seat belt mount backing plate pillar access

[rezdiver]

I have searched the archives and read as much as i can on the rear and middle seatbelts shoulder belt or lack there of on the 1991 delica l300.

my question is regarding access to the back side of the pillars. for those of you who have stripped out your delica for camperizing mods or roof repairs, etc.. has anyone had a good look at the middle (C-pillar) and the rear pillars to see if there is access to slide in the original backing plates for the seat belts into position into the pillar.
I was at the wreckers digging through the headliner of a delica and i cant feel any access point to slide the backing plate down into the pillar. there is a lip at the top but seems to have a reinforcement plate running length ways in there. looks like some holes for wiring. but i cant feel anything wide enough for the backing plate.
same for the rear pillar upper mounts.

I shined a light with a mirror through the middle pillar bottom seatbelt access hole and i can see all the way up to where the hole is for the upper mount but the path seems to narrow at the base of the window line and a narrow path upwards. i dont think i can slide the plate up through there unless the OEM backing plate is narrow.

[thedjjack]

No mounts in my 1989....why do you want to add them?

[rezdiver]

i realize pre 1991 didd not have 3 point belts installed. I want to add them to add 3 point seat belts for rear bench and captains chairs in the middle.

I have the reinforcing plates and captive nuts on the bottom bracket for the captains seats behind the carpet panels but my upper mounts only have the hole with no backing plate.

i looked at the original backing plates at the autowreckers and the reinforcing plates are just spot welded behind the pillars, so i was going to cut out the pillars at the wreckers, and drill out the spot welds so i can re use the reinforcing plates with captive nuts and weld them back onto my van, but i need to know if there is access to slide them in before i take apart all the trim waste time cutting out the pillars at the auto wreckers..

[thedjjack]

Added safety?

I would pull the trim and add material and a bolt (remember the angle of the belt is important). I would measure off a new van and follow the measurements. or just put 4 point harness in (there are a few DOT approved ones)

I think the rear bench in backwards is the safest (even though a "seat belt" expert did not think so...But remember the US Navy all their planes unless piloting face the tail.

[rezdiver]

thats a whole can of liability worms listed in your options.
pulling trim and adding material.... seems a whole lot easier if i can slide in the original engineered approved backing plate and call it a day. plus probably better by design to have the bolt plate on the inside of the pillar rather than the outside.
holes are already there so lining up the belts properly is not an issue.
if i go through all that trouble i will have a cage made, mount belts and call it a day. but i want to put in 2 belts in the back and at least 1 in the middle row so for all the time and effort not worth reinforcing and adding material from the outside of the pillars..

seats in backwards or things like that will not cover your hospital bill when the insurance company screws you over for modifying the vehicle, even if it is safer than original design.

done my research and have a set of SCHROTH DOT 4 points in the mail but i am opting for the original equipment for the long run.

now for that access into the pillar.....

[thedjjack]

Liability???

1. Any modification to the pillars to add shoulder belts to a vehicle that did not come with them will be a modification. Period even if you use the factory parts. So I would not worry about doing it better then factory.

2. My bench seat from the factory can be forward or rear facing. Not an issue for me.

3. I have had the roof off my van and I have looked at the structure closer then most. They build the upper frame first and then add the roof in the L300 when they build it so it is not easy to get material behind.

4. Read over your Provincial Safety guidelines closely. Modifying for seat belts really is not usually that big of a deal. The seat belt would have to fail and result in the injuries before an insurance company would get out of it.

5. You are driving an L300 cab forward design of the L300 has a crash rating of around 1/2 star for the front seats. If safety is that much of a concern then not sure you have the right rig. Full roll cage.

[rezdiver]

I am not getting into an arguement over personal opinions regarding belts, crash ratings, or if this is the right vehicle for me comment...like i said, i have done my research and am pursueing this option.
lets keep on the topic requested please.

"3. I have had the roof off my van and I have looked at the structure closer then most. They build the upper frame first and then add the roof in the L300 when they build it so it is not easy to get material behind."

i noticed that i can run my hand down the roof line and behind a lip at the top corner and this is where i hit the tunnel going horizontally that i didnt find access through. is there an access panel further up front that i can fish the reinforcing plate back through the tunnel towards the middle pillar. i seem to recall seeing an access point in some pictures above the front drivers seatbelt upper mount (pictures were regarding installing snorkles) is the tunnel a straight shot back towards the rear.

[thedjjack]

Sorry was not trying to offend.

The top of the van has a box going around the outside and then the roof is added and welded to the rain gutter. The roof itself has no structure and adds very little strength to the van. When you run your finger down it you hit the box that you want inside of.

I think the best access into this area is the back two holes and then snake forward. (there maybe access up the front Pillars behind the front seats (wiring goes up here for sure).

In my roof thread there is photos page 2 for sure. I think you can feed the anchors from the back holes around to the pillar... You should be able to feed all the way to the middle from this point. There is wires inside if I remember right.

http://www.delica.ca/forum/vote-for-hit ... 51-15.html

Also look at Felix (dinoevo build) he had the interior out of a high roof L300 and you can try Super-Exceeded that welded two together (he still has no interior so you can look (it is a high roof on top of a lowroof front.)

Let me know if it helps. Good luck with the project (I would rather you put a nice 8 point cage inside (only because I would like to see it designed and built))

[rezdiver]

thanks for the info, i did look through your pics originally. i will have a look at the rear access and see if its possible to go that route. figured using a wire to fish through and magnets to orientate it as it feeds across as long as i dont get snagged at the wiring..

[lost2]

Hello Rezdiver,

I did add shoulder belts in the back and in the middle row seats on my 1990 L300.

For the middle row upper mounts, I designed new bolting plates. They were narrow (about 1,25" wide) and long (about 6 inches).

I lightly welded the tip of these plates with a 3/16" metal rod (about 3 feet long). That way I was able to sneak the plates upward throught the bottom access hole to be able to align the plates with the hole in the upper mounts. While holding it in place, I screwed the upper belt mount bolt in place. Once it was tightened, i shaked the 3/16" rod until the small weld broke

Having looked at the front seats bolt plates, and of other cars bolt plates, I can tell that the plates are normally holding in place with 4 small tack weld. Their strenght and holding capacity is more related to the area they cover on the metal mounts than these 4 tacks. This is why I choose to lenghten the narrower plates in order to give more covering area.

About liability, I prefer knowing my kids have a well working belt shoulder with a DIY bolt plate rather than the stock hip belts that were not holding them at all (I experienced once my 2 years old daughter's childseat falling on the side while taking a curve - with my daughter in it , althought the hip belt was supposedly well holding the seat).

Anyways, I didn't have my camera at that point, so I didn't took pictures of the install, but I could show you what it looks now...

Davy

[thedjjack]

Hey Lost2

My apologies I forgot you too had become familiar with the Delica roof.

X2 on making your own plates for the belts as the way to go. I mean anyone could add the mount for baby seats before the factory added them. It is the same thing in my mind.

How is your roof holding up happy? I could not live without mine now.

Cheers

[lost2]

@thedjjack:
We, the whole family (2 adults, 4 children), "camping-tested" our new "living area" on the roof twice this fall. It worked perfectly!

We will it the road from jan 7th to march 7th on our way to Mexico (back and forth). We will have much time to experiment it. I'll keep you posted.

There is still much to do on her before departure and time goes by...

Cheers too!

[rezdiver]

thanks for the info, sounds positive enough. I will go and get the stock plates from the wreckers when i get a chance, i need to go and get the bottom plates anyways for the rear belts so may as well get it all. gonna take a little while to sawzall them out. I will let you know how it goes. and if its too much hassle i will make something up as Lost2 did. will try and take a few pics of everything if i can make it work for reference here.