Amazon: Rear seat belt advice

[222s]

Originally Posted by amazondean

Not the lower mounting point near the rear door. Or maybe it was in the two doors but definately not in the four door. I have owned about seven amazons including three estates and none of them have had the lower mounting thread fitted. No idea why that one was omitted.

My '67 220 (build & model year) has factory lower outer mounts, as well as genuine Volvo rear belts (fitted in '94). On your cars, is it possible that the bodycolour painted sheet metal trim covers (that hold the draught excluders against the doorway / arch) didn't have the clearance hole for the bolt, but that the mountings were still behind?

Originally Posted by ClassicVolvoShop

All Amazons are ready for front and rear seatbelts. (Well, not the very early ones - but according to installation guides, there should be prepared holes etc.).

Front yes, but there was mention recently that the early rear belts were diagonals only - is that correct? If so, do you know when the change was to the three point rear mounts?

Also, whilst on the topic of rear belts, has anyone fitted a rear centre belt (presumably lap only)? I have one that I keep meaning to fit, but I'm concerned that the centre mounts as used for the outer three point belts are too close together.

[ClassicVolvoShop]

Originally Posted by 222s

Front yes, but there was mention recently that the early rear belts were diagonals only - is that correct? If so, do you know when the change was to the three point rear mounts?

That's correct - first generation REAR seatbelts where 2 point just as 1. generation front ones where.. I don't have an exact year (yet) but the change lies arround 1965.

Thinking of this, it might be that the early Amazons where not all ready for 3 point rear seat belt actually.. Yes I have 3 myself - but not close..
My early 64 estate has the diagonal ones fitted.. so haven't thought of checking for the 3 point belts..

Originally Posted by 222s

Also, whilst on the topic of rear belts, has anyone fitted a rear centre belt (presumably lap only)? I have one that I keep meaning to fit, but I'm concerned that the centre mounts as used for the outer three point belts are too close together.

The rear lap one (like the one you bought from me) are just meant to go on the two centre mounts in the floor. No extra drilling etc. The belt should be long enough to fit a "normal" person, allthough the mounts are a bit close in the Amazon.

[woodman]

Originally Posted by ClassicVolvoShop

That's correct - first generation REAR seatbelts where 2 point just as 1. generation front ones where.. I don't have an exact year (yet) but the change lies arround 1965.

Thinking of this, it might be that the early Amazons where not all ready for 3 point rear seat belt actually.. Yes I have 3 myself - but not close..
My early 64 estate has the diagonal ones fitted.. so haven't thought of checking for the 3 point belts..




The rear lap one (like the one you bought from me) are just meant to go on the two centre mounts in the floor. No extra drilling etc. The belt should be long enough to fit a "normal" person, allthough the mounts are a bit close in the Amazon.

The technical chappies at the place I'm buying my seatbelts from are quite relaxed about drilling new holes if that seems like the best bet. Their logic is that if there is no rust then:
a) the metalwork of old vehicles like this is thick enough not to need reinforcement;
b) three point belts are spreading any collision force across three parts of the car body, so you'd have to be very unlucky for one of those three points to distort in a collision to the point where it broke the anchor.

Also, in relation to fitting child seats, the child seat salesman I spoke to explained that the length of the strap tail on the receiver part of the belt is important, because a lot of retrofit ones have long tails so that it is hard to hold the child seat back firmly into the seat - so you need the shortest possible strap tail there, so the receiver just pokes through the gap between seat back and squab as it does in modern cars.

On this subject, please see my post in the wanted section - if anyone can help me by lending me some front belts for a while that would be splendid.

Thanks.

[DJS]

[QUOTE=woodman;660748]The technical chappies at the place I'm buying my seatbelts from are quite relaxed about drilling new holes if that seems like the best bet. Their logic is that if there is no rust then:
a) the metalwork of old vehicles like this is thick enough not to need reinforcement;
b) three point belts are spreading any collision force across three parts of the car body, so you'd have to be very unlucky for one of those three points to distort in a collision to the point where it broke the anchor.

If the metal is in good condition, you use a reasonable spreading plate / washer and the fixing is sensibly located there will be no problem. These cars are old and made of low strength steels. The crash pulse is very soft. The benefit from the belt will be to prevent the occupant from moving about in an uncontrolled manner within the cabin, in the even of an accident. If the belts are rear mounted, this prevents the rear occupants colliding with the front occupants in a frontal impact. This is probably the biggest benefit.

[ctu67]

Hi ... could someone put more picture of the rear seat belts ? I recently bought a couple of mechanic-automatic (not static) at Skandix. de . But I have no additional pieces, I mean no metal plate. How is to be fixed ?

Sorry may be a picture could explain more ....

[ctu67]

I have no nest ¨¨¨

[tom-madbiker]

when i used to put a lot of cars through the iva the testers used to like a minimum of a 4" square spreader plate min 4mm thick on each mount point possibly overkill but its amazing the force on the mount points in an accident

[ctu67]

http://www.scantrade.ch/news.htm

i've seen this solution too... but is not so clean....

[Derek UK]

Spot the alternate method of fitting rear belts in the Amazon Estate...............

http://vimeo.com/14573108

[Wulff]

Originally Posted by ctu67

http://www.scantrade.ch/news.htm

i've seen this solution too... but is not so clean....

I had that solution fitted by Scantrade about two years ago when I bought my 123GT i Switzerland, and as you state it is not very clean - as a matter of fact I was rather dissapointed with this arrangement (especially considering the price they charged me) and now seeing the other solutions mentioned in this tread I will definitively move them to the trunk.

I really like the solution where they are tucked away up under the parcel shelf. However, as the parcel shelf on mine had been cut for some loudspeakers I'm not sure I would trust the integrity of the remaining steel for fitting seatbelts hence mine will go to the wheel wells -with the added benefit of keeping that basket in place...

n.b. ctu67; you don't have to have the basket to fit them there - it's just if you do have the basket, then it will be kept in place by this arrangement (normally it is loose and easily drops out with a bit of spiritied driving...)

John