Seat belt anchors - Fit for Purpose?

[CycloneMike]

The original mounts have to conform to type approval standards which have been around since 1975, so it will include these old vans. Its all in here if you are bored! http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/Lex ... 020:en:PDF" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
For passenger cars the loading on the belt anchorages must (as a minimum) be able to withstand a loading of roughly 20g.
To put this into perspective a modern car on a good road surface produces less than 1g during a full ABS stop.
Bizarrely the standard for minibuses and commercial vehicles is lower than that for passenger cars. However as your van in another version could have been a Caravelle it is reasonable to assume that the anchorages are probably designed to the passenger car standard.
Those plates with the nut welded to them are a universal standard (75mm sq I think) and are also used for motorsport applications. My experience of building (and SVA testing) of kitcars has taught me that VOSA are more than happy for these plates to be used for seat belt anchors so long as they are fixed through a substantial area of bodywork, this obviously doesn't include rust!

[Plasticman]

Cruz , have a look inside the B pillar, the inertia reel fixing is suitably reinforced with additional plating and if you look at the top mounting you will see the spot marks where additional metal is behind the outer skin,(I havent got one cut open to show)
As Cyclone says, there is nothing wrong with the anchor plates but it is what they are welded through.
mike

[Cruz]

Like an echo I am just pointing out that you said the aftermarket rear seat belts fitment was unsafe even though VW just fit the standard mounting nut to the rear corner for rear 3 point belts. A panel van is exactly the same just minus the hole and the mounting nut. No extra panel strengthening is evident on a caravelle.

The inertia reel fits using the same bracket VW used too in aftermarket kits the holes are there in all vans

http://www.brickwerks.co.uk/index.php?o ... 5&Itemid=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Plasticman]

According to those with Caravelles or Westfailures with the mounting points fitted by the factory they are just the same as the upper mounts on the fronts where there is just a square threaded nut inside the B pillar for the mounting bolt to screw into.

I think we may be at cross purposes here, the fronts are not just a nut inside the pillar.have a look in.
Regarding the mounting points that are marked out, have you had a look at a vehicle that has left the factory with belts fitted in the rear as opposed to aftermarket fitment,I havent but would be interested to see one.
I didnt actually say the aftermarket fitment was 'unsafe' far from it.
mike

[Cruz]

Sorry, I agree you didn't say unsafe.

With regard to using them in say the rear on the rear pillars, this is thin sheet metal. you can do the best weld in the world I can ndt it for you but at the end of the day it is welded onto thin sheet and so is not reinforced as per a propper seat belt anchorage .

I think we are getting our wire crossed where you think people weld the brickwerks repair plates in as the sole front repair structure and i am thinking when I did mine I tacked it on under the repaired wheel arch structure as a mount for the bolt and an extra spreader plate for extra strength.

I have seen dedicted front mount repair sections on JK which were not available when I fixed my seat belts. Not sure on their quality though

From reports all models of van have the same body structure it was just later in the factory when they were fitted out as caravelles did VW drill holes and tack weld on the seatbelt mounting nuts in the rear. Hence to reto-fit a panel van all you need to do is drill the hole where the pip is behind the air vent and fit the seatbelt using a brickwerks plate and then utilise the other already existing mounts (exisiting lap belt point and structural mount for the real)

However I am sure somebody has just drilled a hole and bolted the seatbelt on using a standard nut in the past.

Anyway I have blabbed on too much about this