Are there mountpoints for rear lap belts in a 408?

[dwomby]

I read this thread http://www.bristolcars.info/forums/8...ght=seat+belts hoping to be able to fit 3 point belts in the rear of the 408 but that seems not possible without some major metalwork to provide strong shoulder mounting points. However, the photos do show some cars with rear lapbelts. Are there factory mounting points below the rear seat for lap belts?

My car does have static 3 point belts for the front seats but, oddly, the shoulder belt passes over the inboard shoulder, is loosely held by a bracket on the top rear of the front seat and then bolted to the floor near the tunnel. here's a couple of photos.

Thanks

David

[PEU186F]

The short answer is no, the cars, up to and including the 410, (I can’t speak for the 411) were not built with mounting points for either lap or three point seat belts in the rear.

I discussed the options with Tony Crook when I bought my 410 from him, he described the fitment of three point belts in the rear as “one hell of a job as the petrol tank has to come out for a start” (I can confirm that getting the petrol tank out is indeed one hell of a job). We compromised on lap belts which Filton mounted, with suitable reinforcement, on the transmission tunnel and on the rear inner wing, slightly below the rear seat squab.

We also discussed the front seat belts, those on the car at the time were those rather hopeless things of the 1960’s era, non retracting with a magnetic buckle and which always ended up in a hopeless tangle somewhere under the seats. I forget where the mountings were. We decided upon and Filton fitted three point retracting belts in the front, the inner on the transmission tunnel, the outer on a bar mounted on the floor, VW Golf style as you might think, with the retracting mechanism itself mounted on the top of the rear wheel arch. Quite effective as the belt slips back on the bar to allow ready access to the rear seats but one does need to scrabble about a bit behind one for the buckle. After a while one gets quite adept at hooking the belt on the seat back when one gets out which improves things a bit. I say VW Golf style, but Bristols were actually the people who pioneered the bar on the floor mounting with the 411. Tony Crook told me that he always rather regretted not patenting it as he would have been able to secure substantial royalties from VW alone - think of it, less than £1 a car would have made him a multimillionaire.

I love your carpets!

Roger

[dwomby]

Originally Posted by PEU186F

I love your carpets!

Roger

Good Morning, Roger.

The carpets were put in by the previous owner and I had planned to get rid of them but they are growing on me!

Thanks for the informative reply. I know the cars are classics and I'll leave mine as unmolested as I can but I think, given the non-locking seat backs, I will have to fit lap belts in the back. I can live with the static 3 point belts I have in the front.

Thanks again.

David

[dwomby]

Originally Posted by PEU186F

The short answer is no, the cars, up to and including the 410, (I can’t speak for the 411) were not built with mounting points for either lap or three point seat belts in the rear.

I discussed the options with Tony Crook when I bought my 410 from him, he described the fitment of three point belts in the rear as “one hell of a job as the petrol tank has to come out for a start” (I can confirm that getting the petrol tank out is indeed one hell of a job). We compromised on lap belts which Filton mounted, with suitable reinforcement, on the transmission tunnel and on the rear inner wing, slightly below the rear seat squab.

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Roger

I do want to add rear seat belts and lap belts will suffice for my purposes. The rear seat is out and the inboard mounts will have to go on the tunnel but do you know exactly where Bristol fitted the outer mounting points when they added lap belts? I know I will need to reinforce the mount points.

Thanks

David

[Roger Morrall]

I have reluctantly parted with PEU186F and am accordingly now posting, from memory, under my own name - There’s not much I can add to my previous post but see my markup of your photo to indicate where Bristols fitted the outer rear rear seat lap belt mountings. The inner mountings ( for the plug in end) were on the rear of the transmission tunnel, just high enough to allow the pair to be temporarily tied together with a rubber band - a godsend when it came to replacing the seat squab.

[dwomby]

Originally Posted by Roger Morrall

I have reluctantly parted with PEU186F and am accordingly now posting, from memory, under my own name - There’s not much I can add to my previous post but see my markup of your photo to indicate where Bristols fitted the outer rear rear seat lap belt mountings. The inner mountings ( for the plug in end) were on the rear of the transmission tunnel, just high enough to allow the pair to be temporarily tied together with a rubber band - a godsend when it came to replacing the seat squab.

Thank you, Roger. I really appreciate it. Sorry to hear you and PEU186F have parted company. Best wishes.

David