Seat belt dilemma

[CarMichael Angelo]

My front seat belts are my next obstacle.

As the time nears that actually putting the thing back together is becoming more of a reality, the issues that I've been putting off are coming around.

I know that it will cost around 250.00 to replace the front belts in the car if I go w/ the stock stuff. Problem is,...I don't know if that's what I want to do.

For around the same money, The obvious alternative is to replace the front sets w/ 5pt harnesses. I would buy a ready made (roll bar) main hoop, and bolt it to the floor and tie it in at the seat belt upper anchor bolt hole. I'd weld the upper belt mount across the main hoop and just leave it at that.

Nobody is ever really gonna sit in the back seat except in a blue moon, so rear seat accessibility isn't an issue.

I kind of like the idea of being to able to use the lap belt only, and let the shoulder harness hang until I choose to wear it ( like maybe never).

The only downside to the harness is that it'll have the mfg. label all over it. (RCI/G Force/ Simpson etc)

Is anybody using a racing harness as opposed to the factory belts?

Any input?

 

[old_blue]

you could always take the mgf tags off with a seam remover. shouldn't effect the belt really.

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

So then......nobody cares about my lowly seat belts?

guess everybody here has stock belts.

 

[Black1987]

Your going old school, stay old school. I hate how the 5pt-harnesses makes you into an advertisement . Though you could take the labels off, but still with the 5pt-harnesses seems a little overkill to me (unless there are some mods coming that I haven’t heard about ).

Your car Mike do what makes you happy.

Just my .02

 

[Boosted92LX]

Don't forget craigslist! I personally wouldn't use a 5 pt unless it was a drag car, they're such a PITA- and the cops are gonna jack with you for not wearing a shoulder belt. Hit CL and find a car someone's parting out with a nice set of seatbelts...

 

[rdharper02]

Mike, I think the good question is; "how much are you going to drive it?". I know you plan to take it to several shows and events. if it fits with your theme and you dont plan to drive it beyond cruises and shows, go for it. It may help you simplify your interior due to the lack of need for a rear seat. Even if you go with new seats, they can always have the classsic look upholstered into them.

What I really want to say is to do whatever gets it done. I just want to see it complete...lol.

 

[bcam347]

just replaced mine with a set from LRS, they are really nice. I wouldn't put 5pt unless it was a dedicated track car

 

[95BlueStallion]

There is a '68 retro modded mustang prowling around here, and he has 5 pt harnesses in his car. I think it looks bad ass, but maybe because his car just has that attitude. You can always just buckle the lap belt part like you say. I think they add a little personality to the car. I would do it if my boy wasnt so young and I planned on using the back seat often.

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

Your going old school, stay old school.

So what is old school? The stock belt, or the harness?

Though you could take the labels off, but still with the 5pt-harnesses seems a little overkill to me

Yeah, true. But the whole car is a "little overkill" after all.

I personally wouldn't use a 5 pt unless it was a drag car, they're such a PITA-

Yeah, but so is a car w/ no air conditioning, manual brakes, and a manual rack.

and the cops are gonna jack with you for not wearing a shoulder belt.

That's probably true, Thinkin' I'm gonna tint the windows.....

Mike, I think the good question is; "how much are you going to drive it?"

.
Well, all the time, and...like it was stolen of course!

What I really want to say is to do whatever gets it done. I just want to see it complete...lol

As do I, and everybody else that's sick of me.

There is a '68 retro modded mustang prowling around here, and he has 5 pt harnesses in his car. I think it looks bad ass,

As do I, If I can only get rid of the stupid brand labels w/o compromising the belt integrity.....AND it'll piss my wife off to no end " why'd you put these stupid things in here?,..It'll wrinkle my frock"

 

[90stang5speed]

I think it would be cool to do the 5 pt. the car is going to look like a beast & the harness would go good with that look. Had my stock belts not caught on fire due to a freak welding accident I would have given them to you but, i would go 5 pt for the cool look.

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

I think it would be cool to do the 5 pt. the car is going to look like a beast & the harness would go good with that look. Had my stock belts not caught on fire due to a freak welding accident I would have given them to you but, i would go 5 pt for the cool look.

There's no such thing as a "freak welding accident"

(at least not for me)

I have literally set carpet on fire (on another car) and was surprised to find my very own "bonfire" going like mad inside. I have had molten burrs end up in my right ear ( always seems like the same ear) several times. Even w/ this car, I lifted the welding hood to find the masking paper I forgot to remove in the rear wheelwell going to smokey bear town ( You can actually see the smoke stains on a picture of the drivers quarter in the progress thread)
I've even lifted the hood to discover my own dumb ass smoldering. As I write this, I'm looking at the "hole" burned into my forearm from working on the painters chevy motored mustang today.

He tells me he loves the color of my car BTW. That he's gonna paint the car I'm working on for him in the same color.


So now that that is off my chest, thanks for offering your burned up belts, but I went w/ the 5 pt belts. Ordered them from Summit today. The very helpful sales guy advised me to "check my local statutes", to see if they considered the belt a violation, as they are not D.O.T approved and therefore, are illegal.

I reminded him that this was after all ALABAMA.
We don't have vehicle inspections in this state, and they don't check emissions. They don't care if the car is safe enough to operate on a public roadway, how could any law official possibly give a rats red bunion hole about my use of "illegal restraints".
There is more clapped out, has to be dangerous junk, limping down the road on any given day that the cop that has a hard-on to give me a ticket for wearing a fully buckled 5 pt. harness has to be named Richard.



Or Dick for short.

 

[90stang5speed]

From what I have heard, imitation is supposed to be the highest form of flattery. Don’t be to mad at your painter buddy for that. As for my "freak accident", ok, it was really more of a dumb a** moment to be honest. I was welding on the bar that makes the top loop of the cage & welding it to the driver’s side of the main hoop. The dumb a** part was, I didn’t remove the seat belt from the factory mount & welding tends to make metal hot so, the belt was touching the tubing out of my sight with the welding hood on and melted/caught fire. I plan on doing the 5 pt too so had the belt not been damaged, I would have given them to you but, It’s good to hear that you went the 5 pt route anyway. Oh, I have also caught myself on fire once too. I was wearing some coveralls that I had gotten some diesel on the legs. Later that day I had to grind on some metal. Not giving much thought to the sparks hitting my legs, I started feeling pretty warm. I looked down to see my leg was on fire! After beating the flames out with my welding glove, I had burned a baseball size hole through my coveralls, jeans & singed the hair off my leg just below the knee lol.

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

See, that's what I'm talkin' about. Fire, ( or catching things on fire) is an unfortunate byproduct of welding.

Of course, proper safety procedures would minimize the risk of fire, but then there'd be no stories about what got burned up, that wasn't supposed to get burned up if everybody followed the "safety first" guidelines.

Personally, this is my order for things:

#1 Weld.

#2 Discover roaring fire.

#3 After putting out fire, Dog cuss the stupid piece of crap that I burned up. (for catching on fire)

#4 Throw away/replace whatever I burned up.

#5 Make sure that everything is out of harms way.

#6 Weld.

 

[Black1987]

Old school was just regular stock seat belts, but good to see you went with what you wanted to do instead of letting others sway you away. And Mike I wouldn't save the whole project is overkill, just very tasteful hot rodding .