Aftermarket seatbelt install in an early Beetle...
John Henry
'50 and was reading the instructions that came with them. It says on
the outside to drill the floor on the upper "ledge", alongside the
heater channel. But on the inside, near the tunnel, it shows the
mounting point on the lower surface, the lowest floor area, instead of
the first "ledge" next to the tunnel. Knowwhadimean? It seems tome
that the install would look more symmetrical and cleaner if the inside
location was on the ledge near the tunnel, like on the outside. I can't
think of any strength reason to do it the way they show.
Anyone installed these? The instructions say "for '61 and earliers" so
I know they were meant for my car. How did you do it? They came with
the high grade bolts and super heavy washers.
What about rears, what anchor points did you use?
Yes, of course I did all this in my '57, but I'm not going that route
with this car. No time, and this is not my "nit picky" car.
And just in case anyone is wincing, my '50 does not have the original
floorpans in it. They, and the heater channels are replacements. If
the chassis were truly original, I really don't think I could do this.
And I need to get these belts in before the DKF cruise in 2 weeks. It
is a sunroof after all, lots of was to "exit" the car in an accident.
--
John Henry
"Yea, to roar is to have honor. But to Fweem, that is to be truly
noble"
- Unknown
Visit the "BugShop" at: http://www.geocities.com/thebugshop/
Nor-Cal VW
floor. If you kit a rock, your bolts are history on the floor. For my racer
i also added 1/8" steel plate 3" long by whatever that raised section is
wide for extra pull through resistance. No threaded inserts on a 50? Even in
the tunnel?
As for the rear, My 67 has them mounted through the rear firewall just
below the seat base where the top & bottom meet.
hope this helps.
Dave.
John Henry wrote:
--
Dave AKA Nor-Cal VW's
Eureka, Ca
One of the many great Daves in RAMVA!
Check out my home on the web
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Jim Bremer
If that was my 50, I would use duct tape. That way no drilling is needed!!
At least you'll have that feeling of security.
No joking around, I have seen them bolted ON the ledge, on the floor. I
would bolt the other side to a washer welded to a nut, turned around, and
welded to the tunnel, that's about the only way to go there. On the rear
bolt them to the luggage compartment, and I guess slit the carpet? That
would be the fastest way to get it done.
Jim
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John Henry
No, mounting points weren't put in until 1962.
Craig Schaepe
wider. So I drilled two holes on the tunnel being careful not to drill
through the fuel line or clutch line. It was tough threading the bolt and
washer through the tunnel from the back. Some fishing line does the trick
nicely. But if you have room between the seat and the tunnel choose the
metal with the most thickness.
On the back seats you might be able to use the body to pan bolts to secure
the belts and thread it between the seats bottom & back. The outside body
to pan bolts at the corners are big enough to take the shock if you got in
an accident. The normal body to pan bolts are smaller than the supplied
bolts so perhaps you could drill into the tunnel on either side of the
tunnel access hole and mount them there.
I need to get the car ready myself as I finally got a new starter to replace
the starter that was fried coming back from Terryville weeks ago. I thought
for sure it was the solenoid but it turned out to be a frozen starter.
-Craig
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