JeremyNYR

iTrader: (2)

I did this modification in 2006 and talked about it before, but I figured I'd put together a write-up on it for others to find when searching for info. Any questions or additions are welcome.

82-88 f-bodies had rear lap belts and 89-92 had shoulder belts. The reason that I did this conversion is mostly because I found excellent condition interior plastics from an 89 firebird. I also purchased a full set of 4th gen seatbelts and wanted to make use of the entire matching set.

I cut the rear retractor mounts out of a donor car with an angle grinder. I cut a big square around the mount and later drilled out the welds to separate the mount from the inner fender. I could've just drilled them out in the car, but the car was hitting the junkyard anyway and cutting things is fun



Positioning the mounts was a PITA. I had to bend and trim them quite a bit. The passenger side wasn't that bad, but the drivers side was aweful. The later years have a dimple to allow clearance for the bottom of the threaded shaft, which isn't there in the early cars. A hammer took care of that though.

I recommend using rear retractors from a 3rd gen car if you can. The 4th gen ones I used are taller and make it difficult to set the mounts low enough to clear the plastic covers.

I did alot of test fits holding the mount, retractor and plastic trim in place to get the positioning just right (outlined with a sharpee). Then it's just a matter of spot welding the brackets in place well and putting it together.

Passengers Side:


Drivers Side:


Installed:

sharon

Did this mod to mine several years ago for exactly the same reason. Instead of "persuading" the wheel well, we built a recessed box into the drivers side. Nice work!

Titan85

iTrader: (1)

I was going to do this back in the summer, until I discovered the issue with the driver side wheel well, and kinda gave up on it. I am finally getting ready to put the interior back in my car and may try it again now that I know that it is possible to do.

So you basically just smashed the metal on the wheel well down with a hammer?

JeremyNYR

iTrader: (2)

you make it sound bad when you say it like that! I used a ball peen hammer and only had to reshape the inner fender in the spot right under the stud that the retractor bolts to. If you use 3rd gen retractors rather than these very tall 4th gen ones, you might be able to carefully position it so that denting the inner fender isn't required. There was a lot of bending and cutting of the drivers side mount itself, but again I think the fact that I had to fit such tall retractors under the interior panels led to much of the difficulty.

Titan85

iTrader: (1)

lol, I didn't mean to make it sound bad, just putting it in terms easier for me to understand and verifying that I understand what you did . This is probably what I will be doing to mine shortly. I have the third gen retractors but its still going to need some persuading to fit right.

Thanks for posting this, very helpful

JeremyNYR

iTrader: (2)

I'm glad that you found it helpful. I was trying to give back to the community a bit and it appears to have worked :-)

racing geek

iTrader: (5)

How many overall hours did you put into this mod?

What tools are required?
- welder
- drill
- angle grinder
- ratchet set
- hammer
Anything else I missed?

What about items needed?
- rear shoulder belt seat belts from 3rd or 4th gen
- the plastic to go along
- the retractor mounts
Anything else I missed?

How difficult is it to get ahold of the retractor mounts and plastic?

MNformula350

iTrader: (2)

And to think, I converted my factory rear shoulder belt car to rear lap belts LOL.

Not that anyone ever actually uses the rear seat, I might as well just take it out (And plan on doing just that when I install the 4 Point)

JeremyNYR

iTrader: (2)

RacingGeek, it looks like you have about everything neccisary listed. The only other thing I did was paint over the bare metal after welding. The retractor mounts aren't difficult to find since they're in every 3rd gen from 89-92. I used an electric angle grinder with a cutoff wheel to remove them. You could just drill them out of the car too without cutting out the whole section like I did.

MNformula350- Your conversion sounds a lot easier! My back seats almost never get used either, but there were a few things that led to me doing it.

1- I found awesome condition rear plastics from an 89 and couldn't pass up on it
2- I bought a full set of 4th gen seatbelts for a great price so I had the rear retractors available
3- I planned all along to get 4th gen leather seats (which I have now) and I didn't want those screw holes and the imprint exposed on the back of the rear seat where the belt guide is installed.

racing geek

iTrader: (5)

So if I have all the stuff it could be finished in a weekend or a day or what?

JeremyNYR

iTrader: (2)

I probably spent several hours reworking the mounting brackets and mocking it up until I was happy with the positioning. Then tack weld one spot, verify everything fits, and then continue spot welding. It's definitely do-able in a day. Just don't rush it and you'll be happy with the results.

88TransAmFreak

iTrader: (15)

*subscribes*

CaliChevyLover

nice work...but i for one like hearing the shock and confusion when someone gets in my backseat and cant find the seatbelt for like 2 minutes

Iroc-Ian

Thanks for this thread, I also managed to acquire all the parts needed so thought it made sense to do this.
My drivers side seemed impossible to fit and it wouldn't fit anything like yours did.


In the end though I have it fitted but had to spend out on 4 hours at a body shop to get them to cut out a section and weld in a drop of an inch or so to get the bracket to fit. Not a big job if you can weld but also not that expensive and looks a lot better.
Pics below of square on so you can see the exact positioning.

tallmike33

Hi i was wondering if i could have a look at the photos of how you went about mounting the rear factory seat belt brackets over the wheel arch i have acquired the brackets and plastic cover for my 1983 trans am came into Australia a few years ago when the rear 3 point seat belts were install they mounted them right where the retractable cargo cover screen was mounted i still want to use that so any information you could provide would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

PMDJIM

For anybody interested. Not mine. But this is a factory accessory kit with everything necessary for installation.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-82-88-C...ox!18045!US!-1