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Seat belt attachment
Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2013 5:13 am
by judge4guns
I'm wanting to install seat belts in my m37. I have a special needs son who loves to ride in it, but I need to keep him secure. I'm thinking about 4 point racing harness- type belts. I've seen several posts on different forums referencing attachment points for the lower lap belt portion, but have no idea for the upper two. Anybody have any suggestions for either 3 or 4 point belt attachments?
Re: Seat belt attachment
Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2013 10:28 am
by k8icu
Back of the cab behind the seat?
Re: Seat belt attachment
Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2013 4:22 pm
by Brett
Judge
I too have thought about adding seatbelts to my M37. I have decided to wait to add belts until I have a roll cage installed. I love our trucks, but when I start to think about the design of our trucks in regards to crash survivability, it is very scary. The possibility of an accident involving a roll over is particularly unsettling. from my layman's perspective, I don't know that installing shoulder belts in a stock cab can be done safely. As far as the 4 point racing harnesses are concerned, I would be curious as to the legality of using them on the street.
Brett
Re: Seat belt attachment
Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2013 4:52 pm
by w30bob
Brett,
I don't think there would be any problem using the 4-point belts in regards to the law. I'm not a Cop, but the way I understand it is if the car/truck was not originally manufactured with seat belts you are not required to install them to drive it on the road legally. At least that's the way it works with classic cars. My 442 came with lap belts only....the shoulder belts were an option not installed in my car. So I don't have to install shoulder belts to drive it. I've got a buddy with a '40 Ford. That came with no belts whatsoever, so he didn't have to install them to be able to drive it legally on the street. So since the M37 didn't have seat belts originally.........I don't think they can't bust your nuts for installing 4-point belts. But Judge.....don't rely on what I'm saying....check with the Motor Vehicle Department in your state just to be safe.
regards,
bob
Re: Seat belt attachment
Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2013 7:41 pm
by m37jarhead
I've had some experience with four point and five point racing harnesses. As I remember the geometry for attaching
the shoulder harness straps, you'll want to make sure the shoulder straps are secured at a level higher than the
shoulder height of the person using the harness.
Reason being that in the event of a head-on crash, shoulder straps attached at a level lower than the top of the
shoulder will tend to drive the body of the occupant down into the seat compressing the spine and forcing the pelvis
area forward. Not a good situation. Installation instructions included with new four point harnesses should make
this clear.
I don't see any way to attach the shoulder straps to an M37 cab with a canvas top. Not sure if it would work with
an Artic top either. Maybe some kind of low profile roll bar or reinforcment could be designed.
Let us all know if you come up with a fix.
JB
Re: Seat belt attachment
Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 4:50 am
by DAP
If you have the racks on the bed you can always tie into the top rail or post with the shoulder harness. Only problem is it will interferr with the soft top install. I have a hard top and found a point where 2 angles interest on the hardtop. I added a large area washer as backing and welded in a nut . However I am only using one shoulder harness with lap belt not a 5 point.