Seatbelts in a Roadster
 

Anyone know how to install seatbelts in a 30 Roadster? Links to sites with videos would be helpful. Purchased a set from Macs that came with hardware but no installation instructions.

Re: Seatbelts in a Roadster
 

There won't be any instructions because of insurance liability.

Re: Seatbelts in a Roadster
 

Plenty of seat belt threads here, though, with plenty of opinions.

Re: Seatbelts in a Roadster
 

Do a search. There are lots of prior posts.

Re: Seatbelts in a Roadster
 

Roadster the same as all others. Use the search function.
Paul in CT

Re: Seatbelts in a Roadster
 

I don’t know about a roadster, but Victorias are different from some of them. From what I understand, there are variations across several of the models.


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Re: Seatbelts in a Roadster
 

Try this link:

www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=134748

Glen

Re: Seatbelts in a Roadster
 

That link doesn’t work for me.


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Re: Seatbelts in a Roadster
 

Works for me..........................using FireFox.
Paul in CT

Re: Seatbelts in a Roadster
 

Works fine, using Safari.

Re: Seatbelts in a Roadster
 

The link works fine now for me. Earlier, it took me to a “page not found.”


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Re: Seatbelts in a Roadster
 

Les Andrews' Volume II has instructions.

Re: Seatbelts in a Roadster
 

The link worked for me. However the info seemed to be for 3 point retractable belts. I'm installing lap belts only since it's a Roadster.

Re: Seatbelts in a Roadster
 

Stewgee,

What does the fact that it's a roadster have to do with not installing 3 point belts? Not a lot of extra effort to install the shoulder parts once you've started the project for the lap belts.

Sit in the car and simulate what would happen to your body, especially your head, if you had even a minor frontal collision. If you are a small guy, your face and chest will smash into the steering wheel. With big guys, their faces can go through the windshield and their upper body impaled on the steering wheel. And passengers will end up worse by crushing their faces on the steel dash rail or going through the window.

Lap belts alone really scare me for these reasons. Owning a roadster myself, I can see some logic in wanting them for keeping you in the car because of the tendency for the doors to open with the slightest torsion on the body. But it's not that much more work to do the shoulder belts at the same time and at least keep your head away from the wheel and windshield in an accident. However, as I mentioned, we are still driving Model A's with no cockpit padding, collapsible steering wheels, or air bags so even the best belt installation may not save us in a really serious accident.

Glen

Re: Seatbelts in a Roadster
 

Can you install lap belts now and convert to shoulder belts later without re-doing the floor bolts?

Re: Seatbelts in a Roadster
 

It's certainly possible to start with lap belts and add shoulder belts later, although it means you'd end up having bought two sets of belts. I disagree that it's "not a lot of extra effort" to add shoulder belts – in my experience, the shoulder portion takes at least 50% of the effort if not more. Care must be taken to identify or construct a suitable attachment point. It will be near the visible parts of the car, so there may be aesthetic concerns.

But I also agree that it's worth the trouble if your intent is to protect the human body in an accident. Many folks argue against shoulder belts on the grounds that the attachment points will always be weak. This may be true, but there is a wide range of accident scenarios forceful enough to injure or maim, but not forceful enough to rip the seat belt from its mounting point. Adding a shoulder belt adds protection in this zone of accidents.

However, if an accident is severe enough to cause the shoulder attachment point to pull out, this would render most shoulder belts worse than lap belts, since the detached top belt would just run through the buckle unrestrained. To correct this problem, when I put 3-point belts in my coupe, I added a metal clip, through which I routed the webbing above and below the buckle. This locks the buckle in position, so that if the shoulder portion were to fail completely, the lap portion would still hold. It's a bit annoying to reposition when we change drivers, but it was the only solution I found that eliminated this risk.