kevin400ex
1/2 ton status
found one more showing the top.
CK5
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'77 K5 Rear Seat Thingamabob Technology Question. Thingy.
- Thread starter thr3efi5ezer0
- Start date
Ok, glad you found it. Tori did get back to me with a quick pic of his viewing it from the rear.
How the hell are you supposed to use the rear seat belts when the top's off? I'd just put in the cage first, or at least roll bar, to attach the shoulder belts to.
When the top is off you only use lap belts. I'm not sure exactly how but the lap and shoulder belt will seperate from each other.
MikeyP
Registered Member
Rear shoulder harness 89-91 Blazer/Jimmy
The shoulder harnesses do not separate from the lap belts. When the top is off you can only use the middle lap belt in the rear seat. The L & R shoulder harness retractors have to be placed on the wheel wells or behind the seat, still conected to the floor.
MP
The shoulder harnesses do not separate from the lap belts. When the top is off you can only use the middle lap belt in the rear seat. The L & R shoulder harness retractors have to be placed on the wheel wells or behind the seat, still conected to the floor.
MP
thr3efi5ezer0
Registered Member
The shoulder harnesses do not separate from the lap belts. When the top is off you can only use the middle lap belt in the rear seat. The L & R shoulder harness retractors have to be placed on the wheel wells or behind the seat, still conected to the floor.
MP
Hmmm... So if you bolted the retractors (looking at the pics it seems that they probably unbolt from the top as a unit?) to the floor behind the seat, and used them by running the shoulder belt over the top of the back of the seat (in my case with booster seats, kids 4 and 7) to route the shoulder strap properly over the child's shoulder, would it a) work properly, retracting the slack as it should, and b) lock up in a collision, as it should when mounted to the top? Technically it would be mounted 'upside down' if bolted to the floor...
And if a tree falls in the woods on a Tuesday, what is my dog's name???
fixmy59bug
Registered Member
The box body 'burbs(73-91) never got shoulder belts for the third seat, either, unless I've somehow just never seen it.
Throttle, Unfortunately you are wrong. I have an 89 GMC Suburban, and it does in fact have 3 point retractable seatbelts for the 3rd row seat.
If I am not mistaken, in my suburban, the retractor assembly mounts just behind the rear tire hump, goes up through a loop, then comes back down and anchors to the rear tire hump. I will try to get pictures as soon as I can.
MikeyP
Registered Member
Actually if your intention is to use a child seat in the back there are specific dealer instructions on how to mount a strap. You have to drill a hole in the floor near the back left or right. I would have to look in my service manual to be exact. I can look if you would like.
back to the retractor issue....You would have to install a cage to mount the retractors in order for them to work with the top off.
This goes onder the title "Things you want to slap a GM engineer for..."
MP
I have had a '76, '88, '91 & '90. The 76 had a rear seat that was basically on four legs. All the others folded up and over. The 88 had armrests attached to the seat and the 90 & 91 had a cushioned armrest that was like a pillow attached with velcro to the wheel well. The seatbelt retractors are bolted to the top with two bolts. They were designed this way because they really didn't want you to take the tops off.
Just find a top from 89 or older and the belts to match your seat and you would be better off. As stated, no seatbelts in the rear when the top is off.
Just find a top from 89 or older and the belts to match your seat and you would be better off. As stated, no seatbelts in the rear when the top is off.
Don't do that. On a frontal impact and having the shoulder harness bolted to the floor can cause serious injury to anyone in the seat if their shoulders are taller than the seat back or if the seat itself fails.
This is what will happen - As the person moves forward from the rearward force of the collision - the seatbelt will tighten. The person in the belt will in essence, collapse, possible causing severe shoulder and back injuries.
For the visual people - take a heavy duty rubber band and hold one end with your thumb on one hand. Hold the other end with the thumb and pointer. Now pull your hands apart. The tension pulling the fingers together is similar to what will happen to your shoulders when the shoulder strap is too far below the shoulder line.
My bad, I know they put 3 pts in second row in '88, cuz I have an 87 and 88. I hadn't seen the third row 3 pts, so please throw in a pic so I can see how they mount.
justwhatido
1/2 ton status
How come the seat aparatus from a stock pasenger seat cannot be adapted to the rear seat. Then you could fold it and also tumble it forward?
thr3efi5ezer0
Registered Member
That's really good information, I'm glad I didn't go this route... I was thinking about buying 4 or 5-point racing harnesses and adapting them to the booster seats, but now that I see what you're saying I think I'll invest in mounting a bar behind the rear seat as some have suggested, then adapting either other seatbelts or racing harnesses to it. Racing harnesses with quick-disconnects, just for fun!
My kids like racing stuff.Also, what I was saying about retrofitting retracting seatbelts... I haven't had one apart since the late 80's, so they may have changed significantly since then, but most had a 'hanging pendulum weight' thing inside, and when you stop fast enough or are in a wreck, the weight swings forward fast and locks the mechanism so the seatbelt doesn't extend. When retrofitting, it's critical to hang them exactly the way they were from the donor vehicle or the pendulum might not swing correctly in a frontal impact and therefore not lock the belt in place. Even hanging them at a bit of an angle can change how effective they are in a crash. People don't realize this because they seem to work fine in daily use, the retractor works no matter what angle it's mounted at. It's the crash you have to worry about.
Not that I crash that often.
thr3efi5ezer0
Registered Member
Oh, and I've gotten really far behind with replies, but have been following this thread closely...
1) Thanks for all the good info, especially the pictures, they are really worth 1000 words and I know it takes time and effort to snap and post them. Gracias!
2) Anybody happen to be near Winston-Salem and have a parts truck they would sell me some of this stuff from cheap??? I haven't been to a local junkyard in more than a year and Saturdays are the only days I could go at all, so it could take me a while to find what I need, and then it's a crapshoot how much they'll want for parts. The last time I tried to buy used seatbelts they wanted $100 for a set!!! You can get 4-point racing harnesses on ebay shipped for under $50. I was going to do this for the 'tailgunner seat' in the back of the Caprice Wagon, since the seat faces backwards and therefore the entire dynamics of a crash change, I was going to hard-mount all 4 points of the harness and adjust each belt for each child. No fancy retracting mechanism to go bad at the wrong time, plus the kids feel like they're strapping into a race car every time they ride in the wagon. But I sold the wagon today... Haven't figured out how to tell the kids yet. They love being "Tailgunnery Sergeants"!!!
Wow. I can type really fast.
1) Thanks for all the good info, especially the pictures, they are really worth 1000 words and I know it takes time and effort to snap and post them. Gracias!
2) Anybody happen to be near Winston-Salem and have a parts truck they would sell me some of this stuff from cheap??? I haven't been to a local junkyard in more than a year and Saturdays are the only days I could go at all, so it could take me a while to find what I need, and then it's a crapshoot how much they'll want for parts. The last time I tried to buy used seatbelts they wanted $100 for a set!!! You can get 4-point racing harnesses on ebay shipped for under $50. I was going to do this for the 'tailgunner seat' in the back of the Caprice Wagon, since the seat faces backwards and therefore the entire dynamics of a crash change, I was going to hard-mount all 4 points of the harness and adjust each belt for each child. No fancy retracting mechanism to go bad at the wrong time, plus the kids feel like they're strapping into a race car every time they ride in the wagon. But I sold the wagon today... Haven't figured out how to tell the kids yet. They love being "Tailgunnery Sergeants"!!!
Wow. I can type really fast.
