The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Interiors 49 3100 seat belts 3 point

want to put a 3 point seat belt harness in my 49. has anyone put a used set in? what vehicles seat belts will fit? trying to avoid the $250 supply houses.

I bought new 3 point seat belts from Amazon for a fraction of the price that the popular supply houses charge. Choice of colours was good. The only issue was that the webbing from buckle to floor attachment part was too short so I made an extension with 3/8" aircraft style cable.

This is what I bought: https://www.carid.com/safetboy/ I see that make a "bench seat extension"; that would be easier than making one like I did!

I wouldn't mess with used stuff as it's probably pretty well worn out.

I believe the harnesses that racing guys use has a "best before" date. They are replaced before that date regardless of wear.

I used a kit from Julianos that fit very well and was easy to install. I have never wished I did not have those seat belts. I got the 3 point in burgundy and they kind of match the seat upholstery.
https://www.julianos.com/product-p/jupb3nr.htm

Agree with Terry -- I, too, used the Juliano's 3-point kit in my '49. Very easy to install and I am very happy with them. I got the retractable ones, though.

I put a set in from my parts '92 F150 into my 1949 3600, I knew the whole history on the parts truck and it's low miles. The retractor sits neatly on the floor. I also had to use extenders as the 49 seat seems to sit higher or at a different angle from the F150. I made my own backing plates including the long one that you feed in from the top for the shoulder points. Had the boy start the lower bolts from the top and I went underneath to hold 'em in place

For some reason I don't have one of it with the seat installed, probably because I'm DRIVING it But you get you the idea.

Silly question...
What is backing the upper attachment point?

Ahh I see they aren't in my picture.

Imagine a long piece of flat bar with a nut welded on, and that's all it is. With the headliner out, you can lower it in place from the top and thread in the bolt.

Can I recommend at teaching string to it just in case you drop it? I had to fish mine out with a magnet once!

Chris

On mine (Juliano's kit), the upper attachment is backed by a plate with a welded nut. The recommended procedure was to tack weld (or tie) a piece of coat hanger to it to help get it into position. Once the bolt was started, I wiggled the coat hanger enough to break the tackweld and got the coat hangar back out.

The access behind there is tight and at a little bit of an angle so I don't think that something non rigid like a string will help much. It doesn't just hang down. You sort of have to push it at an angle. But using the string as a safety might not be a bad idea.

If you have a wife or kid available with a small arm and hands, they might be able to reach down in there and hold it in place.

John,

I was able to guide it down to where I needed it (small hands). I used the string, tied off to something in case I dropped it.

Chris

I used 3 point belts from Seat Belts Plus, Made in America but a bit less $$$ than Juliano’s. Here is the original thread on how I did it with input from several fellow Stovebolters. [LINK]

Chris -- About the only cool thing about having really big hands is that people say "wow, you have really big hands." Other than that, they are fairly annoying.

On the big hands comment: They are a problem at times. I've had to resort to gluing a nut to a fingertip to be able to get them started in tight spots, not being able to get a thumb and finger in while holding the nut.

Now that y'all mentioned it, I do recall attaching a stiff wire on mine as a precaution. Believe I left it in place as well, in a way that I could grab it again, in case I ever need to remove that bolt.