Installing seatbelts

Seat belt installation kits come with fine threaded bolts and a large washer that goes between the sheet metal floor and the nut. IMHO, to do it right cut a piece of 3" x 12" 10 ga. steer strip using that in place of the large washers, this helps spread the stress load by capturing a larger area of the floor.

 After looking at some of the kits online, those washers do seem pretty small considering the forces that would be involved in an accident.

 I'm assuming the floor attachment points for the belts are actually behind the seats?

"I'm assuming the floor attachment points for the belts are actually behind the seats?"

You most likely have to drill holes in the thin gauge floor pan - being very careful not to catch the carpet threads (causing them to pull and leave an ugly mess in carpet). If it doesn't already have sound deadener (like DynaMat) under the floor carpet.  Remove seats and pull up floor carpet and apply it then drill holes, relay carpet and install seats and poke knife thru holes where you want the seat belts.

I'm with Alan on the extra steel support - the floor is very thin and even with the washers it will rip right out in an accident.  I'd be temped to go 15"s wide - and be sure to caulk around the holes if it rains where you are.

Geeze, wasn't that on his QA check list?

Quality control does not seem to be of much importance at VS. Yah I'm still pissed about the flawed softop and header bow I ordered, sent back and recieved the same flawed parts back to me...

 After waiting 3 and 1/2 months for the car, it's very frustrating to have to have a project that involves potentially taking the seats out, pulling up part of the carpet, and installing seat belts when all I want to do is drive it. And if I drive it now, I'm risking a ticket.

I would wait until you get pulled over and you actually get a fix it ticket for no belts to fix it. I bet you'll be waiting a long time for that if it ever happens at all.

DRIVE IT!!

slowshoes posted:

 

...And if I drive it now, I'm risking a ticket...

If you think about it, Bill, you're risking a lot more than that.

Here's how VS installs the seat belts when they remember to:

The bolts are as far aft as possible on the horizontal part of the floor pan and backed up with some marginal fender washers. As Alan says, there's a lot of room for improvement.

Take this as a bit of a warning, though. VS is sort of the 'oops, we forgot the seat belts' replica maker. The odds are good there are a few other bits they forgot or maybe didn't have quite enough time to screw together just right.

If you're not an experienced VW aircooled mechanic yourself, it's a very good idea to find one and have them give the car a very thorough looking over. Pay them fairly for their time to check out all of the important stuff - brakes, steering, suspension, fuel lines, oil leaks, etc. They just might find some small stuff, too, that will save you grief down the road. This could be the best $200-300 you ever spend on the car.

These cars can be a lot of fun, but they're not Toyotas. Even when brand new - maybe especially when brand new - there is bound to be some stuff that needs fixing.

Good luck, welcome to what we call 'the madness', and let us know how you're making out.

IAM-RAY posted thei to another thread - but probably mean't it for here!

Well you could try wearing this  

https://www.redbubble.com/peop...mens-graphic-t-shirt

If simply bolted to the weld seam it would as effective.

Make sure your oil drain plug is tight before you drive off...

When your seatbelts arrive, just loosen the four bolts, remove the two rearward ones and slip your belts in (I like under the seat but have seen them under the cushions) bolt everything back up and you're good to go.

 Thanks for that pic Mitch (and the advice). I'm definitely not an experienced air cooled mechanic - this is my first. I'll be honest - my wife and I were so excited about the car arriving (and still are), that we drove around for a good hour and a half before we even realized that we weren't wearing seatbelts!

 Ray and Wolfgang - I need to get one of those shirts! I don't know if I'll be able to keep myself from driving it.

lol, I just thought I would inject some cotton humour.  

There was another fake seatbelt sometime ago but I couldn't find the pict. 

"When your seatbelts arrive, just loosen the four bolts, remove the two rearward ones and slip your belts in (I like under the seat but have seen them under the cushions) bolt everything back up and you're good to go."

If holes are drilled in the pan - it is indeed easy.  I assumed the holes have never been drilled.  Time to look underneath and see if there are 2 extra holes per side.

crhemi (Bill) poboiinhawaii posted:

Make sure your oil drain plug is tight before you drive off...

When your seatbelts arrive, just loosen the four bolts, remove the two rearward ones and slip your belts in (I like under the seat but have seen them under the cushions) bolt everything back up and you're good to go.

 I went back out to check for bolts - no bolts, but the holes were there. That will save me a lot of worry about having the seat belt bases where they should be. Now just waiting for the belts to arrive and making up larger backing plates, and I should be in business. 

I've always said the only thing that seat belts are good for in these cars is it makes it much easier to collect and identify the body after a wreck...  

In FL seat belt laws are not enforced (along with use of turn signals or safety inspections).  You do see many accidents where occupants are thrown from vehicle only to be run over or end up in a tree.  For some reason every newspaper write up sites if seat belts were in use or not.  I could see insurance companies cutting back on medical coverage if they were not used as it is the law to have/use them.

We will not mention no helmets with motorcycles

Rusty S posted:

I've always said the only thing that seat belts are good for in these cars is it makes it much easier to collect and identify the body after a wreck...  

You always seem to know the proper encouraging things to say.

MusbJim posted:

Rusty S posted:

I've always said the only thing that seat belts are good for in these cars is it makes it much easier to collect and identify the body after a wreck...  

You always seem to know the proper encouraging things to say.

Oh, You mean it's not the accident that gets you but the sudden stop  

WOLFGANG posted:

In FL seat belt laws are not enforced (along with use of turn signals or safety inspections).  You do see many accidents where occupants are thrown from vehicle only to be run over or end up in a tree.  For some reason every newspaper write up sites if seat belts were in use or not.  I could see insurance companies cutting back on medical coverage if they were not used as it is the law to have/use them.

  I worked in the medical field for 30 years, and whenever the EMS guys brought a car accident victim in, they would usually mention whether or not the person was wearing a seat belt or not. You could usually tell the difference between those that did, and those that didn't.

 That said, I get Rusty's point that these cars, seat belts on or not, don't have much of a chance when going up against the huge SUV's that are the norm these days. 

Seat belts give you a chance to avoid being thrown through the windshield and that's a good thing. The collapse-cage on the steering shaft gives you a chance to not be impaled and that's a good thing. The car has crush zones front and rear. They're crude but they work, as Musbjim demonstrated a few years ago. 

These cars are not safe at all by modern standards—or even by the standards of 40 years ago. But they are safer in a crash than the originals were, since human-projectile deaths and impalements were the number 1 and 2 proximate causes of crash mortality until seatbelt laws and break cages on steering columns became mandatory, respectively. 

"Even when brand new - maybe especially when brand new -"

no truer words were ever spoken about the replica Speedster.

Impaled, wow I did not know that, but then I did hit the dashboard when I was a kid... that explains a lot

edsnova posted:

...Seat belts give you a chance to avoid being thrown through the windshield and that's a good thing...

An especially good thing on these peculiar little cars.

Because our sleek, sexy, low-slung windshields have their top frame edge about even with that large, boney, ugly thing that's right at the top of our spinal columns.

Most of us wouldn't make it through the windshield, but would kind of splatter on the windshield frame.

Yeah, I know - let's maybe wrap this thread up now.

Ugh!  Let's.