Suns_PSD

I purchased a used Corvette that came with a harness system and aftermarket seats. It's a beautiful street car which is its primary focus, but I love that it should be a great track car as well.
It came with a NIB Simpson 5 point harness system that is compatible with the aftermarket seats. The problem is the lower bracket for the Simpson lap belt seriously interferes with how far the seats go back, and that's not something that I can accept. As I must have the seat able to go back all of the way. Just for me to be comfortable.
Are there any other options for where I can mount the lap belt anchors? As in possibly to the seat itself, or maybe the wall that's behind the seat?

Nothing looks like a good fit. Please advise

Attached is a photo of the bracket just sitting loose approximately where it is supposed to be located.

k24556

Well for the lap belt, you might be able to use a Schroth B23C (see this web page: https://www.schrothracing.com/sdocs/Hardware.Guide.pdf ). put it outside and under the rear seat bracket stud and bend it up about 90 degrees. You will also need an LV4 or LV10 to weave the belt into the B23C. You would be better served with a swivel connection there but there is not a lot of room between the seat and the tunnel or the frame.

Now the problem becomes how to mount the sub belt. That's the belt that comes up thru the seat at your crotch and keeps you from sliding under the harness in a collision, which you need for the track.

You may be able to use that bracket. Reverse it and put it under the seat. The eyes may not clear and you have to get the sub belt in the correct position for it to work properly.

To put all that stuff under the seat track, you will need to grind the heads off the welded studs and use a longer bolt for the rear track hold down. You have to go through there as that is the only reinforced place in the Corvette floor pan.

Suns_PSD

Good suggestions.

So just to verify, adding an eyelet similar to the photo below won't work? I was imagining a thick steel washer on the backside. Or possible a bat of steel that covered 2 eyelets on the back side. I'll also add, I haven't investigated what is located behind this yet.




Another option would be to utilize B23c Or the part that came with my kit similar to the photo below.



This could work with a longer seat mount stud ( easy enough to install) but I'd have to have the bracket above the seat mount. I tried underneath and it lifted the seat enough to prevent proper reclining and was useless.

The car is the nicest most luxurious car I've ever owned and I don't want to take away from that. It's making me question if I even need the harness even with it having been included in the car ( the rear bar for the shoulder belts is already installed). I've done track days before but never in a car this capable and I'm not certain if the harness would be advantageous or not?

Thanks again.

Suns_PSD

As far as the sub-belt to prevent submaring, I haven't gotten that far yet!
I figured I'd pull the seat and find something under there to attach to. The seat motors feel to be solid mounted. Also the sin straps that came with the kit would not make it thru the seat and all of the way back to that bracket anyways. And the bracket doesn't have a center eyelet anyways! The included bracket is useless. In all positions it prevents the seat from going back the last 3". Even large amounts of trimming would not correct this.

k24556

You would be drilling REALLY close to the fuel tanks back there with your first pic, and I think that once you drilled through it is so close the stud end of the eye will rub the fuel tank. I would't drill there

A harness is really nice for track days, properly set up though. I don't think bolting the tab like you show in the second pic will pass tech. when you lace the webbing that config can pull loose. It needs to be a straight pull.

The attached file may help, I ended up welding lugs on the seat frame to make it work in my car,

flash911

Curious, do you have a c5 or 6?

Dealing with this myself right now in my c5z, using Cobra Imolas and 3" Crow harness. I mocked it on my motorized seat frame / planted 90* brackets and I'm sitting up too high so that frame's gotta go. Ideally I'd like to buy a single bracket with integrated lap and sub belt mounts. Sliders would be nice, but not a requirement. I have about 3" from the center of the rear floor mount stud to the back wall so hoping there's enough room?

Thanks for posting

Suns_PSD

I have an '08 C6 Z51.

I'm still scratching my head about this. I'm going to pull the seat soon to get a better look at my options. I just bought the car and haven't even gotten it registered yet so I've got a decent list of things to do ahead of this. I was hoping this would be easier!

flash911

I pulled the trigger on a Marrad floor mount bracket. Stay tuned for a review...

Suns_PSD

My bracket was mounted underneath my seat and it was unbearable. That 1/4" rise screwed up the entire way the seat reclined and what not.

ponycar

I would consider a separate seat for track days. The seat and slider is easy and fast to swap out. If you have a pro shop that you can consult with. Safety is worth the cost. Much less expensive than hospital bills.

blackozvet

can you use the lower seat belt mounts ?

Vettechris996

Neither option here is correct or safe. In the fist picture you cannot support that eye with anything strong enough, even a backing plate through the glass isn't strong enough. In the second picture you will be pulling on the belt from a very bad angle. You need to be pulling parallel to that bracket.

Harness room in these cars is very limited. What seats are in the car? I have an Arizen seat and slider with a VetteWorks lap belt bar and I have a ton of leg room, the seat isn't even close to the bracket. You're seat might not really be a good choice for making everything fit and work properly/safely. If you're going to use a harness make sure it is installed correctly!! Safety is the #1 priority here. The guys at Vetteworks might be able to help you out, I had a great experience with them this season and might be worth a phone call. You will need to understand what seat and brackets are already in the car though so they can help you.

mnmthoele

I did a variation of your idea with the eye bolt. I did it through the floor and made sure that the bolts went through the metal brace that the seat mounting bolts are welded to. I put backing plates on the top and bottom. Plus I only cut a flap into the carpet, so if I pull the bolts, the carpet will look like it wasn't there from the top.

Suns_PSD

The guys at SoulSpeed, a track prep shop here in Austin got me straightened out nicely.

I'll try to get some close up photos when I get a chance, but essentially they just anchored to the standard seat belt holders.

I have full movement of my driver's seat, which is most important. The passenger seat lost about 3/4" of full recline but I think we'll see if we can get that a bit better.

Whis9

in for pics