Seat Belt Installation

[Dilligas]

I have ordered a set of lap belts for my 59 Apache, it has the big rear window so I believe I am limited to lap belts only. Where is the best place to mount the brackets, would anyone be able to post pictures of how you mounted yours? Thanks!

[mr48chev]

Maybe the TF guys will chime in and even show some photos but I'd say just behind where the seat goes all the way back and spaced so that they fit the passengers.

Since the floors are not all that strong back there I would take a couple of lengths of flat bar and use it to back up the floor from below. That spreads the pull out over a big area if you do get in an accident and there is no worry about them pulling though the floor.

[_Ogre]

mine are attached to the seat but i did use 3x3 washers to mount my seat and prevent tear thru of the seat brackets
realistically with lightweight S shaped A-pillars and the lightweight B-pillar the roof on a tf truck folds like a bad poker hand
seat belts in an old truck may restrain a kid and satisfy your wife but really doesn't offer any protection in a crash

[nvrdone]

ogre - I understand your thoughts about seat belts in our trucks not being the best but I disagree with the idea that they offer no protection. from personal experience - I rear ended an expedition with my '49 A.D. My frame rails went under the bumper of the expedition and impaled the radiator on the water pump of my 327. I bent the steering wheel over at about a 30 deg. angle but the lap belts held me and the seat in place. maybe a TF is different from an AD or maybe I was just lucky.

[Black_Sheep]

I hope to never test the crashworthiness of a TF truck but even a lap belt is better than no belt at all. At the very least, they will keep the occupant from bouncing around the cab or being ejected in a low speed crash. I used reinforcing plates like the ones pictured to anchor the belts

[Clarance J]

Hello Dilligas. Just to let you know that having a big window cab does not limit you to just lap belts. There are several builds on this forum that can show you how they made the shoulder mount for their belts work. The most recent one that I can recall is Dan in Pasadena. He has pictures of the install. Very nice truck by the way.

I installed just lap belts in my 55.2 a few years back. When I got the belts they came without any mounting brackets so I had to fab mine.

I have all the pictures and details on my thread --Just another old truck-- starting on post #115 that might help get you started.

Good luck on the belt installation.

Earl

[b-mac]

I had a similar question, but I wanted harnesses...but where to mount them? This is my half-finished weekend project:

[mr48chev]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

seat belts in an old truck may restrain a kid and satisfy your wife but really doesn't offer any protection in a crash

I figure out a long time ago that staying inside the vehicle in and accident or being strapped down if your rig gets out of control is a lot better than not having belts or not having belts on.

Starting about this time every year when the roads get slick we loose an average of one 20 to 40 year old gal every other week in this valley due to being thrown out of a late model Suv in a roll over because she didn't have her seat belt on. Loose it on black ice on the freeway overpass, spin out, roll in the bar ditch and get thrown out. A couple of those rigs could have been rolled back on their wheels and driven off as the actual damage was pretty light.

The native American couple that I bought my firewood from got killed along with her 15 year old daughter when the lady rolled the truck when they were up in the hills and all three were thrown out. This was in the middle of the summer when it was dry. Driving a 90 something 1 ton dualie if they were in the truck they delivered wood in.

A shoulder belt will keep you from hitting the dash (at least it did me when I got rear ended) but a seat belt will at least keep you in place in the seat and give you a much better chance of walking away.

[BIGglaSS]

For the shoulder belts, I welded a grade 8 flange nut to 1/4x1x6 bar stock. I was able to fish it up the B pillar, however the hole I drilled was in the wrong spot. Once I get this corrected, I will post pictures.

I haven't figured out how I want to mount the retractors yet. For the lap belts, I welded flange nuts to a 1/4x1 bar, then rosette welded that to the floor channel. Can't say how safe it is, but probably better than nothing.




From the underside:

[dwcsr]

Originally Posted by Dilligas

I have ordered a set of lap belts for my 59 Apache, it has the big rear window so I believe I am limited to lap belts only. Where is the best place to mount the brackets, would anyone be able to post pictures of how you mounted yours? Thanks!

you can follow this, Its for a small window but its the same procedure.
http://www.julianos.com/Articles.asp?ID=278

Granted there isn't much support for the top belt should you get into a wreck but its better than nothing and if it hits hard enough to pull the window post your truck is now junk anyway.

[BIGglaSS]

Originally Posted by dwcsr

you can follow this, Its for a small window but its the same procedure.
http://www.julianos.com/Articles.asp?ID=278

Granted there isn't much support for the top belt should you get into a wreck but its better than nothing and if it hits hard enough to pull the window post your truck is now junk anyway.

One example cut and weld, post 143:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...=648712&page=6

Those wide brackets from Julianos will not work in the big window truck. The channel is too narrow. In this picture you can see where I initially drilled a hole in the B pillar, and there is an extra fold/lap metal joint in there. The back plate will not fit in the channel that way. It is too narrow. I will have to move the hole around the corner to the wide side of the pillar, or come up with a narrower mount. I estimate the channel is less than 3/4" wide there. The back plate I tried first was 1" wide. Give me a couple weeks, and I can get a better picture.
Mine:

[Dilligas]

Thanks for all of the advice and especially the pictures. Hopefully my lap belts will be in this week and I can get them installed. I will definitely put some reinforcement under the cab.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by Clarance J

...Just to let you know that having a big window cab does not limit you to just lap belts. There are several builds on this forum that can show you how they made the shoulder mount for their belts work. The most recent one that I can recall is Dan in Pasadena. He has pictures of the install. Very nice truck by the way...

Thanks for the kind words, Earl.

I’ve posted these pictures elsewhere but in the interest of future searchers, here they are again. Inside the B pillar of the big window trucks is just folded layers of sheet metal. I recognize these anchors aren’t going to “save my life” most probably. But they’ll keep my face from bouncing off the steering wheel or metal dash. Hope these help someone in the future