Shoulder Seat Belts

After my wife got T-boned in her Honda CRV, it really got me thinking about seat belts in the 73 CJ5. I was about to start refurbishing the interior anyway, and I’d really like to upgrade the seats and seat belts. Some previous owner welded in some diamond plate to mount the seats on, which appears to be pretty sturdy. The current seat belts are old Chevy belts bolted in the the body sheet metal, so I’d like to figure out a more substantial mounting, maybe on the frame(?). And I’d really like to mount a shoulder belt on the roll bar. I’m thinking that drilling a hole in the roll bar might weaken it if it ever actually rolled. Can anyone recommend a good aftermarket seat / shoulder belt system? Maybe a picture of what you’ve done?

 

Lots of folks use car three point belts with the shoulder pivot run through a tube welded in the roll bar. Many of the modern bucket seats use a rigid cable which gets the clasp up by the side of the seat.

You can look at various cars and trucks to see which configuration will work best.

 

https://www.julianos.com/Chrome-Lift-Latch-Retractable-Shoulder-Belt-p/jull3pt.htm

I use these, with a welded attachment point at the roll bar and the stock anchors on the floor.

 

To extend and anchor mine I used a length of flat bar with a bolt hole drilled at each end.

 

In the classic cars I own there is a plate approx 2.5x3x 3/16 with a nut welded to it. That plate is on the back side of the floor pan and spot welded to the floor pan. If memory serves me correctly the seat belt bolt is 7/16 fine thread. I am sure that factory set up was NTSA approved. Can't see it necessary to go to the frame but at the end of the day it is your comfort level that matters.
I am in the same situation as you are I am going to put 3 point or 4 point belts in mine. I really didn't think a 1/2 hole in the roll bar would affect it's structural integrity but I if that was a concern a guy could weld a stud in the roll bar and attach to that. I have even toyed with the idea of welding a horizontal bar between the roll bar verticals right behind the sets and attaching a 4pt harness.

 

I bought a used tj roll bar and welded shoulder belt brackets to it then bolted them up to brackets. The lock mechanism I plated like a sand Wich to the floor welded plates grade 8 hard ware. Lap belts are useless your on the right track

 

You would want the rollbar and lower belts securely fastened to the tub then you can do frame outriggers in the area of the belt but you do not want to be a human body mount by having the seat belt be secured better than the rest of the tub.

Do not use the seat belt bolts as part of frame tie ins as that is more stress than you want when you need it most.

 

I tend to have this same philosophy. At the same time, I imagine in a (Jeep) crash, by the time it became a meaningful factor you'd be screwed anyway.

Best to focus on not crashing.

 

Yes even in a JL it's a bad situation.
Luckily the intermediate don't have a 7/8" frame mounted rod at the chest or 10gal of fuel under the seat.
And the brakes are decent.

 

Your looking at this all wrong......
The steering shaft pointed at your chest and gasoline under the seat are insurance that if your only "mostly dead" from the initial crash, you wont survive the post crash steel removal from your chest or burns from resulting fire!
Remember.... There are worse outcomes than dying at the crash site.

 

Oh I see, like on airplanes the seatbelts are just for ground maneuvers and turbulence.

 

No... speaking as a firefighter and past EMT I love when people wear seat belts.

It saves us time searching for the victims. Especially when they get thrown high up in trees during rollovers.

 

Exactly!
You cant control the airplane if you get bounced out of the seat!

 

What you need for the roll bars to weld in a pair of bungs. The added bonus is that you will keep thinking your wife is going to laugh when you ask her to look at the bung holes you drilled in your roll bar.