Safety belt reel hiding ...

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Pete
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Joined: Mon Sep 02, 2002 7:35 pm
Location: Australia

Safety belt reel hiding ...

Post by Pete »

... Tom, if you hide the reeler behind the rear door panel (?, interesting term for a 2 door car :) :) ... ) you will have to add something for the safety belt to run, or be guided, over as it comes out of this panel (?)

Most safety belt installations have the belt running straight down from the shoulder mount to the reel, nice and straight. This is to minimise friction so that the reeler will operate correctly.

I'm sure you have this all worked out, but if the belt has to run over too many guides, etc. the reeler may not operate at peak efficiency due to the friction, etc.

Maybe I have not understood what you have planned, as I am a visual person and need to sketch everything before it makes sense :) ...

Keep up the good work. Must have been scary driving her on the snow and ice ... for a person living in hot and dry Sydney it sure sounds scary!
Pete
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tyang
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Post by tyang »

Hi Pete,

Good points. Although I would love to hide the reeler behind the (door, er,... side) panel I think the brackets and path for the belt would be too complicated. It will also foul up the rear arm rests, so I think I'm going to stick with mounting it on the floor.

For the little I drove the car on the snow a couple of weeks ago, I could see how very light use of throttle would be very useful!

Tom
Pontiac
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Post by Pontiac »

I had one idea for hiding the reel inside the door panel..

take the reel and turn it around so the spool faces the outside of the car.
now only the slot for the belt will protrude through the side panel..
I'd mount it so the belt slot would be about where the seam is in the original panel.

you would have to make a custom panel with a slight bulge in it to cover up the back of the belt reel.. 1/2" at the most I'd think.

You'll need to weld in some strong mounting plates between the door pillar and the wheel well..

you would also have to somehow fix the reel so it can't pivot.. that should be as simple as drilling an extra bolt hole..

by moving the mounting plate in and angling it slightly you my be able to have only the slot for the belt protruding through the panel requiring only a minimal bulge with a slot for the belt.
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lukek
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Joined: Tue Sep 03, 2002 12:34 pm
Location: San Francisco, CA

re: belts

Post by lukek »

Why have a reel at all? Most cars I have owned from the 60s and early 70s never had reels, but instead had fixed shoulder belts that snapped into the lap set up. I do not mind sinching mine, as I have no need to tune the radio (no radio at all), and all the controls are easily reachable once you are snug. If I get to my parking garage at work, I usually will disconnect the belts to back up...
I tried to get a reel for comfort, but found that there was no elegant way of concealing it and have the mechanism work (teh assembly is bulky and needs to be level).

thx, luke, #4823

Did you guys see this GTE for sale. Pretty neat color combo (I am not afiliated with the seller)
http://www.vintagemotorssarasota.com/Ca ... errari.htm
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tyang
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Post by tyang »

Hi Luke,

I like the unrestricted feel of the reelers, and my passengers don't have to constantly re-adjust the belts to fit correctly.

Having the retractable belts also keeps the buckles from flopping around when they're not in use, not to mention getting caught between the door and the sill! You know as well as I, yelling at your significant other for slamming the door on the flopping belt buckle only causes more problems!

Tom
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