Backboard and inertia reel seat belts

[William2]

I am in the process of fitting Spyder inertia seat belts to my S4 drophead but have yet to decide how best to fit a carpeted backboard. Has anyone got any photos of how they have done theirs?

[delle]

Hi William,
I decided to put them under felts and carpet and use spacers to get a correct fit.

[HampshireMush]

William

When I fitted the Spyder kit to my S4 last year I used the old existing backboard. I had to replace the carpets as well as they were really raggy and when I ordered from Sue Miller I asked her not to cut the normal hole for the 'fixed' belt.

I found that the ideal place for the hole was slightly different to the original in order to get a straight clean pull on the belt. Others seemed to have used the existing hole but I found that I needed to recut mine.

I used some boot seal cut down to size to form a nice clean looking edge to the hole and this has worked well without any issues.

Hope that helps

John

[William2]

Hi John,
It looks very neat. I think I'll follow suit and do the same thing. Did you find that you needed to use the Spyder U section metal extension pieces for the fixed seat belt clamp rods that fit either side of the transmission tunnel? William

[HampshireMush]

William

If I have a gripe about the Spyder kit it is that the stalk they supply is too short. I tried fitting the 'extension' piece and they 1) were way too long and 2) I found that they did not sit right and fouled the seat so removed it.

The stalk supplied with my kit is a couple of inches too short - or at least it is where I have my seat.

I find the passenger side the same - I have the seat back as my Grandson ( A committed Elan fan at 5 and who has told everyone that I am leaving him the car in my will when I die!!) needs a booster seat. Once again the extension provided is too long to use but if you need the seat moved right forward then it probably might work.

One of these days I will get round to looking for a longer stalk!

John

[lotusfan]

William 2 and John

I am fairly certain that Spyder use the Securon 500/30 seat belt in their kit. I have these fitted to my Sprint, without the Spyder bracket, and I, like you, found the stalk was too short. Securon do another seat belt kit with a longer stalk part number 500/45. I purchased a set and this stalk is supposedly 15 cm longer but it is really a bit too long.

You mentioned that Spyder supplied an extension piece for the stalk, I would be interested in knowing what form it took. I tried a piece of flat strip to extend the stalk but the connecting bolt ended up in the wrong place and was in danger of damaging the seat back.

It does not seem to be possible to purchase the Securon stalks only but the seat belts kits are freely available from a variety of sources Moss, Rimmer, e-bay.

[HampshireMush]

Lotusfan

I have attached some photos of the extender which was supplied by Spyder with my kit. These will actually increase the effective length by 14.5cm - which as you found with the 45cm units is just too big unless you have the seat way forward!

I would like an extension of about 5 to 8 cm but have been unable to track anything suitable down to date. You can buy buckle extensions from Fleabay or Amazon but I have been unable to find one with the correct fitting for the Securon desihn.

If anybody outthere has found a solution I would love to know about it.

John

[William2]

Hi John, what about just shortening the Spyder item with a hacksaw? Other option might be to buy a piece of flat section mild steel from B & Q and make your own extension piece. I am not sure about my installation yet as I am not ready to put my seats in. I noticed that the Securicon belt kits I have come with a few bits of metal that look like they could be used for extending the stalks. I am still waiting to find someone to install my windscreen and rubber.

[pharriso]

I bought a new rear partition from Sue Miller with a separate piece of carpet and then carried it back to New York as hand luggage.

Sue uses an original as a template to make the grp replacements. She does not mark the seat belt holes however, so I had Greg Z measure the position of his & that worked out well for mine.

I then had the tailor at the local dry cleaners stitch a patch of vinyl around the seat belt hole to stop fraying.

Here is my panel with Speaker holes & reinforced right before I stuck the carpet down:

[William2]

Having just got round to installing the front seats on my S4 I have found that using the Spyder seat belt stalk extension strips the seat belt clips are in the correct position for me. This however is based on my height of 5ft 8" and with the seat pivoted on the forward of the two bar location points on the floor moulding.