3pt rear seat belts 111 Cp/Cv?

[luvthe111]

Any one ever retrofitted 3pt belts to the rear seat of a 111 Coupe or Cab? I've used the Andover retractor kits for my front seats, but I'm looking for suggestions on how/where to mount shoulder belts for the rear.

Perry

[Mark DiSilvestro]

I added 3-point belts in the front of my '60 W111 Fintail but haven't yet done the rears.

My early Fintail had no factory-installed seatbelt anchors, but I know that Mercedes added them to the cars as the '60s passed. Your Coupe and Cabrio are new enough so, first, I'd check to see if there might already be factory fitted shoulder-belt anchors in the rear. In the case of the Coupe, there may be plastic plugs or caps concealing threaded holes on the rear shelf or pillars. On the Cabrio, there may be threaded belt anchors somewhere behind or beside the rear seat, perhaps in the convertible top well. If you can't find anything like I've described, you might want to contact Mercedes Classic Center or ask someone on this Forum that has done an interior on one of these cars and has knowledge or photos of the rear seat and pillar area without the seats or headlining.

When I add rear 3-point belts to my Fintail, I plan on fabricating reinforcing plates and nuts for the rear shelf. Compared to what I went through to install the front shoulder-belt anchors in my door posts, the rears will be a piece of cake!

Happy Motoring, Mark

[bikis]

luvthe111, why would you need setabelts in the back? Have you ever tried sitting in the back of the coupe? Couple days ago we were four adults riding in the car and me and my friend (6'2" and 6'4" tall) were siting in the back. Only couple of miles, but it's impossible - no leg room, no headroom. Unless it's for kids. I think the car is for two with the front seats all the way back. That way you have a great luxurious ride!
Would love to see some pictures of you cars.

Vilius

[luvthe111]

My coupe and cab are use to haul my kids around. The cab is out of storage during the the dry months and the coupe out the other times of the year. Currently, I use the factory 2pt belts to get their carseats attached and they are buckled using the carsets 5pt harness, but now that they are starting to graduate to boosters, I need a three point system.

I have pretty short legs, so there's plenty of legroom in the back at least in the coupe. In the cab, the rear seat is mounted a few inches foward, so its tight even for kids.

I also like how wide the rears seats are. One time, when I had to take three of my kids around, I was able to get three car seats belted across the back. That would never fit in a Accord or even the new E-Class.

Perry

[bikis]

There shouldn't be a headroom problem in the convertable . And I agree about the width of the seats. Even siting in the front it's amazing how much room there is all around you. It feels great having all that space around.

Vilius