72 E seat belts

[Louis Roos]

Hi, I'm new to this forum and recently bought a 72 911 E. I live in South Africa so I'll have to import most of my parts.
I have searched some of the threads and gotten some good advice on new retractable front seat belts.

I would however like some advice on safety harnesses. I'll keep the retractable seat belts for everyday use, but am currently considering safety harnesses.
My questions are the following:
1. Are safety harnesses necessary if I'm mostly going to use the car for commuting? I would however like to start taking part in track days.
2. If I do install safety harnesses, is it necessary to also install a roll cage? I have been told that installing the safety harnesses without a roll cage is not safe as they don't have decent anchor points and that they can rip through the metal in the event of an accident.
3. Which safety harnesses do I go for? What are the different options?

Any advice would be much appreciated
Louis Roos

[Michael Meldrum]

Welcome!

Congrats on the 1972 911E, when you have time I'm sure everyone would love to see some pictures!

Over in this part of the world, regular seat belts are ok for track days but if you're planning to race I'm guessing there might be different requirements.

Just curious, what type of seat belts do they have now?

Michael

[Louis Roos]

Thanks for the reply,
I currently have second hand belts on that the previous owner installed to get the car through a roadworthy test. Prior to this the previous owner had a harness installed, it was bolted in behind the passenger seats.
The engine and body numbers match and the motor is in great working condition. It had new barrels and pistons installed which according to the person who installed it in the 70's would have taken it up to 2.5L.
It needs a lot of work though and I am currently deciding what to do with it. The body will have to be restored at some point and I've got some ideas with regards to the interior. I don't want to make it concourse, but also don't want to take too much of the originality away.

I'll post some pics ASAP

[91133]

My .02 on the harnesses in a car without a cage is to avoid it. Having witnessed the crush injuries of a rollover with harnesses but no cage, when a roof comes down you really want to have just the single shoulder restraint so you can still effectively be squeezed away from the roof. On the other hand, harnesses are the only way to go if you have a cage - I've been upside down on a tarmac rally and it was very good to be held right into the seat while upside down.

Mark

[edmayo]

The consideration when installing your own safety harnesses is that not everyone is a good mechanical engineer, therefore you can end up doing more damage to your body than if you had just used the factory engineered set-up. Most racing organizations will have a set design criteria for you to meet to run their events. I suggest you seek out that local organization for you and get their rule book. Their rules are based on what works,,,,and what doesn't,,,,,which they have seen plenty of!

[Louis Roos]

Thanks for all the info, I guess that I will stick with three point retractables initially and then see where I go from there. If I want to get more involved in racing, I'll contact the club and then probably go with a cage and harnesses.
I will definitely also consult with the forum as I continue on this project.
Here are some pics as promised. She is currently white, though she started off as light yellow.

[Michael Meldrum]

Looks nice! thanks for sharing!