Cost to install bar and three point belts front and back

[67RT]

So if I had to pay someone to install a padded roll bar and three point shoulder belts front and back what would it cost. Also maybe the cost diff to tie to frame and not to. Do I need to? If it rolls will an untied frame hold up? Thanks?

 

[DuctTape]

Best method is to get a quote. What people will take for an hour will vary, but a good estimate is $100/hr for shop time.

Also depends upon the roolbar. A simple install like wh San Felipe basic setup (no welding) and no frame tie in is probably 2hrs +/- 1 hour in shop time.

I'd guess a frame tie in, considering the fab work necessary, would add another 6-8 hrs.

As far as the advisability of frame tie in, opinions vary but I'd say the consensus is the value of a frame tie in depends upon how you will use it. Lots of threads on that, search for them.

Bcbroncos offers a roll bar that ties into body mounts thus inherently having a frame tie in.

 

[BR549]

Usually twice what you budget. Hard to say with so many variables.

 

[67RT]

Ok, no four wheeling

Although driving in dc metro is hazardous. Truck will not be lifted so less rollover risk, but kid in back seat needs to be protected. Some highway, mostly local stuff.. Frame mount piece sounds good. I may be able to do a bolt in. No welding... Does the bar come with belt attachment or is that a special weld..?

 

[Lennardlector]

Depends on what bar you have. Stock or family cage? No bar will have rear seatbelt attachments unless specifically put in my PO. My ride had 3 point front put in by PO but had the shoulder portion mounted on the hardtop at the weakest point with low grade hardware. Since I have a softtop
Now I welded on tabs to the stock roll bar and my rear seats have only lap belts with a custom brace to strengthen it.

Give us a pic of your roll bar and we can go from there.

 

[67RT]

No truck yet

So I am shopping for my first bronco, but none have a family cage. I don't like the look, but they may be necessary for rear shoulder belts. Is there anything less boxy that would work. Also must pad it because many vehicle deaths are caused by heads getting cracked on roll bars..

 

[bknbronco]

price of a cage varies on how extreme you want it. Id expect to pay a grand for a cage. 300 for the belts. And another grand to install it. If you want it tied into frame add another grand.

There is no full cage that isn't boxy. That's why im building my own from scratch. I designed plate steel lower A- pillar legs to eliminate the BS that comes with A- pillars made from tubing. If you want shoulder belts then you need weld bungs placed in the correct position. too high or too low and the belt will be most uncomfortable. Some belts need the bung facing forward and some need it to the side. Bungs need to be up top and down low because shoulder belts need two mounting locations.

Frame tie ins arnt necessary at first and can be added anytime down the road.

Also don't forget simple things like grab bars, tie down tabs, entry grab hoops, etc.

Also important is bungs or tabs for the windshield frame tie-ins!

I have been designing my cage for almost 3 years and still have no idea what im gona do!

Padding is a great idea but more importantly is just keeping bars away from the head to begin with. Even a padded bar will knock you out!

But your right.....99% of family cages are just plain ugly and take away from the look im after with my viewfinder frame and windowless doors. My front most windshield bars are stainless steel and are within 1/2" of my viewfinder windshield frame. You cant even tell I have the bar in there! Also my plate steel lower A-pillar legs made my bronco 100% funner to drive. It stiffened up the body and is amazingly a different beast! I could tell the difference the moment I pulled it out of the garage and I haven't even bolted it to the floor yet....just 4 bolts through the side firewall so far.

Some will trash my cage design, but I been driving around st paul, Minnesota for 3 years now with 5.5" lift, 35's, no cage, no top, and only lap belts for me and the kids, so to me anything....even a simple 3 point cage is more than enough. My main reason far a cage isn't roll over safety....its for the shoulder belts front and rear and the windshield frame tie in...the safty is just a added bonus that makes the work and cost worth it. Plus I need something so I can pass tec inspection and hit the trails and bash the shit out of some rocks!

No generic cage will have everything you need and non will be a simple bolt in. Also don't forget to factor in shipping and crating charges. And a lot of cages require fitting, trimming, and welding. Its not gona be a cheep project. My cage will cost me more to make myself than I paid for my bronco!

Buy your bronco...roll the dice on the shoulder belt safety issue...and enjoy it for a few years. Youll soon find out that your new to you bronco is gona need a lot of money dumped into it than just a cage! Good luck and have fun with it.

 

[SteveL]

I went with diest buddy 4point harnesses. you can attatch the upper straps high or low.. I would still run a family cage with kids back there

 

[67RT]

ReAr seat safety

Great info!
I have an old Mopar big block ragtop and just have never liked cruising with my son, and to roll it would take a pretty big pop, but we do go on highway which would equal death. A bronco has a much greater likelihood, so rear protection for me is mandatory.. I would almost prefer an integrated full high back bucket back there similar to his booster seat. He is eight now. Has anyone installed two racing buckets in back?

 

[BR549]

Check out jbg's overhaulin back half bar. 400 plus shipping and then bolt in some 3" wide racing belts. Might be the ticket. Plus upgrades you and you buddies could accomplish.

 

[DirtDonk]

I think there are probably quite a few that have done the dual rear seat thing. Remember seeing several over the years. Just can't remember who they were.

Good luck. I know it's an important job you're tasking. Gotta have fun, but at the same time protect those that count on us to!

Around here, a fully custom cage will run from $2500 to $4000 built and installed. Probably up to more like $5000 for a real exotic.
Some of the designs will protect you better than others even without the frame tie-ins. I prefer the tie-ins, but I would think that some of them that are literally cages around the occupants, with lower interconnecting bars between the uprights and with all of the seats actually bolted to parts of the cage itself would offer some outstanding protection.

We have some decent designs I think, but perhaps those are the ones you don't like the look of. You can also check out Virga Customs in the Sacramento, CA area. We know him as Cage Dave, and he's done some outstanding cage building for the local crowd. Not sure what it would cost to ship across the country, but I'm guessing in the $250 range might do it.

Good luck. Have fun driving an EB when you finally get one.

Paul

 

[67RT]

Great advice. Here on east coast in DC metro I only have Trick Trucks to rely on...

 

[ericwilkison]

I just finished the exact same project on my bronco. However I performed all the labor myslef which save a lot.

I got a family cage similar to the Tom's version (http://www.tomsbroncoparts.com/prod...ge-family-4-point-66-77-early-ford-bronco-new). Because he is local I was able to pick it up for $425 fully welded.

For the seat belts I ordered the Auto-lock brand belts (http://autoplicity.com/products/95369-autoloc_11265_tan_3_point_retractable_seat_belt_1_belt.aspx). Seatbelts are not Bronco specific so I scoured the Internet for the best price I could find.

I needed headrests so I picked up a pair of 69 mustang low back seats off of craigslist for $50 and pulled the head rests off. The stock bronco seats already have the holes to mount them onto the frames. I needed them recovered to match my existing seats, but mom and her sewing machine helped with that (I may be 40, but I'm not ashamed to still rely on mom now and then).

For the rear seat I thought about adding head rests to the stock seat but ended up ordering the fold up seat from Tom's that already had head rests (http://www.tomsbroncoparts.com/prod...ld-tumble-spice-40-wide-66-77-ford-bronco-new).

All in all, even with the miscellaneous costs for hardware and such I was still able to do it for under $750. If your considering an old Bronco, or any older vehicle, you may want to consider working on it yourself. Paying someone else to fix all the little things that go wrong can get expensive quick. And this is actually a really easy (good starter) project that really only requires some basic hand tools, a drill, and some research to figure it out.

 

[67RT]

Nice

I just finished the exact same project on my bronco. However I performed all the labor myslef which save a lot.

I got a family cage similar to the Tom's version (http://www.tomsbroncoparts.com/prod...ge-family-4-point-66-77-early-ford-bronco-new). Because he is local I was able to pick it up for $425 fully welded.

For the seat belts I ordered the Auto-lock brand belts (http://autoplicity.com/products/95369-autoloc_11265_tan_3_point_retractable_seat_belt_1_belt.aspx). Seatbelts are not Bronco specific so I scoured the Internet for the best price I could find.

I needed headrests so I picked up a pair of 69 mustang low back seats off of craigslist for $50 and pulled the head rests off. The stock bronco seats already have the holes to mount them onto the frames. I needed them recovered to match my existing seats, but mom and her sewing machine helped with that (I may be 40, but I'm not ashamed to still rely on mom now and then).

For the rear seat I thought about adding head rests to the stock seat but ended up ordering the fold up seat from Tom's that already had head rests (http://www.tomsbroncoparts.com/prod...ld-tumble-spice-40-wide-66-77-ford-bronco-new).

All in all, even with the miscellaneous costs for hardware and such I was still able to do it for under $750. If your considering an old Bronco, or any older vehicle, you may want to consider working on it yourself. Paying someone else to fix all the little things that go wrong can get expensive quick. And this is actually a really easy (good starter) project that really only requires some basic hand tools, a drill, and some research to figure it out.

Thanks. Can you post pics. I like the cage and can find a welder. Did it come with the shoulder harness bung?

 

[ericwilkison]

Here are a couple of pics.

The roll bar did not have the seatbelt bungs. I drilled out holes and ran 1/2" bolts through the bar. Typical seatbelt bolts are 7/16 with a 9/16 shoulder that the anchor and swivel on. I picked up some 1/2" inside diameter x 5/8" outside diameter steel sleeves at the hardware store and cut them to about 1/4" long to create the shoulder. However I did have to enlarge the hole on the anchor to 5/8" and to get it to spin freely. If I was doing it again I would use the welded in bungs for a much cleaner install.

 

[67RT]

Here are a couple of pics.

The roll bar did not have the seatbelt bungs. I drilled out holes and ran 1/2" bolts through the bar. Typical seatbelt bolts are 7/16 with a 9/16 shoulder that the anchor and swivel on. I picked up some 1/2" inside diameter x 5/8" outside diameter steel sleeves at the hardware store and cut them to about 1/4" long to create the shoulder. However I did have to enlarge the hole on the anchor to 5/8" and to get it to spin freely. If I was doing it again I would use the welded in bungs for a much cleaner install.

I think it looks good. Wondering if the wind bouncing vinyl against bolt will crack it? Also, bolt location in passenger rear appears to be on tub? Is this a stock reinforced location? Thanks and very helpful..

 

[kntr]

Id say it can be done for $2500 or less.

Order a full cage from WH or Jeffs and have it delivered ($1400). Then have someone weld in the bungs for the belts and install the seatbelts.

 

[ericwilkison]

I think it looks good. Wondering if the wind bouncing vinyl against bolt will crack it? Also, bolt location in passenger rear appears to be on tub? Is this a stock reinforced location? Thanks and very helpful..

The vinyl is actually fairly tight and it's not as close as it looks in the picture. So, I think it will be fine, but well see over time.

I used the stock bolt holes for the two front seatbelts mounts, but the retractor unit needs to be mounted directly under the third point. Yes, I did mount it to the tub, but I made some 2" x 2" square washers out of 3/16" stock to reinforce the back side.