DIY tank plate for race harness

[EarlyApex]

I am building my own tank plate for attaching a 6 point harness. The tank plate is used to mount the lap belt and anti-submarine belts of a 6 point race style harness. You still need a roll bar or harness bar setup to complete the mounting so this is only part of the required equipment. This is more for the hard core DIY'er as it will require either fab work for the installer or having a fab shop make up the plate for you.

To start, I measured the seat attaching points and the floor in the mounting area to get the data I needed to do a cad layout. I also looked at several posts showing currently available products for design ideas. Based on the cad layout, I made several sheet metal prototypes to check fitment and confirm the measured dimensions. I chose 18 gage sheet metal for the prototypes because I had some on hand in the shop and it would be a closer representation to the final version than using cardboard, but cardboard would also work just fine for this part of the project. A little layout and band saw work resulted in the flat plate shape before any bending. Adding some bends gave me a decent fit checking prototype. The floor actually slopes up from the outside toward the center so my first try didn't clear the floor so back to the cad for a little tweaking. The second try was nearly perfect and gave me the final dimensions for the design.

Next I will get a quote for laser cutting the final shape and also for doing the bends. I could cut the part out of a chunk of steel with tools on hand but with laser cutting I can have them do the holes also rather than manually drilling them. If the cost is too high I will revert to doing the fab work myself. Bending requires a hyd press (I have a horror fright 20T press) and a press brake (a project that's 80% complete) so if the cost is too high I will be finishing up the press brake.

If people are interested, I can post the drawing for my design but this is for personnel use only. Please do not use this to produce a commercial product.

[bannonm]

Looks like a good start.

[shnormo]

How'd it turn out?

The should straps should be angled more horizontally to avoid crushing your spine in a roll over. This is why they are usually mounted to the roll bar behind the seat.

[BFASTNOTLAST]

Originally Posted by shnormo

How'd it turn out?

The should straps should be angled more horizontally to avoid crushing your spine in a roll over. This is why they are usually mounted to the roll bar behind the seat.

10-4. Actually in a perfect world you would have them run up hill a little of horizontal. Last thing you want in a crash is to introduce a lumbar crush because your belts compressed your spine.

Although this looks like a quick simple way to mount belts this is a really bad idea.

[SynergyGreenSS]

Originally Posted by BFASTNOTLAST

10-4. Actually in a perfect world you would have them run up hill a little of horizontal. Last thing you want in a crash is to introduce a lumbar crush because your belts compressed your spine.

Although this looks like a quick simple way to mount belts this is a really bad idea.

This isn't for shoulder belts. In the beginning of the first post he says its for the lap belt and anti-submarining belt and that you'd still need a roll bar to attach shoulder harnesses

[Chad's ZL1]

looks pretty good, but looks kinda thin?

[Chad's ZL1]

Here's a few pics of mine I had made here in Sacramento by a guy who builds race cars. Cost me $70

[Chad's ZL1]

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[Chad's ZL1]

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[Chad's ZL1]

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[JTRATX]

You don't by chance have the specs, sizes etc that you could post or email to me so I can get one made in Austin?? Really need this.

[olblue75]

Revival here anyone come with any new options??