Installing lap belts w/o going under the car?

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Noizemaker

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So i just bought my car, and it came with uninstalled lap belts in a bag in the backseat. Time to put them in. They're some colormatched retractable belts from a hotrod shop somewhere, so i don't have factory hardware.

It's the middle of January, it's cold, wet, and I don't feel like jacking the car up and going swimming underneath it to find the seatbelt anchor positions. Is there a template I can just come down from the top with? Something like "move inboard 4" from the rear inner seat rail bolt and then forward 2" to find the anchor position" or similar?

In the interest of staying dry, and pneumonia-free, i'd be eternally grateful for some sort of template here! Googling and i've struck out for a couple days now.

While i'm at it, what's the thread pitch and length for the lap belt anchors? I doubt the belt kit bolts are factory-correct. :)

Thanks all!
-M
 
The original seat belts bolted in from the top. You didn't go under the car. I believe they were 7/16" bolts. Which car do you have?
 
There are threaded inserts in the side of the rockers and the side of the tunnel for the front belts. You need to remove the bottom of the back seat to get at the inserts for the rear seat belts.

AS far as finding them: you can remove the scuff panel and peel the carpet back to fin them. The ones on the tunnel are approximately across, just poke with a philips screw driver to you locat the hole.
 
Yeah i know they bolt in from the top, but the only how-to I saw said "Go in from the bottom and poke up through the carpet to sight where they go" and I was trying to avoid that. If the outers are in the rockers, not the floorboards, I'll get those sighted first. :) Thanks!

I'm working on a 64 Valiant. (yeah, i'm used to single-marque boards where the make and model are assumed; sorry I forgot the critical info.) :)
 
I figured there was a higher tech route than that, but guess I'll give it a shot tonight. Anyone know if I need to buy 7/16ths coarse or fine pitch? Sounds like my evening plan is now set in stone, gym, hardware store, garage! Sleep is for the weak! :)
 
...I doubt your 64 Valiant has the holes, etc for rear seat belts. On my 64 Dart, I had to drill out the holes for the lap belts, and run a bolt with a big washer through the hole.

Because rear belts were not a requirement in 1964, if your car did not come with them, I doubt there is any hardware for them. You may have to crawl under to validate if you want the rear belts.

Just my $.02.

Thanks,
OldMoparsRule!
 
Nah, you guys were right before.

I have all 4 belts. They were in a box, in the backseat. I need to install many belts, but it was the front ones I was wondering about at least to start. :)
 
Thanks, guys!

About to go out and get to work. Didn't realize I was gonna have to pull the seats, but such is life, I guess.

I'm just excited to finally get to use some of my SAE tools, all my cars have been metric until now! :)
 
W00! Success!
1: Didn't have to pull the seats.
2: Found a reasonable picture to determine where the tunnel bolts were, and took pictures when I was done. I'll update the thread with a how-to setup here when i upload the pictures. :) Wasn't tough, finding where to cut was the hardest part though. The tunnel bolts were NOT where I expected...
 
OK, so yeah, just for the next person in my boat, here's how and where to go!

Needed:
Belts (duh!)
4 1.5" long 7/16th fine thread bolts
4 lock washers.
Awl
long-nosed pliers.
Ratchet with 5/8ths socket.

1: We'll start on the driver's sill; take your awl and aim about 5/8ths of the way between the last two sill plate screws, about halfway up.
2: Poke through with the awl, and pivot the awl around until you fall into the threaded hole.
3: Stretch the awl hole until it's large enough. I used the needlenose for this.
4: Bolt it in. Use a lock washer.
IMAG0659.jpg

IMAG0660.jpg


Here's what got me in the end, I was expecting the inner tunnel bolts to be on the same plane as the side bolts. They're not. They live farther back, and higher up. I googled up a pic, found a Mopar Action pic of a rusted out pan, and realized that it's about 7" from the back of the footwell, halfway up. It's higher up, and farther back than the sill bolt.

So, the center bolts work like so:
1: Take your awl and aim about 7 inches forward from the leading edge of the seat, about halfway up.
2: Poke through with the awl, and pivot the awl around until you fall into the threaded hole like you did on the side sill.
3: Stretch the awl hole until it's large enough. I used the needlenose for this.
4: Bolt it in. Use a lock washer.
5: One thing I noticed in the owners manual; cross over the belts in the center. Make sure the passenger side of the footwell belt is used on the driver's seat.

IMAG0663.jpg

IMAG0661.jpg


This should cover the fronts, once you repeat for the other two belts. I haven't done the rears yet. Can't figure out how to detach the rear seat! :)
 
A note about bolting through carpet... If the bolt threads should catch a pick in the loop carpet it will pull a pick out of the weave. A hot tool like a soldering tip will melt the material while opening the hole diameter.
 
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