Fitting a Harness to a Sierra

Post by **alien** » Wed May 07, 2008 11:54 pm

Anyone done this while retaining the seat belts?

I figure its a way around the law... if i wear the standard seat belt on road, but have a harness for offroad i get the best of both worlds.

I was thinking of bolting a bar inside the targa bar running behind the seats. This would allow for the mounting of a 4 point harness.

What do you reckon? any pics of your setups you can show me? best places to buy good (cheap) harnesses?

Post by **nicbeer** » Thu May 08, 2008 12:34 am

for harness u really need a half cage in the back.

yes they are legal afaik if original belt retained. u are talking a 4 point?

talk to the rally boys as they have to get rid of them after time coz of the regs.

Post by **zook4fun** » Thu May 08, 2008 7:53 am

you can get that set up engineered here in the act, my brother has it in his xc.

Post by **alien** » Thu May 08, 2008 9:15 am

dont belts have to be sprung? like a normal car seat belt has some give in it during a crash... harnesses dont have this so im sure it'd be near impossible to prove its safe unless you crashed in it... hehe

Do you think i could do it just by running a single bar behind the seats though? the other option is to make a new mount in the floor and come up behind the seat, through the holes in the seat and back down to the floor....

Post by **nicbeer** » Thu May 08, 2008 9:37 am

alien wrote:dont belts have to be sprung? like a normal car seat belt has some give in it during a crash... harnesses dont have this so im sure it'd be near impossible to prove its safe unless you crashed in it... hehe

Do you think i could do it just by running a single bar behind the seats though? the other option is to make a new mount in the floor and come up behind the seat, through the holes in the seat and back down to the floor....

yes that will work. thou have to get belts to go correct angles.

We had this in our moke.

http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/phpBB2/ftopic140155.php

Post by **Pinball** » Thu May 08, 2008 1:38 pm

fast way would to be find an engineer and ask 'em....

Spock

Post by **Potter** » Thu May 08, 2008 2:21 pm

we had this in my brothers old zook. the guy that came out to blue plate the seat said wee can have both. but on road we have to use the seat belt. ill see if i can find some pics for you. we just used the factory mounts and had both running from there, the harnesses came with eye's that screwed into the stock holes.

Potter

Post by **alien** » Thu May 08, 2008 3:19 pm

some pics would be great potter!

Nic - thanks for that one ill keep an eye on it =) looks like the bar behind the seats is the safer option.

What is everyones thoughts on the bar having a plate with 4 bolts going into the targa bar on each side as far as strength? Like i said the idea of this harness isnt so much to take repeated rollovers or anything, mainly to hold my ass down in the seat, and hold me in in the event of a rollover, but not necessarily be bulletproof.

Post by **Gonzo** » Thu May 08, 2008 3:32 pm

What kind of seats do you have?

Does the current, legal, seatbelt not hold you in place?

Post by **zook4fun** » Thu May 08, 2008 4:15 pm

the give your talking about is in the belt, thats why you can't buy seat blets from a crashed car.

as for mounting it just has to be tested. he was told he couldn't run the top straps off his cage but can put them in the parcel self (has no rear seats) and reinforced it. can't rember where the botom mounts are

Post by **alien** » Thu May 08, 2008 4:54 pm

thats interesting... i run a windjammer soft top so cant run the straps on 45deg into the tray.

My seats are aftermarket buckets, and the standard belt doesnt hold me down in the seat - i find i bounce up out of it alot offroad which takes my feet off the pedals - not cool!!

Tightening the seatbelt waist thing and getting the thing to lock is also difficult at the best of times - it always releases on a bump =)

I might swing by my engineers place and get his thoughts also.

Does anyone know any places in perth that specialise in this sort of thing who i could consult?

Post by **Potter** » Thu May 08, 2008 5:10 pm

nicbeer wrote:
http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/phpBB2/ftopic140155.php

After seeing this thread i dont think what i did was very good. maybe you could still use the bottom mounts and run a bar like you said between the targa to get the correct angle
Just a thought

Post by **zook4fun** » Thu May 08, 2008 5:51 pm

if your not running any rear seats just go strat back to the rear seat belt floor mounts for the top straps and maybe your rear seat mounts for the waist.

Post by **nicbeer** » Thu May 08, 2008 5:52 pm

In Perth

Speedworks
revolution racegear
maximum motorsport
gogear

For what u want for a single bar sort of thing u would want to use a Speedway sort of belts as they are designed to fit with short belts. this is what a lot of the Ute people use inc Ruff i think.

or a single bar i would think it needs reinforcing but, Maybe like a type of cargo barrier in there would be enough.

Nic

Post by **MUD-PIGSIERRA** » Thu May 08, 2008 6:34 pm

I used to use Harnesses in my SS for Track and Drag racing, I used the parcel shelf and original mounts as well as keeping the standard belt in, I got pulled over all the time cos the Police would be driving behind me and be able to see the standard buckle hanging up on the side pillar not in use. But I had a Police-man pull me over two days later he first pulled me over one day and said it was legal but I wasn't able to carry passengers in the back if they were in use. Other wise if your not using the back seat use the bolt hole for the belts if you have taken them out and keep the standard belt on.

Post by **alien** » Thu May 08, 2008 8:08 pm

Thanks Nic - I think i might drive the zuk around to a few on saturday and see what they think is also viable...

I'd rather be able to wear both at the same time ideally... then surely on road it cant be illegal? - although i imagine being strapped in like that is going to be hard to lean forward to look around corners in traffic etc, so i doubt i'd use it on road so much =)

Post by **MUD-PIGSIERRA** » Thu May 08, 2008 10:42 pm

alien wrote:is going to be hard to lean forward to look around corners in traffic etc, so i doubt i'd use it on road so much =)

Yeah dude having the Harnesses gets really annoying putting them on and off, especially out wheeling when your picking a line then jump out for a look, jump back in, jump out to unlock front hubs, jump back in. And they all get tangled stab you in the back when you jump in without moving them first. But all of my passengers loved the Harnesses ahaha.....

Post by **droopypete** » Thu May 08, 2008 10:43 pm

Harness's in a recreational 4x4 are utter crap and are usually fitted for extra wank factor, and almost always fitted incorrectly (read dangerously).
If I was going to replace the standard lap/sash, I would be fitting a plain lap belt.
My 20c

Peter.

Post by **VR Rodeo** » Thu May 08, 2008 11:03 pm

http://bbs.zuwharrie.com/content?P=dbbe ... ic=54958.0

Post by **alien** » Fri May 09, 2008 12:49 am

never seen a plain lap belt before.... any pics of one fitted?? or is it just like a plane one?

zuwharrie link was pretty close to what i imagined too!

Post by **nicbeer** » Fri May 09, 2008 1:05 am

alien wrote:never seen a plain lap belt before.... any pics of one fitted?? or is it just like a plane one?

zuwharrie link was pretty close to what i imagined too!

yeps. a plane one

Post by **alien** » Fri May 09, 2008 9:21 am

Hrm, a plane one sounds perfect for what im after right now... ill look into that for sure!

Post by **Potter** » Fri May 09, 2008 9:41 am

VR Rodeo wrote:http://bbs.zuwharrie.com/content?P=dbbe ... ic=54958.0

That link is awesome has exactly what you were talking about with a bar between the targa. look like it gets its support from 2 bars that run down to the stock mounts

Post by **Gwagensteve** » Sun May 11, 2008 9:25 am

The plane lap belt is an interesting one.

Military Hummers run a lap belt only that retracts and can also be adjusted like a fixed belt - you put it on like a normal retractable belt, then pull the slack out so it has no "give" in it. When you hit the release button, it pulls out of the way so you can't get caught in it. From memory, they are installed back to front too - the catch is on the outside and the belt against the tunnel.

I've had a play with a 3" race harness with the shoulder and crotch belt removed ( only in a driveway, not on in the bush) It's good, but the latch is bulky and needs to be offset towards a hip or it's uncomfortable.

Steve.

Post by cj » Sun May 11, 2008 9:57 am

http://www.cg-lock.com/index.html

Post by **alien** » Sun May 11, 2008 10:25 am

reckon that CG lock is legal in AUS though? being that youre modifying the seatbelt? I doubt it is - good idea tho!

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