I had this in an early attachment and it may help ya some. Here is a
cut/paste of all the info... --wayne hope it helps some..
3 point Seat belts in an AD truck.
This project had three goals.
Install 3 point seat belts.
Do not cut the cab sheet metal.
Do it cheap.
Since I wanted 3 point seat belts in my truck, and I did not want to pay
two hundred bucks for them, I found a way to retrofit a set of used belts.
I removed a set of seat belts from a 79 Chevy C10 pickup. Anchoring the
belts to the floor was fairly easy. I made an L bracket to bolt to the back
of the seat pedestal for each belt-buckle arm. My truck has bucket seats
mounted on a plywood sheet. The plywood sits on top of the original seat
pedestal. I welded a 1/2" x 13 nut to the L bracket so that I could bolt
the belt to it from the top of the plywood. I also made L brackets to
mount the retractor box to the seat pedestal.
The kits from vendors include 4" X 2" plates with a nut welded to each
plate. This plate goes under the floor. If you want more strength, make a U
bracket instead of an L bracket. Also make a plate to go under the floor
and bolt the U bracket to it and the seat pedestal.
That is two of the three points out of the way. The hard part is how do
you attach the shoulder portion? I remember someone writing that they had
worked a nut up through the inside and outside panel of the cab. I know
that a nut won't cover enough area to keep from pulling through the sheet
metal in case the belt has to perform its intended task (no, I don't mean
keep you from getting a ticket). I found that a 3/4" flat washer has the
right size ID to allow a 1/2" x 13 nut to be pressed into it and welded.
When I welded the nut to the washer, I left one flat of the nut not welded.
I threaded a string though the whole between the washer and the nut. I also
tapped a 10-32 hole in the washer half way between the ID and the OD of the
washer.
The location I picked to mount the top bolt is 39" from the floor and 4"
inches from the door opening. I drilled a clearance hole in the inner cab
panel for the 1/2" x 13 bolt. I also drilled a clearance hole for a 10-32
screw. Make sure to drill the 10-32 clearance hole directly under the 1/2"
hole so the belt hides it. I then used a length of 12-gauge wire to push
through the opening between the panels. This opening in the corner between
the back window and the door at the bottom of the interior cab panel. I
tried several times to fish the wire from the drilled hole down to the
opening. I could not make this happen. When I pushed the wire up to the
drilled hole, I used a pair of needle-nose to pull it through the hole. I
tied the string to the end of the wire and slowly pulled the nut/washer up
into place. Once I got the nut/washer close, I screwed the 10-32 screw into
the hole I had tapped in the washer and tightened it. Now I can remove the
seat belts at will and not have to worry about getting the nut into place
everytime.
I can not guarantee that the nut/washer combination is large enough to not
pull through the sheet metal in case of a bad accident. This method allowed
me to install 3 point belts for less than $20 and I did not have to cut
holes in the inside of my cab nor weld the sheet metal back together.
There is also a link on the tech section which may help also...
http://www.chevytrucks.org/tech/seatbelt.htm
At 02:27 PM 9/10/04 -0400, ME1STKING@aol.com wrote:
>Been looking for a 1954 3100 specific 'how to' installation of three point
>seat belts. Any clues?
oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
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