apercival

Hello All,
I am a new member of the tribe. Having just realised a lifelong dream and aquired a 73 1/2 911T. I was expecting to have no trouble at all fitting belts to the rear seats to secure my little lad's booster seat, having spied the existing oversized black philips head bolts screwed into what I assumed were pre-existing seat belt anchor points. After an unsuccessful attempt at orderring bona fide bolts (78-85) from Pelican, I was informed that pre-73 cars weren't fitted with belts (that I knew) and that they weren't equipped to take them (the sales person was quite perplexed when I described the existing srews/bolts). I was told that I must weld nuts to the underside of the sheet metal to accept such bolts, etc, etc. Is this true? Can anyone shine any light on this? My very excuse to the wife for gtting this car is falling apart at the seams!!!

HarryD

No, you have been misinformed. You have correctly identified the factory points to install your belts. All you need is the proper bolts.

You can see my rear belts here (along with my 4 point harness for Autocross):



You can order a set of belts from www.peparts.com. The bolts are one of the few, perhaps even only, parts that are not metric in your car. The size is 7/16"-20 UNF pitch and should be a grade 5 or 8 hardness. The bolts can be obtained at any decent hardware store.

My kids enjoy riding in the "cozy" rear seats, so you should look forward to fun rides.

theiceman

I got my rear belys off ebay, there is usually quite a supply depending on the condition you want.

apercival

Thanks Harry, Iceman.
I am now much relieved, I have one further question, however.
Those 'brackets' on the rear parcel shelf and bulkhead (4 in all). I see one being used to hold up your seat back with a bungee, Harry! But are they load-bearing? Can I use the parcel shelf one as a third tether poinnt for a child seat? Or would i just end up pulling the parcel shelf out under moderate braking??!!!
Thanks once again!
ps. Pictures to follow!

HarryD

Hi,

Glad to help. The bungees are used to hold the seat backs up when I Autocross. If I do not hold them up, they swing down and transmit a shock to my shoulders (ouch!). The hooks are luggage holdown point and I would NOT use them for a third point to restrain a person. Not only are they not that strong but they are also in the wrong location for a shoulder strap.

theiceman

I have a 78 and the car is only equiped with the bolt holes as yours is. When I got the car their were a set of seat belts in their. I am glad i refurbished the interior as I would never have noticed they were kept in with the original plastic screws used to plug the holes ...

apercival

Thanks for the words of cautions guys.
The seat I will be fitting allows an optional tether directly behing the headrest - to go straight back to an anchor - so the luggage strap bracket would be in the right place, but as you point out, not wise for actual restraint. Oh well, nice idea, but...
Just found OEM belts on ebay as suggested. What a lot we've accomplished in 12 hours!
Cheers!
And Happy Thanksgiving!
-A

Jay Laifman

I bought three point belts from PEP (mentioned above) for my 73.5. I did have to drill through that shelf to mount them. But, now I can carry my kids back there. I had a terrible time getting a child's seat to fit back there. They were all too wide to get held down properly.

apercival

Harry, are you sure about the 7/16 20 thread? I followed your advice, but cant get 'em to catch.

HarryD

Yes I am pretty sure that is the correct size. You did get a UNF thread?

apercival

well, i think so. My local hardware store, which is run by really good guys, took a look at my 'list' copied form your post, and weren't familiar with your UNF prefix, but assured me what I needed was a straight 7/16 20 bolt. Are they wrong, then? BTW what length would you suggest?

HarryD

I just checked one of my spare bolts and they are definately 7/16" with a 20 pitch thread. As I recall there was a bit of resistance to get them started. You might want to get a thread chaser to be sure your holes are ok.

For a length, figure you need to have it penetrate the fixture plus the thickness of whatever you are holding. Maybe an inch or so? Worst case, they stick out a bit.

Where are you located?

ejmetz

Hi Guys,

Sorry to jump in here, but do you know when those rear belt anchor points were added to the cars? I have a '66 912 and would like to add rear belts. I haven't started looking yet, but it would be nice to know if I need to prepare myself to get some welding done or not...

Thanks,
Erich

apercival

Studio City, CA. Just north of LA.

theiceman

ERich

next time you are under your car doinf maintanance look up under the transmision. I can see the bolts on mine coming right through and see where the plates are welded in.