All seat belts are manufactured under European standard R16 and under ISO9002 quality control procedures and are either tested to European standard R16 for Modern seat belts or to British standard BS3254 for period style seat belts for vehicles up to 1973.
Lap straps are not a legal fit for front seats in Europe for post 1963 cars and we would not recommend them unless it really is your only option. For American cars or cars in America this is not a Legal issue and Lap straps can be fitted to vehicles up to 1972.
Period style chrome buckles should only be used in pre 1973 vehicles. We would also recommend that they are not used with child seats including booster seats and cushions. If you want period buckles, it is possible to have a combined seat belt that will give you both modern and period buckles thus allowing you to secure your children safely and retain the period look when you have adults in the vehicle or are showing the vehicle.
(The lap section of any seat belt or harness should fit below you hipbone and across the upper most part of you thigh and not over your waist).
Period Style Lap Strap with 75mm Waist Pad
These have the same issues as Standard Lap straps (not a legal fit for front seats in Europe for post 1963 or for American cars or cars in America Lap straps can be fitted to vehicles up to 1972).
The padded lap strap offers better protection by spreading the load over a wider section of you lap. (The lap section of any seat belt or harness should fit below you hip bone and across the upper most part of you thigh and not over your waist).
Modern Lap Straps
Same rules apply for modern lap straps as with period style with the exception of child seats.
As with the period style lap straps, with modern lap strap seat belts you can choose from a standard lap strap or one with the 75mm pad, however this is an unusual option. but of a scale suitable for children.
Not normally a common choice for cars when thinking of replacing a seat belt, but automatic lap style seat belts may have a use in certain applications. ALR’s are Auto Locking Retractors, and when worn they are fixed belts, so they cannot be pulled out once you have put the seat belt on.
ALR Seat Belts
An ALR uses a mini retractor with a locking device. Unlike a normal automatic seat belt, they do not have a webbing sensitive locking device. The locking device is triggered once you have pulled more than 300mm (12 inches) of webbing from the reel. You can continue to pull the webbing out as long as you do not allow even a mm to go back into the reel. Once you let, the webbing to retract you cannot pull anymore webbing out until you let the webbing completely retract and then start again. Thus when worn they act in the same way as a standard lap belt. They are available with either Period or Modern buckles.
Fitted to most European made cars between 1963 through to the early/mid 1970’s
In parts of Europe and the USA, some cars were fitted Diagonal only seat belts, though this was not an option for the UK. We would recommend Lap and diagonals over diagonal only seat belts, as there will not be an issue over finding a suitable mounting point in the floor or sill for most vehicles.
Static Lap and diagonals can be fitted in the front or the rear of most vehicles.
Period Style Static Lap and Diagonals
These are manufactured to the same design specifications original seat belt made during the 1960’s and early to mid 1970’s
We have a full range of options available for anchor plates and offer both original period style adjuster or modern adjuster (a must for rear seat applications) depending on your choice and the vehicle (a modern adjuster can be easier to use in some vehicles but is not imperative).
Modern Static Lap and Diagonals
Available with a range of different anchor plate and buckle options, suitable for use in the front or the rear of the vehicle.
Please note that for most vehicles a webbing buckle should be used for rear seat applications.
If you require a Modern Static Lap and Diagonal for the front in a vehicle with Bench seats you can use the long adjustable webbing buckles as cable stalks are not generally suitable for this type of seating.
Automatic seat belts were introduced in the late 1960’s. Jaguar was one of the first manufacturers to offer them as an optional extra.
Just because your car was not designed to fit Automatic seat belts to, does not mean they cannot be retro fitted.
Period Style Automatic Lap and Diagonal Seat Belts
As with the Static Lap and Diagonal seat belts the period style buckles can be fitted legally to vehicles manufactured up to the end of 1972.
The retractors used for Automatic (inertia reel) seat belts are designed to work at specific angles and have a tolerance of approximately 8deg from their designated angle.
The standard angles that are available are 8, 18, 27, 90, 00 and 180deg
Full Harnesses sometimes know as Racing harnesses as with general seat belts, come in very many different configurations.
3 point, 4 point, 5 and 6 point, they are even available with an Automatic reel even an electrically operated reel that will give you the security of a standard Harness and the movement that an automatic reel gives you when required for manoeuvring the vehicle for parking etc.
Harnesses can be made with Full FIA approved Twist Buckles, modern buckles as you find in our standard modern lap and diagonal seat belts or if your car was build prior to 1973 a Period Style Chrome Buckle.
We also have a range of full harnesses suitable for Children from approximately 4 years upwards.
