Rear seat belt upgrade nut install (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Joined
Aug 19, 2013
Threads
36
Messages
424
Location
GA, CSA
I purchased the seatbeltplanet.com FJ60 rear retracting seat belt set to upgrade my 1987 FJ60 rear belts. The old lap retractors were old and jammed, and I want to be able to take along the whole fam on trips. Currently only 2 can ride with me, and one has to "ride bitch" using the rear center lap belt.

I located the holes all FJ60s have in the c-pillar for mounting shoulder belt pivot, but probing with a dental pick (or pin or needle) revealed that the weld nut behind there was NOT installed. So I had to find a way to fish a nut up in there and get the belt threaded, somehow.

First this I did was trim the headliner fabric at the mounting holes with an x-acto knife, and removed the rear trim card panels. I used a shop vac crammed up into the space behind the body panel to fish some twine through there. Using the vac makes this easy and practically foolproof. You want to pull the nut up in there from the outside rear, on the outside of the interior stamped metal piece.

So now on with the pictures:

String pulled thru and view of the interior panel with the cam crammed behind there, looking up. This is the passenger (right) side of the vehicle which I did first.
sbj1_zpsqdyrr70m.jpg


Then I fished the driver side:
sbj2_zpssj1xtnbx.jpg


This is taken with the cam looking up, passenger side, rear of vehicle to the right. This is where the most clearance for the nut is, and if you have scrawny arms like mine, you can cram your hand up in there to help guide the nut up. Practice this before you apply the epoxy and go for it!
sbj3_zpsfmgqthtb.jpg

sbj4_zpsf7daankc.jpg


More to come today...
 
Ok, so the kit comes with grade 8 bolts and nuts and some right angle brackets that I had no idea what to use for. First I replaced 2 fixed end belts with the latch in the original positions with the original bolts. It turns out, these bolts are 7/16-20 UNF, NOT METRIC M11x1.25, which are as hard to find as unicorn farts. I first mistakenly ordered some JIS steel flange nuts, M10x1.25, but when they arrived, they did not fit the bolts. Hmmm. This is what happens when you assume things. I guess they used this size per some regulation, who knows, but that is what they are.


I got some JB Weld "steel" epoxy glue that I had laying around. I glued two of the nuts to some heavy steel fender washers. When you glue the nuts onto the washers, de-grease them first with paint thinner or acetone for a good strong bond.
sbj5_zpshffqejvn.jpg
 
Next I mulled over how to "fish" the nuts up in there. After poking around in my stash of crap, I found a 3/8"-16 bolt and nut to use and had an idea. I drilled a small hole for the twine thru the end of the bot, cross-axis. I verified I could pull the nut into position with it. I did cut the bolt so that it was short as possible for clearance going up in there, and left enough threads to thread a nut on while the epoxy set up. I took a ziz wheel (cutting disc) and with good eye protection carefully notched the bolt on each side of the hole so I could thread on the nut while pulling on the string. For the string I used a guitar string, a wound "G" .024". I play guitar a lot and had these in the trash can from when I changed them on my Martin D-18. I had to touch up the threads on the 3/8" bolt with a tap die so the nut would thread on there smoothly.
Here are pics of the fishing rig:
sbj6_zpsnefxipdu.jpg


Another pic of the bolt in the flange nut, a bit out of focus:
sbj7_zpspdklw9c5.jpg


ready to go fishing:
sbj9_zpsasnmq881.jpg


I must mention here some folks say why not use a nutsert here? First try to find a 7/16"-20 nutsert or rivet nut, and then get back to me. More unicorn farts. Anyway, a nutsert might rip right out in a bad collision - you want to trust your kids' lives to a nutsert?
 
Last edited:
I then mixed up some JB. I greased the threads of the pulling bolt and the nut thread so no stray JB would stick in there and glue the fishing bolt or bugger the threads. I put some JB on the flange, pulled the nut up in there, and while holding the string taut, I threaded on the 3/8"-16 nut to hold it in place. I moved it around to get it centered as best I could. It is drying while I posted this thread.
sbj8_zpsfqsf3ipl.jpg


Excuse the dog hair. This isn't a mall cruiser ya know. :flipoff2:
 
Also have to mention I did remove the rear seat back for good access to everything. I flipped the seat bottom forward. (My 200W Alpine amp is under there and I also need to dress up the wires a little better. When I get a vehicle, good tunes are at the top of the list).

Today I am also starting the removal of the stock rear bumper, and prepping the Cruiser for a brand new 4+products rear bumper with tire/jerrycan carriers that Dave just shipped me. Woot! Air hammer time. I am concerned about some rust on the frame rails under there and will be attacking that as well. Hopefully just a clean and POR job. But that is for another thread with other pics. :smokin:
 
Last edited:
OK so JB has set up and the left-over glue has turned hard. I washed my hands and unscrewed the nut, pushed the bolt back thru with the guitar string, and installed the passenger side upper swivel.

Got threads? I do now.
sbj12_zpswiky6nu6.jpg


Torqued in:
sbj10_zpsdudue9za.jpg


Cover on. Now for the other side, and then the bottom retractors and ends.
sbj11_zpsjqkqcsyw.jpg


Time for a break, and a ride over to my buddy's shop, to get him to help me with getting the rear bumper off, which I must say has been a BITCH so far. :smokin: Also PO had a Reese hitch on there that needs to come off, and it is welded to the frame rails. Lots of cutting and grinding to do. :flipoff2:
 
Great post. Looking forward to this upgrade in my 60. Another vote for a sticky.
 
Great post. Where did you ended up putting the retracting assembly; did you mount it in the original location under the passenger seat or did you find a way to mount it in the panel above the rear wheel well? I figure this must affect the overall length of the belt and comfort for the passenger.
 
I will update this post with pics of the other ends later this evening/tomorrow. Been working the bumper (damn those tough chassis rivets to hell) while the other side nut epoxy sets up, but right now I gotta go to a bluegrass jam and do some flatpicking. :hillbilly:
 
Very clever! Great job and write up! Definitely should be put in the Faq section. :clap:
 
That's awesome work. If I didn't have shoulder belts in the back, I'd do this as well. Great work
 
Nice work. Looks perfect, and prolly secure with that big fender washer.

Personally, I'd let the people in back takes their chances :eek::rolleyes::p
 
I'm in the middle of installing rear FJ62 3-point harness belts in my '86 FJ60 project vehicle, so this is great information, especially considering I just discovered a few hours ago I don't have the nuts installed from the factory, just the holes. In a few minutes I'll be heading out into the garage to start assembling my fishing gear.
 
So I just mounted the driver side shoulder.

On this side, I didn't trim the headliner very much at the hole, so I couldn't see if the nut was centered perfectly before cinching down the temporary 3/8" nut when I pulled it up and glued it.

After I got home from the bluegrass jam, I took off the nut, fished out the fishing bolt, and saw the nut was just a smidge too high. I was still able to start the bolt threads and install the swivel, so no big deal, but please pay attention to this so you don't have to Dremel anything. Its kind of a one shot deal, so make a good shot. NOTE: It's not necessary to be too careful trimming the headliner around the hole, because the large bolt and swivel will cover a multitude of sins here. I suggest trimming it with sharp razor or scissors just so you can see the entire hole edge in the body metal. When you pull it up in there, you can slide around in the glue a tiny bit, and can eyeball it center before putting on the nut. Worst case you have to Dremel a bit of sheet metal. I wouldn't knock it out and do over. This is why I went with the biggest bolt that would reliably slide in and out of the 7/16" seat belt grade 8 nuts. Its an ordinary 3/8-16 hex bolt from HD; use a cheap zinc one so its easy to drill!

Also be careful your fishing bolt is not too long. My bolt, measured with calipers, is 1.178" total length. You want to be able to pull the bolt with nut up in there, and wiggle it back out. Always dry-run before you add the glue. My bolt was too long at first and it took some jiggling, and a little cussing, to get it back out. When fishing, I suggest get in there close, sitting on the floor, pull with one hand, and reach up in there with the other hand guiding the nut-washer up as far as you can reach, keeping it to the rear of that opening, and jiggle it right up in there.

I'll do the bottoms tomorrow. Right now I need a shot of rum and an Advil (from the bumper work, lol). This is easy and really didn't take long at all - compared to a bumper. :cheers:
 
Last edited:
OK Finished the job tonight! Can't sleep, might as well work on the 'cruiser.

Here is where I drilled the retractor hole Left (D) side. I put it a smidge too far to the rear so as not to crowd the wire loom (That is pretty much all the wires to the back of the vehicle, so yeah) and had to trim the trim card a tad to clear the retractor.

full


Here is view of P side:
full


Black wire is my VHF/UHF HAM antenna coax.
full


Here is a detail of how I trimmed the "bulge" so the retractor wouldn't bunch it up too bad. COmpletely optional, maybe unneccesary.
full
 
More pics. They are on a gallery here. Photobucket is down tonight, and this way the pics are around. Link to gallery: View media item 53117
 
More details including fixed end - I just bolted them to the original lap retractor holes. They will run up outside of bottom seat so it can still be flipped up.
full


full


Passenger side fixed anchor
full


Left (D) side anchor. Sorry about the focus.
full


Right (P) side came out OK.
full


Another pic of the Right side retractor.
full


Some final notes: I used some thick steel washers behind the retractors to shim them out a bit so the trim cards can still be installed behind them. I only had to trim the driver side card a tad, right by the retractor bolt. The trim all has to be in place before you torque the bolts so you can swing it around and work the trim just right. Once the trim and the edge on the sheet metal was back on, I used an air wrench to torque them on.

All done. Any questions? All pics are in the gallery.
 
Great write-up... glad you were successful.

I also added the rear shoulder belts a few months ago. I had started with the string method - JB welded the nut to a washer - put some epoxy on the washer and tried to pull it up the pillar into place to dry. I ended up getting epoxy all over myself and getting it all stuck half-way up the pillar. After I finally got it unstuck I said screw it and went to sleep, planning to start fresh with a new approach.

Here's the method that worked well for me.

I ordered these brackets from seatbelt planet:
Hardware, Webbing & Accessories - Seatbeltplanet | The Worldwide Authority on Aftermarket Seatbelts

The brackets are much thinner than the bolt/washer combo.

I had a really thin fiberglass rod in the garage from an old kite. It was about 1/16" in diameter, and about 3 feet long. Kind of like the thin end of a small fishing rod. Flexible, but also rigid if that makes sense. I epoxied the bracket from seatbelt planet to the end of the kite rod - slid it up the pillar and lined it up to the hole - screwed in the bolt - and pulled the rod out with some plyers. Done!

When I did it on the other side it took 15 seconds. So..... if you can find a super-thin fiberglass rod, it's another method worth a try.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom