I love my son. That's how this whole thing started. I love him, so I got a 4 door car and got rid of my truck. Then I got a car seat for him. Then I got it installed right at the local EMS station, why, because they'll do it for free and do it right.

And they did. To a point.

We, myself and the people installing the seat, both suggested that I replace the belts with more modern pieces, not over a concern of the tensile strength of the belts, but of their design. On modern belts, the female end is stationary and the male is adjustable. On my Plymouth, its just the opposite.

So, does anyone know of a good replacement lap belt for the rear that I can use?

Also, on a different note, has anyone replaced their front bench seats with modern buckets. I want to have the lap and shoulder belt as one piece, its a PITA the way it is atm. I thought about Sebring convertible seats as I thought I read that they came with the belt as part of the seat. Which eliminates the problem of finding a suitable mounting place for the upper part of the belt/assembly. Thoughts, ideas? Keep the flames down please.

_________________

The old white brick

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

Excellent people to work with. I have their 5 point harnesses with my Cressida seats.

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

I have '97 Sebring seats, with integrated belts, in my Valiant convertible and I love the setup.

As long as you can pull it real tight against the safety seat and the car seat the standard lap belt should work fine. Putting modern seats where a bench originally dwelt can be a little difficult since the floor isn't flat. You can use wood blocks, but only if they have metal sandwiched on both sides and have through bolts with nuts. Of course you could track down the bucket seat brackets for you model of car and adapt them to a more modern seat. I don't have much love for most modern seats since most are designed for modern fatbodied american drivers.

No reason to flame here! I installed rear belts into my Lancer for exactly the same reason--to fit my son's car seat. Since I can rarely get out on my own without him in tow, it seemed the only good way to enjoy my car

I've purchased front belts from wesco, and really liked them. There are other places that sell just plastic molded belts too. I can tell you its much easier to have the male end be adjustable, and I can see why they would say its a little safer. Why risk it? Just look at wesco and find a duplicate belt that has the same bends.

Good luck and I'm glad you're taking his safety seriously.

MJ

Here's another place I found on the web.

http://www.soloracer.com/harnschrothfaq.html


(haven't dealt with them, so I can't say anything good or bad)

_________________
Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

Good old pre-74 belts...

Somewhere at home (when I get there next week to clean out the garage for the new project...), I have a full set of seatbelts from a 1975 Valiant 4 door. They are the 1 piece shoulder belt front (not the separate shoulderbelt/locker belt type), and the adjustable ends in post '74 should be the male (at least they are in my dusters).


When I get home from the sandbox and spend some time 'getting reacquainted' with my spare parts pile and what box I put those in, I'll look you back up if you haven't found some yet.

-D.Idiot

..Yeah, that's all I can say. Thanks all for the quick and informative responses.

As for the seat belts from the '75, they sound good, especially if I don't find anything soon. Thanks DI.

_________________

The old white brick

it's good that you are putting your son in the back, it is the safest place. Replacing those belts should not be a problem, the anchors are standard. Check those areas to ensure there is no rust, duck under the car and look for the anchor points, if there is a lot of rust the anchors will be weakened.

_________________
I've been calling it as i see it for my entire life and that's not about to change. Take it or leave it.

Hey buddy,

I haven't forgot about you. I'm just now lining up some 'stuff' in the shed for my next project. I'm about a couple of days away from unburying the container marked 'interior items'....


Luckily, your items are still intact...my wife cleaned out my side of the garage while gone and I'm missing a box of new Accel Fuel Injectors, and the box that has the ECU for my next setup....(that ain't cheap!!!).

Next week I get more of a reprieve as the kid returns to school and I have time to 'rework' my pile of goodies.


-D.Idiot

<Sniffle> You love me, you really love me.

But really, thanks. I appreciate it, and my son does as well. Well, he would if he understood any of what was going on besides eating, sleeping, pooping, smiling, and drooling. but he's good like that.

Just let me know.

_________________

The old white brick