[stonedchihuahua]

I would like to put a 5 point harness into my factory 3rd gen camaro seats.. is it possible? how much...

or if it isn't possible are there any good race seats that look nice?

 

[Chumpy]

Hey,
5 points are easy to put in. They are
a pain to buckle up everytime in a daily driver
but less then a sec to get out of.
The two belts that go over your chest and
connect into one belt behind your head
(a 'Y' harness)should
mount to a cross bar that is horizontal behind
the seat. This bar is usually part of the roll bar.
Do you already have a roll bar? if so you can
just weld this bar in horizontily along the back of the seats, you can use the other bolt points on the
sides from the original seat belts and
drill a small hole in the floor for the bolt attatchment for the one that goes between your legs up to your belt.........sorry if I'm not making any sense...this is hard to explain but easy to do.....'Deist Saftey' makes great belts
or 'Crow'. Remember to use high grade hardware(washers too!) or it's totally useless.
I have some fat ones (3 wide) I actually found them to be more comefortable than the
smaller ones....... I hope this helps

 

[stonedchihuahua]

Alright sounds good... I find that harnesses are more comfortable (like the 2 time I wore them) and the shoulder belts in my car are a pain in the *** cuz they don't go back all the way (like many) without some help... so if I do the front 2 seats with harnesses and remove the shoulder belts it should be easier for the person in the back to get in and out of

 

[steppenwolf]

a few things... (been doing research for the same thing myself)...
schroth harnesses are very nice... forget the web address at the moment... they're street legal (most aren't), and they make a 4-point harness (about all you can do with stock seats anyway cause a crotch strap going in front of the seat doesn't do all that much) with a pushbutton release and single latch. i'll second Chumpy... according to my dad (ex-offroader), racing harnesses are a real pain to put on... i believe it. on to the next thing:
yes, racing harnesses have a definite 'cool' factor, which i understand completely, and i'll probably put them in too. BUT... what you're thinking of doing (as i understand it) just plain isn't smart.
1) racing harnesses, unlike shoulder straps, don't let you duck out of them if your car rolls. so, with no rollbar, if your roof caves in, you break your neck. which is why no rallying groups let members run with harness and no rollbar. so... put in a rollbar with harnesses.
2) you cannot use the stock shoulder strap mounting point, 'cause it's off-center. also, mounting them to the floor is one of the biggest no-nos (think about a crash... your body moves forward with pretty impressive kinetic energy, and unless the seat back holds -not at all a given with stock seats- your spine gets crushed). so unless you have a rollbar, again, it's not worth it.
good harnesses run about $150 apiece. you can get bargains looking around, just don't get the weapon-4 ones they sell on ebay (POS ricey knockoffs). and yes, wider belts are more comfortable.
nice-looking, comfortable seats are easy to get if you want to spend the $. try looking on e-bay for recaros, you can get decent deals (i did at least), and most are plain black or gray, cloth-covered, and adjustable, and metal-framed, unlike comparably priced seats from Summit (molded fiberglass with optional vinyl covering).
all of this is very extreme, i know, but you're installing seat belts so you'll be safe if a crash happens, and it doesn't make sense to leave out any possibilities. good luck, keep researching, tell me what i got wrong, i'll step off the soapbox now.
-z-

[ January 03, 2003: Message edited by: steppenwolf ]</p>

 

[steppenwolf]

oh yeah. forgot the the whole person in the back thing - it goes with the mounting issue. if you put in a roll bar, it'll be much harder for them to get in and out. if you attach the harness to the floor (with stock seats), you're asking for it. even race seats have to have good harness attachment points, because the belts hold you and the seat in place, most of the time, rather than the seat holding you and the belts in place. good luck w/ your setup.
<a href="http://www.hmsmotorsport.com/newstore.php?m=12&sub=382" target="_blank">http://www.hmsmotorsport.com/newstore.php?m=12&sub=382</a> is schroth's distributor page.
-z-

 

[stonedchihuahua]

K so what are the options for bolting the bottom on? (I was thinking if I had subframe connector in that area it could go through there)

 

[Chumpy]

If in a crash you rip out the the bottom strap that goes between your legs through the pan(it comes with a huge washer---not the Home Depot kind!) you're pretty much screwed
at that point anyways!
It might be best to start with a good roll cage,
(obviously not the 'ricer' kind that only mount to the pan) then the belts you might get later will be more effective.
...back seats? what back seats?!
Oh by the way, it's fun helping girls hook up the middle strap.
<img src="graemlins/mwink.gif" border="0" alt="[mwink]" />

 

[4 Jaw Chuck]

Helping female passengers with the middle strap just might be the best reason to install a harness!

 

[stonedchihuahua]

Yeah... I was thinking of doing a roll cage before but It seems hard to do while keeping stockish interior... Maybe i will find a way when I redo the interior carpets

 

[Barz51]

I have to put new floors in to my cutlass and was considering adding a roll cage. I really don’t need it now but I figure I will in the future. Also I was thinking harnesses myself. The stock shoulder belts don’t retract; you have to loop them around some hangers by the roof. How much work and $$ would it take to put a cage in this car. Do you suggest buying or building, I can weld but I don’t have the means to bent tubing myself I would have to get it done. Also do any of you know of a good site with info about this?

Thanks,
Cory

 

[steppenwolf]

agreed about female passengers, although the harnesses i'm planning to install don't have antisubmarine straps. <img src="graemlins/pain.gif" border="0" alt="[pain]" /> ... shoulda thought of that.
rollcage or bar would definitely be a good idea, although you'll start driving more aggressively (well, dunno if that's possible, stoned) 'cause you feel safer, which can do more harm than good. i'lll keep you posted on doing an interior with a rollcage (i'm trying, but not keeping the back seat).
actually, if you rip out the strap that goes between your legs you'll never get screwed again. . seriously, that strap is only there to stop you sliding out from under the harness... the side straps hold the most load in a crash. use the stock mounting points for those and you should be ok.
man, my memory is going.. barz and stoned, check out <a href="http://www.ioportracing.com/rollbar1.htm" target="_blank">http://www.ioportracing.com/rollbar1.htm</a> for prices at least.
good luck, both.
-z-

[ January 04, 2003: Message edited by: steppenwolf ]</p>

 

[steppenwolf]

ok, on second thought, i don't wholeheartedly endorse Autopower bars/cages... their bolt-in setups look pretty cheesy, they're not NHRA certifiable (not only not certified, but cannot be certified), and they don't include a rollbar with their cage prices. so... look around on the net and in town - if you're friends with a body shop, they may be able to bend tubing for you if you mock it up.
-z-

 

[stonedchihuahua]

Umm yeah I was considering doing one myself for my 85 camaro... thing is I have to consider keeping the back seat usable... and having use of my ttops (don't care if there is a bar going across when they are open... if anything that is best...

 

[Chumpy]

It might help to check with any shops that
work on sand rails or dune buggys. They
all have cages. you will need a bigger guage
because your camaro will be much faster and heavier in a roll over. When your cage bolts to the frame you have to get high grade hardware
too (something close to 8) otherwise the roll bar will break loose and
just more of mess to cut you out of in an accident.
Be sure to weld a bottle opener to the cage
for easy access for when you are working on your hotrod in the garage

<img src="graemlins/mwink.gif" border="0" alt="[mwink]" />