View Single Post
  #2 (permalink)  
Old 04-02-21, 12:18 PM
PEU186F PEU186F is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 94
Default

The short answer is no, the cars, up to and including the 410, (I can’t speak for the 411) were not built with mounting points for either lap or three point seat belts in the rear.

I discussed the options with Tony Crook when I bought my 410 from him, he described the fitment of three point belts in the rear as “one hell of a job as the petrol tank has to come out for a start” (I can confirm that getting the petrol tank out is indeed one hell of a job). We compromised on lap belts which Filton mounted, with suitable reinforcement, on the transmission tunnel and on the rear inner wing, slightly below the rear seat squab.

We also discussed the front seat belts, those on the car at the time were those rather hopeless things of the 1960’s era, non retracting with a magnetic buckle and which always ended up in a hopeless tangle somewhere under the seats. I forget where the mountings were. We decided upon and Filton fitted three point retracting belts in the front, the inner on the transmission tunnel, the outer on a bar mounted on the floor, VW Golf style as you might think, with the retracting mechanism itself mounted on the top of the rear wheel arch. Quite effective as the belt slips back on the bar to allow ready access to the rear seats but one does need to scrabble about a bit behind one for the buckle. After a while one gets quite adept at hooking the belt on the seat back when one gets out which improves things a bit. I say VW Golf style, but Bristols were actually the people who pioneered the bar on the floor mounting with the 411. Tony Crook told me that he always rather regretted not patenting it as he would have been able to secure substantial royalties from VW alone - think of it, less than £1 a car would have made him a multimillionaire.

I love your carpets!

Roger
Reply With Quote