[DeTomaso] Fw: 72 Seat belts

Fri May 15 17:32:12 EDT 2009

There was a reference to Quella's seat belt set up.  It mounts the "Y" type shoulder harnesses to the firewall with a strong

section of channel material...and I hate it.  It strengthens the firewall area at least.  The "Y"  harness with the intersection so close to your neck scissors togther when you move forward.  I assume it would be worse while doing it under several G's in an

impact.  The mount is too low also, well below your shoulder line so that it would angle down on your shoulders under load rather than just limiting forward movement.  On another note, the crossbar that is so common in many cars and sold by all the vendors had a minor problem that annoyed me also.  The section of the bar where the harnesses mount is angled there and 

puts the inside belts higher than the outer belt. That was just a minor irratation as the bar looks at home in the car.

Getting ready for this last BBORR I mocked up another harness mounting bar that runs straight across the car from the two

mounting points.  It doesn't interfere with the hump in the firewall cover and would mounts shoulder harnesses level.  One day I

may get it built.  Anyway..........

Michael

Gruppo Rompiculi Corsa

> From: MikeLDrew at aol.com
> Date: Fri, 15 May 2009 16:53:32 -0400
> To: artstephens at verizon.net; detomaso at realbig.com
> Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Fw:  72 Seat belts
> 
> 
> In a message dated 5/15/09 13 04 45, artstephens at verizon.net writes:
> 
> 
> >          At the risk of offending some of the vendors,  I would not give
> > those Hall/Precision type belts to my worst enemy.  I have a pair that I
> > bought in 1997 for $225 and I have never trusted them.  I think they are a
> > poor/unsafe design. 
> > 
> >>>Why?
> 
> 
> > The seat belt portion may work but I don't think the
> > shoulder strap will do what it is supposed to do in an accident,  it does
> > not lock,  it will just keep slipping and letting you move forward toward
> > the steering wheel. 
> > 
> >>>Inertia reels lock when the rate of rotation is great enough to displace 
> the flyweights. If you pull on the belt slowly, it extends. If you give 
> it a sudden jerk, it instantly locks. The aftermarket belts work the same 
> way as the stock ones do, just as well as they do.
> 
> 
> > I have been wrong before but I actually can't believe
> > that someone that manufacturers seatbelts would sell such a thing.
> > 
> >>>They couldn't sell it if it didn't work and meet DOT specs.
> 
> 
> >   And
> > besides,  the retractor is in the wrong place.  It goes to the seatbelt
> > instead of the shoulder strap,  so that you can't easily lean forward with
> > the benefit of the retractor. 
> > 
> >>>Wait a minute. You just said that the shoulder strap keeps slipping 
> and lets you move towards the steering wheel, and now you say you can't easily 
> lean forward, which is a direct contradiction. And it's in the same place 
> as the stock retractor is (on the early cars).
> 
> 
> > > As far as I'm concerned,  the things suck big
> > time.  Talk to me in person and I won't sugar coat my description. :-)) 
> > 
> >>>Other than the fact that the shoulder belt is permanently attached to 
> the outboard lap belt, they function in exactly the same manner as the stock 
> '71-73 seat belts do. So functionally (in terms of safety) they are no 
> better or worse than the stock belts. But from a practical perspective, they 
> are much easier to use--and they are festooned with De Tomaso logos which 
> automatically makes them even better. :>)
> 
> 
> > I
> > think a much better alternative that I read about on this list are the 
> > belts
> > available from www.cruisers.com .  I bought part #SO13021 for the 73-84 
> > FJ40
> > Land Cruiser.  The cost was $142 a pair including shipping.  I have them
> > installed on the passenger side of my new car but I haven't gotten around 
> > to
> > doing the driver's side yet.  I drilled a hole in the firewall and mounted
> > the retractor to it.  I'll have to be careful on the drivers side not to
> > drill thru the gas tank,  but I don't think it will be a problem. 
> > 
> >>>Wait a minute. You drilled through the firewall, and mounted the 
> retractor to what? Just to the thin sheetmetal firewall itself? If so, I 
> think you've mounted it to nothing. :<(
> 
> I believe (somebody correct me if I'm wrong?) that the stock L-model 
> retractor mounts not to the thin firewall sheetmetal, but rather to the big, thick 
> structural box chassis piece that runs side-to-side at the bottom of the 
> car, below the sheetmetal firewall. So that's what you need to do too.
> 
> Dennis Quella sells a kit that allows you to mount shoulder harnesses in 
> the middle of the firewall, but the kit consists of a U-channel of heavy-duty 
> steel that is welded to the strong structural steel pieces at the top and 
> bottom of the firewall, as well as to the whole firewall itself. That makes 
> it extremely strong.
> 
> Unless I've misunderstood your setup, you've potentially compromised your 
> safety greatly. The stock shoulder harnesses (early style) mount to a 
> strong steel box channel at the base of the window, and the late style retractors 
> mount to a similarly strong box at the bottom of the firewall and the belt 
> loops through a bracket attached to the channel at the base of the window. 
> 
> 
> >Once
> > again,  I'm sorry if I step on anyone's toes,  but as you can tell,  I 
> > feel
> > strongly about this.
> > 
> >>>I do too. I'm a big advocate of safety (one of the reasons the Air 
> Force made me a safety officer a few years ago) and I don't like to see people 
> acting in good faith but accidently compromising their own safety. I hope 
> I have misinterpreted what you said you did, but if not, I strongly urge you 
> to re-engage and fix it pronto. :>)
> 
> Mike
> 
> 
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