I thought I rememberd a lap belt being available for the pad if a car was ordered with one.

Yes?

No?



See my WTB in the classified section.

Thanks!

The third seat belt (lap belt only) was a factory option. I've seen an eary non-retractable version. The female end looked the same as the drivers and passenger sides except it was a few inches shorter.

Obviously you could order the center seat cushion without ordering the third seat belt.

My '76 came with the removable center pad, but with no center belts. In the past I have carried two passengers for short rides, but we were all younger and smaller then (read skinnier), not to mention dumber (no center belts)! In later years my little dog used to ride in the middle.

I don't think center belts were offered. If belts were available, I would think all tubs would have hardware inserts installed.

My first 914 was a '72. I bought it from the original owner and it did have a center belt but it didn't look factory. I'm guessing it was dealer installed because the original owner had reciepts for everything - all dealer work and never touched the car himself.

-Ben M.

I might have to retract that. I guess you could mount the center belts using the driver's and passenger's female belt receiver locations for the center belts.

the part number for the center belt is 914 803 021 10 good luck

My dad bought his '74 2.0 new.

I was 10 and my brother was 6.

The four of us used to ride in that car all the time. I sat in the middle and my brother sat on my mother's lap.

In 1974, there was no such thing as a law that said you had to wear a seatbelt. Hell in some states it was okay to have an open container back then. All that safety bs came about when the damn hippies started getting older and messing this country up.

Oh yeah, Ralph Friggin' Nader had something to do with it too.

That's hysterical. I never knew that people actually sat on the "3rd seat", let alone that there was a seat belt option for it. I always thought that was just a nick name for the center pad. Hell, my 65 lbs. 9 year old daughters skinny little butt wouldn't fit on that thing. How do you shift with somebody sitting there?

3rd seat cushion and belt was only an option for early cars (i believe up to '72).
early cars do have the mounting threads for the short seatbelt in the floorpan (plugged with a plastic bolt), later cars don't.

the pic below shows the mounting hole/thread for the 3rd seatbelt bolts ...

I've got those plugs... and I've got a 4 year old that just loves the car. I thought it might ne nice to have a place for her to ride. I have the cushion as well. I have a 9 month old as well... shit.

If anyone has a set, lemme know.

Thanks all.

E.

i'm sure you could use a early seatbelt and retrofit it to work ...

Andy

I have fashioned many a seat belt for my MGA so that my son could ride in it. I even installed a tether hook so that his car seat would be installed correctly.

Go to your local junk yard and procure some old GM buckles and the like. Then go to your FLAPS and get lengths of NEW belt material (read as.. do not use 30 year old dry-rotted stuff). If you do not have access to an industrial sewing machine fab it up then take it to an upholstry shop and have them sew it together.

Worked for me

I bought a new 914-4 in 1970 with the center belt. My 2 year-old daughter rode there on occasion. She is now 36 and has a child. My grandchild has a car seat with multiple belts that sits backwards in the back seat and looks like a space capsule. I don't think I'll tell my daughter how I used to drive her around!

They're not reall safe are they...?

I'll probably just ditch the idea. My 4 year old is big enough to ride in a booster seat now with the standard belts. I just thought it might be cool for a short drive up the canyons. But, you know what they say: 80% of all accidents happen within 25 miles of home.

Next...

i don't know ...

but one thing i do like about the early style belts in general is the fact that they're non-retracteable!
once put on, there's no chance in hell you'll slip out of the thing.
when i got my car i started looking around for aftermarket retracteable belts but never got around to install any.
now, with a few AX under my belt (so to speak, hehe), i'm very happy i didn't.

i love those early belts!
Andy

Oh , Yeah... I have given my daughter's many a ride using the 3rd seat... with your hand on the gear-shift your arm runs right in front of them...easy to stop them from moving forward during hard breaking.
I agree with "dflesberg".... years ago I didn't even own seatbelts for a VW ('68) that was faster than 914. (did eventualy get some , mostly for passengers). Even futher back ...'70 chevy wagon with three kids.. no belts..shit ...I used to ride facing backwards...looking out tailgate ... howbout Pick-up's riding in the bed !
Nader is a Moron...

The early non-retractables do hold you well for AX, but they
are completely unsafe, since the short end is too long and
the whole buckle-thingy ends up in the middle of your
body. In fact on one of these lists somebody recently
mentioned that the factory had a recall to install a shorter
one.

If you have early non-retractables, or just want some,
do yourself a BIG safety favor and by some new ones for
like $30 from bugcity.com. They are vw, but look period.

Last year talking about safety at HMS Motorsports, they
showed charts of how ALL belts degrade due to exposure
and sun, and it's not a small amount.

interesting ...

mine do have the short short-end.
guess i got lucky ...
Andy