Moving Seat Belt reels to strut tower like 77-78 280Z - on a '75 280Z

[HusseinHolland]

Trying to figure out if anyone has done this. I want to move  the new seat belts to the towers if possible.

I don't see how or if I can access the underside of the outer strut tower area where the seat belt reels attach on the 77-78 MY. It looks like that is a closed off area.

Pic courtesy of CO

My wheel arch - don't recall there being a way to reach into the outer section from below

[Captain Obvious]

Here's a pic of the underside that I hoovered. I don't know what year it is, but it might help with your analysis:

[HusseinHolland]

18 minutes ago, Captain Obvious said:

Here's a pic of the underside that I hoovered. I don't know what year it is, but it might help with your analysis:
 

Thank you -  from that angle it does appear that the area where your belt reel mount holes are, is accessible from the underside. In which was I can add a nut-plate from beneath 

[rturbo 930]

You don't access the underside. There's a plate that's drilled and tapped that is welded to the underside of the plate that the inertial reel bolts to. 

In the above photo of a 240Z, you're looking at where the strut tops mount, not where the seatbelt reels mount.

Edited December 25, 2023 by rturbo 930

[HusseinHolland]

17 minutes ago, rturbo 930 said:

You don't access the underside. There's a plate that's drilled and tapped that is welded to the underside of the plate that the inertial reel bolts to. 

In the above photo of a 240Z, you're looking at where the strut tops mount, not where the seatbelt reels mount.

Yes, I know the pic shows the main hole &  3 mount holes that are for the strut - what I was referring to is the space outward of that, which is where I would mount a nut plate to secure the belt reel

Edited December 25, 2023 by HusseinHolland

[rturbo 930]

1 hour ago, HusseinHolland said:

Yes, I know the pic shows the main hole &  3 mount holes that are for the strut - what I was referring to is the space outward of that, which is where I would mount a nut plate to secure the belt reel

I'm not sure why you think it's accessible then. The cavity is closed by the wheel well on the bottom and the seat belt mount plate on top. If your '75 already has the top plates installed but without tapped and threaded plate that the seat belt mounts to, then you're probably best off drilling out the spot welds to remove the top piece, weld on your threaded mount, and reattach the top plate. I can take photos of my car if needed, it's a '76, and everything is exposed and easy to see right now. 

[HusseinHolland]

On 12/24/2023 at 11:29 PM, rturbo 930 said:

I'm not sure why you think it's accessible then. The cavity is closed by the wheel well on the bottom and the seat belt mount plate on top. If your '75 already has the top plates installed but without tapped and threaded plate that the seat belt mounts to, then you're probably best off drilling out the spot welds to remove the top piece, weld on your threaded mount, and reattach the top plate. I can take photos of my car if needed, it's a '76, and everything is exposed and easy to see right now. 

That is what I thought - looking at the rotisserie pic it appeared that there was some access to the flat area between the strut and the inner fender. It would be awesome if you could take pics to clarify what is there for me!

EDIT - pressing down on the top cover, which appears to have card inside- it doesn't feel as if there is any metal beneath it, which would make sense if the parts catalog drawing is accurate - 

Edited December 26, 2023 by HusseinHolland

[rturbo 930]

Okay, apologies for the delay, busy time of year. Hopefully these photos give you an idea of how it's put together. Since your 75 doesn't have the strut tower mounted belts, I suspect you don't have the plate like the later cars, and it's probably just a bit of cardboard on top to help support the vinyl covering like the 240Zs have. 

 

 

[HusseinHolland]

@rturbo 930 thank you for taking the time! I appreciate the clear & close up pics.

What is the smaller (M8?) secondary offset captive nut retain?I does appear that I can make a top plate & weld it in - I would thank that would also help beef the structure of the inner towers also, so a plus all around. 

In the meantime, I realized I can add a beefy support to the strut bar I've already made, and lay the reel on that until I feel like dismantling the hatch interior for welding.

I will make a vertical stack with two 7/16-20 nuts at each end with a horizontal support element 

Edited December 28, 2023 by HusseinHolland

[rturbo 930]

I can't remember what the smaller bolt hole is for. I might be wrong but I think there's a bracket that the plastic cover attaches to, it might be for that. 

[HusseinHolland]

added the support bracket with two nuts to the driver's side of the  strut brace. Have to do the pass side tomorrow, ran out of daylight

[HusseinHolland]

Added the pass side belt reel retainer. I'm going to make a padded cover for the brace

 

Edited January 3 by HusseinHolland