3-point seat belt for convertible

This will be my solution, when I have the time...

I don't have pictures to show you, but I've seen some very nice late model seats that have the belt retractor built into the seat just above your outboard shoulder. I have similar seats in my '02 truck. The pivot would have to ratchet into a locked upright position, and you'd probably have to reinforce the floor so the entire seat didn't leave the car on impact. But this would be a perfect solution if you wanted to avoid the web behind the front seat. I'd have to spend a day at the salvage yard to find the perfect solution... but I bet it's out there. I plan on finding it soon. Not very helpful without a specific solution, I realize.

I would have to agree with Edbert and Pak on the safety issue, and with Edbert on the 4-point plan. This is probably how I'll go eventually - why not do 4-point rather than 3, it's safer. I wouldn't want to have a roll bar in all the time, though, I would prefer a bolt-in option for the roll bar, which would leave me running the top mount straight back to a bar welded in behind the rear seats, possibly as part of the rearward part of the roll cage.

It's not a bad idea to weld in a steel divider behind the rear seats or that steel plate that welds in over your gas tank, or both. I plan to do at least one. The divider behind the rear seat would help a lot in chassis stiffness - I am thinking of something that welds right to the perforated divider we already have but fully seals it up. Your top would still catch on fire, though, if the worst happened, but hopefully you would have the chance to get the hell out of there. Heh, that makes me think that the over-the-tank divider is a good idea too.

What does everybody think about a 4-point where the straps just string out behind you to a bar behind the rear seat? There would still be room in there for a baby seat, and you could just use the lap belt if you had normal-sized rear passengers. Rear passenger belt mounts could weld to the same bar, and said bar could be hidden under the boot when the belts were not in use.

I would agree with 70vert. If I wanted more than a 2 point (mine has no seat belts, so I am starting from nothing... I like living on the edge of unsafe), I would go with new seats/4 point. The new seat (if it keeps the same mounting track) lets you keep originality whereas the 3 point could require welding or other draw backs.

I guess, you have to decide how much originality in your driving you want to give up. Also, what kind of an acident do you want to defend against? (Why 3 point over other safety upgrades?)

These cars aren't death traps (cough pinto cough) and we know the weakness, so it all depends on origniality, coin, and what you decide is the biggest weakness you want to fix.

Roll bars are great if you don't have passengers in the back seat, but a side impact can whip someones head into a steel bar pretty easy. In high school I knew a kid who died this way. Not a bad accident, but it killed him just the same. I have heard similar stories (not mustang related). I believe, but I'm not sure that only certain padding is approved for roll bars. I wouldn't bet my passengers life on it though.

S-Car-Go said:

Roll bars are great if you don't have passengers in the back seat, but a side impact can whip someones head into a steel bar pretty easy. In high school I knew a kid who died this way. Not a bad accident, but it killed him just the same. I have heard similar stories (not mustang related). I believe, but I'm not sure that only certain padding is approved for roll bars. I wouldn't bet my passengers life on it though.

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That's why I want to go with a removable cage. I imagine a design could be made where you can remove the rear seats when you want to install the rest of the cage - just slip the sleeve in to the receptacle of the part of the roll bar that goes into your trunk if you want to drag race or run it on the track. But that cross bar behind the rear seat would always be there. I still can't figure out how the front part of a roll cage would attach to the rockers - just remove the kick panels to attach it?