Hello all,

Well I have finally decided to install my seatbelts, but I ran into some trouble. I am searching for a TSB or something else that explains how to work with the factory holes already existing on my Lancer. I know that it takes eyebolts, but when I crawled under the car I saw this:



This is a square bolt with some kind of plug in the middle? I wasn't sure how to start tackling this and before I unbolt the seats and cut into the carpet, I wanted to make sure I didn't screw something up.

Also, are eyebolt style belts required or can I use a traditional belt? I figured there needed to be a steep angle rising from the floor to the seat but wasn't sure if that could be achieved safely without an eyebolt.

Advice anyone? Can someone point me towards a TSB on installing these?

thanks!

OK Part 2. I finally found the picture I had seen a long time ago that answers what the plug is.



So now my question is, what size eyebolt is this? 7/16"? I asked at a chrysler/dodge dealer if they had it and they looked at me like i was insane. Please help!

Thanks!

MJ

That plug looks like the bottom end of a bolt. The eye bolts can be replaced by regular bolts. On my 65 Valaint the bolts that came with the 4 point harness kit threaded directly into the factory belt mounts. The mount kit also comes with everything you need to just drill a 7/16 hole and mount the belt. The lap belt on the trans hump side bolts into the driveshaft tunnel. You should not need to take out the seats or carpet. I drilled a single hole behind the seat for the shoulder harnesses.

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Yeah....Im the one who destroyed this rare, vintage automobile.....

Here is a link for some really good people who have all the hardware you need.

http://store.yahoo.net/wescoperformance/boltkit.html

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Yeah....Im the one who destroyed this rare, vintage automobile.....

I hope I'm misunderstanding what you're suggesting here. It's never acceptable to just drill a hole and mount the belt. If a serious reinforcement isn't placed on the backside of the hole (not just a washer!), the bolt and nut will rip right through in an impact severe enough to require the seatbelt's services.

The image NLM posted shows the factory seatbelt reinforcment plate, a pretty substantial rectangular chunk of metal with nice deep captive threads.

Well here was my dilemma--

1--I needed to know if the 7/16" bolts would thread directly into the factory mounts so i can forget about reinforcing the bottom

2--If eyebolts have an advantage in this application vs. straight bolt to the floor

I currently have a mismatched set of belts and eyebolts. I have the standard bolt-to-the-floor belts with the eyebolt kit. So I'm stuck. I can either special order the eyebolt seatbelts and wait 4-5 weeks (not a problem for me) or order the standard bolt kit and put them in sooner.

That's why I posted--so what you guys are saying is that the factory ones are indeed 7/16" and I can thread either my eyebolts or regular bolts right in?

Thanks!

MJ

Solution: Expose the bolt hole on the inside (you can do this by cutting an "X" in the carpet), drive to the hardware store, pick out a few likely bolts, try 'em out until you find one that fits...!

My '62 has plain bolts holding in the seatbelts, as did my '65.

The floor mounts are 7/16 fine thread. The eye bolts have no advantage over good quality 7/16 bolts. You can use eye bolts or a good grade of regular bolt. Im not sure where you are getting your belts from but I would suggest getting their installation kit with the bolts. If you chose to use hardware store bolts make sure they are grade 5 or better ( I use Grade

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Yeah....Im the one who destroyed this rare, vintage automobile.....

I bought belts from wesco, thanks for that link! They went on sale over christmas so i went for it. So I was planning on cutting the carpet and seeing what I have. Just planning ahead