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Installing
a 5 point racing harness |
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September,
1999
Earlier
this summer I installed a new suspension onto the Trans Am. I even bought
some nice, sticky road-race tires from Mr. Ken Dye. The story goes like
this: After installing the tires for the first time, I was having fun on
the street with my performance alignment, and my seemingly endless supply
of "stick". I was on my way home for lunch, and while doing 40 MPH, made
a no-brake left-hand turn onto Academic way. I yanked on the steering wheel,
hard to make the turn, fully expecting at *least* some slide. Yet, the
car dug in so hard, that I squirted out from under my seat belt and onto
the center console. I lost my grip on the wheel and was soon heading for
the trees! I straightened it out in the nick of time, and missed my driveway.
It is a good thing that no one was in the oncoming lane or it would have
been a sad ending.
That
very afternoon, I called Teamtech safety equipment in Saginaw Michigan,
forked over $200 and bought a nice 5-point racing harness that could hold
me in the seat.
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Return
to the third-gen Hobbyist page
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Installation of the harness. The harness can be tucked
away and out of sight in less than 1 minute. The whole thing is held in
with eye bolts and spring-latched fasteners. The anchors in the rear deck
hide away when the seat is folded up. This required a slight modification
to the rear seat: I slit the fabric and cut two small notches in the seat
back. They are nearly invisible, and I can only find them when I run my
hand across the seat back when it is folded down. |
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Here's Austin trying it out. This harness is a little too big for him,
so drivers who weigh less than fifty pounds, and stand less than 38 inches
tall should consider other options. (Like TOY race cars!) |
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This is a picture that looks up at the rear deck. Notice the fuel lines
and the fuel tank edge. The reinforcing plate is .125" thickness plate
steel, and the edges rest against both the subframe (left side) and the
fuel tank anchor (right side). I *think* the plate is five inches wide,
but I have forgotten the original dimension.
Reinforcing plates are CRITICAL to the installation at each and every
mounting point. Remember, these belts are supposed to hold you in place
during a collision. If you just pop the bolt through the floorpan, it will
pull through during the crash and leave you flying around inside your car. |
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Cost for the harness was $210. The nice thing about it is that it features
a cam-lock release. Teamtech also says that re-webbing is easy and inexpensive
in cases where I switch to a different car, or install a roll cage, or
wish to replace the belt after a crash.
This is a system built by Teamtech Motorsports Safety Equipment, in
Saginaw Michigan. (989)792-4880 |
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If you have comments
or suggestions, email me at ws6transam
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