Safety first, right? My kids ride in the back and I’ve been meaning to put 3-point belts in the truck for a while now. I bought them from SeatBeltPlanet months ago, but it took some planning and finally the first one installed today.
Finished product.
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I went for OEM-ish looks like a US market 62, with the stock retractor covers (in brown!) and short cargo panels (the ones I make). There’s a few things I need to do to clean it up though. I need to fill the speaker hole. I’ll replace the white trim below the window with the correct contour around the seat latch so it matches the brown cover - 1981-1982 trucks had this different contour to that white piece, as you can see.
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I also want to get the brown triangular covers for the Cpillar thing. When I put the SPB belts in the front seats I found out the original brown covers snap right onto the SPB things.
Black cover that comes with the SPB belts below. Fortunately I have threaded C-pillars. Kind of odd for a 1982 60.
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Original brown cover retrofitted to the SPB belt in the front:
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Doing the project like this with my desired outcome for OEM-ish looks was not straightforward. The brown retractor covers are 30mm deep but the SBP retractors are 68mm deep. My plan was to cut some bodywork, then make some brackets to recess the retractors. The bracket is also beneficial because it uses two bolts through the pinch weld, rather than how I’ve seen other folks attach the retractor - with one bolt through the sheet metal.
Brackets below, one for each side. I think I did 1/4” (6mm). Plenty beefy for the task.
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Clearancing and bracket install. JIS hardware always. The cable is a coax feed from my dash mounted GMRS and goes up through the back hatch and onto the roof rack for an antenna. It stays out of the way after everything else as done here. Also note that there is more sheet metal further back, so access from the rear isn’t viable - more on that later. Early 60s like mine only have a wiring harness on the driver side. Later FJ60s (1985+) have part of the wiring harness passing through here on the passenger side as well, it’s split and runs on both sides. So other folks doing this might run into that.
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I think I goofed up the offset measurement. I wanted the bracket to mount on the front side of the pinch weld, but it wasn’t giving me enough clearance to keep the retractor sticking out less than 30mm. I installed it this way and it wasn’t a big deal.
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Retractor installed. Note that it’s “backwards”. From the way the buckle was put on it seems like SPB wants you to install the fat part of the thing towards the inside of the vehicle. Notice the webbing comes out off center - by flipping the retractor around, the body sits inside the cavity I cut open but the webbing comes out almost flush with the sheet metal. That way it’s aligned nicely as it goes up to the C-pillar thing. All of this sits 28mm out from the sheet metal (including the bolt head), just enough clearance for the cover. Installing the lock washer and nut on the back of the bolt was a chore since you can’t get to it from the back … but it’s doable.
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The SPB buckle clips perfectly into the original Toyota receiver so I left that. The third point was as easy as drilling a single hole through the reinforced area inside the wheel well. In fact, when you fold the bottom of the seat up you can see a recessed round spot on the interior which is a knockout that Toyota used at the factory for trucks with 3-point rear belts. Basically, drill from the inside because the target location is already there.
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All that work and only one is installed. I’ll do the other one maybe next weekend. That one is more involved since I have a fuse panel and ground bus bolted to the cargo panel for accessory stuff. It’s a little more work than this side. After that I need to get on the rear seat headrest project!
FYI, if anybody’s going down this path in the future and wants the brackets, I had an extra pair made up. Let me know if you want them. They aren’t expensive.
