Need Advice on Seat Belts, 1976 Spider

[Newell33]

Hi Guys

I have a '76 Spider and am installing aftermarket seats. These seats have the two seat belt holes towards the top. I have the interior stripped out now and remember seeing seat belt bolt holes on the left and on the right side of where the seat would mount. If I remember right I think I saw two more holes near the floor where the rear seat mounts. Hopefully someone can confirm this (I won't be over to my shop to double check until this weekend). Obviously, a lap belt system would be easy to install. I would, though, like to add a shoulder harness/lap belt system. Has anyone installed these type of belts with aftermarket seats? I've seen retractable 4 point harnesses available, but with mixed reviews. I'd definitely like to have retractability so I can move around in the cockpit with the belts on. Surely someone out there has a solution to this problem. Can someone chime in with some info and pictures to show what was used?

Thanks for the help!
Josh

[Newell33]

If no one has any info on aftermarket belts, can anyone tell me what the original belts on a '76 look like? I would assume it only has lap belts in front. Is that correct?

Thanks for the info

Josh

[Newell33]

Well, I'm getting closer to needing seat belts. Can anyone tell me how the seat belts were orginially installed in a '76 Spider? As mentioned, my car didn't come with any belts. I'm looking at the Corbeau retractable 4-point system with my aftermarket seats (two belt holes at the top). I'd be interested in seeing pics of the stock setup, and maybe a setup of the same year of car with aftermarket seats. Can anyone provide some insight?

Thanks,
Josh

[scarlson]

My 76 came with retractable lap belts. I threw them out since they were frayed and picked up a set of non-retractable 51" lap belts. They are barely long enough. I'd recommend getting longer ones. They are mounted on the tranny tunnel and where the original belt guides used to be.

As for the original, the buckle part mounts to the transmission tunnel side, there was a guide mounted opposite the tunnel bolts. On the driver's side, the retractor mechanism mounted to a hole in the floor behind/under the seat. On the passenger side, the retractor mounted to the floor pan wall behind the seat.

[mbouse]

http://www.gotbelts.com

measure your old belts and consider that you should not go shorter than the stock ones.

[baltobernie]

Hi Josh,

My '73 had lap belts only; don't know about the '76. But the '73 has the belt retractor parallel to the seat back (right-to-left), then the belt passes thru this floor-mounted bracket ...



... which turns the belt 90° and forward to the driver or passenger. Of course, if you want to replace the belt, you have to cut a slot in the bracket to insert the new one (buckle won't fit thru the opening), then weld up the slot, and finish it smooth so the belt doesn't catch or fray. Something of a PITA, but then you can use a new retractable belt from the vendor Mike recommends. I don't feel all that safe with just the lap belt, until I look at the slender cast windshield frame, and realize it's the only thing between my noggin and the asphalt.

If this is something you want to pursue, I could look up the part numbers of the belts I bought.

FYI, in case you don't know this ... all seat belt hardware is SAE, regardless of country-of-origin of the car.

[Newell33]

Thanks for the info, guys. I think I'm going to look at mounting the Corbeau retractable 4 point harness in the car. I agree, the lap belt thing doesn't sound like too good of an idea. It looks like I am going to have to mount the retractable reel to the rear bolt hole near the back seat area. Then the lap belt portion can mount to the original mounting holes on each side of the seat. The only thing that bothers me is the angle on inclination of the belts from the seat down to the rear floor area. I think I'm going to order one for a test fit.

Thanks again for the help, and posting the photo.

Josh

[RJ80]

Corbeau 4-point retractables in my car that are mounted to the standard third point mounting hole behind the rear seat. Seats are Corbeau Classic model.

I really like the belts, comfy and able to move around with them in the unlocked position. Lock them by turning a knob and they hold you nice and tight.

Ignore the rest of the interior, it's not quite finished yet. Still have the crome strip to reinstall on the door panels, rear parcel shelf to create, new shift boot to install, etc, etc.

[Newell33]

Exactly what I have planned. Thanks for the photos! Did you have any install issues when mounting the reels? I have one belt coming from eBay that will be here Monday, and if it works as planned, the other will be ordered shortly thereafter. I'm glad someone else has successfully mounted them in the Fiat. I really didn't want to do a lot of fabricating to make them work.

Thanks again,
Josh

[RJ80]

No, there is zero fabricating necessary. The important thing is to learn how the retract/non-retract switch works. It is sensitive to the mounting position of the belt and needs to be rotated in the proper direction for it to work. Also, because of the switch protruding from the side of the retractor unit, the passenger side unit needs to be mounted upside down. The belt still works as intended upside down, as long as the switch is rotated to the proper orientation.

[kmead]

I would recommend looking at adding a crossbar at shoulder height behind the seats to run the belts over, presuming the belts go back down to the floor in back rather than to the rear bulkhead. Having them run over the seat and down can cause significant spine compression in a crash, something you don't want to have happen.

[RJ80]

My car is a '79 and had the mounting provisions on the rear bulkhead. If you have a 124 Spider with similar provisions, you should use them. Kmead is correct that installing the retractors on the floor behind the seat is too steep of an angle to be safe.