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TR2/3/3A Seat Belts in TR3

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I have true period seatbelts in my 1958 TR3A. I bought them in 1959, a year after I bought the TR because it was a requirement for rallying. The buckle is marked "Allstate" and I bought them at Montgomery Ward in Plattsburg, NY.
 

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I bought my complete interior including all the trimming, finished door panels, material for the coping, the dash, well everything plus the carpet set from Jim Hawkins when he had his shop in Witney about 15 miles west of Oxford, England in 1988 or '89. What you are looking at is 20 years and 105,000 miles old.

BTW, about 1995, Jim closed shop and went to the Abington area where MGs were built for ages, and he started making leather goods for the people who love and own several horses on their estates. I think the term is "Sadelery". No TR person I know in England has heard from Jim in 15 years.
 
Interior looks great for 20 years of use.

Now back to more seatbelt questions. There are many online suppliers of lap belts (as well as three-point belts). Any recommendations among the different suppliers? I like the look of the clip-on style lap belts that attach to rings (such as these: https://www.victoriabritish.com/icatalog/tc/full.aspx?Page=140) as they seem to be "period correct" and should apply forces in a proper direction (as noted earlier in this thread). Other options or suppliers of similar belts, other views? Opinions or suggestions please. Santa wants a list of TR parts. Cheers, Mike
 
On my TR3, I purchased the type of seart belts that are secured by a 1/2" bolt. But instead of just bolting it to the sheetmetal, I first bolted a 4" length of 2" angle iron to the outside corners of bodyshell, where the floor pans and the vertical shelf meet. Then, I drilled through the angle iron and the floorboard and bolted the seatbelts through it all, for added security and ridgity. Keep in mind this is for a post TS60k TR, not sure what you'd do for a pre 60k model.
 
Hello Andrew,

Would you be so kind as to re-post the link for .PDF of templates provided in a Standard-Triumph Service Bulletin for seat belt mounts in a TR3? Thanks.

Regards, Walter
 
Wonder if there is one out there for pre-TS60000 cars.....
 
Mine is in the 31,000 range. The seat belts worked fine using the template as a guide.

bill
 
Lbp said:
Here's the template I used. It's from Triumph in 1962.

Bill

https://s258.photobucket.com/user/TR3driver/media/Manual pages/tr3seatbeltanchors.jpg.html
Click to expand...

Randall, I'm glad someone had saved the templates I'd posted all those years ago; thank you! And Walter, this is exactly what I'd had, from a Service Bulletin issued in the Northeast Zone at the time when states such as Connecticut and New York were beginning to require at least installed seat belt mounts around 1962.
 
Many thanks Bill, Andy and Randall for what must be the extent of official Standard Triumph action concerning TR3 series lap belts. Probably had no need of this in the UK and elsewhere. The other existing arrangements would have been and are still driven (no pun intended) by racing requirements, personal preference, and subjective dealer installation.

Would be interested in these last points. Bill (and others), do you find that the ST suggested belt installation provides for enough downward-angled retention in the lap area, or does it pull more straight back? Do you use an eye bolt setup, or is the seat belt bracket bolted solid to the kick panel?

Finally, is the kick panel solution not similar to what was installed in TR4/4A?

Thanks again, Walter
 
I am looking for the same information, but, alas, i get a 404 message for both the links I tried. Any other suggestions?
 
AAAAh. looking further down the thread i have found the diagram. thank you all for the trouble. now, what to do about it?

Dr Mike

yes,
I believe in seat belts. I installed my first in a Morris Minor Traveller in 1961. Or was it 1962? I forget!
 
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Hello, Do you still have the 62 service bulletin that you referenced here? I am wanting to install lap belts in my TR3.


Andrew Mace said:
Some time ago, I scanned and ".PDF'ed" some drawings/templates from a Standard-Triumph Service Bulletin of 1962, detailing suggested installation of seat belt mounting points for a TR3A. (At the time, NY, CT and possibly other states required at least installed mounts for seat belts in new cars.)

Here is that scan for installation of belts in the TR3A. I assume no responsibility or liability for these; I'm only passing along a "factory" suggestion!
Click to expand...
 
Does anyone have pictures on how to mount lap belts on a tr3. I have the template from 1962, but they do not make sense to me. I says to drill into the herl board and not the floor? I have the kits from Moss.
 
I've been reading all the posts on TR3 seat belts. I can tell you from experience what I had and what happened to me in a head on crash with my 58 TR3A. I had lap belts installed driving with my grand daughter and we were both buckled up. My mouth and chest went against the left side of the steering wheel pushing that half of the wheel into the dash. My right hand was on the steering wheel and it jammed two bones together which had to be removed. I had bruised ribs and cuts all over. My grand daughter had whip lash and bruising on her waist from the lap belt. My car was totaled. If I had to do it again, I would figure out a way to put 3-point belts in. Some of the guys in my club have no belts installed in there TR3's. Without the belt, my grand daughter would have gone through the windshield. One other thing, I had my top down, the hood flew over the windshield and clipped me on the top of my head. That ended up being a night in the hospital. Somebody was looking out for us that day. You can't be careful enough.
 
TR3TR6 said:
... If I had to do it again, I would figure out a way to put 3-point belts in... You can't be careful enough.
Click to expand...

Wow, quite a story Terry. I started this thread 11 years ago, and a couple of years back, I ditched the old Ruppert lap belts for a set of retractable, three point belts that I got from Wesco Performance, in this case, made specifically for roadsters. I mounted the retractor on the top of the wheel well. Worked out nice. There are good options out there that will work with our cars. Take advantage of them.

https://www.wescoperformance.com/3pt-roadster-seatbelt-bucket-help.html
 
Art, those look pretty good to me, very much like what the TR6's have. Thanks for posting the web site. There are some other issues with the TR3's in a wreck. The metal throttle pedal is one of them, it cut my ankle clear to the bone. Finding out about these things the hard way is no fun.
 
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