Fitting Seat Belts To A Mk2
By Simon Perry
Sometime ago I decided to put seat belts in the Mk 2, my
wife had wanted them for the kids’ safety but secretly I know she wanted them
for my safety also??
I have been meaning to do a write up for the benefit of
others who may want to have a crack, lots of zephyr people have asked me how I
did mine.
First of all I started sourcing second hand belts and came
across a pair of rear, horizontally mounted, lap sash retractables in a Ford
LTD. Then I picked up a rear middle lap belt in a Mitsi magna.
The front belts were a little harder to source as the Mk 2
has a bench seat and I didn't want stalks poking through for the belts to clip
into. Obviously most modern cars have done away with the bench seat making them
pretty hard to find. In the end I bought a set of three belts from Repco for
the front, two retractable lap sash belts vertical mount, and one lap belt for
the middle. These three belts have a long lead on the clip to reach from the
floor through the bench seat. A word of advice - don't chance a
life with poor quality second hand belts. Older belts are starting to
fray and will not pass a safety inspection.
I found a bloke who would do a safety inspection - mod
plate for me if I did the work, and after a bit of advice I was right to go.
I fitted the rear belts first.
Locate the centre of the seat then work back from there and
drill two holes in the floor for either end of the centre lap belt. I had
previously made up all of the backing plates with 75mm x 50mm x 5mm plate, (I
think 4mm plate is all that is required however I like to be different). I
inserted the bolt in the hole in the plate and did the nut up finger tight then
tacked the nut to the plate. Then undo the bolt and put it through the floor,
wind it into the plate/nut and tack the plate too the floor, meaning
all assembly can be done by one person from inside the vehicle.
These two mounting points also double as the mounts for the retractable clips.
To mount the retractables drill a hole through the
front of the wheel arch just above the floor as per the photo below, then
repeat the step for fixing the backing plates.
For the top mounting point remove the rear parcel
tray liner and locate the circle quadrant hole at each end. Cut a
cardboard template and transfer to gal plated steel sheet approx 3mm thickness.
When you weld these in place it may be easier to do from the boot, I did mine
from the inside of the car but there is a bit of fire risk as well as interior
and glass to protect. Spatter will damage glass so protect it well. See photo
below
Before you weld into place drill hole and tack backing
plate and nut in a similar manner as mentioned previously. Weld into place. My
retractables sat too low on the parcel tray so I used a longer bolt and a piece
of steel tube as a spacer to sit the retractor a little higher and hence clear
the seat back a little better. See photos below
Then to the front belts, the centre belt is much the same as the centre rear except that most likely you will need to mould the backing plate to the shape of the floor pan (depending on where you mount it) this is where using 4mm plate is easier than 5mm plate. See photos below
With the front retractables there are a couple of different more difficult procedures. Firstly the floor mounting point; for the vertical mount retractors they must be positioned on a piece on 90 deg angle. See photos below
This angle is then
bolted to the floor. The backing plate still has to be the minimum size and due
to restrictions under the floor it must be bent to match the floor. See
photo below
The top mount point was by far the most difficult but after
discovering an option that would work, it was easy.
Remove the internal B pillar moulding and locate one of two
flat spots in the internal side of the B pillar
I chose the lower flat spot to clear the internal light on
the LHS, but consideration should be given to desired height of belt on
shoulder (I am 6 ft 2 in and the lower position does not bother me). After
deciding on the hole location I drilled a pilot hole from the inside right
through to the outside.
I then replaced the internal B pillar moulding and drilled
from the outside back through the internal moulding to ensure all holes lined
up. Then I progressively enlarged it from the outside with varying drill
bit sizes until the desired bolt size was reached.
Using a piece of wire, I pushed it through the internal moulding to the inner side of the outside panel and was able to determine the depth (I think 20mm from memory - but do check). Get some solid steel rod and cut to this depth (20mm?) and have it drilled and internally threaded to suit seat belt bolts.
Remove the internal B pillar moulding and drill a hole in the internal B pillar panel large enough to take the internally threaded tube. Fit one bolt to the tube and offer it up to the hole, (don't be tempted to push it in without a bolt fitted as retrieving it would be difficult). Screw the external bolt through and remove the internal bolt, refit the inner moulding and assemble seat belt mount, tightening both internal and external bolts at the same time.
There you have it, seat belts in your car.
Note that seat belts weren't invented until 1959 and then
were only fitted initially to expensive Yankee cars so it was sometime before
the zephyrs had them. If your car was first registered with out them then you
do not need them for a roadworthy/warrant. Like I said previously I fitted them
for safety only not for roadworthy requirements.
Disclaimer:
The advice and guidelines given in these articles are given in good faith.
The owners and managers of the Galeforce Zephyr site will take no
responsibility for any injuries or loss sustained while carrying out the
described tasks and procedures or any consequences arising. Please read
the Safety First
Article