2 Door + Harnesses + Usable Back Seat = Possible?

[Phil]

WTF you're way over complicating this.

You have a cage, right?

Just cut a hole in the roof and load the kids through it, they'll think it's fun.

I just wheel without seat belts or harnesses so I can bail in a rollover.

 

[GSequoia]

That's pretty smart Phil. A Toyota guy taught me that but I thought it only worked for Toyotas.

 

[JeepFreak21]

Here is the problem; no matter what you do, the harnesses are going to be there. So even flipping the seat forward will keep you from "dropping-out" the shoulder harness bar.

I have designed something similar for my GC8 Subaru coupe in the past. But I never actually built it. The idea is to build a "seat cage" basically you would build a seat mount that came up the back of the seat and then latched in at the roof. At the front of the seat you would have a hinge. Then your belts would mount off that cage. To get into the back, you would pull two pins and flip the seat and cage forward as a unit. It would obviously have a solid latch like what is posted above. I was planning to use square tube with two tabs on either side and a clasped pin in each mount.



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Thanks for chiming in Action; I'm a fan of your work. Anyway, that drawing is really similar to one of my ideas. Like Phil points out, the roof is an obstacle, but that could be addressed by making the vertical bars telescope and collapse when you pull the pin. I don't see how this could be inadequate as a harness mount, but I'm not sure it's worth the trouble/weight.

Billy, did you ever figure out what you wanted to do?

I know at least some of the quad cab Dodge trucks with the suicide doors had the seat belts mounted to the seats, and they obviously met the DOT requirements of the time, so obviously there is a way to mount the harnesses without a bar spanning across.

I don't know about tilting the seat forward for access like Action Fab's sketch, because of the roof or the windshield. That would be something to check out.

You may be able to make some heavy duty sliders, and slide the seat and harness forward for access. That would probably work with the lap belt mounted to the cage or the seat slider assembly. The assembly would probably be better. The sub belt would have to mount to the slider assembly.

I haven't got this figured out yet, but it's getting to be that time where decisions must be made. I'm going to be doing some more research over this weekend. I'll update this thread with my findings. If anybody has any more thoughts, I'm happy to hear them! (Even from Sequoia.)

Thanks,
Billy

 

[CobraMarty]

Did you find any solution to your harness problem?

 

[XJ_ranger]

When Phil and I built Karstic's cage, he really wanted to make sure that he could have access to the back seats for his dogs.

I was mor concerned that he wouldnt be able to reach the cooler located behind the passenger seat.

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=934156&highlight=cage

(pics are gone though)

so we built his cage with a "B" pillar, and instead of a single harness bar spanning the B pillar, we had a bar from the top of the B-pillar to the tranny hump in the floor (with some doubler plating) coming in from both sides, and then a 'mini' harness bar from the B pillar to the 'chevron' bars as we called them.

So it kinda looked like this:

|\        /|
| \      / |
|--\    /--|
|   \  /   |
|    \/    |

And then your kids can climb over the center console, between the seats, and get into the back seat.

to be really cool, you would run a tube along the bottom of the B-pillars, and have the chevron bars terminate into it, and be tied into the tranny hump.

I think we had to make a bend in the chevron bars to clear the head rests of the seats and make the mini harness bars long enough, but that was the general idea.

 

[Bryan C.]

Easy soloution, ditch the back seat and tell the wife she can't come along. Put the car seat in the front seat, problem solved.

That's what I did anyway.....

 

[karstic]

Re: Re: 2 Door + Harnesses + Usable Back Seat = Possible?

When Phil and I built Karstic's cage, he really wanted to make sure that he could have access to the back seats for his dogs.

I was mor concerned that he wouldnt be able to reach the cooler located behind the passenger seat.

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=934156&highlight=cage

(pics are gone though)

so we built his cage with a "B" pillar, and instead of a single harness bar spanning the B pillar, we had a bar from the top of the B-pillar to the tranny hump in the floor (with some doubler plating) coming in from both sides, and then a 'mini' harness bar from the B pillar to the 'chevron' bars as we called them.

So it kinda looked like this:

|\        /|
| \      / |
|--\    /--|
|   \  /   |
|    \/    |

And then your kids can climb over the center console, between the seats, and get into the back seat.

to be really cool, you would run a tube along the bottom of the B-pillars, and have the chevron bars terminate into it, and be tied into the tranny hump.

I think we had to make a bend in the chevron bars to clear the head rests of the seats and make the mini harness bars long enough, but that was the general idea.

I'll post pics tonight

 

[1989TwoDoor]

I am in the same two door situation. My initial thoughts are to install two smaller "racing seats" to replace the back bench seat, then the kids would be able to get in and out between the two back bucket seats. This should work, since I don't run a back hatch anyway. Cage was just installed last week.

 

[Ghost]

I have been looking at this also. My thought was to put a harness on one side for now. Then you have the problem of no harness for the passenger seat and I don't like that idea. My second idea involves chopping the back half off my xj and installing 4 suspension seats. There for making the harness bar across the back a non issue. Would like to know what you come up with. ATM I have a cross bar in my back floor board and it makes for anyone over the age of say 10 uncomfortable in the back.

 

[kmanxj5050]

Looking into the same issues with my 2 door. I have no cage YET. I have been torn on what to do for a B pillar and keep rear access. The only thing that sucks about climbing over the center console earlier, is covering the front seats in mud or snow. I don't enjoy the thought of a wet ass all day after a kid has to get out to take a pee.

 

[1989TwoDoor]

Gost and Kman,

I will send photos when I finish it. I actually don't even have shoulder belts in the back of my XJ at this point. With the roll cage, I will be able to at least install shoulder belts for the next trip, then work on buckets later. Unless I see something good at the salvage yard.:dunno: