While the original seat attachments appear to be feeble, the seats DO stay
in place when you decide to hit a large cement object head on at around 40
MPH. Being one of the few owners who has actually done that with a 2L
roadster, I can attest that the original will stay in place with the
original small diameter washer and nut, and the original seat belt/shoulder
harness will keep you out of the steering wheel and dash. They won't
prevent your glasses from smashing into numerous bits and pieces when they
hit the windshield though.
The real reason to go to a 4 point belt system is to reduce or eliminate
chest damage caused by the shoulder belt when you decide to find out how
well your belts work. In my case I broke my chest cartilage when I hit the
shoulder belt, and still have problems with that from time to time some 36
years later. My chiropractor would really like to see all cars on the road
use at least 4 point harnesses to reduce skeletal damage during the hard
blow your body takes in a hard head-on impact.
That said, I do have large, thick fender washers installed with my Miata
seats. I am still working on how to install a reasonably well mounted roll
bar with the Miata seats so that I can have a horizontal bar to use as an
attachment point for the dual shoulder harnesses. The roll bar can't come
up from the original mounting holes the way the factory bar does because the
seat backs are in the way. I think I am going to create brackets made from
3/8" steel plate that mount to the original holes behind each seat and form
up over the top of the shelf to form a mounting foot for the roll bar. Then
add rear braces that meet the mounting holes on the back of the shelf/trunk
wall.
Tom
69 2000 - Mr. Hyde
Portland
http://www.datsun2000.com
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-datsun-roadsters@autox.team.net
[mailto:owner-datsun-roadsters@autox.team.net]On Behalf Of
racery@comcast.net
Sent: Friday, June 03, 2005 1:32 PM
To: datsun-roadsters@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: Aftermarket seats
what about late '80's Saab seats?
They're light, small (ish) and comfy.
Lots of aftermarket stuff is available- the hard part is to find something
that will fit both you and the car
I think you could make adapters to avoid floor drilling.
But safer would be to sandwich rather large plates, and drill holes to
secure them well. Even better to figure out how to attach to the sill and
the tunnel, to get the loads into shear...
The stock attachment is pretty feeble by even contemporary standards...
IMHO, of course!
Toby
> Hello all
>
> Anybody running aftermarket seats other than Miata seats?
>
> I have the Miata seats, but I want to get harnesses, and the seat
> design is a big no-no with the Schroth autocontrol harnesses.
>
> That being said I also don't really want to have to drill more holes in
> the floorpan.
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