Model A seatbelt mounting question

I have a 31 Model A coupe and I want to mount seatbelts so I can take my kids out around town. My question is the mounting. Im not sure if I should put a reinforcment plate under the stock subrail at the mounting points and bolt the belts that way or weld in a crossmember in the frame to mount them.
My concern is that if mounted to the frame and I were hit and the body shifted on the frame the belt would crush and tighten. Not fun to think about. Anyone got any sound ideas about this? Thanks, Adam

 

Yeah you dont wanna go mounting them to the frame unless your seats are mounted to it which in a hot rod would be rather on the dumb side. I would just do some lap belts, and a couple of large fender washers would do the trick, and I'm pretty sure that a 3/8 eye bolt is pretty standard size even for NHRA. Theres tons of pics of interiors with belts, look around I'm sure you'll get some ideas.


And I almost forgot... FYI Searching does wonders to keep your cool status up, and so does being the first guy to tell a person about the search ****on

YES!!! One point for me!

 

I put lap belts in my rpu, mandatory here. Bought a kit that came with hardware. Grade 8 3/8 course, big flat washers, Mounted mine to the floor close to the back edge. I think they are very limited protection. I think i'm better off on my motorcycle.

 

It's mandatory? **** in the states if it didn't come with seat belts from the factory then you dont need them. Most states are like that anyways. By the way, I think you would fly off your bike a lot faster

 

I just drilled through one of the subframe crossmembers under my floor behind the seats, used grade 8 eye bolts with large washers behind them, and have aircraft-style lap belts that clip to the eyebolts. There is a lot of edges in a model a coupe I wouldn't want to meet in a accident, though! Not a very crash-friendly car to say the least

 

The belts should never be mounted to the frame in a body-on-frame vehicle. Use a heavy plate for re-enforcement, not just a body washer. Check with companies that sell belts, such as Juliano's, for the correct procedures and accessories. Installing belts safely is not expensive, considering the protection they offer, and should be done on all vehicles, whether they had them from the factory or not.

 

You are right in thinking it wouldn't be good to mount the to the frame. They should be install in the floor with the above mentioned re-inforcement.

 

I re-inforced both my sub frame cross pieces.. than ran my mounts to them with my seat mounts, and belt mounts for both front seats, havent figured out the back seat mount yet

 

I agree with mounting them on a reinforced section of the body, not the frame. If you got hit hard enough to more the body from it's original position, the belts probably would chop you in half. I have several pickups that have them mounted in this fashion from the factory.