Installed some new seat belts

So i finally got on my project of ditching the automatic seatbelts. I only got one done as it took about 5 times as long as i thought it would. The seatbelt came out of a 96 outback.

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm311/scoobydoo731/Legacy/IMG_0477.jpg

This made me excited. The bolt holes for the outback slider assembly are already in our cars. They are covered by a couple round black stickies. peel them and good to go. The slider is actually installed upside down at this point, and i had not realized that yet. Also do not use the bolts that come off the outback for the slider assembly. They are metric and your holes are 7/16-20. The bolts will half arse thread but will most certainly dissapoint in a crash.

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm311/scoobydoo731/Legacy/IMG_0479.jpg

This is the outback assembly bolted in. It doesn't exactly bolt right in. You can't see but there is a main bolt on the bottom that should hold the assembly just fine in a crash. The long self tapper i put in the top is just the locator screw to keep it from spinning. I am thinking about putting a piece of metal to extend the mounting surface and putting a spacer in to keep it a little stiffer.

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm311/scoobydoo731/Legacy/IMG_0483.jpg

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm311/scoobydoo731/Legacy/IMG_0480.jpg

This is where to bolt in the other end of the belt assembly. The big pocket that is sitting there is where the factory lap belt tensioner sits. It bolted in with two bolts but the front hole seems to be the suitable mounting hole. There is a long locating tab on the outback seatbelt that you will have to drill a hole for. This is my original mounting angle which i change to a more straight up position later.

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm311/scoobydoo731/Legacy/IMG_0484.jpg

Straightened up position

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm311/scoobydoo731/Legacy/IMG_0481.jpg

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm311/scoobydoo731/Legacy/IMG_0482.jpg

This is my trimming of the side piece to allow for the slider. I brought back the outback piece to try and trace the shape. All i can say is take your time with the dremel. I also found out the slider sits very far back from the trime piece. Enough that it interferes with the pull knob and the slider won't lock. After some thought i ended up getting some hardened thick washers and using one on the bottom and three on top. The bottom seems right but one or two could probably still be added to the top where the gap is really thick from the seatbelt track.

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm311/scoobydoo731/Legacy/IMG_0485.jpg

Speaking of seatbelt track, your front trim has nothing to attach to without the track. Of course you don't want to and can't install the whole thing back in. Luckily there is two pins in the back which will allow the motor and cable assembly to slide right out. The track is still in the way of the slider assembly so i cut the assembly to look like this and re-installed. Lastly I had to change the lock assembly on the seat to the one on the outback. This part at least bolts right in.

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm311/scoobydoo731/Legacy/IMG_0486.jpg

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm311/scoobydoo731/Legacy/IMG_0487.jpg

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm311/scoobydoo731/Legacy/IMG_0488.jpg

The more or less finished pictures.

Awesome! I can't wait to ditch the power belts on the SS. It's good to know that I don't need to fine a first gen replacement.

SD73:

Thanks for the post and great pics! This is exactly what I have in mind!

 

I inherited my 94 Legacy LS from my cousin who bought it new and I've had it since around 20k miles...and its now got 105k.

 

Auto belts work fine but I've read they have not held for some in crashes...and they are just a royal pain!

 

My cousin bought the car here in Washington State and then had her folks immediately drive it up to Anchorage, AK for her, which is where she was living. I was her "adult supervision" (by her request) on the dealer lot when we bought it...and I wish I would have known that she could have just bought one in Canada and would not have had these auto-belts!! Oh well.

 

I found the stock part numbers for the manual belts using the WONDERFUL opposedforces.com site. I don't have much hope for them still being available but I'll contact some dealers (US and CAN) tomorrow and see.

 

Thanks again!

Jeffrey Bruton

I would like to be able to find the trim pieces. It looks okay with they auto track in but if i could find some pretty cheap it would be nice to have the Canadian trim.