Spitfire Spitfire Seat Belts

[doates]

Hi,

I am putting together an order to take advantage of VB's winter sale and hopefully get my car on the road soon. So I am thinking seat belts.

My 70 Spit came with retractable lap belts with the snap hook ends. I think they are original because the chrome buckle has the cool Triumph decal on it. The car has the mounting point on the rear wheel well so I can easily install 3 point belts but I can't find any with the chrome buckle that are retractable.

My question is; Are the non-retractable 3 point belts a pain to use? Do the buckles wind up getting closed in the door, etc?

Also, does anyone know where to get the Triumph logos for the buckle?

Thanks for your help

Dennis

 

[Andrew Mace]

Dennis, seat belts were, of course, required by Federal law by this time, but I don't think that the 1970 model Spitfires (or other open cars, at least of foreign manufacture) had three-point belts as standard, although they could be ordered. Further, I believe that the belts were sourced and installed by Standard-Triumph's regional distributors.

I know my 1969 Mk3 (purchased used but only a year old at the time) came equipped with lap belts only, with retractors that simply clipped onto the belt (very "old school" but those retractors might still be available?), said belts manufactured by American SafetyWeave. I went to the dealer and bought the shoulder portion, which bolted to the point already on the wheel arch and had a narrow, oblong loop that simply slipped over the male part of the lap buckle. That shoulder portion was, of course, separately adjustable.

I don't know if that particular style of belt is still available, but "static" three-point belts are available with eye-bolt hooks for the lap portion and bolt-through fixing for the shoulder portion. They can be a bit of a nuisance if neglected, but I quickly got in the habit of unbuckling and carefully laying out the shoulder portion so it wouldn't get caught in the door or elsewhere. I still do the same with the static three-point belts I put in the front of my Herald.

As for the sticker, there used to be a seller on eBay (and, I think, also a VTR member and with his own web site) that made replicas of the Mylar Triumph stickers for belts, but I've not seen anything from him in some time.

 

[71MKIV]

My 71 had non retractable 3 pointers in it.

They were are real pain in the tookus. Always sitting on them or closing the door on them.

This last rebuild I put generic retracts in from Rimmer. They're ok. Hadda drill a hole in the bottom of the wheel arch and weld reinforcing in. They are better than the non retracts.

 

[doates]

Thanks for all of the info.....I just pulled my seat belts out of the box again and realized that my retractors are the clip on the belt type so I plan to reuse these. I figure that if it will retract the lab belt and buckle enough to stay out of the door I can deal with the shoulder belt being floppy when I am not in the car.

These clip on retractors are available here:

https://www.elcaminostore.com/el-camino-seat-belt-retractors-accessory-1959-1965.html

I am placing my VB order today for everything I need to get the car on the road and hopefully by the 1st of the year another LBC will be back on the road.

Thanks Again

Dennis

 

[mikecyc72usa]

I have the non retractable ones because they're more comfortable in my opinion, and also cinch down nice and tight. I only had one instance of a belt hanging out of the door when I shut it, and I caught it right away as I walked away from the car. They are great to snug down for spirited driving, and I never have a problem dealing with them. I simply open the door, put the buckles out of the way, sit down, strap in, fasten, tighten, and go. It may be that at 6ft and 173 lbs I have more room than others to manipulate the belts, but I'm not sure.