hi
Am looking to buy a Mazda Bongo which has been converted into a camper van. It has rear facing seats with a lapbelt. I was wondering whether it is possible to change this to a 3 point belt & if so where would I look to get this done? Just a normal mechanic or are there specialist? Do you know approx how much I should expect to pay if this is possible?
Thank in advance!
Seatbelt - lap belt to 3 point belt?
Moderators: Doone, westonwarrior
Re: Seatbelt - lap belt to 3 point belt?
It's a specialist job really - and no solution you get will be crash tested for obvious reasons!
When I was looking at the issue I had (cut down middle seat with a side conversion - diagonal belt on the right hand seat) i found these people
I didn't use them in the end, and have no idea if they are good, bad or ugly - but they are a starting point.
I ended up fabricating additional strengthening in the side part of the backrest, and attaching the top of the diagonal belt there, like this :
(I know it looks like both backrests are modified - I did the wrong one first! Don't tell anyone)
I mounted the inertia reel here :
Here's how it looks all finished :
The reel is mounted such that both parts of the seatbelt are laced through the gap between the hinge plate and the seat frame (about 2-3mm). The end of the belt is bolted to an original seatbelt mount. Should the welded cage fail, the reel won't be able to travel up through this gap. Now, I am well aware of the limitations of my design. The seat hinge mechanism is standard, and was not designed to take the load of an adult's upper body in a crash, so it may collapse forward on impact. If it does, then the occupant is no worse off than if they were wearing a lap belt, which was the standard fit for the middle position. The shoulder anchor is a bit low for tall people - in an impact they would probably suffer a shoulder injury/broken collarbone. So, I only put shorties or kids in that seat. Less of an issue with a reversed seat.
When I was looking at the issue I had (cut down middle seat with a side conversion - diagonal belt on the right hand seat) i found these people
I didn't use them in the end, and have no idea if they are good, bad or ugly - but they are a starting point.
I ended up fabricating additional strengthening in the side part of the backrest, and attaching the top of the diagonal belt there, like this :
(I know it looks like both backrests are modified - I did the wrong one first! Don't tell anyone)
I mounted the inertia reel here :
Here's how it looks all finished :
The reel is mounted such that both parts of the seatbelt are laced through the gap between the hinge plate and the seat frame (about 2-3mm). The end of the belt is bolted to an original seatbelt mount. Should the welded cage fail, the reel won't be able to travel up through this gap. Now, I am well aware of the limitations of my design. The seat hinge mechanism is standard, and was not designed to take the load of an adult's upper body in a crash, so it may collapse forward on impact. If it does, then the occupant is no worse off than if they were wearing a lap belt, which was the standard fit for the middle position. The shoulder anchor is a bit low for tall people - in an impact they would probably suffer a shoulder injury/broken collarbone. So, I only put shorties or kids in that seat. Less of an issue with a reversed seat.
