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Seatbelt install in caged 73' nova

3K views 0 replies 1 participant last post by  mnadams2 
#1 · (Edited)
Well, i finally got around to putting some 3 point retractable belts in my car. I have 5 point harness going in very soon, as this is a drag car. I will only very rarely cruise it to the local cruise-in about 5 miles down the road, and the 3 points are to pacify the few cops who striclty adhere to the anti-5 point harness law (i know, i know, they arent DOT approved, and blah blah blah).

***I got the belts out of a Grand Prix GT at Pull-A-Part.


***For the roof mount, I made an adpater bracket by measuring the 2 holes in the roof where the factory mount points would be (i had to take out the plastic piece, feel for the holes, and cut 2 holes in the headliner; the holes ended up being 2-1/8" apart, and accept 5/16 coarse thread bolts). I cut a 1/2" lenght off of some 1-3/8" solid bar stock, and drilled/tapped a 1/2-13 hole in the middle. Then i welded it to my bracket, around the front, and also on the back of the bracket, which i had to retap through some of the weld. I also picked up some 1" long spacers from Lowes, and slowly sanded with sand paper untill i would just barely slip through the upper seatbelt swivel bracket. I used grade 8 1/2"-13 bolt for the swivel bracket bolt, and grade 8 5/16" bolts and grade 8 lock washers for the bracket mounting bolts:







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***For the floor mount, i ordered 2 of these brackets from Summit. I cut a small length off of a spacer to take up all the slop in the 3/4" mounting hole:


I bolted the retractor mechanism, and the lower belt mounting plate to the clevis, with a spacer in the middle so i could torque the 1/2" grade 8 bolt down tight. Then i drilled a hole through the floor (drilled from under the car) matching up with the factory seat belt mounting hole, and threaded a 7/16" coarse thread grade 8 all thread throught the factory threads and through the floor, and put a nut on top (securing the clevis bracket) and on bottom. I used several 2" fender washers on top and on bottom to increase the surface area.










I made sure that the lower belt came up at a 45* angle off of the floor before tightening the lower seatbelt bracket down tight. Also, the belt feels comfortable as it passes over my shoulder (it looks like it is againt my neck, but im am leaning over to put the camera out in front of me). Also a plus is that the belt does not rub any of the roll cage when in use.











***I will get to bolting up the buckle (push button) tomorrow, and will use big fender washers and grade 8 bolts, but the hard part is done. I plan on duplicating this design on the passenger side too. Total amount invested is $25 per side, $50 total.
 
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