'69 Westfalia - Seatbelts

hambone · Post by **hambone** » Wed Dec 16, 2009 2:48 pm

Any advice on retrofitting seatbelts into the rear of an early bay westy? I'll betcha Hal will be the king of this. Junkyard King.
I need 2 for the bed and 1 for the rear facing jump seat. Also don't want to damage the vehicle or de-value it.
No hurry, just something I need to think about.

Post by **Amskeptic** » Wed Dec 16, 2009 4:07 pm

hambone wrote:Any advice on retrofitting seatbelts into the rear of an early bay westy? I'll betcha Hal will be the king of this. Junkyard King.
I need 2 for the bed and 1 for the rear facing jump seat. Also don't want to damage the vehicle or de-value it.
No hurry, just something I need to think about.

Get new late-model belts with fresh nylon and clasps. There are many suppliers with the hardware bolts plastic washers and anchors you will need.
Colin

hambone · Post by **hambone** » Wed Dec 16, 2009 4:15 pm

Where to anchor? Drill thru the floor?
Is it a simple method of just measuring how long of a belt you think you need?

Post by **Amskeptic** » Wed Dec 16, 2009 4:32 pm

hambone wrote:Where to anchor? Drill thru the floor?
Is it a simple method of just measuring how long of a belt you think you need?

Your bus should have the captive nuts already welded in place. If not, there are kits with large thick washers that go on either side of the hole to distribute the load. You need to make them weather proof. But I believe the bus is pre-pared for belts.
I know the later ones also have shoulder anchor holes with captive nuts along the window sills in the back.
Colin

hambone · Post by **hambone** » Wed Dec 16, 2009 9:28 pm

It's pre-prepared, but for a passenger bus. Westy cabinet throws the whole thing off.
I don't think the jump seat is wired for belts either, but I could be wrong.

hambone · Post by **hambone** » Tue Dec 22, 2009 10:31 am

I looked under the bed-seat. There are plastic plugged seat belt mounting bolts, arranged like this:

[ seat cushion ]
..**..........** ..

So do the pairs of belts mount side by side like that? Weird.
I didn't see any hardware for the jump seat.

dtrumbo · Post by **dtrumbo** » Tue Dec 22, 2009 11:00 am

What you're seeing are the mounts for the middle belt, and one mount for each of the outer belts. The other two mounts are in the wheel arches.

Here's a photo for reference.

hambone · Post by **hambone** » Tue Dec 22, 2009 11:12 am

Would there be any harm in bolting down the male and female sides of the belts so close to each other? I think it would work but I want it to be safe. I don't see why not.
The bed mechanism and the cabinet prevent the use of those wheel well mounts...

dtrumbo · Post by **dtrumbo** » Tue Dec 22, 2009 11:30 am

hambone wrote:Would there be any harm in bolting down the male and female sides of the belts so close to each other? I think it would work but I want it to be safe. I don't see why not.

I disagree. If you do that, you're basically making a loop which will tighten when under stress (accident forces). Think of a noose around your waist. Further, the belt will then be offset from the natural seating position which will then induce lateral force during the accident.

hambone wrote:The bed mechanism and the cabinet prevent the use of those wheel well mounts.

This is where you have to get creative and mount the belt where it will "line up" with the seating position. As Colin mentioned, you will probably need to drill an additional hole, one driver side and one passenger side and use the honkin' washers to spread the load. They look like this.

I've got tons of 'em that came with hardware kits that I don't need. I can throw some in the mail to you if you decide you go this route.

hambone · Post by **hambone** » Tue Dec 22, 2009 11:33 am

Crap! I hate drillin' holes...
Thanks Dick.

Itinerant Air-Cooled

Itinerant Air-Cooled

'69 Westfalia - Seatbelts

'69 Westfalia - Seatbelts

Re: '69 Westfalia - Seatbelts