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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Securon inertia reel seat belt fitting

I've fitted one of a pair of inertia reel Securon seat belts (type 514/30) to the Frogeye. I was unsure about which fittings to use. The bodyshell has a threaded boss welded to the rear wheel arch and threaded plates in the inner sill and tunnel. So I bolted the reel directly to the wheel arch using a shakeproof washer and reinforcing plate on the bolt head side. I bolted the other end to the inner sill using spacer on inside to allow it to swivel and bolted the stalk to the tunnel using plain washer/spacer on inside and shake proof washer on outside. Does this sound OK? Should the reel and stalk both clamp up tight? The reel has the adjustable "pendulum" which works well.
Bill Bretherton

Er, no, it doesn't sound quite right, and no need for those reinforcers though they might act a bit as a clamp with only one bolt hole they're just very oversized washers unless perhaps wedged against an immoveable edge (floor, solid protrusion).

I'd be better with photos of your installation.

The reel and stalk should clamp up tight.

Main thing is that everything is secure and that the reel easy pulls out and retracts.

You can use the supplied brackets as require for better spacing or positioning.

See image.






Nigel Atkins

Thanks Nigel, I have those instructions and have tried to follow them but find the diagrams lack clear detail.

Where doesn't it sound quite right?
Bill Bretherton

ETA: I seem to have overwritten a bit -

. on the reel, the shakeproof washer wants to go under the bolt head

on the inner sill the other end wants to be swivel spacer with wider side to sill and narrower side to belt end with IIRC twisted (forget proper name) thin, closed (springy) washer between spacer and belt.

Both are in the image or I can email you the full sized JPGs.

Stalk I can't remember but image shows bolt head then I think plain washer, the stalk, and I think twisted springy washer or it might be plain, I forget and it's too dark to look now.



Nigel Atkins

Bill,
I posted last post before I saw yours.

Are you sure they are the same instructions as mine are for midget and B.

As I've put, and I could be wrong, it sounds like your use of the reinforcers, as IF we're talking about the same threaded plates and IF I have it right those are for going the other side of the sheet metal to reinforce holes drilled where the fixings don't already exist.

And perhaps your use and order of various washers.
Nigel Atkins

Unless you have a scanner of your own, the advantage of my JPGs (scanned from original paper instructions) is that on a decent sized screen you can magnify/zoom-in/enlarge the images much more than with glasses and/or magnifying glass.

Transfer to a stick or other method to get it on your 60" TV screen and the image can be massive and still very clear, within the limits of the original scan I done (combined home use scanner/printer/photocopier), your eyesight how far back or close you can stand without getting pixelated (image not you).

Nigel Atkins

I think I have it about right, maybe the odd washer position, will check. Yes, same instructions. 32" TV btw (11 years old, not SMART 😉).
Bill Bretherton

If they're all secure and remain secure, they operate freely and continue to and you're happy with them and continue to be then what more could you ask for.

Our TV is I think 32" (I used to think it was 28") and is about 11 years old (or more, I forget) it was a cheap stop gap but then I had a Midget and the English motor trade so could never afford to replace the TV.

The only thing smart in our place is my wife, although she used to be fooled by good looks and charm but . . .
Nigel Atkins

Bill, with your "heritage" shell with welded in anchor points you are 90% of the away there for fitting belts. I had to weld in anchor points for my frog! I copied the positions from my later car and added extra reinforcing plates as well.

The transmission tunnel stalk needs to be bolted up with washers so that it doesn't swivel otherwise the thing annoyingly continually drops down between seat and the tunnel side. The mid point on the sill needs to swivel so use the thin wavey washer which allows it to turn but stops it rattling. The way I have mounted the inertia reels they are fixed which seems to keep the belt alignment corect. It's is slightly different with the low backed frogeye seats than for the later cars.

The reels for the pair of securion belts I got wern't handed which meant that the adjustment nob on one side was towards the centre line of the car but on the other it was hard up against the side of the bodywork, making it dificult to access and in fact on mine it held the whole reel at the wrong alignment. I remember getting around this by modifying the reel recoil to operate the other way around and the thing then mounted as a mirror image to the one on the other side. The actual mechanism is identical so the operation of the inertia system is unaltered, but the installation looks much neater and works smoothly.
GuyW

Guy,
your modifying the reel recoil to operate the other way around sounds a great idea how exactly did you do this please?

I had to use one of the small brackets to get the sticking out adjusters away from the hood frame on the drivers side. My reels are on (1500) brackets that seat the reels horizontally above the wheel arches.


Nigel Atkins

Guy, thanks, I've yet to fit the passenger belt so will see how that works out. Currently securing the dash - almost test driveable......
Bill Bretherton

This thread was discussed between 09/08/2021 and 10/08/2021

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

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