Mini estate + roll cage + rear seatbelt + childseat?

[Neil8p]

Been mulling over whether it is possible to successfully combine a roll cage, inertia seat belts and a child seat in the back of a mini estate.

The car has a 6 point bolt in cage with a removeable diagonal, and firstly I would like to replace the harnesses with inertia seat belts. I've read somewhere that is it acceptable to fit the reel on the doorstep rather than in the rear companion bin. Can anyone confirm that is the case?

Secondly, if possible, I would like to be able to fit a child seat in the back. With the cage in place the normal fitment of a reel on the arch as per a saloon wont work, but I wondered if a single belt could be fitted in the centre. This would be great for my daughters view and legroom, but it brings about the problem of anchor points.

I'm a bit stumped at the moment on where/how to mount the reel and what to do about a top anchor point for an inertia belt in an estate. Maybe a static belt or strap is an option, or it may be safer just to remove the cage completely. I'm not sure what an MOT tester would think about a static belt, or even the whole idea of homemade seatbelt mounts.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

[DanGT]

I think it may be posible. Two things to look out for are, heads hitting the roll cage if you have a crash and that the front seat belt is not away from you body. Some seats that are for use with harneses will hold the seat belt forwards becuse of the side supports, if there was a crach you move some distance befor you activate a real type seat belt.

[MiniLiz]

Hi Neil, I won't suggest you come and look on the Clubman Estate Register forum, cos you've already been there!

[NDT]

What about fixing some Isofix mounts to the back seat?
Probably easiest to get a scrapyard to cut them out of the rear bulkhead of a modern car, with plenty of metal left around the mount so you've got something to weld to.

[timelord]

Late clubby estate shells,HL models came with lap belt mounts in the rear either side of the spare wheel well, I made reinforcing plates to fit 3 point belts to my non-fitted shell when our children were small,he's now 6'5" and driving minis, with the rear mount through the back of the arch similarly plated. Geoff