Seat belts? The law and also common sense. They also keep you and your passengers from falling out during those hard cornering maneuvers. A set was ordered from Morris 4 x 4 in black for the front seats. These are quality 3 point retractable belts made by Seatbelt Solutions  Mounting the retractor on the drivers side was critical due to the way we mounted the e-brake for which clearance was needed for proper operation. So we started on that side first then duplicated the passenger side to match. We started with a length

of 2" x 2" x 1/4" angle with a circular cut out for the roll bar, then welded a 1/4" thick plate to mount the other end of the belt. Two holes were drilled to accommodate 1/2" x 20 grade 8 bolts that were welded in place.Then the whole assembly was tack welded in place. The roll bar was then removed for a more thorough welding. After reinstalling the roll bar, a location for the 3rd. mounting point was established by sitting in the seat and finding a comfortable shoulder position height on the roll bar. Since this position is non adjustable as on newer cars, it was a once and done deal. Nothing more aggravating than having a shoulder belt cutting into your neck. We looked around for weld in seat belt bungs for roll

bars, but came up empty handed. The bar we are using came from a later CJ7 with no shoulder belt accommodations or windshield bar mounts. This bar measures 2 1/4" diameter. The longest bungs found only work with a maximum of 2" diameter roll bar. So we had to come up with our own solution. Ironically even if we would have found longer bungs, they could not have been inserted from the back of the bar because the angled down tube was in the way. We got some 3/4" round stock and cross drilled and tapped for 7/16 x 20 thread, then an additional piece of the same stock was drilled with a 29/64" thru hole. The end of that piece was milled with a 3/4" dia. end mill to mate to the first piece in a T

configuration. A 3/4" hole saw was used to cross drill a hole and another from the front to intersect it. The cross threaded piece was inserted from the side and the thru hole piece inserted from the front till it contacted the cross piece. Lengths were marked leaving 1/4" protruding from the roll bar for welding. Cut to length, everything was reinstalled and a 7/16 x 20 grade 8 bolt was put thru the belt flange, a bushing, the thru hole piece and then threaded into the cross piece. It is only mocked up right now but will be put back together later without the belt and welded. This should easily be as strong as the bung method. The center belt pieces are yet to be installed till we get buckle sleeves that keep the buckle end

rigid and upright.

            

The low range lever for the Quadra-Trac was next on the list of fabrication duties. The original mounting plate was totally rusted away, but leaving the lever and split nylon bushing in good shape. Made some calls and internet searches for a useable mounting plate replacement with no results. Using the old one as a pattern and taking into consideration the thicker fiberglass floor, an upper and lower plate were milled from aluminum. A hole was drilled then reamed for a snug fit for the bushing, then four holes drilled and tapped 1/4 - 20 compared the the original two for a more solid assembly. Using the original linkage rod and photos from a shop manual, a location on the floor was determined by

positioning the lever in a 1 o'clock orientation then marking a spot on the underside of the floor at the pivot point. Now the levers for the CJ's are different than on a full size Jeep and actually operate opposite. Pushing forward or counterclockwise on a CJ lever engages the low range and upward or clockwise on a full size engages the low range. A 1 1/8" hole was drilled thru the floor and then positioning the upper plate centered on that hole the four threaded holes were marked then drilled. Feeding the lever thru the bottom plate, then inserting the split bushing, then thru the floor from the underside, then the upper plate and finally threading the whole assembly together resulted

in a very solid mount. We were originally going to use swivel heim joints and our own rod, but the original was in great shape and works very well. Not seen in the photos are the washers and cotter pins, but since installing them, the low range can literally be engaged and disengaged with one finger and the position of the lever is dead on with the shop manual. The plastic handle has some wear and has lost its press fit so we will most likely make a replacement also from aluminum.