Duncandef92

New Member
I want to put inward facing seats in the back of my 90 300tdi, but preferably with a 3 point seat belt instead of just the lap belts?

Is it possible? Anyone done it? Can I do it without having to install and internal roll cage?

Cheers!
 
I think you'd struggle to get the necessary parts to put seats in with the standard lap seat belts. No idea if the roof/side panel joint is deemed strong enough to take the top seat belt
EDIT
Do a search on the forum. There are a lot of threads covering this topic. :)
 
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I want to put inward facing seats in the back of my 90 300tdi, but preferably with a 3 point seat belt instead of just the lap belts?

Is it possible? Anyone done it? Can I do it without having to install and internal roll cage?

Cheers!

There is an argument that fitting seatbelts to a sideways facing seat is potentially dangerous.
A standard seat belt either lap or three point when fitted to a forward (or rearward) facing seat will prevent the body continuing in the direction of travel in an accident. Assuming the direction of travel is forward as it is for most collisions the seat-belt restrains you by: your body moving forward, the belt extends with this movement, the belt locks, this prevents further forward movement and you are held in place.
Now if we look at the same scenario in a sideways facing seat, accident occurs, your body continues to move in the direction of travel (towards the front of the vehicle) however due to the nature of the seat belt you either just fall out of it if the plug side is front most, as there is no belt there, or you end up with it wrapped around you neck, if the shoulder point is front most. Either way the three point seat belt will not work as it is designed and potentially not lock as it is not inline with the direction of movement and may do more harm than good.

If I was fitting seat belts to side facing seats I would only bother with lap belts as they do not rely on an auto locking extension and are fixed adjustable harnesses. Although in mine I do not have them fitted. They are not a legal requirement for side facing seats, as explained above they do not make them any safer, and if fitted become a testable item at mot.
 
Seat belts have never been compulsory for side-facing seats. But if fitted, they must be used. Because child seats aren't approved for going sideways, this rules out transporting kids in the back even though they can sit there if there's no belt at all.

3-point belts are not suitable as in a crash the forces will all be in the wrong direction and the upper part will cause more issues than it solves. Fit a lap belt only which is basically there to stop you sliding around.

My 90 CSW came with lap belts for all four back seats. Various MOT testers never even looked at them as they're not a testable item on side-facing seats.
 
Forward-facing seats in an earlier Defender end up too close together in most cases. The 2007-2016 factory-fitted ones are OK if you're skinny due to the step in the wheelarches, but I've seen several retrofits with little or no gap between the two seats. This is pretty stupid IMHO as it makes it impossible to rapidly vacate the vehicle in an emergency. Not very safe at all!
 
I put x4 nice high back Exmoor side facing seats in mine. Fortunately I already had the seat belt bar in. I put in Exmoor's retractable lap belts. They are a tidy solution and the seats are very good - folding up to keep the cargo space clear but …. ever 30 miles the passengers in the back will ask to take their belts off and re-do them - with every breath in and bump they do tend to tighten to a point where the bladder squashing gets to the near leaky limit.
 

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