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MG MGA - Roadster Seat Belts

I am investigating the possibility of fitting inertia reel seat belts to my Roadster. My question is, how many other members have gone down this road, what problems were encountered and what brand did you use?
Dave Barron

If he's still there contact Pawel at Quickfit SBS, UK.
They installed IR belts in an MGA a few years ago and he sent me some pictures of the job (see one of them attached). In the end I bought static ones from them and they are excellent................Mike


m.j. moore

Other than cutting another hole or two in the bulkhead, Mike, that's not a bad siting height-wise. It raises the diagonal sufficiently to avoid the strap slipping off the shoulder - which is the subject of John Francis' thread elsewhere on the BBS.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Yes, when I saw the picture again this morning after a couple of years and after having read one of John's threads it made me wonder if the method and place of attachment was good enough to withstand the force in the event of an accident. As well as the two bolts through the inner wing there looks like a third attachment point at the nearest wing bolt which could be enough although I'd be a bit worried about the inner wing fixing points because after fifty years the inner wings on many cars (& certainly on mine) will have been thinned down somewhat by corrosion. Maybe John could comment?..................Mike
m.j. moore

Hi Dave I investigated the possibility of inerta belts and dicounted them on engineering safety factors. The A bodies are none to strong for than ideal position. The Factory designed a kit for retro fitting standard belts. These were still available from an after market company in the USA a couple of years ago. I still have an un- used kit if you would like it ( A$ 95 ) Otherwise have a company who fit seat belts to buses engineer the fittings Sean
S Sherry

The quickfit mounting doesn't look too bad although I agree with Mike that the inner wings may be a bit thin on their own. The load will be mainly taken in shear in the holes through the inner wing. If there are only two holes they will probably be deformed quite a bit in the wing alone If there are stiffening plates welded the other side of the inner wing to spread the load through the hole then it would be fine I expect.
John Francis

Whats wrong with the standard factory fittings?..all the parts to add these are available from Todd Clarke. The only problem is with welding the top brackets and trying to avoid paint blistering (out come the ice packs).
Gary Lock

Dave I fitted inertia belts to my Coupe and used the
Todd Clarke bottom attachment point to the frame and tunnel and the same attachment point on the inner fender for the standard 3 point belt.

It is very comfortable and allows the driver/passenger to move around a little. I have no idea what the bolt pull out spec is but it would need to pull a large washer through the inner fender or tear the fender apart and if that happened I think the frontal impact would hurt more.

Andy


Andrew Preston

Thanks Andy, that's the result I am trying to achieve. I have three grandsons all different sizes and I'm sick of adjusting the standard three point seatbelt each time they go for a drive. My wife also gets cranky if she can't do up the belt after they've been in. Can you remember what brand they were?

Dave.
Dave Barron

AP that looks a neat installation - is there any tendency for the belt to slip off the shoulder with that position of fixing on the wheel arch?. I have a static belt and I'm considering lifting the fixing point a little as far as the inner wheel arch will allow. At present it does slip off the shoulder if its too loose.


J H Cole

Dave,
Remember that on a roadster, the roof frame etc will probably foul the belts when mounted as Andy did in his coupe. Of course, if you leave the roof out of the car, then you will not have a problem.
Peter.
P. Tilbury

Hi Dave the belt is made by Amsafe retractable 3-point, code AM3PT. I purchased them through Gotbelts in the US but I don't see them on their website anymore.

JH the belt does not slip off the shoulder but it's always under tension from the retractable unit.

Andy
Andrew Preston

Securon UK make the retractable belts, and using Todd Clarkes fittings, they work a charm. All the major parts suppliers in the UK sell the Securon belts...the same as used on the MGB GT.
Gary Lock

This thread was discussed between 06/04/2011 and 12/04/2011

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This thread is from the archive. The Live MG MGA BBS is active now.