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SP 250 seat belts

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NeilB
Posts: 20
Joined: Thu Mar 31, 2016 9:43 pm

SP 250 seat belts

Post by NeilB »

Hi, Can anyone recommend which seat belt arrangement to install and where to buy it? I don't really want the intrusion of an inertia system and would prefer a three point harness.

Vortex O'Plinth
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Location: Gloucestershire

Re: SP 250 seat belts

Post by Vortex O'Plinth »

Probably the most robust installations are from Quickfit. To be properly effective, all the belt anchorages should be taken back to the chassis. Locally reinforced attachments to the glassfibre body almost certainly won't meet the requirements of BS3524. That's not to say there aren't many SP's with just such attachments, since seat belts are not obligatory on the car - Bryan Purves can supply such anchorage kits.

Quickfit do a custom inertia reel installation for the SP250, but it's not cheap - around £1000 I believe - but it does conform to the BS.
Nick

"Don't bother with the Air & Space Museum - there's nothing to see.......".

Andy Middleditch
Posts: 34
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2016 10:52 pm
Location: Ayrshire, Scotland

Re: SP 250 seat belts

Post by Andy Middleditch »

I used the Quickfit three point aircraft style belts with Bryan Purves' stainless steel reinforcing fit. I'd recommend both.
Attachments
image.jpeg
image.jpeg
Regards,
Andy Middleditch

'B' spec Dart.

NeilB
Posts: 20
Joined: Thu Mar 31, 2016 9:43 pm

Re: SP 250 seat belts

Post by NeilB »

Thanks guys. Quick fit it is. Your help is much appreciated.

David S
Posts: 188
Joined: Sun Feb 21, 2016 9:23 am
Location: Forest of Dean

Re: SP 250 seat belts

Post by David S »

Well, you need seat belts, just look at the top of the windscreen and think!

On mine I fitted 'static' belts.
I made some long steel liners for the wheel side of the rear wheel arches and anchored the tops under where the hood folds.
I also made a top hat arrangement to fo inside the transmission tunnel just in front of the back seat for the fixed part with a fastening clip on.
The bottom of the door post has a decent place ot attach to [i can't rememebr what just now].
I think inertia reels get in the way of the hood.

Some attach them to the rear bumper mounts for extra safety.

hope this helps

Ian Slade
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Re: SP 250 seat belts

Post by Ian Slade »

The two lap fixings will pick up existing chassis bolts for B/C spec cars, whether A specs will pick up a chassis bolt outboard of the seat I'm not sure, if using modern type solid clips each side of the tunnel then a right angle mounting is required. The shoulder strap mount on the wing does not need that much under wing reinforcing, the direction of load is mainly horizontal and would require considerable G to pull a 2" (50mm) washer through the wing, if it did pull through I suggest the engine would be sitting on your lap and you would be dead anyway to worry about it.
Owner since the 70's, Genghis is slightly to my left.

Fossil
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Location: Helensburgh, Argyll

Re: SP 250 seat belts

Post by Fossil »

A quick word about personal experience with inertia reel belts in the SP.

Over the course of 35 years with the one car I've "matured" from static lap and diagonal belts with the once customary reinforced shoulder attachment on the inner rear wing just lateral to the top of the rear seat back cushion; via inertia reel with the reel mounted on the floor behind the outer side of the seat (facing inwards) and a shoulder level belt loop attached to the B post using a plate mounted behind the hood frame attachments; to, most recently (during a DIY interior re-trim using a Bryan Purves kit of parts), inertia reel with the reel again attached to the floor behind the outer side of the seat (but facing forward this time), with the belt loop mounted to the rear inner wing mounting point with reinforcement again. This works better than either of the earlier two choices, particularly given the freedom of movement that inertia reel belts permit, and a more convenient positioning of the shoulder belt coming from the wheel arch rather than the top of the B post.

I've used Securon belts for both inertia reel set-ups, with two floor mountings to the chassis on either side behind the seats, and using cable mounted inner belt buckles this time rather than webbing mounted buckles, partly because I've used Newton Commercial front seats and cable buckle fittings enable easier one handed engagement of the belt tongue. The original seats have also been retrimmed and can be re-used if required. The final result is more comfortable than either of the earlier arrangements, partly due to the non-original front seats of course, but also due to the most comfortable inertia reel arrangement.

Regards

Geoff

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RadfordJim
Posts: 140
Joined: Tue Feb 16, 2016 10:19 am
Location: Coventry

Re: SP 250 seat belts

Post by RadfordJim »

This is the intertia belt fitted by Robert Grinter during the restoration. The belt and inner buckle are fixed through the floor to the chassis and the top fixing through the rear wheelarch with a large steel reinforcement plate. It's quite discreet and very comfortable to wear.
Seatbelt.jpg
Similar to Geoff's system above but using webbing mounted inner belt buckles which require two hands to fasten as they flop to the floor when unfastened.

I'll investigate cable/stalk mounted buckles which look much more convenient. (Edit: just bought a pair online for £16 :D)
Jim in Coventry - Home of the Daimler

Fossil
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Re: SP 250 seat belts

Post by Fossil »

To follow up on Jim's post, herewith some views of my Securon belts:
DSC00981.JPG
DSC00990.JPG
DSC00994.JPG
DSC01004.JPG
The trim and carpet fit requires final finishing.
I share Ian's view on the force required to pull the wheel arch mounting through the fibreglass, and the survivability of a catastrophic impact sufficient to create such a force.
The Purves reinforcing plates require a substantial amount of disturbance to fit the plates on both sides of the boot floor and the wheel arch, where the boot floor meets the back of the wheel arch and higher up to pass through the boot front wall to the cockpit hood shelf.
Whether wise or not I have also fitted a static lap belt between the wheel arch mountings in order to use a harness for a small dog, principally to stop dog exiting when the hood is down.
The wheel arch reinforcing plates comprise a standard Securon accessory 2x2" 3mm captive nut plate plus a larger 2mm steel plate. With the corners cut off the latter requires only a slight bend in order to be flat against the arch to enable the bolt to engage with the captive nut.
The belt reel unit and the buckle cables are bolted to L brackets supplied with the belts, which are bolted to the floor.
The reel unit is fitted to the rear of the bracket and therefore occupies the space between the floor mounting bolt and the front of the rear seat.

Cheers

Geoff
Last edited by Fossil on Thu Sep 07, 2017 1:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Fossil
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Re: SP 250 seat belts

Post by Fossil »

Further photos:
DSC00995.JPG
DSC01001.JPG
Very comfy!!

But enough from me.

Cheers

Geoff

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