. My reason was that the retractors I thought would be more likely to damage paint if you released them. The metal ends I thought would look nicer, but if they dropped off the edge of the seat they could damage paint. I put the tongue end in the middle so the metal would not damage the paint.

Some would prefer to place the middle front seat belt anchor on the wood cross sill. I moved it rear ward to put more of a diagonal force on the wood. This has the forces going into the strongest cross section of the wood.
My goal is to never find out if I was right.

For the rumble I am thinking a shoulder harness will be needed. I am thinking something that goes to the bumper brackets and then up and over. I am worried about a fast stop and the lid trying to close while children slide forward into a very hard rumble gutter. The harness would go up and over both shoulders with a cross strap in front and two loops that go to the lap belt.
 
Kevin - all good thoughts.... realizing that this thread refers to the cabriolet, I must again apologize for raising my own questions. I'm installing into a Tudor... am trying to determine if there are attachment points solid enough for shoulder belts. Maybe the rightest answer is that something is better than nothing.
 
Has anyone ever tried one of the belts with a "stand up" holster-kind-of-thing beside the seat to keep the belt from flopping out the door? I have seen some of these in a search of the internet a while back but will have to search again since I don't remember where they were.
 
Thanks Pilotdave! I believe the ones with the 7" boot is what I was looking for. Now if they aren't too bulkey to fit between the seat and the door.
 
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