Inertia Reel Seat Belts for Flavia 2000 Coupe

[alan284flavia]

Has anyone any experience of fitting inertia reel belts to a coupe, I find the static belts a pain in the bum, cannot reach anything. I have a set of Securon Belts, listed for Flavia Coupe, but do`nt seem to have space to fit the main reel to the inner sill as the seat is already level with the bottom mount and there is no depth left for the reel. I can only think I must make a bracket to take the reel about 3" back but wonder what MOT man may think, Securon do supply some brackets for some MG cars but not suitable for the Flavia. Any suggestions welcome.

[LanciAlan]

I was looking at mine today and mainly noting how ugly they are and how they almost block the front seats from reclining. This is because they are from a Thema or Dedra if I recall correctly and are thus not meant to be seen at all.

Rather than fitting them on the floor where you describe, the previous owner had fitted after market reels on a sturdy bolted-in special mounting bracket up at shoulder height behind the seat and just below the upper seatbelt loop carrier mounting point that is already there beneath the rear passenger side window.

I replaced these belts with newer "Lancia" labelled items from a Dedra or Thema which are normally hidden inside the lower B-pillar and behind a trim cover. There is a tilt detection device in these that only allows them to be work correctly if mounted at a certain angle - this device is a ballbearing which you either have to remove or fix permanently in position to enable  them work at any angle.

A down side of positioning the belt reel so high up is that there a shorter run for the belt and more of it rolls onto the reel which gets quite full and slow and leaves a bit of the belt lying around. On the up side its a lot neater than fixed belts, looks modern and the receivers have a Lancia logo and a very good modern action. I'll try and get a picture. A bit had to be cut out of the side cards to accommodate the mounting bracket.

I have fitted two pairs of Dedra/Thema lap belts in the rear for my kids. These bolt in fine but there are a few extra receivers lying around as the Dedra/Thema lap belt receiver shares a mounting with one of the main belt receivers and they are different sizes.

[Angle Grinder]

Note sure how the rear side panels on the 2000 models are shaped, but my PF coupe has the inertia reels mounted within the space behind the rear panel cards. The belts then feed up through the hole where the rear ashtrays are located. Looks quite neat.

I'd be interested to see how you mounted your rear lap belts Alan. Did you drill through the rear bulkead or secure them through the panel under the rear bench?

[LanciAlan]

Note sure how the rear side panels on the 2000 models are shaped, but my PF coupe has the inertia reels mounted within the space behind the rear panel cards. The belts then feed up through the hole where the rear ashtrays are located. Looks quite neat.

That does sound neat - I must look into it. My only question is what are the belts attached to in the hidden recess of the side panel!

I'd be interested to see how you mounted your rear lap belts Alan. Did you drill through the rear bulkead or secure them through the panel under the rear bench?

The 2000 has factory-fitted threaded seatbelt mounts under the rear seat and also on the parcel shelf.

I previously fitted rear belts to a Milleotto which did not have factory-fitted mounts. I just "made" holes in the right places under the seats (and in this case also on the parcel shelf as I used full belts) on the basis that the standard metal was strong enough to take the weight of my children who were very young at the time. If intending these for adult use I would have to upgrade the mountings.