Message text written by John & Patricia Donnelly
>This thread has nothing to do specifically with Triumphs. How to mount
sealtbelts, OK. Whether 2 point or 3 point belts are better, not OK.
Please take your OPINIONS on safety to another list.
<
OK, here's my opinion on seat belt mounting:
It depends on the car. You want to attach the belts to a structure that is
substatial enough to take the load. A number of years ago, VW was subject
to a scandal where they belts were mounted to the seat frame but the seat
itself was not anchored to the car adequately. The result is the occupant
would be securely restained to the seat which itself would become a
projectile within the car. However, now a-days most modern cars have belt
anchor points on the seats. One presumes that the seat attachments (to the
car) are sufficiently robust in these cases since these cars are crash
tested and pass.
Since your statement about being not Triumph specific leads me to believe
you are referring to an old car that is not a Triumph, I can not be
specific, but genericly speaking, frame attachment is stronger than
sheetmetal attachment. If this is a unibody car then look for 1) thicker
sheetmetal, 2) compound shapes such as arches, corners and boxes. Geometry
adds strength to sheetmetal. Avoid flat panels and panels that are not
supported on at least three sides. On a TR6, the inboard mounting is
directly to the frame. The outboard lapbelt mount is at the base of the
B-pillar where the floor, innersill and rear bulkhead come together. This
is also very close to the frame attachment for the body shell. The
Shoulder attachment is at the top of the inner wheel arch which is a
compund arc and quite strong.
Another tip is when bolting to sheetmetal use large, heavy gauge
fenderwashers to distribute the load. Nuts and bolts are more likely to
pull through a sheetmetal hole than a large washer.
Drive carefully.
Dave
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