Harness holes too small?
01-19-2009, 07:39 PM
#1
Harness holes too small? I got some 5pt harnesses from Madman, and they won't bolt in. The stock torx bolt will not thread because its not long enough for the harness. I called up Madman and they said to just drill them out a bit.
Well that didn't work at all. Chewed up a couple bits, as the brackets are some kind of hardened steel or something. I really wanna get these in the car, anyone help?
Well that didn't work at all. Chewed up a couple bits, as the brackets are some kind of hardened steel or something. I really wanna get these in the car, anyone help?
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01-23-2009, 08:18 PM
#9
That makes me worry about safety....
quoted from another site:
Go ahead and use a die grinder if you want a hole that isn't round and is full of stress risers. If you don't have a die grinder and or much experience using one, it will be difficult to keep the bit still inside such a small hole. It will want to run around the inside of the hole pretty violently, kill the bit and tear up the hole. If you must use one though, as they said on that link you posted use a fine flute carbide bit. You will find that they are not that cheap either.
Why is this such a pain? I'm not the first person to put these in a camaro....so why is this so difficult? There HAS to be a better solution than this!
01-24-2009, 06:19 AM
#10
I have been unable to find a bolt of sufficient hardness that has the same thread and pitch so that I could eliminate the shouldered torx bolt.
If you are dead set on using the stock mounting point, you only have 2 options. open up the hole of the harness or use the supplied hardware that came with your harness.
Opening up the hole is not that big of a deal. Your referenced link, while true, is probably a little over the top. If you take your time, be smooth and be careful, the issues javajoe sensationalized will be of minimal concern.
Using the supplied hardware brings along it's own set of issues. Primarily, installing the bolts or eyebolt in the rocker panel side. In my race car, I used a cut-off wheel and made an access panel in the botom of the rocker panel so that I could get a wrench on the backing nut after I installed the harness' eyebolt. Once finished, I made a cover and riveted it in place to seal the hole I created. I used windshield sealer to prevent water intrusion.
In my street car, I opened the hole of the harness tab with a die grinder.
If you are dead set on using the stock mounting point, you only have 2 options. open up the hole of the harness or use the supplied hardware that came with your harness.
Opening up the hole is not that big of a deal. Your referenced link, while true, is probably a little over the top. If you take your time, be smooth and be careful, the issues javajoe sensationalized will be of minimal concern.
Using the supplied hardware brings along it's own set of issues. Primarily, installing the bolts or eyebolt in the rocker panel side. In my race car, I used a cut-off wheel and made an access panel in the botom of the rocker panel so that I could get a wrench on the backing nut after I installed the harness' eyebolt. Once finished, I made a cover and riveted it in place to seal the hole I created. I used windshield sealer to prevent water intrusion.
In my street car, I opened the hole of the harness tab with a die grinder.
01-24-2009, 03:52 PM
#14
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FYI, if you order the eyebolt harness hardware set from saferacer, its the exact same pitch as the stock torx. i just put it in my 3rd gen racer. the new eyebolts thread right into the stock holes. youll have to use the clips instead of permanant bolts though, but this way you can remove them easily.
01-24-2009, 04:56 PM
#16
FYI, if you order the eyebolt harness hardware set from saferacer, its the exact same pitch as the stock torx. i just put it in my 3rd gen racer. the new eyebolts thread right into the stock holes. youll have to use the clips instead of permanant bolts though, but this way you can remove them easily.
I went out to the shop and dug out these parts. Compare the torx bolt from a 4th gen, which is a semi-coarse thread metric, with the fine threaded hardware I got from pitstopusa.com.
Not saying you are wrong, but I think it's worth a check to make sure.
01-24-2009, 05:52 PM
#17
When I ordered these from Madman, they said it would bolt right up, obviously that is not the case. I hope they can chime in on this, because its starting to look like a huge pain in the butt or a huge chunk of money to get these to fit. Whats the deal?
01-24-2009, 06:02 PM
#18
Realize you are trying to install racing parts, certified to a safety standard, into a street car. I know of no manufacturer that builds certified lap harnesses specifically for an F-car, much less a car that has been out of production for 7 years.
Some fabrication is to be expected.
Some fabrication is to be expected.
01-25-2009, 07:20 AM
#20
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http://www.saferacer.com/g-force-eye...?productid=883
these are the specific ones i used. they also come in a shorter version, but same pitch. screwed right in, no problems. i havent swapped yet, but i cant imagine GM changing the pitch of threads between 3rd and 4th gens.
these are the specific ones i used. they also come in a shorter version, but same pitch. screwed right in, no problems. i havent swapped yet, but i cant imagine GM changing the pitch of threads between 3rd and 4th gens.