Seat Belt help needed
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 383
Likes: 0
From: Roseville CA
St. Jude Donor '09
Seat Belt help needed
I have a 71 Coupe. When I purchased the car it had some ratty beat up worn out lap belts. I am fine with just lap belts. I ordered some new Universal lap belts from Rik's.
Went to install them just now & realized that they don't fit the 2 factory mounting points. The hole in the ends that mount to the floor are smaller than the factory mounting bolt. I figured hey I'll just enlarge the hole a 1/8'' using a drill bit but the steel they are using is mighty hard. I called a local machine shop & asked if the could enlarge the holes using their drill press but they advised that they have tried it before & the metal is to hard for a regular drill bit. They advised I find a machine shop that has an end mill. Too much for me to handle right now.
I just looked in Rik's catalog & it states "Bolts down to floorboard besides seats"
They provided a 7/16x20 UNF bolt & washer set up along with a reinforcement plate. They want me to drill new holes & attach belt in a new mounting location?
At this point I would rather find a vendor who has a set of lap belts that will bolt up to the factory mounting points. Has anyone purchased lap belts & installed them without drilling...enlarging holes etc?
Thanks for any advice
Went to install them just now & realized that they don't fit the 2 factory mounting points. The hole in the ends that mount to the floor are smaller than the factory mounting bolt. I figured hey I'll just enlarge the hole a 1/8'' using a drill bit but the steel they are using is mighty hard. I called a local machine shop & asked if the could enlarge the holes using their drill press but they advised that they have tried it before & the metal is to hard for a regular drill bit. They advised I find a machine shop that has an end mill. Too much for me to handle right now.
I just looked in Rik's catalog & it states "Bolts down to floorboard besides seats"
They provided a 7/16x20 UNF bolt & washer set up along with a reinforcement plate. They want me to drill new holes & attach belt in a new mounting location?
At this point I would rather find a vendor who has a set of lap belts that will bolt up to the factory mounting points. Has anyone purchased lap belts & installed them without drilling...enlarging holes etc?
Thanks for any advice
Team Owner
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 37,637
Likes: 3,118
From: Crossville TN
This may not be the advice you seek, but it's what I will offer..... If you have all of the original hardware for the stock seat belts, just have new webbing installed on the existing hardware. It is very easy and much more cost effective than purchasing aftermarket belts (you can probably return the set you bought, if you decide that is the way to go). Seat belt webbing is usually stocked by wholesale fabric warehouses...and it's dirt cheap; about a buck a foot and you need about 10 feet. They also stock several colors, so if you're lucky, they'll have something that will match your interior. Take the stock seatbelt system and the webbing to a auto upholsterer, a racing belt maker, or an outfit who makes boat sails or tarps. All of them have heavy duty stitching equipment. Tell them to reel out the belts, cut the old material off with enough left to stitch the new webbing to [securely], and make them the same length as originals with the hardware stitched on the same. You will end up with original looking belts [and original hardware] for low dollars. 
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 383
Likes: 0
From: Roseville CA
St. Jude Donor '09
This may not be the advice you seek, but it's what I will offer..... If you have all of the original hardware for the stock seat belts, just have new webbing installed on the existing hardware. It is very easy and much more cost effective than purchasing aftermarket belts (you can probably return the set you bought, if you decide that is the way to go). Seat belt webbing is usually stocked by wholesale fabric warehouses...and it's dirt cheap; about a buck a foot and you need about 10 feet. They also stock several colors, so if you're lucky, they'll have something that will match your interior. Take the stock seatbelt system and the webbing to a auto upholsterer, a racing belt maker, or an outfit who makes boat sails or tarps. All of them have heavy duty stitching equipment. Tell them to reel out the belts, cut the old material off with enough left to stitch the new webbing to [securely], and make them the same length as originals with the hardware stitched on the same. You will end up with original looking belts [and original hardware] for low dollars.
