Rear Seat Belts

[PatK]

Hi All, I've recently bought a 1965 Mk2, 3.8l, which is fitted with front seat belts, but no rear ones. Does anyone know if rear seat belts are available for the Mk2, and how they are fitted. I did notice that the rear wheel arches have a captive nut welded on which I assume may be for attaching these? Any help would be much appreciated, Thanks. Patrick

[Ronniebiggs]

Patrick,

I fitted them to my 1966 Mk2 and it was quite straightforward. I went for inertia reels.

Inner mountings are the usual tapped holes in the floorpan, rear seat needs to come out to reveal them. There didn't appear to be outer mountings on mine so I had to fit strengthening plates in the rear wheel arches but this was pretty easy.

It is JUST possible to fit the inertia reels on the rear parcel shelf, there are the predictable tapped mountings. You'll need some spacers to mount the reels high enough (to clear the seat squab) and a UJ on your socket set to tighten the bolts. Clearance is tight and I found it useful to remove the covers from the reels and pull out a lot of the belt to give more room. I held the belts in place with clothes pegs whilst doing the job. Take care to avoid scratching the rear window. You will, of course, have to cut holes in the trim on the parcel shelf to clear the bolts but this is easy - the shelf has holes in the board to line up with the bosses on the steel panel underneath.

Some go for a much more complex mounting of the inertia reels in the boot with slots in the parcel shelf but this will be a major undertaking!

Whilst I'm on the subject, if you fit inertia reels in the front they restrict rearward movement of the front seats and take up footwell space. As they are mounted via holes in the floor the kits generally come with angle brackets made of approximately 10G steel so I made up some brackets myself to mount the reels above the sill next to the b/c post. Full adjustment of the seats restored with the bonus of extra space for rear passenger feet.

Finally, I bought my belts from Safety Belt Services who were competitive on price and delivered promptly.

Hope the above is clear.

Jay

[ChrisDixon]

Beware if fitting 3 point belts where the lower mount is in the hidden area of the wheelarch behind the seat back, or if you are looking to buy a car with them fitted. Mine had either been badly welded plates or poor rustproofing, and they rusted out right around the weld!

[PatK]

Thank you Jay, that was very helpful, I will follow your advice and fit the reels on the parcel shelf. That will be in a few weeks times at the moment the car is going to be taken away to have powered rack and pinion steering fitted as I no longer have the strength to turn the car in my drive without constant to and fro and small steering turns.

Also Chris, thank you very much also for your advice about poorly welded captive nuts on the wheel arches, I will check mine out, but the good news is that I have a good mig welder and lots of steel plate!

Thank you both

Patrick

[Ronniebiggs]

Patrick,

Probably too late for you, but I converted my car to the Marles varamatic power set up from a 420 and it was the best thing I ever did! Transforms the car. I have driven (briefly) a mk2 with a powered rack and it didn't seem as good, the varamatic system is superb. Biggest problem is scarcity of bits! Let us know how you get on.

Regards,

Jay