TR4/4A TR4A Seat Belts

[SBooth]

Want to replace the orig. seat belts in my TR4A.
Will install a bolt in roll bar in the near future. Would appreciate recommendations / suggestions on a set up w/ shoulder belts. Good anchor point(s) ?
An update on my trials getting this car back on the road after the DPO let it sit for 18 yrs.:
Would idle, but missed badly while accelerating and running at speed; checked ALL the usual things and finally last night tried adjusting the mixture on the ZF's. I think I finally found the problem, but am still looking for a set of HS6's.
My wife's comment when I came in to tell her the good news,"Glad you shut it off, the noise was really annoying".
But, she's pretty tolerant, for the most part.

 

[Tomster]

I bought my set of replacement belt from VB and was disappointed to find that they were way off the originals
I am not running a roll bar so went with the original mount locations

 

[Adrio]

What I did for my TR4A was, I bought VW Jetta belts (just because they fit well) and installed them. The recoil and inertial locks work fine. I used the original anchor poionts for the bottom two corners and I used the same point on the wheel arch that the TR6 uses (with some home fabricated re-enforcing to make a hard point for it).

 

[SBooth]

Thanks for the response.
Can you tell me the approx. year Jetta belts you used ?
Steve

 

[Andrew Mace]

Frankly, I don't think originality is -- or should be -- that big a concern. Until at least the late 1960s, seatbelts were sourced locally (or perhaps regionally by the distributor). Case in point: my 1969 Spitfire Mk3 came equipped with lap belts made by "American Safety Weave." Earlier cars often had only "factory" seat belt mounts, if anything, and belts undoubtedly came from the dealer or distributor. Note that requirements varied from state to state until the Federal safety specs started to kick in around 1967-68.

By the time that three-point (usually inertia reel-type) belts became mandatory for "Federal" cars in the early 1970s, they were probably all factory installed.

 

[Adrio]

Thanks for the response.
Can you tell me the approx. year Jetta belts you used ?
Steve

If I remember well, I would say it was around 1995 or so. I just looked at a bunch of cars until I found one that I thought I could make work. I had to remove some of the pastic 'garnish' that covers it but it turned out just fine. I should take a picture and add it to my web site.

In fact I installed them Right belt on the right hand side of the car but because of the way they are mounted on the TR compared to the VW the belt has to have a twist in it. I think if I swapped sides the need for the twist would go away.

Oon an other note. For my TR3A I used the belt from a LADA. I don't think those Russian cars were sold in the USA but... the belt was fantastic for our cars because there is no male buckle. The belt just gous under a bar that latches down to fasten the belt. That way you don't have to fish the the buckle along the belt and if you passenger 'thows' the belt off there is no buckle to scratch your paint job. I just could not find a LADA belt four years ago or I would have used it again.

 

[wingsandwheels]

I just replaced the original seat belts on my 1974 TR6 with a set from Kai at Wishbone Classics. Kai was great and searched for a modern set that looked closest to original. The ones I finally settled on are very close to original except the female ends sit a bit higher than the Kangols but the inertia reel and shoulder belt swivel mounts are very, very similar.

The kit also came with all of the hardware to install them on a car not originally equipped w/ three point belts. I'd contact Kai and see what he comes up with.

PM if you'd like pictures.

Rgds, W

 

[DougF]

I installed Simpson racing belts in my TR6 and TR3. They are not original looking, but definitely have the sporty look. Once belted in, don't expect to move around a lot.
I bought them from the Pegasus Racing Catalog.