Rear fold and tumble- don't do it like I did.....

[peteinjp]

With 2 kids and the 44 being my daily I felt the need to replace the original rear seat with something- well- safe and thought maybe some seat belts would be a good idea....

I did not want to give up the rear cargo area so getting seats as well as seatbelts out of the way was one of the design goals. That meant that the seat belts needed to be attached to the seats themselves. I read every thread here on MUD but in the end it came down to what kind of seats I had available. IF I didn't need it right away I think it would be very cool to use a factory front bench modified to fold and tumble.... but that would take years as bench seats don't show up for sale here often.

Anyhoo- The only thing I could find that would fit well was a set of 3rd row seats from a Honda Stream. They seemed solid and comfortable. Folded flat and for $100 I had a set of solid perfect condition seats that even I fit in (6'4".) The thing is that mounting them was a PITA due to the fact that they were not designed to be bolted to a flat surface.

I made this frame and hinge to be sturdy enough to hold the weight of the passengers in the event of an accident. All of the belts bolt to the frame.

Seat belt and child seat anchors:

 

[peteinjp]

Here is the frame that I had made before with legs temporarily bolted in- but I did not like the legs as they took up cargo space, did not seem so stable in the event of a hard collision and required removing 4 bolts to fold the seats forward. I reused the frame that I had already welded to the factory seat supports. Second pic shows the frame with one seat removed.

 

[peteinjp]

Set up the frame to sit on the wheel wells and added the belt anchors. First pic is the outboard anchors and the second is in the center.

 

[JohnnyC]

wow nice job so far...love seeing the brainstorming and thumbnails

thats alot of intricate metal work

do you have any pics of the seats before they went in?

 

[peteinjp]

The whole thing welded up and painted. The round tubing is part of the hinge.

 

[peteinjp]

Rubber strips added to protect the ankles in case of an accident.

In the last pic you can also see the tubing that will be the hinge. It fits into a larger tube which is bolted to the wheel wells- you can see it in a later pic. There is a thick rubber bushing between them.

 

[peteinjp]

In place:

 

[peteinjp]

I ordered the belts from Securon in the UK. I wanted the anchors to be on the frame and I feel that the H harness belts would be safer for the kids than having the 3 point belts with the upper point being so far away from the seats (since they are mounted inboard and far away from any possible mounting points on the car body. However I also wanted retractable belts. I found them at Securon. These are adjustable in terms of the angle of installation we well. Either rolling the car or a high speed stop/impact will lock these belts. Also they can be permanently locked for the kids once adjusted to their size. Seemed like a good step between an full adult belt and a child seat.

Not such a great installation for adults if their shoulders are taller than the seat back- but these seats are really installed just for the kids. They are even installed at the height for them to see out the window. If I sit the horizon is obscured by the body of the car.

 

[peteinjp]

Seat frame is held into the rear with a single 16mm eye bolt on each side. I wanted to be able to fold them up easily but I could not think of a safe, simple( from a fabrications standpoint) and rattle free type of pin system. I went with this because I can remove them easily and they are strong and finally because they are useful for securing stuff at the same time. The second pic shows the underside stay which is attached at 2 other points as well. For the seat frame to separate from the body in a sever accident it would have to rip this entire stay out. The upper edges of the stay are all curved to make it less likely to tear through the sheet metal in case of an impact.

 

[peteinjp]

1 folded, 2 folded and then tumbled.

 

[peteinjp]

And in use

The only thing is that I had to add a chest strap for the seat belts because they are a little wide for the 4 year old. But that worked out just fine and with it all socked down- she's in there! The 3 month old sleeps like a rock- even off road! All said and done it does what I want it to do. It transformed my 44 into a safer daily/trail truck that I can still load up with a bunch of firewood... or tires without a bunch of fuss. Daughter hamming it up- she's always making faces.

 

[baas]

Very smart Pete, well done.

 

[kling-on]

Very well made

 

[hindsight]

Very well thought out and your application is outstanding!

Lucky kids,

Doc

 

[Mr. Toad]

[impressed]

 

[3doghouse]

With 2 kids and the 44 being my daily I felt the need to replace the original rear seat with something- well- safe and thought maybe some seat belts would be a good idea....

I did not want to give up the rear cargo area so getting seats as well as seatbelts out of the way was one of the design goals. That meant that the seat belts needed to be attached to the seats themselves. I read every thread here on MUD but in the end it came down to what kind of seats I had available. IF I didn't need it right away I think it would be very cool to use a factory front bench modified to fold and tumble.... but that would take years as bench seats don't show up for sale here often.

Anyhoo- The only thing I could find that would fit well was a set of 3rd row seats from a Honda Stream. They seemed solid and comfortable. Folded flat and for $100 I had a set of solid perfect condition seats that even I fit in (6'4".) The thing is that mounting them was a PITA due to the fact that they were not designed to be bolted to a flat surface.

I made this frame and hinge to be sturdy enough to hold the weight of the passengers in the event of an accident. All of the belts bolt to the frame.

Seat belt and child seat anchors:

OK,

I'd probably round the corners on the brackets rather than just adding rubber for protection, and I'd look into the structure I tie into, but why shouldn't we do what you did?

 

[TCSTARK]

Great job!

 

[71AZFJ]

I gotta say, At first look I thought ... What is he doing ??? But , Turned out real nice. Good Job.

 

[pigpen4x4]

Very cool. Great fabrication work! Now your whole family can enjoy wheeling in the 40!!

 

[primer7]

Nice, creative work.