How To: Install Racing Seats, Harness Bar and 5-Point Harness

[johnarleyburns]

This How-to outlines the steps in installing fiberglass bucket racing seats, a harness bar, and a 5-point harness. Included steps are removing the existing seats, removing the b-pillar trim, removing the existing seat belts, drilling the anti-submarine belt hole, installing the harness bar, installing the seat belts, and installing the seats.

NOTE: You have a couple of choices in changing out seats in your Delorean, and I'm only showing one here, although other ways are similar.



The biggest decision is, do you want full racing seats or just racing-like seats? Racing-like seats, such as those installed on Project Delorean, are more practical and (most would say) more comfortable. They make it easier to get to the rear storage and battery compartments and can be slid forward and back for different drivers. Racing seats, as shown in this How-To, are fixed bucket seats of one piece, either fiberglass (as in my case), aluminum SFI-approved (if you want to spend more), or carbon fiber FIA-approved (if you want to spend a lot more). Generally, as here, they should be installed with fixed-position side mounts. That means no sliding for different drivers and no reclining for access to the back. It also means less headroom and legroom, usually, although at 6' 1" I can squeeze in. Width is also a key decision. I went with the Corbeau FX1 pro partly because it was 20" wide, which is about the maximum width you can get in the Delorean without removing interior trim and relocating the parking break. If you're 200+ pounds or very wide you'll want a wide seat, and you'll have to relocate the parking brake.



You also have a decision of harnesses. Some people like to match seat vendor with belt vendor, but it doesn't really matter. You can go with the stock belts, or if you want an upgrade you can do 4-point harnesses with the stock seats or reclining aftermarket seats. These are more practical but do not prevent you from submarining in a crash (sliding down under the belt). 5-point harnesses, as installed here, hold you in securely but require a special seat with a anti-submarine hole, only a few seats have this (all true racing seats do), so make sure they do. I especially like 3" harnesses for the added protection and comfort. 6-point harnesses will also work, you don't need to drill an anti-submarine bolt hole but you are not attached in as many places; these 6-points are typically used in very narrow spaces like F1 race cars.



For attaching harnesses, you'll need a harness bar. On four-seaters you can attach the shoulder belts to the rear seat anchors, but without that luxury a harness bar is necessary in the Delorean. A straight-across bar would probably work better than the NRG I got, just make sure it's long enough, probably about 53" or so, it's hard to measure just right. EVENTUALLY I will put in a true roll bar welded to the frame, because harness bars are not that safe, especially on a car with the limited headroom and rollover capability of the Delorean.

Now, back to the program...


Tools Required:

1. Metric socket wrenches, with long extension
2. Metric ratcheting wrenches
3. Phillips head screwdriver
4. Flat head screwdriver
5. Drill
6. 1/2" Drill Bit
7. Wheel chucks
8. Flashlight / work light
9. Magnetic parts bin/bowl
10. Razor utility knife
11. Shop vac


Parts/Supplies Required:

1. Racing bucket seats, pair, e.g. Corbeau FX1, with 5-point holes
2. Side-mount attachments to match seat
3. 5-point harness, e.g. Corbeau Competition 5-Point Harness
4. Harness Bar, e.g. NRG Seat Belt Harness Bar HBR-002 (BUT NOTE DOESN'T FIT GREAT, CONSIDER IOPORT 54" BAR INSTEAD)
5. 1/2" Cut Washers, large, 2 count
6. 5/16" Cut Washers, 2 count
7. 5/16" x 1 1/2" hex bolt, 2 count
8. 5/16" Nylon-lock nut, 2 count
9. 3/16" Cut Washers, 16 count
10. 3/16" x 1 1/2" hex bolt, 8 count
11. 3/16" Nylon-lock nut, 8 count
12. Fiberglass/Metal Epoxy
13. 3M Weatherstripping Adhesive


Estimated Time for Completion: 2 days


Difficulty Level: Intermediate


Procedure: Divided into two parts: Part I, Removal, and Part II, Installation.


Part I: Removal



Step1: No need to jack the car, but you do need to put in wheel chucks, because you're going to be under the car and in the car and it's always a good idea when working on the car. At least block one rear wheel in both directions.

Step2: Sitting in the driver's seat, unscrew the steering column knob (black plastic by ignition), slide all the way forward, then screw in. Recline the driver's seat all the way towards the front and slide forward. Open the door, better yet open both doors for better ventilation. Just to be safe, disconnect the battery.

Step3: Get on your back under the car, you'll see four bolts poking down, this is the only thing holding your seat on the car. The bolts come down in the middle of two parallel groves running front to back that are raised up on the floorboard, indented concave looking from the bottom of the car. A flashlight or worklight helps, even in daylight. You may have to feel your way to them. Don't confuse these with the two bolts coming down directly under the parking brake which are nearby on the driver's side. On each of these bolts are nylon nuts with a cut washer, use a socket or ratcheting wrench to unscrew. You don't need to hold on the top inside the car because they are welded to the seat sliders. Unscrew all four and put in parts bin.



Step4: Gently lift the seat out of the car, rocking back and forth and side to side until the bolts clear the anchors. Be careful about hitting the windshield and rear view mirror, and be especially careful not to mar the interior with the bolts when trying to get the seat out. Place the seat away from the workspace and cover with plastic to prevent damage.

Step5: Take out the floor mat and pull back the carpeting to reveal the back two holes, and use any heavy object, a shoe or rock, to hold the carpet down; this will let you see where to drill the anti-submariner hole.

Step6: Remove the B-Pillar trim panel. First pull off and remove the shoulder belt cover, place in parts bin. There are three screws, one by the rear speaker and two by the front floorboard, remove them and place in parts bin. Then remove the door weatherstripping, just pull it out. You'll then see several metal clips where the weatherstripping was, pull these off and place in parts bin. You'll then have to cut or pull the vinyl off where the door intersects the b-pillar; I don't know why it was done this way, I haven't seen a car like that, it seems insane, but it's taped to the door frame. Then, gently pull the b-pillar out, straight towards the center of the car. You may have to lift the back luggage area baseboard to do this properly depending on your versatility. Place b-pillar out of the way where it won't get damaged.

Step7: Remove the shoulder belt. This is held in place by a single bolt and spacer where you just removed the b-pillar. Unscrew, remove seatbelt, and place in parts bin.

Step8: Remove the lap belt. This is held in place by a single bolt and spacer by the door right at the floorboard, towards the back. Unscrew and place in parts bin.

Step9: Remove the seat belt anchor (the thing you click into and push to release). This is held in place by a single bolt and spacer just below the center console. Detach the seat belt wire (leaving unattached will seem to the system like you're belt is on, so it won't beep or anything). Unscrew the anchor, remove bolt, spacer and anchor and place in parts bin.

Step10: Replace the b-pillar trim. First slide onto door edge, then into back. Attach with three screws, one in back, two in front. Replace metal clips on door edge. Reseal weatherstripping with 3M adhesive.

Step11: Prep anti-submarine anchor. To do this, take the 1/2" drill bit, mark a point halfway between the two rear seat holes on the floorboard, and drill through the fiberglass shell. Then mark the carpet at this spot and cutout a hole with razor knife. Vacuum away excess. Then with carpet pulled back, clean around hole and epoxy a 1/2" washer to the floorboard. This will give added reinforcement similar to the reinforcement washers you see on the seat anchors. To really be professional, you want to use an anchor plate like in a race car, I'll probably upgrade this at some point, although a guy who does this for a living told me, "if you're in an accident so bad that your seat anchors are pulling out of the fiberglass, seat belts are probably the least of your concerns."

Step12: Repeat steps 3-11 for the passenger side.

Part II: Install Harness Bar, Harness, and Seats.

Step13: Install harness bar. Place the bar between the b-pillars, each end next to the seat belt anchor (that's the hole in the b-pillar). It is easiest if you use something like some books or a drive-on ramp to hold up the harness bar while you're working on it. Then take the bolts that came with the harness bar and screw it in on both sides. Torque to about 30-40lb/ft, which is about as tight as you can get with one hand. The bar I purchased didn't quite fit exactly, you might want to try a straight one from ioPort racing supplies for 54" or so which should fit better. If I wasn't putting in a roll bar soon I'd probably replace. The NRG bar is nice, but unfortunately it requires you to mount forward, which you can't do in the Delorean because there isn't enough clearance for the seats. A straight-across harness bar wouldn't have this problem.

Step13: Install 5-point harness, driver's side. If you can go with a 3" wide belt as I did with the Corbeau, although 2" will work fine. You'll have to unpack and lay out the "webbing" as its called, and make sure your lap belt anchors line up. By this I mean, if you have direct anchors like mine with a bend at the attachment point, you may have to swap it around 180 degrees so it comes off the attachment point correctly; if you have an eye-bolt model you don't have to worry about this. Then bolt these anchors to the left and right lap belt anchor points. Next install the anti-submarine belt to the hole you drilled earlier: use the 5/16" x 1 1/2" bolt with a 5/16" washer and 5/16" nylon-lock nut underneath the car (this sticks down out of the car more than I would like it to, I may relocate once the roll bar is in). Lastly, loop the left and right shoulder straps over the harness bar and weave into the belt loop. Don't worry about adjusting the belts until the seats are in, just pull them tightly to make sure they are well seated.

NOTE: it is recommended that lap belts come directly down to the side, and not back at 45 degrees like it will if you install this way. I plan to relocate the side anchors based on where the roll bar goes in, but if I was keeping this setup I would move the anchor points farther forward for added safety.





Step 14: Pre-assemble the seats. You'll have the seats in one piece, but the side mounts will come separately. Assemble and attach the side mounts, at first the location will be a guess, generally you want the front attached higher than the back of the seat to give some lay-back for greater comfort and head clearance.



Step 15: Trial fit the seats, driver's side. DO DRIVERS SIDE FIRST BECAUSE IT IS MORE CONSTRAINED DUE TO THE STEERING WHEEL. This is the hardest part of the whole job in my opinion. It probably took me a dozen times to get a position that would fit and that I was comfortable with. You're fighting four constraints here simultaneously: the bottom floorboard attachment holes, the side seat attachment holes, the steering wheel, and the roof of the car (gullwing door). Being 6' 1", headroom has never been that great (although it IS better than an Acura Integra I used to have). With bucket seats it is going to be even closer. You want at least a few inches, especially if you have a helmet for racing. The only way to really solve for these constraints is to hand-tighten the seat, install and hand-tighten bolts, sit in it and move around, take it out, make adjustments, and test fit again. It took me maybe 2 hours to do this and it was quite frustrating. I ended up setting to maximum incline, that is the front higher up than the back, and the seat far back but not all the way back so that my head was still in the concave "dent" in the roof. Even then, I was still a little too close to the roof for comfort, so I removed the roof (door) trim and then felt much better (without the felt!). I may have to put felt directly to the door because the trim panel takes up unnecessary space. I could also drill two holes in the floorboard to let the seat ride an inch or so lower. I could also get a seat with more layback like a Kirkey aluminum seat that the NASCAR boys use, or even a custom seat.



Step 16: Install the seat. Now that you've got the right adjustments, tighten all side-mount attachment bolts and place in car. Use 3/16" bolts for each of the four attachment points, with a washer on top, then the side-mount base, then a washer on bottom, then a nylon lock-nut on bottom. Hand-tight, then trial fit one last time, then tighten all to tightest you can with one hand, approx. 40 lb/ft. NOTE: If you cannot get the anchor points to line up with your side mount, then either drill your side mount anchors (some side mounts like those from Kirkey can be ordered undrilled), or worst case use two of the existing holes and drill two new seat anchor points, reinforced with an epoxied washer or mounting plate.

Step 17: Adjust all straps so that the camlock is at the center of your pelvis and all belts can be securely tightened from the seating position. Most of the adjustment will be for the shoulder belts and anti-submarine belt. It took several attempts to get the straps where I needed them, be patient and do it right.

Step 18: Repeat steps 13-17 for the passenger side, although it is safe to assume the same adjustment for the passenger as driver's seat so you don't have to re-fit.

FINISHING TOUCH



Vacuum and clean all areas, and store your old seats and seat belts beneath plastic and in climate control if for any length of time. Enjoy your new vehicle! You'll notice how much better the new seats and harnesses hold you, the car almost feels like a part of your body now. Sure, you'll have to remove the seat if you want to take out the battery, but that's what keeping some extra tools in your trunk is for!

By the way, I now have two gray leather seats and a pair of seat belts in good condition if anyone wants them.

Enjoy!

[bluxed]

Looks good.

[johnarleyburns]

It would look better with matching gray seats, but that was going to be twice as expensive for custom covers. Maybe if I upgrade to Kirkey seats, their covers are the same price in gray. Gray harnesses might be nice too, but the standard racing colors seem to be black, blue, red and yellow and its hard to find anything else. As the saying goes, any color is fashionable in New York, as long as its black.

[tc connors]

I believe it is unsafe to mount the shoulder straps of a four or five point harness to the car floor.

During a crash, floor mounted shoulder straps will injure your shoulders by pulling you down (rather than back) into the seat as momentum carries you forward or, worse, rip the chair from the floor, sending you into the windshield.

Before putting significant mileage or track time on your setup, I recommend that you install at shoulder height behind the chairs a horizontal bar sufficiently strong to anchor the shoulder straps.

Best of luck with your project.

[johnarleyburns]

TC has a good point: MAKE SURE TO INSTALL A HARNESS BAR IF YOU PUT IN A HARNESS. I know it is hard to see but in the last picture you can see the harness bar and the straps attached to it. It is important for safety, as TC says, to have the shoulder straps going no more than 30 degrees downward.