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driveshaft safety loop
I recently put a loop in the 66 Fastback (342 stroker, toploader). I originally bought one of those loops that are supposed to bolt to the seat belt anchor bolts; but it really didn't fit right nor was it adequate. I then bought a "universal", 4 piece unit from Summit. This has upper and lower loop sections, and right and left brackets that mount to the floor pan and hold the loop pieces. Now, the floor pan has numerous "ribs" and the seat risers are right over the area where you need to bolt the brackets to the floor pan. Also, the parking brake components are in this area as well as the exhaust H-pipe. Since the car is finished, I didn't want to weld anything, nor cut up the floor pan. I removed the two front most, inner seat frame bolt access hole's rubber grommets (one on each side of the tunnel), where the floor pan is relatively ribless. I drilled four 3/8" holes through each side bracket and four matching holes per side through the floor pan. I then made four 1/4" thick steel plates (about 8" long) that could slide through the grommet hole and be carefully positioned over the floor pan holes (2 plates per side). After marking the position of the floor pan holes in the four 1/4" plates (two holes per plate), I removed the plates (carefully so as not to lose them under the seat risers) and drilled the marked holes and tapped the holes for the 3/8 bolts. I then reinstalled the 1/4" plates and lined up the threaded holes in the plates with the pan and bracket holes. The rubber grommets were then reinstalled. Then, I positioned the side brackets and inserted the bolts and hand tightened the side brackets to the pans. The side brackets may have needed a little pre-bending to make sure the loop will center on the driveshaft. For this loop, I had to cut a little off the "legs" of the upper section as it was too tall for the tunnel. The loop (upper and lower halfs) were then loosely bolted to the brackets. When all the bolts were in place, they were tightened down. The result is a proper loop in the proper location without any dissassembly of the car or welding. It doesn't interfere with the Flowmaster H-pipe exhaust or the emergency brake assembly. The loop is effectively bolted to 1/4" steel plate on the inside of the pan and the floor pan is still waterproof. I had to remove the loop to have the seats redone and it wasn't a big job to remove it and reinstall it again. I wish my scanner was operational so pics could be posted.
[addsig]
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