5th & 6th seats

[ogdenenterprise]

Following on from Cahafi,s post in the wanted section for 5 & 6 seats, I have eventually managed to get some made. They are not an exact replica of the originals, as the small dimples where the hooks for the back rest are missing and the fabricator has fitted the chain hook on the same side on each frame.
It has been a bit of a run around as the fabricator said he could heat bend them, then he said he had asked some one else as he could not do it,
and then they said they could not do it because of the tight bends. The fabricator said he could do it by using bends and welding them to get the tight curves so I said yes give it a try, overall they are not too bad and considering it took him a lot longer to do he did everything at the quoted price
I have had the seat cushions and back rests made I just need the back rest elastic straps and the straps and hooks etc to hold the seat bases in the upright position.

Dave

[heinkeljb]

Hi Dave,

They look good, something I have in mind for Lurch over the long term, but for the present there are other things that need the time and money!

Did you tell the fabricator that the seats were mirror images of each other as regards the safety chain hooks? I suppose it would not look too bad if you cut the wrong one off and welded it on in the correct place and then repainted the affected areas.
The seat rubber straps are a pain, the current reproduction ones are made from a plastic / rubber that is obviously different from the originals as they don't last very long before they start splitting. I went for "Webasto" seat webbing as used by upholsters along with the same hook system - seems to have lasted quite well - 5 + years down the line.

John

[ogdenenterprise]

Hi John ,
To be truthfull I never considered the chain hooks when I left the rear seat sample I just told him that the legs on the frame needed to be straight and not have a bend like the 3/4 seat.
I know what you mean about the elastic straps splitting, I have had a few go. I found that if you super glue them where they have split that seems to work.

Dave

[heinkeljb]

Hi Dave,

As long as the surfaces of the spits are new / clean then yes, super glue can work. Problem is that you usually only get round to dealing with the broken rubber straps some time after they broke when they have had a chance to get mucky / dusty - then the super glue does not work so well.

John

[ogdenenterprise]

I have ordered the back rest straps and the holding straps etc from Haflinger Technik but they are struggling to get them shipped. I tried Autoquariat but they are having the same problem with shipping because of covid and brexit.

Dave

[heinkeljb]

Hope you get the straps sorted out. You can always use a local upholster to get seat webbing and put the rubber straps on at a later date.

John

[heinkeljb]

Hope you get your straps soon

John

[heinkeljb]

Sorry for the sort of double posts, having issues with my iPhone and posting to this forum

[wojo12]

Dave

When I have my rear seat re-made, the ingenious motor trimmer used seat belt "material" for the visible parts of the strap, but where the strap passes through the sleeve on the back of the seat is where he sewed a section of stretchy but similar profile strapping. I works well, although no-one has sat in them yet as my Haf is only registered as a two seater, and being a 1974 model it has front seat belts. I'm not damaging my great Haf body by drilling seat belts mounting holes and the engineering certification required.

[AustHaflinger]

As a commercial vehicle - seat belts are not required in the rear for vehicles of that era. Different if the Haflinger was classed as a passenger vehicle.

Garry

[wojo12]

As a commercial vehicle - seat belts are not required in the rear for vehicles of that era. Different if the Haflinger was classed as a passenger vehicle.

Garry

Garry

My Haf is registered as a two seater, so to legally carry passengers in the back I would have to get an assessor to do paperwork to get the seating capacity changed on the rego papers to four persons. But if you saying that I can have passengers in the back seats with no seat belts while I have seat belts in the front, then can you point me at some official statement to that effect that I can show my local vehicle assessor?

[ogdenenterprise]

I think the seat belt law was either 1970 or 1972 in Australia. My Haf is a 1968 and I checked with the licencing centre a while ago and they confirmed I did not need them. The main cab bow behind the front seats does not have the fixing point to secure the belt at the top.
( Maybe I've gone a bit off track with this particular post and it wants moving to a new thread?)

Dave

[AustHaflinger]

Garry

My Haf is registered as a two seater, so to legally carry passengers in the back I would have to get an assessor to do paperwork to get the seating capacity changed on the rego papers to four persons. But if you saying that I can have passengers in the back seats with no seat belts while I have seat belts in the front, then can you point me at some official statement to that effect that I can show my local vehicle assessor?

I appreciate that as you now have the notation on your documents that it is a two seater there is not a lot that can be done now - it is a shame that when the vehicle was first registered the number of seats 4 was not added or seating capacity was not listed - my registration documents do not indicate any seating capacity so I can mix and match as I want.

Prior to seat belt laws coming in in the late 60s/70s car makers were encouraged to fit seat belts and many fitted lap belts. When the laws came in the rules for passenger vehicles were lap sash in the front and a minimum of lap in the back. Commercial vehicles did not have to meet these requirements and most were not fitted or lap belts - later changing to lap sash.

Look up the Commercial ADRs of the time and it will tell you exactly what was required. In 73 commercial vehicles only had to have lap belts fitted to the front and that is what is fitted to mine at the moment.

But I agree that where you are now it is not worth the effort to change what you have.

Garry

[AustHaflinger]

I think the seat belt law was either 1970 or 1972 in Australia. My Haf is a 1968 and I checked with the licencing centre a while ago and they confirmed I did not need them. The main cab bow behind the front seats does not have the fixing point to secure the belt at the top.
( Maybe I've gone a bit off track with this particular post and it wants moving to a new thread?)

Dave

Yes you are correct - prior to the 70s no seat belts were required at all. However be aware there is a recent Federal Law that over rides state laws and it basically says that children (not sure of the age cutoff) MUST be restrained by a seatbelt in any vehicle - no matter what the age of the vehicle and if there are no belts children cannot be carried.

re whether this discussion is appropriate in this thread, as it is your thread it is your call. My thought is that the Haflinger does have the capacity to carry 2 or 4 seated passengers in the back and the issue of seatbelts is relevant - but is your thread.

Cheers

Garry