105 GT seat belt fitment.

[McAnnik]

   I had purchased previously from ClassicAlfa their recommended Inertia Reel Front Seat Set,(L&R,both the same).At about $50 each its a good deal even with postage added.It has already been mentioned in prior threads the quality of this product and I can only agree that the belts are of equal quality to what you can buy from A....b....N or elswhere at twice the price. I was attempting today to trial fit the belts and remembering other posts that had mentioned this topic I tried to mount the inertia part of the set to the lower back "passenger' floor area. It will fit there but does look very untidy so I decided to mount that part into the area immediatly behind the "B" pillar under the rear side card.There is ample space there and can be mounted directly below the upper side "Belt slider support" providing a direct upward pull for easy release etc. As the smoking habit appears to be largely redundant these days the use of the ashtray slot in the rear trim panel can be utilized and perhaps a anti chafing fitting can be incorporated into the belt run at this point.I must say that I have not permanently mounted anything at the moment, just bouncing an idea around for consideration.There is plenty of metal at the proposed point of fixture for mounting of the reel and with additional support if neccessary will equally be as good as the original Alfa mount point. Any thoughts here? This idea has probably been executed already by someone so nothing is new...Would be pleased to hear any further views on this subject! ..............Cheers..........Ian

[Paul Gulliver]

It will fit there but does look very untidy so I decided to mount that part into the area immediatly behind the "B" pillar under the rear side card.There is ample space there and can be mounted directly below the upper side "Belt slider support" providing a direct upward pull for easy release etc. As the smoking habit appears to be largely redundant the use of the ashtray slot in the rear trim panel can be utilized and perhaps a anti chafing fitting can be incorporated into the belt run at this point.I must point out here that at this point

Many years ago Vivian Hyrons up at the 105 factory in Ringwood fitted Inertia Reel seat belts to my 105 using that idea. The inertia reel mechanism is fitted behind the door card and it exits out the old ash tray . From memory  Vivian cut away the back of the ashtray but keep the  facade removing a little bit of material from the top of what was left so the belt can exit out the top. Very neat solution that has worked well for the last 10 years.

Gully

[McAnnik]

  Gully, I always knew that there were other geniuses out there other than myself(??) who would have thought of this trick. It was a logical improvement, just thought I'd sound it out.I was fitting belts to cars long before they had factory fitted legit authorized attachment points.AND I prided myself on inconspicuous mountings,(never mind it cost the owner a bomb to do it but then again if he could afford the 356 Porsche!!!)  Thanks for your input...........Cheers

[McAnnik]

    Hi All, I spent most of today fitting the driver side inertia reel into the space behind the B pillar, One hole only required to drill low down and mount the reel in position using one of the brackets supplied in the kit.Modifying the ash tray to run the webbing through only required a bit of work with tinsnips and a file.Some imagination is needed to envisage where to snip and tuck the metal to enable the belt to run freely without undue chafing, bending metal on the way to act as a guide. I found that removal of ash tray from the trim panel was needed,(drill out two rivets) and reinstall it upside down and re poprivet.This puts a smooth rolled edge of the ash tray body in position to guide the webbing up to the upper belt mounting. After snipping the bottom from the ash tray door to allow passage of the webbing, it is fitted back in its normal position, no need to fix permanent as friction will hold it in place.There is no need to cut anything structually but some adept bending of any sharp edges in close proximity to the run of the belt is desirable.Several trial fittings are required on the way but if the reel is mounted dead centre under the upper belt mount there should not be any major problems. The reel must be fitted so the pull/retraction is vertical otherwise it wont operate correctly,if at all.As there is not a lot of space available for getting it wrong its difficult to stuff it up! but then!!!!..........Sorry I cant provide any pics, I dont know how to put them up anyway. Only gripe is, the belts only come in black, and my car interior is Tan/Brown. Ah well!!!  Good luck.....Cheers......Ian....P.S. Securon is the brand name of the belt kit supplied by ClassicAlfa,It is legally acceptable for use in Australia and is numbered accordingly.No probs there!

[McAnnik]

   O.K. I'm now doing the passenger belt fitting (RHD. in case your not reading the whole story). What I will try and do here is to take some pics of the mounting /cutting ash tray process and with the help of a nerdy neighbour (who knows how to do such things) put 'em up for perusal and they will perhaps provide a better explanation of what I have actually done to fit the belts as described.......Cheers ....Ian

[cjheath]

... tried to mount the inertia part of the set to the lower back "passenger' floor area. It will fit there but does look very untidy...

I had mounted inertia reel belts there many years ago, and I agree it was untidy - and stopped the seat moving as far back as it should go. In addition, it wouldn't quite stay vertical, so was difficult to unreel, as you allude to later:

The reel must be fitted so the pull/retraction is vertical otherwise it wont operate correctly,if at all

So I reverted to original belt fittings until last year... while significant other work was being done at Mauceri, and the car being prepared for re-registration RWC. Corrado suggested and fitted reel belts in the lower mounting points. These have two major improvements over the ones I had earlier:

• They sit pretty innocuously and don't prevent the seat going all the way back,
• They are designed to be mounted at up to 45 degrees from horizontal - this is a special-order feature but costs no more.

All up, I'm very glad I did it this way. No dodgy metalwork or other difficulties, looks pretty authentic, and I still have my missing ash-tray spots to mount the speakers. So whilst I agree that there are bad external reel fitments available, there are also good ones. I don't recall the brand, but I'm sure the Mauceri's would like to hear from you. When the car is delivered to my current abode in Sydney tomorrow, I'll be able to take photos for anyone who cares.

[McAnnik]

   Hi C.J. I for one would like to see your pics, this is after all an information thread and the world can tune in to it. Look how many hits this thread has had already! People can see an idea or method and go that way or discard it. Now I've read your input I'm beginning to think yours was a better option. I havn't demolished anything that can't be reverted back to standard with my "conversion" so I will complete the fitting and consider the end result. I hadn't thought of using the side panels as speaker mounts as the previous owner had mounted two speakers in the rear parcel shelf and I wouldn't like to alter my pristine original side panels to fit 'em, (although I did cut up my ash trays didn't I?). Thanks for your input,love to see your pics.My pics due soon, they have been snapped, just need to get 'em up. Cheers..........Ian

[cjheath]

One I took earlier is here: <http://www.flickr.com/photos/70954832@N00/5267881857/in/set-72157625490495511>. It was aimed to show the seats, and doesn't show the belts with the seats forward though... You'll note I have two head-rest seats (2nd is from another car) and they're in leather with a removable squab to fill the headrest gap. I also had the seat wings bent in to fit a slimmer person before trimming.