Britax seat belt query

[Mowogler]

Hi there,

My 67 mk1 is fitted with Britax auto lok seat belts. Which have
Just earned it an mot fail! So I've pulled one off to examine it and
looks like it works on a pendulum mechanism rather than a fly out
clutch type mechanism. So unless the car is accelerating / decelerating
the belts won't lock.

Thus it when the MOT tester tugs the belts to test them them they
won't lock hence generating an mot fail

Am I correct / has anyone else had this problem?

Phil

[Lord Croker]

I do remember something like that, it was not a Mini, but a Renault. I don't think seat belts were an MOT item at the time, but if fitted we used to see if they worked as those kind of belts were a bit of a novelty at the time. We couldn't get them to lock unless we drove the car & carried out some heavy braking, at which point they locked perfectly. If you have a good working relationship with your MOT garage, it might be worth explaining the workings of them & ask if it would be possible to test them in that way. We seem to be running out of MOT testers who are conversant with the older technology.

[mk1coopers]

Interesting, what does it say on the failure ?, as far as I can see the tester should only be tugging on the belt to check its secured to the vehicle, not that the belt will lock, here a link to the testing guide, as said above there are less and less testers that are aware of older vehicles and their requirements

http://www.transportoffice.gov.uk/crt/d ... guides.htm

[ivor badger]

since you don't need belts in the car at that age, just remove them.

[Old English White]

A 1967 car DOES require seatbelts to be fitted

[mk1]

You are absolutely correct, Autolock belts are activated by a little ball rolling about. They will not work when the car is stationary & will not reel out if the car is parked on a hill. Reading the comments above the MOT tester was wrong on many levels to fail your car & I would suggest a visit back to explain why he should have passed them is in order. Let us know how you go. M

[Jack of all trades]

Had this problem aswell (together with the MOT tester adement that the front seats of my '68 should have a release knob on the side of it to tip as "he worked on mini's from the late 70's so he should know")
These days when i bring my car in for MOT it includes a BMC workshopmanual (your car is lacking shock absorbers!! its on hydro as it has been from new) and the manual that discribes how the automatic seatbelts work;
http://mk1-performance-conversions.co.u ... d3891g.pdf

Page 18

[mk1]

Sometimes, even I forget what's on there

[tedmcedd]

I fitted some Britax auto lock belts to my van, and the MOT tester knew they weren't meant to lock when jolted... only under breaking, or impact...

I was worried that the MOT tester wouldn't understand, but he knew all about them!

Take it back and point out how they work.

Ed

[mk1coopers]

In the link above to the testing guide I can't see any reference to belts having to lock on their reels, the reason for failure is the buckle and clasp not fitting together and releasing (described as the locking device) there is no reference to the inertia locks having to be tested, therefore they can't fail if I'm reading it right

[geroch]

Hello everyone, I found on the site mk1, the instructions assembly of the automatic belts. Maybe someone knows where exactly all the pieces are to be assembled?

Thanks

Gero

[Polarsilver]

Wait until next May & then you do not need an MOT.. my 77 built GT has these belts with the wobbly ball pendulum system as Mark described.. I had to prise off the plastic cover to understand how they worked & make sure they were ok to use.

[geroch]

Thanks, I do not think I'll do it before May, but maybe someone has some pictures to put on? I do not understand where those chrome brackets go.

[Aginley]

Hi there,

My 67 mk1 is fitted with Britax auto lok seat belts. Which have
Just earned it an mot fail! So I've pulled one off to examine it and
looks like it works on a pendulum mechanism rather than a fly out
clutch type mechanism. So unless the car is accelerating / decelerating
the belts won't lock.

Thus it when the MOT tester tugs the belts to test them them they
won't lock hence generating an mot fail

Am I correct / has anyone else had this problem?

Phil

Any chance of a picture of them fitted? Also the plates/brackets used