Fitting inertia front seat belts.

[petticd]

Hi, I have a pair of Britax inertia seat belts that I'm thinking of fitting in the front of my 340. Does any one know if the bolt holes are already in place at the B post and the inner cille so that the inertial reel bracket can be attached? Thanks,

[ManxNeil]

The fitting of seatbelts themselves to new cars became mandatory in Britain in, I think, 1967, but I'm pretty certain that the fitting of seatbelt mounts became a requirement as far back as 1961, so it's a good chance that your 340 has them.

If for some reason it doesn't, fitting the mounts isn't that bad a job - I had to do it on my 1960 Mk 2 - Quickfit Safety Belt Services (not Kwikfit) (www.quickfitsbs.com) - supplies kits. The hardest bit will be drilling the wood trim on the 'B' post in such a way that it does not damage the veneer or craze the varnish and ensuring that the resulting hole correctly aligns with the mounting point. Fortunately I have a furniture restorer friend who did that for me.

Are the belts themselves in new/good condition? If there is any age on them it might be worth approaching Quickfit to see if the webbing can be replaced and the buckles checked in order to retain the original mechanism with new strong webbing.

[petticd]

Hi Thanks for your reply. I have static belts already installed, therefore the high level fixing through the veneer is already there. My questions refers only to the low level fixing for the inertia reel, where the bracket is fixed through the vinyl lower panel on the b post and the side of the inner cille through the carpet. These are period Britax belts/reels which where fitted to the marque, I think as an after market upgrade, they may have also been factory fitted as an optional extra.

Yes the webbing is good.

Regards

[ManxNeil]

Surely there must be at least one lower 'anchorage' mount, then? Looks like you'll have to lift the carpet and remove the 'B' post trim to be sure.

The Quickfit kit has a spreader plate for the lower anchorage point, but has this through the floor, rather than the sill. However, it's close enough to the sill for the webbing to emerge from the floor carpet right alongside the sill. The mount for the lower 'B'post is easy to install.

[Ian3.4]

Hi,

I have inertia real seat belts in my 61 3.4, a couple of points to bear in mind, 1. My hand book states that the car was originally fitted with anchor points (it was) so I guess they were in all cases. 2. The lower (floor) point behind the drivers seat is a little close when the reel is fitted directly to it, so the seat wont push back far enough, this can be overcome by fitting a suitable straight extension piece to move the location of the real back about 3 inches allowing the seat its full travel.

Hope this helps,

Ian.