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Fusion
3rd December 2007, 09:36 PM
Just thinking of a few small things i need to get for my old girl and thought will i need to install seat belts ? There were no belts in it when i got it but seeings i'm doing a few mods would it be a mandatory thing to do ?

Lotz-A-Landies
3rd December 2007, 09:43 PM
Just thinking of a few small things i need to get for my old girl and thought will i need to install seat belts ? There were no belts in it when i got it but seeings i'm doing a few mods would it be a mandatory thing to do ?
If it is a series 2a seat belts are probably not mandatory, until you do some engine, steering, braking or suspension mods.

If you have a hard top, there are a number of standard hard top fittings and seat base fittings that you can acquire for anchorages - particularly from a Series 3 or County.

If it doesn't have a hard top, your 3 point anchorages are limited BUT I WOULD RECOMMEND AGAINST 2 point harnesses. Check out similar threads on the subject.

Diana

isuzurover
3rd December 2007, 09:55 PM
Seat belts became mandatory in -EDIT- 1969 - almost the end of SIIA production.

I have built and registered 2 SIIAs WITHOUT seatbelts (but fitted lap-sash - 3 POINT belts) straight after as I think they are important for safety.

In QLD - belts need to be approved and mod plated if you fit them to a vehicle that doesn't have them, however there is no record on the rego documents if they are fitted or not.

Fusion
3rd December 2007, 10:01 PM
I have a seat box that has the belt fittings and i'm fitting a hard top so just need to find some brackets that bolt to that :)

ellard
3rd December 2007, 10:15 PM
Hi there


Seat belts became mandatory in the early 70's - AFTER the end of SIIA production

My 64 SIIa ex military has seat belts fitted (lap belts) - looks standard to me (could have been a military thing)

All the best

Wayne

DaveS3
3rd December 2007, 10:25 PM
Install them anyway.

Don't just put in lap sash, install proper retractable belts.

I tried to tell my uncle this but he didn't listen - then he almost died after barrel rolling his IIa (I'm not joking - he was lucky that he had lap sashes at minimum and actually wore them that day as he never did)

It's not worth the safety risk.

Cheers
Dave.

Lotz-A-Landies
3rd December 2007, 11:05 PM
Install them anyway.

Don't just put in lap sash, install proper retractable belts. ...
... It's not worth the safety risk.

Cheers
Dave.
Dave

Have to agree with you on that point - 3 point retractable is the way to go.

The quandary that I always have is do I fit a "roll-over protection bar" with the sash anchorage for safety and spoil the originality. I guess it is why I plan to trailer my 80" and avoid long highway or city travel.

I also know someone who carries his original seats, and uses a racing seat shell with 4 point linkage when driving. This gives him both head and shoulder restraint and the seat shell and harness are removed for showing.

Diana

Blknight.aus
4th December 2007, 12:43 AM
the seat belts do not have to be fitted if your rover predates 1967.

I dont have the ADR in front of me right now but that was the main reason for me searching long and hard for a 66 2a as thats as late as you can get before you have to have them and I plan on running Kermit without a roof or rops.

isuzurover
4th December 2007, 12:52 AM
the seat belts do not have to be fitted if your rover predates 1967.

I dont have the ADR in front of me right now but that was the main reason for me searching long and hard for a 66 2a as thats as late as you can get before you have to have them and I plan on running Kermit without a roof or rops.

You are a bit out with the year there Dave. I have registered 2 1968 landies in QLD without belts.

EDIT - ADR 4 is the relevant one - Seatbelts became mandatory for FRONT seats from 1 January 1969.
http://www.monash.edu.au/muarc/reports/muarc248.pdf

Fusion
4th December 2007, 06:46 AM
with the 3 point retractable belts . where do you mount the retracting part ? is it to the upper floor of the tub with a steel plate either side of the floor ?

JDNSW
4th December 2007, 07:17 AM
with the 3 point retractable belts . where do you mount the retracting part ? is it to the upper floor of the tub with a steel plate either side of the floor ?

Series 3 (at least the tray top I have disassembled) had the reel mounted on the bulkhead behind the seats.

There are a variety of different seat belt mounting methods for Series 2/2a/3 - have a look at the Optional parts book for Series 2a/3 for example.

Seat belts have been fitted to Landrovers since Series 1 - the SMA had them on their entire fleet of Series 1s in the fifties, and all the Series 1-2-2a I owned in the sixties had them. Just because they were not mandatory did not mean they were not fitted.

Of course, at that time, the inertia reel seat belt had not been invented, but contrary to comments above, a properly adjusted three point fixed seat belt is actually safer than an inertia reel one, although the difference is small. Consider - how many rally and racing harnesses use inertia reels? If you have an accident, for example, while leaning forward, you are less well restrained than with a fixed belt. The increase in safety of inertia reel belts is solely because they remove the need for adjustment.

Three point belts are a lot better than two point, but two point are (a lot) better than nothing. Of course, full harness is even better than three point.


John

isuzurover
4th December 2007, 11:15 AM
Seat belts have been fitted to Landrovers since Series 1 - the SMA had them on their entire fleet of Series 1s in the fifties, and all the Series 1-2-2a I owned in the sixties had them. Just because they were not mandatory did not mean they were not fitted.

Agreed - they were OPTIONAL since the S1. My ex-military 1968 IIA definitely never had seatbelts fitted when I got it.

UncleHo
4th December 2007, 12:44 PM
G'day Folks :)

This is interesting, as there were never any seatbelts fitted to Military 2a's while in service, but the Series 3's had them as part of ADR4, the only series 2a vehicles fitted with them was the Bloodbox, but also could have been fitted to the Fire trucks, in Qld seatbelts were not required in Commercial vehicles until 1/1/72 so you could buy Holden/Falcon utes up until then with out, NSW and Vic was 1970, as I personally know of a couple of cases that went to court because of this anomally, the mounting plates from the Series 3 will go into the 2/2a with out a problem, the hard top is the 3rd mounting point for Lap/Sash or second point for Sash only.

cheers

Jeff
4th December 2007, 04:49 PM
The mounting plates on my Defender look like they would fit into any Series 2, 2A, 3 or 110 County. They are plates in the corners and reels mount behind the seat box(wagon). My 2As got more substantial mounts as the year model got later(1967, 69, 71) with the early one just mounted to the aluminium and the last one similar to the Defender with galvanised plates in the corners.

I broke a retractable belt once and found the Discovery one cheaper than the Defender even though they looked identical.

Jeff

:rocket:

isuzurover
4th December 2007, 05:06 PM
G'day Folks :)
in Qld seatbelts were not required in Commercial vehicles until 1/1/72 so you could buy Holden/Falcon utes up until then with out, NSW and Vic was 1970, as

cheers

Thanks for this!!! I thought it was after the end of the IIA!

Blknight.aus
4th December 2007, 06:35 PM
You are a bit out with the year there Dave. I have registered 2 1968 landies in QLD without belts.

EDIT - ADR 4 is the relevant one - Seatbelts became mandatory for FRONT seats from 1 January 1969.
http://www.monash.edu.au/muarc/reports/muarc248.pdf


from about 66 on and I might be wrong they started using the brackets with the hole in them down at the bottom of the seat box. IME if the inspectors see that bracket without a seat belt you get a "nogo" as your vehicle CAN be fitted with seat belts but isnt.

isuzurover
4th December 2007, 06:45 PM
from about 66 on and I might be wrong they started using the brackets with the hole in them down at the bottom of the seat box. IME if the inspectors see that bracket without a seat belt you get a "nogo" as your vehicle CAN be fitted with seat belts but isnt.

IME if you say "the vehicle was never fitted with seat belts" then there is nothing the S.Cert/Transport/Police can do. As I said - been through it with 2 (1968) landies in QLD.

The 2nd landie had no date of manufacture anywhere as it was a bitsa and we never had the plate that matched the chassis. The transport officer said "so you think it is a 1968 model do you" - I said yep. When she saw it had no belts, all she said was - "your insurance company may require you to fit them". I was pulled up by transport/police in that vehicle a couple of times for "licence/vehicle checks" before belts were fitted - no problem either time.

EDIT - as I mentioned before, both landies have since been fitted with belts - mine with 3-point, but dad's only lap belts because he is a tight...

Lotz-A-Landies
4th December 2007, 06:53 PM
The 2nd landie had no date of manufacture anywhere as it was a bitsa and we never had the plate that matched the chassis. ...
The Australian VIN plate system didn't commence until the early 1970's (1972 I think) so vehicles built before that date - 1968 for example - never had them, similarly for vehicles privately imported after that date.

Diana

isuzurover
4th December 2007, 08:02 PM
The Australian VIN plate system didn't commence until the early 1970's (1972 I think) so vehicles built before that date - 1968 for example - never had them, similarly for vehicles privately imported after that date.

Diana

I am aware of that, but IME SII/SIIAs have an aluminium plate with the date of manufacture and chassis number.

Fusion
4th December 2007, 08:12 PM
EDIT - as I mentioned before, both landies have since been fitted with belts - mine with 3-point, but dad's only lap belts because he is a tight...

So how have you fitted your belts at the highest point ? and is it an easy part to get

isuzurover
6th December 2007, 04:47 PM
So how have you fitted your belts at the highest point ? and is it an easy part to get

Both landies are hardtops/utes. I bought the genuine brackets from wreckers out of series 3's or 110 hardtops (they didn't cost much). When I converted my IIA from a hardtop to a ute I was fortunate that the ute cab came with brackets as hardtop brackets won't fit a ute cab.

Jeff
6th December 2007, 05:11 PM
The Australian VIN plate system didn't commence until the early 1970's (1972 I think) so vehicles built before that date - 1968 for example - never had them, similarly for vehicles privately imported after that date.

Diana

My 1971 had a compliance plate, I think it was introduced in 1970 or 71.

Jeff

:rocket: