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Saturday, January 7, 2012

Seat Belts Completed

First, let me just say that I'm not an engineer or a safety specialist. The installation for the belt buckles comes from my estimation only, based on where I think the shear and pull forces could be during an accident. I am not an expert.

Below, the four 1/2" holes drilled for the seatbelt bolts in the space behind the seat  box. The outer ones are for the left and right seat buckles, the center two are for the restrain system for the center seat. Beneath the holes is a 16.5"x2"x1/8" steel backing plate, for strength, through which the bolts will also pass. In this case, I also had to drill a 3/16 hole in the steel for the start handle support bracket (rearmost). The forward bracket will no longer be usable.


Here, the buckle stalks in place, with the center stations occupied by brackets for center seat restraints. These brackets can be replaced with any other seat belt hardware as required, this is just what I have for now. The buckle stalks are being held in place with tie wraps to stop them turning as their bolts are torqued. Start handle brackets back in place.

Start handle back in place, and an illustration of how the buckle stalks are situated within the seat cushions.

The final result. Perhaps I should remove the stickers on the buckles! I'll have to do some research on what the best system will be for the center seat, but at least the mounting points are in place.


Spot anything new? Yes, the license plates are now on, which means that the Land Rover can go for a test drive whenever everything is ready. Don't quite know why everyone blanks out the letters/numbers on the plates in photos, but who am I to argue? The orange box is the battery charger/maintainer. Oh, and have also done the wheel alignment....