>Hello again,
>
>I am interested in putting seat belts into my Alpine but gag at the thought
>of installing belts that were made for a something like a Chevette. I am
>wondering what types of non-stock seat belts you folks have installed and
>where I could locate some.
>
>Any feedback is appreciated.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Eric
>'66 Series V
Hi Eric,
Here's my offering. The seatbelts in my Series III GT saved my
life.....head on into a hydro pole at 50mph, and I stepped out with a small
bruise on my left shoulder bone. I consequently recommend this arrangement
highly for any GT owner.
When i obtained my S III back in the 70's, it had heavy lap
belts mounted to the floor mounting points. I wanted the reassurance of
shoulder belts, so spent several days touring various wreckers (Vancouver
Island) and looking over seat belt set-ups. What I found was actually
incredible. The seat belt set-up (including the mounting brackets) out of
the circa 1969 Sunbeam Alpine GT Sedan was exactly what I wanted. I mounted
the short lap piece to the centreline floor mounting points, and the bottom
of the shoulder belt to the outer floor mounting point. The top of the
shoulder belt in the sedan had a nice chromed fitting which fits over a
large chromed mounting bolt and is held in position by a nylon lock washer
arrangement (works breautifully). I mounted the chrome mounting bolts (one
each side) through the top surface of the bodywork in the following manner.
I fitted the hard top, and noted that in each corner at the back, a small
area of the outer painted surface is inside the hard top, and almost
directly behind the driver's and paassenger's outer shoulder. I found that
that area is accessible from the trunk, so made a couple of reinforcing
plates which, when the bolts were put through suitably drilled holes from
the top, would distribute the bolt load over as large an area as was
available. The end of the shoulder belt was then attached to the chromed
bolts using the aforementioned nylon locks (hence the belt is removable
from the rear mounting when necessary. The result was a set-up which looks
great, is 100% useable whether or not the hard top is on, and is extremely
comfortable....the belts are soft, and I drive with them very tight. Great
for a GT.
I'm presently fitting out a S IV, but not a GT, and have already
installed a set of sedan belts as mentioned above. I plan on driving it as
a GT (without the soft top) until I can figure out how to provide suitable
alternate bolt mounting locations for use when the soft top is up (I
haven't spent much time thinking about it yet), but if I never use the soft
top, it woouldn't bother me.
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