Kurt, > I noticed you posted a note about installing 3 point seat belts in your Westy. > I have an 87 Wolfsburg and would love to do the same for my kids. I donıt > know what was involved and what parts you had to scavenge/purchase, or if it > will even work with the weekender rear bench. I got a slew of posts from folks on this topic. The job was pretty straightforward the bolt holes are already in the van but are all hidden behind the trim panels on the passenger side. The job is pretty well photographed here http://members.shaw.ca/albell/mods4.html I installed a belt on the passenger side only. I haven't heard anyone chime in about installation on the driver's side of a Westy with cabinets. Anyone? A few things to note: 1. the bolts for installation of the belt tensioner are not included in the box from VW 2. The price for the tensioner part should be around $75 new from VW. I had several dealers quote me $119 or more and when asked why another dealer (Broadway Volkswagen in Oakland, CA) had quoted me only $75, they all said ³uhhh...um.... Oh yeah, $75 looks like the right price.². Be careful here. 3. If I remember correctly, youıll need 4 bolts: 3 to bold the belt tensioner thingy inside the wall trim, just behind the rear seat. If memory serves (unlikely!) I think those 3 bolts need metric threads. Youıll need another (larger) bolt to hold the shoulder strap guide (like the one behind your ear for the shoulder belt on the front seats). There are also some bushings required which might be best purchased from a dealer. Their microfilm system seemed to have part numbers for most if not all of the parts. 4. The Bently manual has the procedure well documented, including specific patterns measured for the cutouts you need to make for the belt to pass through the trim. 5. I found the black plastic trim which allows the belt to pass through the trim in the rear cargo area to be tricky to install. It's part of the tensioner part from VW. I ended up using epoxy on the back side of the trim panel to get it to stay put. Check out itıs design (kinda funky) and measure accurately (make the hole smaller than necessary at first?) and you should be OK. If all else fails, a bit of epoxy on the back seems to do the trick. Good luck and feel free to write back with questions. Kirk out
Kirk van Druten ------------> kirk@lansharks.net LANsharks Consulting -----> http://www.lansharks.net 510-601-5475 -------------> 510-601-5130 fax
From: "Kurt Camealy" <camealy@ctsr.com> Date: Tue, 10 Feb 2004 09:49:23 -0500 To: "Kirk van Druten" <kirk@LANSHARKS.NET> Subject: Vanagon Seat Belts Hello, I noticed you posted a note about installing 3 point seat belts in your Westy. I have an 87 Wolfsburg and would love to do the same for my kids. I donıt know what was involved and what parts you had to scavenge/purchase, or if it will even work with the weekender rear bench. I know I have seen them installed on later Carats. Thanks for any help you can offer, Kurt |
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