My 71 Skylark convertible had the floor pans repaired/replaced by a previous owner and none of the mounting hardware for the seat belts is there. I am planning on welding some large threaded studs to the floor to mount my seat belts to. Is stainless steel suitable for welding if I get some stainless steel hardware?
Pan has nothing to do with seat belt mounts.....there are threaded nuts welded to the cross member.....get under the car and check the cross member. Rear anchors are large washer like plates welded to the rear floor behind the rear lower seat cushion......you have to use the large plate anchors.....if not, if you get in an accident, there is not enough material with a plain nut to distribute the inertial load to the floor pan and it will pull through......contact CarmanTX as he has several parts cars and can remove those special anchor plates. You want to weld nuts to the x-mbr if they are not there....do not use studs.
Personally I'd stick with low carbon steel hardware if you're welding to carbon steel sheet metal. Also, keep in mind if you weld a stud to the sheet metal without increasing the area of reinforcement around the stud, it's likely to rip right out of the thin sheet metal under a significant tensile or shear force, as seen in a collision. Having the large nut welded on the backside of the floor takes care of this problem by giving the bolt a larger area to bear the load. Devon
Thanks for the quick reply and for saving me from a potentially lethal mistake. I'll have to get under the car and locate the x-member mounts, then drill through the floor pan to uncover them, assuming that they are there. I'll also contact CarmanTx as you suggested, the back seat - seat belt mounts on my car are not there as you describe.
Here are a few pics of my floor pan. Note the absence of mounting hardware other than the seat brackets I installed.
I need to see pics from the bottom....the pics showing the braces from the bottom will show if the welded retaining nuts are there. Also, notice the bucket seat brkts.....missing the outer front brkts.......are they missing?
Regarding the seat brackets - No, there are actually some reinforced threaded holes there, one on each side. The seats bolt securely at that point (strange?). I need to get something for the outer rear mounts working. As far as the welded retaining nuts in the cross member go - they are not there. I got under the car and checked the cross member and there is no sign of any welded nut. NUTZ!
Lee, The front outside mounts have studs...not holes, for the seat....as your picture sits right now, your buckets will contact the seat belt retractor ....you need to use the 4 piece brkt set.....see my bucket seat and console installation article and you will see what I am describing to you. As for the x-mbr.....it is the floor brace under the floor, not the trans x-mbr...don't know if you understood what I was describing.
George, I checked the cross member behind and underneath the front seats, no welded nut. It appears that whoever did the floor pan repairs bubbafied the job. My floor pan does not match your description very well.
If you're restoring it you should get the small plates with the integrated threaded nuts. When I installed my bucket seats I used grade 8 nuts and bolts for the trans tunnel side bolts and bolted them down using backing plates underneath. I also installed aftermarket seatbelts and those are bolted to stock floor location using brackets made from 1/8" angle iron and the factory bolts on the floor.
Hi Lee If you want you can look on my car to see where they should be. I do not see them in your pictures.
Here are some pics from a 72 Cutlass.....first one with large rectangular anchor base metal backer is for the belts that anchor to the d-shaft tunnel. The large oval ones are for the rear seat belts that anchor under the rear seat upper cushion.
I had to replace the belt mounts on a truck and was told a very important thing. Make sure the plates have a rounded of edge toward the floors. In an accident the pulling force can cause a flat edge to work like a shear and cut through the floor. The factory plates generally have a rounded edge to allow the mount to pull into the floorpan without digging in.
Phil, It looks like I will have to do the same thing you did. Got any pictures you can share? Did you make your brackets with the threaded nuts or did you buy them? George, My car is a Eunich - it has no nuts.... (jk) But seriously - there are no seat belt mounts for either the front seats or the back ones.
I made them from 1/8" steel plate and used grade 8 bolts and washers. I didn't weld them at all. I did play hell bolting it together though. It's a lot easier to hold the plate underneath with someone holding the bolt inside, but that's what Vice Grips are for. :TU:
