Install 5-pt harness ideas...

[musclecarmatt]

Hey guys....is there anyway to mount a 5-pt harness to orignal bucket seats without install a roll-cage....in early 2nd gens....?....my 71 wont be a road race car or anything just a weekend SCCA autocross car and mostly street but dont want to ruin that sneaky orignal look..that way i can stay planted in the seat.....any ideas?

Thanks,
matt

[1969CamaroRS]

First if you haven't already read this thread, some really good info:
The 14 Car safety thread, Roll Cage, Kirkey seats,Fire systems:
https://www.pro-touring.com/showthre...ghlight=Safety

I think most would say no 4 or 5 point harness without a proper cage and harness bar due the risk of compressing your spine during a collision not to mention crushing yourself during a roll-over (3 point you would have some place to go). However I have heard that Schroth has a system that can work w/o a cage:
http://www.schrothracing.com/store/T...allye/rallye-4

[musclecarmatt]

hmmmm mite look into the schroth system...anybody run these???

[cmraman]

I have 5 pts. in my car. I have the lap belts bolted to the stock lap locations, the submarine belt is in the frame of the seat bracket, and the shoulder harnesses are mounted in the rear bulk head between the back and the bottom of the rear seats. You could also tie it into the package tray. It's not ideal, but for light autocross duty, it should work fine. I will be putting in a harness bar though just to clean things up a bit with the help of the Farringtons.

[musclecarmatt]

when all said and done seems like a DSE roll cage mite be in store...lol...like said its just weekend autocross car.....nothing high speed or road racing.....hmmmmm decisions....

[Rhino]

Why not install a more modern 3 pt belt system with a belt lock such as this?
I use one in my 4th gen and absolutely love it. It's also what I have planned for my '68

No fussing with additional belts, holds like crazy, and is as stealthy as you're going to get.

[cmraman]

when all said and done seems like a DSE roll cage mite be in store...lol...like said its just weekend autocross car.....nothing high speed or road racing.....hmmmmm decisions....

Why not do a just a simple harness bar attached to the b pillars? Make it removable. This would be a much easier and less costly option to a full cage if you are not doing anything but autocross. Besides, I have a couple of engineer buddies that have told me horror stories about roll bars in street cars and people smashing their heads in the event of getting hit when not wearing a helmet.

[Rhino]

I wouldn't want to do a simple harness bar if you plan on using the 5 pt on the street. It'll prevent any movement and could do more damage than no belt in the event of a roll over.

[The WidowMaker]

I wouldn't want to do a simple harness bar if you plan on using the 5 pt on the street. It'll prevent any movement and could do more damage than no belt in the event of a roll over.

nothings perfect. full cage and you have a cracked melon even without a roll over. harness bar and you might get squished in a roll over. 3 pts are the safest, but they dont hold as well on the track.

my plan still seems to be to use 3 pts on the street and a harness bar at the track. but, road course speeds and no roll over protection with 5 pts worries me.

this driver was alive laying on the center console, still belted in. 5 pts like we are talkiing about and she would be dead. ive seen enough like this to know better, but im still leaning towards the harness bar.

[Rhino]

my plan still seems to be to use 3 pts on the street and a harness bar at the track.

I totally agree that there are trade offs. It sounds like you're planning more course time than the OP. For you that's probably not a bad option. As you are, I'd be a little leery of the harness without roll protection.

A stock 3pt obviously doesn't work as well as a harness, but I've been very impressed with the seatbelt lock I've been using. It easily holds great in an autocross, and think it would work pretty well for a few laps on the road course.

If the car was more destined for the road course, I think it'd be a no-brainer to install the 5 pt with a bar. Since his criteria was a "sneeky stock look" and being held in the seat, I think it's a perfect, and affordable option. It doesn't have the flashy race look, and for long endurance it may not be as comfortable, but I would rather walk away from a wreck on the street (where it's more likely to happen).