Three point retractable seat belt install

BDJeff

Bigger Hammer
Jun 5, 2019
103
Santa Fe, NM
First Name
Jeff
Willys Model
  1. Pickup
Willys Year:
  1. 1961
Hi gang, just finished installing a set of "universal fit" seat belts from Kaiser Willys so I thought I'd pass along the install.

Seat belts

I put these in after there was discussion elsewhere where one of our members got in a minor fender bender and ended up with a lot of face injuries. Now this setup will not by any means protect me in some sort of highway crash but I'm sure it will help in some unfortunate event under say 25 MPH. Yes, the mounting points will probably fail or at least pull out a lot because of the sheet metal gauge in our trucks but they only have to work once!

The first trick was to determine the position of the upper shoulder harness mount. I checked several other vehicles and they generally were just about shoulder height. Any higher and there is a real possibility of the belt rubbing on your neck.

IMG_20200413_175659733.jpg

Next thing was to figure out how to secure the nut on the back of the upper mount cap screw. I didn't want to use a sheet metal screw because the size would be big and probably just weaken the B pillar. So I Dremel'ed out a square about 1" on a side on the back side of the B pillar box section so I could put in the nut and possibly hold it with a wrench if necessary. A good trick to do the whole thing in a mirror but it worked out OK. You can see the cuts in the mirror

IMG_20200412_130307855.jpg

IMG_20200412_130332073_TOP.jpg

Found a good spot on the floor with clearance underneath for the fender washer. Met all the position requirements in the instructions

IMG_20200413_171712535.jpg

I bought the short plastic covered receiver belt, the other option was too long. So I made a bracket to extend the mount. I'm using the existing holes from the single strap seat belts that the PO had installed. Not NHTSA approved? Correct, but it only needs to work once which I'm sure it will.

IMG_20200418_151855682.jpg

IMG_20200420_124146932.jpg

Looks OEM! And they fit great.


IMG_20200420_124427521_TOP.jpg
 
Hi gang, just finished installing a set of "universal fit" seat belts from Kaiser Willys so I thought I'd pass along the install.

Seat belts

I put these in after there was discussion elsewhere where one of our members got in a minor fender bender and ended up with a lot of face injuries. Now this setup will not by any means protect me in some sort of highway crash but I'm sure it will help in some unfortunate event under say 25 MPH. Yes, the mounting points will probably fail or at least pull out a lot because of the sheet metal gauge in our trucks but they only have to work once!

The first trick was to determine the position of the upper shoulder harness mount. I checked several other vehicles and they generally were just about shoulder height. Any higher and there is a real possibility of the belt rubbing on your neck.

View attachment 72283

Next thing was to figure out how to secure the nut on the back of the upper mount cap screw. I didn't want to use a sheet metal screw because the size would be big and probably just weaken the B pillar. So I Dremel'ed out a square about 1" on a side on the back side of the B pillar box section so I could put in the nut and possibly hold it with a wrench if necessary. A good trick to do the whole thing in a mirror but it worked out OK. You can see the cuts in the mirror

View attachment 72284

View attachment 72285

Found a good spot on the floor with clearance underneath for the fender washer. Met all the position requirements in the instructions

View attachment 72286

I bought the short plastic covered receiver belt, the other option was too long. So I made a bracket to extend the mount. I'm using the existing holes from the single strap seat belts that the PO had installed. Not NHTSA approved? Correct, but it only needs to work once which I'm sure it will.

View attachment 72287

View attachment 72288

Looks OEM! And they fit great.


View attachment 72289

Great job on the seatbelts, and I love the material on your seat covers. I'm thinking of using a variation of that (slightly different color with more dark gray and brown tones, but the same pattern) for a headliner in my wagon.
 
Hi gang, just finished installing a set of "universal fit" seat belts from Kaiser Willys so I thought I'd pass along the install.

Seat belts

I put these in after there was discussion elsewhere where one of our members got in a minor fender bender and ended up with a lot of face injuries. Now this setup will not by any means protect me in some sort of highway crash but I'm sure it will help in some unfortunate event under say 25 MPH. Yes, the mounting points will probably fail or at least pull out a lot because of the sheet metal gauge in our trucks but they only have to work once!

The first trick was to determine the position of the upper shoulder harness mount. I checked several other vehicles and they generally were just about shoulder height. Any higher and there is a real possibility of the belt rubbing on your neck.

View attachment 72283

Next thing was to figure out how to secure the nut on the back of the upper mount cap screw. I didn't want to use a sheet metal screw because the size would be big and probably just weaken the B pillar. So I Dremel'ed out a square about 1" on a side on the back side of the B pillar box section so I could put in the nut and possibly hold it with a wrench if necessary. A good trick to do the whole thing in a mirror but it worked out OK. You can see the cuts in the mirror

View attachment 72284

View attachment 72285

Found a good spot on the floor with clearance underneath for the fender washer. Met all the position requirements in the instructions

View attachment 72286

I bought the short plastic covered receiver belt, the other option was too long. So I made a bracket to extend the mount. I'm using the existing holes from the single strap seat belts that the PO had installed. Not NHTSA approved? Correct, but it only needs to work once which I'm sure it will.

View attachment 72287

View attachment 72288

Looks OEM! And they fit great.


View attachment 72289

Do they also fit the Willys wagon?
 
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