The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Thinking of installing 5 point race harness?

After watching my 4 year old grandson slide across the seat into the door of my 1950 4100 fire truck, I decided to add seatbelts. I really want to try and use 5 point race harnesses. I have 3 sets that are new, but expired for race use, and I will need to fab a harness bar, or a roll bar to weld all of the tabs to, and bolt to the sheet metal. I have a tube bender for 1-3/4 inch tubing, and I have 5 points belts in another car I built, and I really feel strapped in while driving it. I can't quite figure out how to do it at the moment, since the truck is stored in a heated warehouse for winter. Just wondered if anyone else has tried it? I really don't want to use the regular 3 point belts with just a lap belt in the center.

Build the roll bar high enough so the 5-point harness doesn't hold you sitting nice and upright while the roof collapses onto your head. Do you plan on wearing a helmet, also? Doing race stuff on a street vehicle doesn't make good nonsense.
Jerry

I don't see an issue with it. You could always build a hoop bar that goes behind the seat for attachment. With the little guy on the other hand, A harness with a chest strap would be best.

I don't plan on racing it, and building it for roll protection would be a lost cause, and probably won't wear a helmet, but that would be a great idea for any vehicle. I could build a roll bar behind the cab if I wanted to on this thing. The whole back-half of this 7200 pound truck is built from 1/4 inch steel plate.

When I first read that you want to put a 5 point race harness in your fire truck, my first thought was, "Where's the fire?"
But I see that you have some harnesses laying around and a slippery youngin'.
So I'm thinking, why not? I'll bet the grandson would think it would be cool! Might as well get him a helmet too, and a genuine Ricky Bobby Wonderbread trucker cap. (Let me know where you find one so i can order one too.)
Carl

Modern seat belts should be more than enough. More the driver, passenger and child in a child seat.
Especially with the child in a child seat properly secured by the seat belt and add the rear tether attachment point.

If you searching for belts, look for the 2" wide over the shoulder belts. The 3" wide are pretty bulky and on a little guy they maybe way to big. I would also look at the latches, there are several version, the button release might be a better choice instead of the lever action.

If all you are doing is mounting belts, there is no need for a full roll bar. Just come up high enough for the belts to mount correctly, probably 2/3 the way up the seat. Most racing seats have cut outs for belts to pass through, with your seat back still stock, the belts will have to come over the top. This may make them too loose on a shorter rider, its something you would just have to try. The shoulder belts should come through the seat at shoulder hight, then turn back down towards the lower mount, it keeps the rider from bouncing up. With high mounts, you can slide up the seat back. I installed some 5 points in a GTO awhile back, he opted for not using the fifth belt between his legs, just to much work to get it all hooked up. What I found and he soon also found was, without the fifth belt, the lap belts ride way to high in the gut because the shoulder belts pull up when you snug them up, the fifth belt keeps the lap belts in the proper place. On a stock seat, the fifth belt will be way out front of the smaller passenger, and they could slide forward in a hard hit.

I work on school buses so seats and belts are important to my job.

Joe