Overdriven
NAXJA Member #1020
- Location
- Dayton, Ohio
I've always hated just having lap belts in the back. Now that there is a cross bar from my roll cage just in front of my kids heads while they are in the back seat I really wanted to have shoulder harnesses. Problem is that I have an 88 XJ with a choped roof. So I made shoulder harness seat belts of my own. Here is a short writeup with a few pics. I feel it is very safe and sturdy and I'd rather have this than just lap belts in the back seat.
I used an extra set of front seat belts from another XJ. I used the lap belt mounting point for the strap end of the seat belt that is located below the rear seat. I fabbed a shoulder mount and mount for the recoil end of the seatbelt on the C pilar because there really was no other place to put it. Not the cleanest job in the world but I was looking more for function. Everything I used was grade 8 hardware and 1/4" steel.
Here are the mounts. 3" by 3.5" with a hole torched in the middle for the bolt to pass through. I then welded a nut to the back of it.
I cut a 1 1/4" hole in the C pilar for the nut to rest in and welded the mount to the C pilar. It was fun trying to weld 1/4" to sheetmetal. All I can say is patience.
I then had my 5yr old son sit in the jeep to try the seat belt on for height measurement of the top shoulder mount.
I decided to make a bracket to weld to my cage since it was such a pita to weld to the body. The drop piece was half of a shackle from my 74 CJ5 I used to own. I never throw anything away. It dropped the shoulder mount low enough so that it wouldn't be on my son's neck as we drive.
Welded everything up and I now have 3pt seat belts in the rear of my Jeep.
TIPS: The trickiest part of this was finding a mounting point for the recoil part of the seat belt. The belt has a type of gyro in it that will not let the seat belt come out unless it's mounted at just the right angle. It has to have a slight tilt backward. This kept me from mounting it under, behind or in front of the seat, and also on the cage. I also wanted to keep it under the roof.
Mock it up a few times and set it up for the smallest person that will be riding back there. It sux to have a seat belt on your neck or face while wheelin.
I know this isn't an exciting mod but I've gotten enough out of this site I thought I would contribute a little back.
I used an extra set of front seat belts from another XJ. I used the lap belt mounting point for the strap end of the seat belt that is located below the rear seat. I fabbed a shoulder mount and mount for the recoil end of the seatbelt on the C pilar because there really was no other place to put it. Not the cleanest job in the world but I was looking more for function. Everything I used was grade 8 hardware and 1/4" steel.
Here are the mounts. 3" by 3.5" with a hole torched in the middle for the bolt to pass through. I then welded a nut to the back of it.
I cut a 1 1/4" hole in the C pilar for the nut to rest in and welded the mount to the C pilar. It was fun trying to weld 1/4" to sheetmetal. All I can say is patience.
I then had my 5yr old son sit in the jeep to try the seat belt on for height measurement of the top shoulder mount.
I decided to make a bracket to weld to my cage since it was such a pita to weld to the body. The drop piece was half of a shackle from my 74 CJ5 I used to own. I never throw anything away. It dropped the shoulder mount low enough so that it wouldn't be on my son's neck as we drive.
Welded everything up and I now have 3pt seat belts in the rear of my Jeep.
TIPS: The trickiest part of this was finding a mounting point for the recoil part of the seat belt. The belt has a type of gyro in it that will not let the seat belt come out unless it's mounted at just the right angle. It has to have a slight tilt backward. This kept me from mounting it under, behind or in front of the seat, and also on the cage. I also wanted to keep it under the roof.
Mock it up a few times and set it up for the smallest person that will be riding back there. It sux to have a seat belt on your neck or face while wheelin.
I know this isn't an exciting mod but I've gotten enough out of this site I thought I would contribute a little back.
