Ideas on three-point seatbelts?

[Jim Dohr]

I am just getting ready to prime the interior of my 53. I have some wesco lap belts in the truck now but would like to have # point belts. Any ideas on how/where to mount the shoulder point. I seem to remember that someone was making a kit with a bracket that could be welded into the corners on the cab reinforcement. Any ideas?

[Jim Shepard]

Here are three photos showing how I handled it. I don't know who the manufacturer is, but I'm sure these are pretty-much all the same.

[IanT_Qld]

Jim, did the holes go through the "B" pillar or are the bolts somehow embeded in the metal work? Are there bolt heads on the out side?

Cheers

[Merle Coggins]

What perfect timing. My project for today was to finish the seat belt install in my truck. I was probably going to have to go searching for Jim's pictures again for reference, but now I don't have to.

I put in my upper mount point before I painted the truck. Mine is similar to Jim's. I don't remember his method, but here's how I did it. I got my seat belt kits from Juliano's. They have anchor point plates with nuts already attached. Once I figured out where I wanted the shoulder anchor point to be, I drilled a hole through the pillar at that point. The pillar is hollow and you can reach down into that pocket from the top. I then attached an anchor plate to a piece of wire and lowered it down into the pillar and got a bolt started through the hole that I drilled. This was to be sure of a good fit. There is a seam on the back side that caused some interference, so I had to adjust as needed. Once I had the final placement set, I removed the plate and drilled two more holes, one above and one below the first hole. I then bolted the plate back in and welded the plate into place through the other two holes. Once ground clean and painted, it looks very similar to Jim's picture (except that mines green )

Today's project is to do the lower mounts. The driver's side retraction mechanism is the one that has me worried because the fuel fill pipe is right in the way for where it should go. I believe JIm nounted his inboard a little more, and it seams to be working for him.

Melre

[cwcars88]

I plan on using bucket seats out of a newer Dodge pick-up that has the 3-point belts built right into the seats.

[IanT_Qld]

Merle, that sounds very neat, I will have to locate something similar here in OZ. thanks for the procedure.

[Allen I.]

Just make sure to mark your seat's footprint.

I ran into some issues with placement of the retractor on the driver's side because I did not take the full dimensions of the seat into consideration.

You sure do have a lot more room to work when it is out of the cab and placing it in a bad location is not all that hard.

I ordered all my stuff from Juliano's and am very happy with it.

[bkahler]

They have anchor point plates with nuts already attached. Once I figured out where I wanted the shoulder anchor point to be, I drilled a hole through the pillar at that point. The pillar is hollow and you can reach down into that pocket from the top. I then attached an anchor plate to a piece of wire and lowered it down into the pillar and got a bolt started through the hole that I drilled. This was to be sure of a good fit. There is a seam on the back side that caused some interference, so I had to adjust as needed. Once I had the final placement set, I removed the plate and drilled two more holes, one above and one below the first hole. I then bolted the plate back in and welded the plate into place through the other two holes. Once ground clean and painted, it looks very similar to Jim's picture (except that mines green )

Melre

Merle,

Do the plates have to be welded in? Since my cab is already painted I've shied away from considering 3-point belts. However the safety factor keeps bringing me back to rethinking that situation. It would seem that the only reason for welding the plate in is so it doesn't fall if you need to remove the belt loop. If I could get away with just drilling the hole and mounting the belt loop I'd go with 3-point belts. I can't see where welding would provide any extra strength.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Brad

[Merle Coggins]

If I had to do it without welding, after getting the anchor bolt hole set I'd bolt the plate in place with the anchor bolt, or a similar bolt, so that it was tight. Then drill the other two holes all the way through the anchor plate. You could probably use #12 or 1/4" screws since it'll only be holding the anchor in place. (a couple of stainless pan head machine screws would probably work fine and look good) Then I'd remove the plate and weld nuts to the back side of those holes. In fact if you do it right, you may even be able to tap the holes for the screws and not have to weld anything. Then reinsert it and bolt it in place with the smaller bolts.

I ended up adding a washer under the anchor bolt to space it away from the cab pillar a little bit. I needed that extra clearance to allow the mount to pivot freely, otherwise it rubbed against the bead on the front edge of the pillar. With that washer in place the anchor bolt also clamps the anchor plate into the pillar.

Good luck,

Merle

[Reg Evans]

Here are three photos showing how I handled it. I don't know who the manufacturer is, but I'm sure these are pretty-much all the same.http://s26.photobucket.com/albums/c141/shephatchery/?action=view&current=harness04.jpg

http://s26.photobucket.com/albums/c141/shephatchery/?action=view&current=belts01.jpg

http://s26.photobucket.com/albums/c141/shephatchery/?action=view&current=belts03.jpg

Jim, Where did you buy your belts?

[bkahler]

Merle, good suggestion on how to get by without welding. I think I'll give it a try.

Thanks!

Brad

[Jim Shepard]

Jim, did the holes go through the "B" pillar or are the bolts somehow embeded in the metal work? Are there bolt heads on the out side?

Cheers

The triangle piece of sheet metal on the pillar was removed and the plate with the bolt was welded to the cab where the reenforcement is. Then the sheet metal piece was drilled and reattached. Everything is hidden.

[greg g]

Check out the tech section at Julianos.com. They sell seat blets and anchors and have 3 or 4 pictorials regarding different installations. On of them deals specifically with putting three points in a 50 pickup truck.

[Jim Shepard]

Jim, Where did you buy your belts?

Americn Pasttimes in Sacramento. They're a hot rod shop on Fair Oaks Blvd (I think...).