seat belt bar

[Richard]

Good evening,

Last weekend we trundled some 90 miles to Nijmegen and back in my 1964 109" Series 2a with full length hood to collect a second hand 27" iMac and on the way back the wife suddenly had a nightmarish vision of her head exploding on the wind screen, its surround or the "dash board" in a head-on collision. Now she wants me to mount seat belts. My "impossible, dearest" didn't produce the desired effect, as you can imagine. So next I found a Seat Belt Bar from Exmoor with two 4-door seat belts, one for her, one for me. Now Deal of the Month, mind you. Survival at a bargain!

A Canadian blogger with a 1960 Series 2 reviewed it (on his excellent and informative blog) and didn't, well, extol the virtues of the finish. From the comments: "instructions are insanely bad", "instructions are pathetic", and "not fit for purpose".

Have any of you ever installed this Seat Belt Bar? Other thoughts? Alternatives? Besides divorce, I mean...

Richard

[Richard]

And I found this on eBay, and something similar at Rovers North.
Richard

[Wittsend]

This is what I have in the LWT - it allows full access into the rear tub ....

Galvanised upper seat belt brackets

Made by a guy in Suffolk near Ipswich.





Here they are in my LWT.
I'm sure they would fit into a standard 2A tub.


 

[Kaney]

Here's a video I referred too when fitting mine
https://youtu.be/8CSkNhsrdH0?si=eyL_121RA5jCpT7H

[Richard]

Here's a video I referred too when fitting mine
https://youtu.be/8CSkNhsrdH0?si=eyL_121RA5jCpT7H

A, right, Church House Classics, Profanity warning Thanks, very useful. "Fairly comprehensive instructions" he says, and mounting it "requires a bit of patients"
Richard

[Richard]

This is what I have in the LWT - it allows full access into the rear tub ....

Galvanised upper seat belt brackets

Made by a guy in Suffolk near Ipswich.





Here they are in my LWT.
I'm sure they would fit into a standard 2A tub.


 

Thanks Alan. That's the one I found on eBay, by hingeandbracket1. Less intrusive than the Exmoor one, I think, and it grants access to the tub as before. He does them galvanized or black powder coated, and my hood sticks are black powder coated.
Richard

[Kaney]

Here's a video I referred too when fitting mine
https://youtu.be/8CSkNhsrdH0?si=eyL_121RA5jCpT7H

A, right, Church House Classics, Profanity warning Thanks, very useful. "Fairly comprehensive instructions" he says, and mounting it "requires a bit of patients"
Richard

It's all I could find at the time for when I did mine earlier this year so just thought I would share it

[Richard]

O, don't get me wrong, I'm glad you did, it was very informative. I mailed Exmoor and asked for instructions, just to get an idea of how and where the Bar and the seat belt parts should be mounted, but they haven't replied yet (but I think in the end I will get the separate ones). I'm very much a fan of Richard Hudson's videos, profanities and all. Just before you posted the one on the Seat Belt Bar I was watching his video on removing a heater from a Range Rover Classic, or: how to make brain surgery look easy
Richard

[Spike]

Hi Richard we recently had a S2 club visit to Exmoor Trim it highlighted the quality of their seat trimming and was good to see behind the scenes.. I'd already bought an ET hood stick set and new canvas hood from a private seller, he gave me the seatbelt bar as part of the package. The bar was new and again there were no instructions.. I had to drill the tub for the mounting bolts which was a shame, it was a bit fiddly but no problem with fitting, as you can see I used flanged nuts and bolts to give it some extra rigidity.. The bar is a bit flimsy but I guess ET must have tested it to be fit for purpose.. Personally I prefer the galv set shown by Alan as they don't have stiffener bar, look more original/innkeeping and without the bar would be less restrictive for access to the rear tub all the best Rob
 

[diffwhine]

Just picking up on the comment about Exmoor must have tested it. As far as I am aware, no physical testing has been done on these seatbelt bars.I've fitted dozens over the years, but always with the clear proviso that they are likely to enhance safety and seatbelt running angles, but are not tested. Seatbelt mountings as OE fitment are defined by clear testing rules and standards. As there is no certification or labelling supplied with these bars, it is important not to assume they meet all industry standards. They will undoubtedly be an improvement on having no belts and for most requirements, will perform fine I'm sure. In the case of a catastrophic impact, there are no guarantees.

[Richard]

Thanks both. I also have a preference for the separate ones Alan showed. I'm afraid a long bolt like the one fixing the sloping tube at the rear of the Exmoor Bar to the side of the tub would snap at impact, or get twisted out of the tube, the tub side or both.

As for safety and testing, I think it's just a case of better this than nothing at all. Look at hits Car Crash Calculator: at 50 miles an hour you would probably die or sustain severe injuries, with or without seat belts, but at 30 miles an hour, you stand a chance of surviving, although "It feels like being pressed with a mass of 1,416 kilograms", an entire Series 2 Land Rover, driver, family dog and a case of premium bitter included weighing down on your body.

If the Seat Belt Bars advertised would meet EU or UK requirements for seat belt mounting points, they would have been very happy, no delighted to advertise it.

Richard

[Wittsend]

... not to mention the 40 litres of petrol you are sitting over

[Richard]

Ssh...
Richard

[Peter Holden]

Does that mean I am safe as mine is diesel (for now)

Peter

[diffwhine]

I would suggest that no matter what elderly LR we are driving, considering ourselves safe on modern roads might be somewhat questionable!