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MG Midget and Sprite General - Where to buy seat belts for Aus cars?


One for the Aussies. I need some seatbelts for my 69 Midget. As I'm in Aus they'll obviously need to be to the Aus Standard, with a tag stating so.

Anyone know where I can get them from?

It only had lap belts in it and I thought I'd put them back in it as I don't plan on having an accident :) or do interia belts work ok in them?

Greg
Greg H

Greg

Are you confined to just Aus Standards, or do they recognise others as well?

Kiwi rule makers have slavishly aped most of your stuff without sorting the good from the bad, yet we are OK on other standards.

If you want period-style belts the ones we have used and which are accepted here are the AKF1646B units. Lap diagonal, non-stalk, non-inertia with an aircraft-style lift-flap buckle. They are a smart looking belt, though signifcantly more expensive.
Paul Walbran

Greg
Jim Brown at MG workshop in Launceston has complianced inertia seatbelts for MGB's - I'm only guessing but I would think they would fit Midgets as well
Cheers Willy
On this subject ADR's and compliance plates didn't appear in Aust till 1970 so really for registration purpouses I don't think you have to comply,not real sure on that but if you are going to compete you will need a belt with the correct numbers on it. Also if you were thinking of a full harness, it will have a useby date on it for competition use -3 years old and out they go
Inertia belts are ok but personally I would go for a good lap/sash 3point belt for the road and light competition, something you can pull up nice and tight to stop you flapping around
William Revit

Rules have changed for race harnesses following research and we can now use them for 5 years.
The lap/sash belts sold by Moss Europe have a tag with a large "E" on it and they meet Oz standard AS-2596. My compliancing engineer insisted on it for my '73. The major parts suppliers eg Repco sell aftermarket belts and should be able to order in for you.
Go for the stalk model if you can as it can be difficult to retrieve belts from down the side of the seats.
If your car doesn't already have mounting points for belts I suggest you follow the spec required by CAMS
Drawing 1-4, see
http://tinyurl.com/3j6gff5
This doc contains some other useful info also.
The factory inertia belt works OK but needs an additional plate to fit to earlier models.
Mike
M H Allen

Thanks guys. My Midget was before ADR but had factory seatbelts. They're a bit tatty so I need some new ones for the roadworthy. It's not going to the track so laps should be fine.

So Mike is there an equivalent international standard that would be accepted at a roadworthy if the seatbels don't have an Aus Std number e.g. the big "E"?

Paul I checked those belts and MOSS have them under MGB and they look ok. Do they have a tag denoting a standard of some sort?
Greg H

I'm 99.9% certain they do, otherwise they wouldn't pass the test here. But just in case there are slack testers I'll check and get back to you with the details.

Stalks: You have to be careful with them. The problem in a Midget or B is that for drivers with long legs & the seat right back the stalk buckle can end up too far forward comapred with the driver's body. This leaves a gap between lower torso and belt on the side of the buckle, which is deemed by the autorities to be dangerous. And (unusually) they are probably right.
Paul Walbran


I'm over 6'1" Not a good size for the Midget.
Greg H

Greg
If you're 6'1 you should seriosly consider lap/sash
There's a fair bit of you above lap height to hold back
Saftey first Willy
William Revit

Here in Qld, if fitting new belts they must be ADR/NZ approved belts and I think must be retractable with fixed stalks (the horrible stiff ones). You may also need a 'modifcation plate'.

The Same ones that fit the MGB will also fit the Midget / Sprite.

They are made by Securon but are supplied by various specialist outlets here.

We stock them at the Classic Car Clinic.

Mark.
M T Boldry

In NZ, which as I noted above nearly always slavishliy follows Aus stds without thinking for itself, you can certainly fit new belts of the original type. Specifically you don't have to fit retractables to anything new in NZ prior to the introduction date (1979 I think)

The problem I noted with the stalk is a significant hazard for tall drivers. New cars get round this of course by attaching the stalk to the seat, so it is always ideally positioned. The stalk is certainly more convenient, though it lacks the period look.

We stock both types of belt, horses for courses depending on customer preferences.

Here is the label with the standard number on it. (It is a USA one)



Paul Walbran

And a photo of the belt

Paul Walbran

Willy I meant lap sash. I need something to stop my head damaging the steering wheel.

Paul those belts look like what I'm after. I'll check with the local Transport department and see what's needed.
Greg H

Cheers
William Revit

Ok so I spoke to Transport and they didn't give me a definitive answer but pointed me in the right direction. Australian Design Rules came in nationally on 1 Jan 1969. I believe individual states may have introduced them some time after this. ADR 4 is for seatbelts for car manufactured from 1 Jan 1969-74 and it states they must comply with AS E35-1970. So I need to sight a copy of it to see what it says about equivalent standards. Link to site - http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/motor/design/second_edition_adrs.aspx

For cars before 1969 it looks like you can do what you want as there was no ADR that they had to comply to. Although my car is a 1969 as its chassis number is 922 I think it was manufactured in late 1968. If it was and I can find proof of this then I can install what I want.
Greg H

Mine is a '67, and they told me to take them out at the inspection when I moved here. He said they did not come with them from new, so the easiest way to meet their rules was to remove the belts. I ended up buying new ones out of Hemco in Ballarat.
Shawn

Strange more agressive rules here in Queensland, I MUST fit retractables with stiff stalks into the Frogeye because it was built in 1961, if it were a 1960 car, I would be able to do without all together.

Looking at the design of the car and with the hood stowed in its correct position, retractable belts just cannot work... this WILL compromise safety... What's all that about...?

Rules... !

Mark.
M T Boldry

It always amuses me how the rulemakers are so dogmatic that they are right, yet different jurisdictions have quite different and sometimes opposite rules. This happens in Motorsport too. In NZ we have to have the live battery terminal taped, but when competing in the UK we have to change it to the other terminal. Or it could be my brain getting mixed again and be the other way round, but they are definitely opposite!
Paul Walbran

This thread was discussed between 16/10/2011 and 25/10/2011

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