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11/2/19: I purchased two 3 point seat belts and another lap belt for a center passenger from Seat Belts Plus. After living with seatbelts for over 30 years, I feel naked driving or riding in a vehicle that doesn’t have them, so today I set out to install them. With the gas tank still in the truck, I opted to install them strictly with bolts. I figure I can weld the mounts in when I do the frame off restoration.

I studied several websites, YouTube videos and several posts from fellow “bolters”. It took me more time to decide how to mount them then the actual installation. I utilized the Deve Method with the exception of welding in the L bracket on the floor. Instead I fabricated a 1-1/2” x 4” x 1/4” plate and tapped it 7/16-20 to install under the cab to accept a thru bolt installed in the L bracket. So the L-bracket has two bolts holding it in place. First picture shows the plate that is installed under the floor. The second shows the L-bracket (overhead view) that holds the retractor. That L-bracket is bolted thru the floor into the plate. Note the bolt that the retractor is bolted onto, wasn’t long enough so I replaced it with one that accommodated the retractor, washer, lock washer and nut.

The top backing plate, purchased from Seat Belts Plus, I trimmed and bent it to fit the contour of the roof pillar similar to Deve’s installation. I also installed one 3/16” pop rivet to hold the plate in place so the seatbelts could be removed easily when I do a frame off restoration. I replaced the plastic grommets with steel bushings I fabricated on my lathe so the d-rings could freely rotate. I ended up adding an additional washer against the cab so the d-ring would clear the windless weather stripping. I should have added additional length to the steel bushings had I known, but the washers did the trick.

The next step was to attach the buckle straps and the middle seat belt. I opted to fabricate these brackets rather then mount the belts to the floor and use the big flat washers provided in the hardware for two reasons. I could make one bracket to accommodate two belts and I could mount the attachment points closer to the seat using a tall L-bracket. These were made from 3x3x 1/4” angle. I also tapped 7/16”-20 threaded holes in the plate under the cab floor so I didn’t need to use nuts. I radius’d the corners and the edges that were against the cab so the sharp edges of the plate wouldn’t cut thru the cab floor in case of an accident.

I am very happy with the result.