Subwoofers and seat belts - who’s car is this?
- Thread starter tvmaster
- Start date
johnph
True Classic
Is that the guy with the blue X 1/9? I saw him on the side of the freeway with a flat tire waiting for roadside assistance.
tvmaster
True Classic
Have his link? lol
tvmaster
True Classic
Lol. Well soon hopefully. Tell me sir, the extension plate at the floor level - did you try to make the belts work with both retractor and anchor strap connected to the one, original nut position? Didn’t work? Is the plate anchored to the back of the retractor, and the forward nut drilled through the back to front?It's mine. The car hasn't been on the road for over 5 years (although it's getting close!). So it's wasn't me on the side of the road
Securon belts? How well do they function with that lower, B Pillar anchor position (what I have).
Subwoofer looks massive!
Last edited:
darwoodious
Darin Nelson
darwoodious
Darin Nelson
I admit I too am interested if @xunonove (who, according to the profile, has a 1974 X1/9) has done a shoulder belt retrofit on his early X and how it was done.
tvmaster
True Classic
There are usually two problems: getting the B pillar connection out beyond the shelf so it can pivot, and figuring out the third anchor point, which he seems to have done. Last time I had a flat was 1990ish. Now, AAA Gold Member. They can tow me if the fix-a-flat doesn’t get used.
xunonove
Daily Driver
That is funny. It few completely over my head!
xunonove
Daily Driver
I'll post some pics/details/challenges by tomorrow at the latest.
tvmaster
True Classic
Thanks, and the brand of belts if you can remember. They work well, aka jo jamming, sticking or wresting to put them on?
johnph
True Classic
I was concerned about the space that the inertia reel retractor belts take up behind the seat. I wanted my seat all the way back, so I settled on Kangol magnetic latch belts. These were OE on late 1960's to early 70's Mercedes Benz and MGB GT among others. The inboard belt does fray in every day use because you pull that side to make it tight. We had them OE on a 1968 Mercedes 280SE sedan. I really liked the way these worked on my parent's Benz, so 'had' to have them.
I found a set of frayed belts on an early 70s Benz at an old school Benz shop that had ten parts cars parked out back. I took them apart, made measurements so they would fit right for an X 1/9 and sent them to Seatbelt Planet for rewebbing. Used belt set $70, then $236 for rewebbing.
Attachments
xunonove
Daily Driver
I used these belts from eBay, made for a Jeep: https://www.ebay.com/itm/401891062593?
They're cheap but I'm pleased with the quality (I guess I'll know for sure if I ever get in an accident
). As you can see from the picture above, I mounted the retractor on the bottom where the old belt retractor was. However, I added in an extension bracket of 1/4 inch steel with 2 holes - one bolts between the retractor and the stock hole. The other is to allow a second bolt to have the third point of the belt attach.
As I wrote in PM to tvmaster, they do not currently retract smoothly. I will likely need to extend the shoulder portion out further with a bracket ala Securon. However, when they're on, they are snug and if I pull on them suddenly they do lock like seatbelts should. I feel much safer with these than I did with the 2 point belts the car had previously.
As for the subwoofer, it's a 12 inch Rockford Fosgate. It actually doesn't take up too much room. I have a K20 so the spare tire well was already rendered useless anyways. I can fit a spare in the frunk.
They're cheap but I'm pleased with the quality (I guess I'll know for sure if I ever get in an accident
). As you can see from the picture above, I mounted the retractor on the bottom where the old belt retractor was. However, I added in an extension bracket of 1/4 inch steel with 2 holes - one bolts between the retractor and the stock hole. The other is to allow a second bolt to have the third point of the belt attach.As I wrote in PM to tvmaster, they do not currently retract smoothly. I will likely need to extend the shoulder portion out further with a bracket ala Securon. However, when they're on, they are snug and if I pull on them suddenly they do lock like seatbelts should. I feel much safer with these than I did with the 2 point belts the car had previously.
As for the subwoofer, it's a 12 inch Rockford Fosgate. It actually doesn't take up too much room. I have a K20 so the spare tire well was already rendered useless anyways. I can fit a spare in the frunk.
xunonove
Daily Driver
Correct... I can't make any claims on how safe it would be in a crash, but I clamped it down tight and I think it's solid enough.
tvmaster
True Classic
Any reason you went with an amp/subwoofer as opposed to a powered subwoofer? How strong of an amp do you need in a tiny exxe to adequately power a subwoofer?
tvmaster
True Classic
Hey, me again. Did you make those retractor extension brackets yourself?I used these belts from eBay, made for a Jeep: https://www.ebay.com/itm/401891062593?
They're cheap but I'm pleased with the quality (I guess I'll know for sure if I ever get in an accident
As I wrote in PM to tvmaster, they do not currently retract smoothly. I will likely need to extend the shoulder portion out further with a bracket ala Securon. However, when they're on, they are snug and if I pull on them suddenly they do lock like seatbelts should. I feel much safer with these than I did with the 2 point belts the car had previously.
As for the subwoofer, it's a 12 inch Rockford Fosgate. It actually doesn't take up too much room. I have a K20 so the spare tire well was already rendered useless anyways. I can fit a spare in the frunk.
tvmaster
True Classic
Hey, read some of these updates. lol.I used these belts from eBay, made for a Jeep: https://www.ebay.com/itm/401891062593?
They're cheap but I'm pleased with the quality (I guess I'll know for sure if I ever get in an accident
As I wrote in PM to tvmaster, they do not currently retract smoothly. I will likely need to extend the shoulder portion out further with a bracket ala Securon. However, when they're on, they are snug and if I pull on them suddenly they do lock like seatbelts should. I feel much safer with these than I did with the 2 point belts the car had previously.
As for the subwoofer, it's a 12 inch Rockford Fosgate. It actually doesn't take up too much room. I have a K20 so the spare tire well was already rendered useless anyways. I can fit a spare in the frunk.
Okay, do you think the retractor NOT being smooth is caused by friction at the B-pillar, or the location of the retractor itself?
I was reading "fitting options" at the Securon site, and found this picture, which they seem to offer as an acceptable installation option for their retractors.
Look at picture #4 in this diagram - see what they're doing - using an L-bracket mounted into the floor board, which is then attached to the retractor.
If we drilled an anchor hole in the X1/9 floor, at a right angle to where it is anchored now in a '74, then you could position the retractor parallel to the firewall in the spare tire compartment. This MAY make the strap pull up and down easier to the B-pillar anchor, AND, you could use the old retractor anchor point for the lap-belt portion.
What do you think?