Four point harness in Griff 500
Discussion
Have a Griff 500 fitted with what I believe to be the TVR factory roll bar. At about seat back height there are fixings (sturdy eyebolts) to take a four point harness. Although the fixing looks to be offset towards the centre of the car slightly. I am looking at the catalogues and there is a massive range to choose from. I have no idea where to start, apart from I would ideally like to the belts to be road legal, then they can stay in for MOT. I guess one issue is the length of the shoulder straps which don’t need to be as long as some applications. I was wondering about the type that go to one strap at the rear and just using the outer eyebolt to minimise the offset. Any body got any tips to offer ?
i did this,
willans supersport cobra/westfield 4x4 point type (shortened) using 1 eye bolt on the bar.
merlin motorsport 01249 782101 or demon sharks both have sites.
bout £57-50 + vat each side (merlin).
if you bend the floor eyebolts out about 5mm from flat, you can bolt then over the top of existing belts so that they can be left permanently in situ. just unclip the top straps and fold them behind the seats so they're not obvious to thieving fingers.
cheers
willans supersport cobra/westfield 4x4 point type (shortened) using 1 eye bolt on the bar.
merlin motorsport 01249 782101 or demon sharks both have sites.
bout £57-50 + vat each side (merlin).
if you bend the floor eyebolts out about 5mm from flat, you can bolt then over the top of existing belts so that they can be left permanently in situ. just unclip the top straps and fold them behind the seats so they're not obvious to thieving fingers.
cheers
I'm glad to see you've got a rollover bar first. Full harness without the rollover protection can be seriously bad news!
The main problem you'll have is the length of the rear straps, most three pointers will be too long so you won't be able to get them short enough to clear the back of the seat. You will find many manufacturers do specially shortened straps for locaterfield derivatives. Alternatively if you don't mind a bit of fiddling, you will find you can actually shorten the stanard length rear straps to almost no length by feeding the double thickness section of the belt through the adjuster. This probably won't make much sense until you have one in your hands though. (This is how I got the standard length 3-pointer to fit in the V8S.)
You might be tempted to go for a 4-point harness, that avoids the issue of the rear strap length but from the sound of it you will want to put both rear straps on the one eye bolt. This is how I've fitted the 4-pointer on the V8S, it is tight but possible.
The two ends of the lap strap will go to the existing mounting points for the lap/diagonal setup. The harness will come with 0.75" eye bolts as standard which will be too short to reach through the shell into the chassis, but if you ask you can get longer 1.5" bolts which are just the right length. You can keep the existing lap/diagonal by bolting the ends down with the eye bolts just like they were with the original bolts and then clipping the new harness onto the eye bolt as normal. Fitting these bolts is probably one of the hardest bits because you don't have much access with the seat in place, I ended up taking the seat out just to make things easier.
The harness come in various different styles of buckle. I strongly recommend you go for the rotary release sort where both shoulder straps are released from the lap strap. They cost a few quid more than the cheaper push-button buckles but you don't need to dislocate your shoulders to get in and out. I suggest you specify the buckle on the inboard end of the lap strap to avoid it getting trapped in the door. This is the opposite way round to most saloon cars so be carefull to make this clear when you order it, you don't want a standard driver's side harness for the driver's side. Not a problem if you are buying a pair though.
Unless you get an E-marked harness (there aren't many around) then strictly speaking you need to retain the original lap/diagonal in the car to pass the MOT, and this is what I've done on the V8S, but nobody has ever bothered to look at the old seatbelts.
The main problem you'll have is the length of the rear straps, most three pointers will be too long so you won't be able to get them short enough to clear the back of the seat. You will find many manufacturers do specially shortened straps for locaterfield derivatives. Alternatively if you don't mind a bit of fiddling, you will find you can actually shorten the stanard length rear straps to almost no length by feeding the double thickness section of the belt through the adjuster. This probably won't make much sense until you have one in your hands though. (This is how I got the standard length 3-pointer to fit in the V8S.)
You might be tempted to go for a 4-point harness, that avoids the issue of the rear strap length but from the sound of it you will want to put both rear straps on the one eye bolt. This is how I've fitted the 4-pointer on the V8S, it is tight but possible.
The two ends of the lap strap will go to the existing mounting points for the lap/diagonal setup. The harness will come with 0.75" eye bolts as standard which will be too short to reach through the shell into the chassis, but if you ask you can get longer 1.5" bolts which are just the right length. You can keep the existing lap/diagonal by bolting the ends down with the eye bolts just like they were with the original bolts and then clipping the new harness onto the eye bolt as normal. Fitting these bolts is probably one of the hardest bits because you don't have much access with the seat in place, I ended up taking the seat out just to make things easier.
The harness come in various different styles of buckle. I strongly recommend you go for the rotary release sort where both shoulder straps are released from the lap strap. They cost a few quid more than the cheaper push-button buckles but you don't need to dislocate your shoulders to get in and out. I suggest you specify the buckle on the inboard end of the lap strap to avoid it getting trapped in the door. This is the opposite way round to most saloon cars so be carefull to make this clear when you order it, you don't want a standard driver's side harness for the driver's side. Not a problem if you are buying a pair though.
Unless you get an E-marked harness (there aren't many around) then strictly speaking you need to retain the original lap/diagonal in the car to pass the MOT, and this is what I've done on the V8S, but nobody has ever bothered to look at the old seatbelts.
I may be in the minority in present company but I wouldn't be happy with just the harness belts. The standard seat belts are better for everyday driving IMHO as you can lean forward to get a better view when exiting junctions etc. As has been said, it is possible to fit both so MOT isn't a problem.
I've got the factory roll bar in my Griff, fitted with 3" Luke 4 point harnesses. I also have the conventional 3 point belts in place.
The rear straps are slightly offset toward the centre of the car, but not enough to break your neck in the event of an accident. That's using one eye bolt for each rear strap, each side of the upright.
The lap belt uses longer-than-standard eye bolts, which replace the mounting bolts for the conventional lap belt.
I second Peter's advice to keep the 3 point belts for MOT, legality and practicality. That way you can choose harnesses with a proper rotary release mechanism, rather than a push-button - these can't be E marked, as you can't do them up one handed (without a lot of practice). The harnesses are also time consuming to adjust correctly, which makes it awkward when you're giving people a quick lift somewhere.
I should be at the VW meet on Sunday if anyone wants to have a look how it's all fitted.
Hope this helps,
Pete
>> Edited by pete on Wednesday 18th February 12:26
>> Edited by pete on Wednesday 18th February 12:27
The rear straps are slightly offset toward the centre of the car, but not enough to break your neck in the event of an accident. That's using one eye bolt for each rear strap, each side of the upright.
The lap belt uses longer-than-standard eye bolts, which replace the mounting bolts for the conventional lap belt.
I second Peter's advice to keep the 3 point belts for MOT, legality and practicality. That way you can choose harnesses with a proper rotary release mechanism, rather than a push-button - these can't be E marked, as you can't do them up one handed (without a lot of practice). The harnesses are also time consuming to adjust correctly, which makes it awkward when you're giving people a quick lift somewhere.
I should be at the VW meet on Sunday if anyone wants to have a look how it's all fitted.
Hope this helps,
Pete
>> Edited by pete on Wednesday 18th February 12:26
>> Edited by pete on Wednesday 18th February 12:27
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