Got a bit of a question on the 'universal' front seatbelts available - like these:

http://minisport.com.au/mini-front-iner ... 00mm-stalk

Here's a couple of pics with them installed (I think):

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=81085&p=903282&hilit=retractable+front#p903282

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=37332&hilit=retracting+front

My question is, in the event of an....event......wouldn't the sudden load make that horizontal mounting bar swivel up, therefore loosening the belt? Seems to only be attached via the single big bolt? Wouldn't think you could crank that bolt tight enough to stop it swivelling under sudden load...but maybe it does.

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http://www.mini-hb.co.nz

The retractable part would operate to tighten the belt once it sensed the correct load faster than any swivelling...

When they first came out, there was concern over how they tighten and then lock...combined seat belt cutters and window smashers were available and a lot of people bought and mounted them where they could be reached in the event.

Today, nobody seems to worry about being trapped after an "event", except of course, the traffic jams after a large event

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"Show me the Mini!"

Y'lost me there slightly - inertia reel belts don't 'tighten' the belt, they simply stop paying out more belt when it's moving too quick. SO once it locks, and there is still forward momentum of the dead weight (me), that's when I was thinking the plate might swivel upward (because the belt pulling on it goes up before going sideways across your lap) and therefore loosen the belt. The only way I can see that not happening is if the plate doesn't swivel. Maybe there's just so much friction in the whole system it doesn't move.....anyone had a frontal impact with these belts??

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http://www.mini-hb.co.nz

it would swivel, nothing could stop that, I reckon it'd bend if it didn't swivel anyway. If it worries you, add an extra plate down to the floor with a spreader plate underneath it

Mick - seatbelt pre-tensioners hurt like all hell too, but there's no recollection of thinking "this seatbelt is hard to undo"

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did I tell you that I won a trophy?

Thats my pic with the red carpet.

The "horizontal bar" you speak of is actually the one that when worn is heading toward your hip/waist. So the way it is angled/positioned is actually the direction of force anyway, i.e. the ideal position.

Does that make sense? Thats why I angled mine up slightly, to get it closer to the direction it would be pulled.

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68 Morris Cooper S Mk1 (*ex 78 1275 LS 4th last built, 70 Morris 1500 OHC & 70 MiniMatic)

The retractable part would operate to tighten the belt once it sensed the correct load faster than any swivelling...

try moving forward really quick and see what happens...the main thing is when the front of the Mini hits something and you start accelerating towards the windscreen...the inertia reels will lock...more modern "inertia reels" have a explosive charges that go off as pretensioners etc and people have lost fingers...

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"Show me the Mini!"

I hope it never happens to you...but it does happen

PS Muuuuuhhhahahaha https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUv_xwTPUDE

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"Show me the Mini!"

Thanks for the comments above. All very theoretical I realise, I guess I'm just trying to pre-empt or second guess what the certifier is gonna say if I get that type. It seems to be my only option if I want retractable, as this car is missing the door bin mounting reinforcing for some reason. I guess I could just keep it simple and keep static.

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http://www.mini-hb.co.nz

The fitment in my car was passed by an Engineer.

In an accident you have to imagine your entire body including your hips legs lower body and shoulders will continue directly forward in unison. So the direction of the bar you are concerned about will be pulled in approx the direction I have it in my photo - forward.

The inertia reels actually liock much faster than people think. Although they do lock if you tug them suddenly, in an accident the reel itself locks up as soon as it senses a change in inertia. In other words its not the "tug" action that necessarily locks it.

If memory serves I remember my father (he was a seatbelt/hardware Engineer at BMC) explaining that the reels could have been designed to not lock when tugged and still work normally in an accident but the tug/lock feature was a way of confirming that they lock and also gave people some confidence in these belts esp when they first came in the market.

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68 Morris Cooper S Mk1 (*ex 78 1275 LS 4th last built, 70 Morris 1500 OHC & 70 MiniMatic)

Thanks for that. I guess I'll go ahead and get them......if I get those particular ones they say they are marked for NZ safety standards so I doubt that will get questioned.

Anyone know how these ones fit?
http://www.minispares.com/product/Class ... 0to%20shop

Do they need the door bin mount, or do they also have some way of mounting the fixed strap end and the retractor to the lower mount?

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http://www.mini-hb.co.nz

Personally I would stick with the ones marked as certified for NZ. (Klippan?)

Read thru the other posts you found, the only minor issue is that I found the door pocket can tend to "tug" and lock the belt when the door is closed, so if you hop in and close the door when you go to put on the belt you find it has locked. but I found this was only an issue when they were brand new and didn't happen every time.

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68 Morris Cooper S Mk1 (*ex 78 1275 LS 4th last built, 70 Morris 1500 OHC & 70 MiniMatic)

Yeah I was just eyeballing the UK ones because of price, gotta get some other stuff from them shortly anyway.

I realise I've been confusing things by saying 'door bin', I meant rear bin. My cars are NZ MKIII/IV so no door bins, so shouldn't be any clearance issues.

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http://www.mini-hb.co.nz

The other thing they will do is lock when on a slope...I once spent 5 minutes trying to coax a belt to extend in a MKII S on a steep driveway...then I twigged...started the car and moved it to a flatter position and voila

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"Show me the Mini!"