IVA Failure - Seatbelt Location help

[luminous]

I am posting this on behalf of my dad. He is now struggling to finish off his Cobra project due to ill health and I have been drafted in to assist (I have almost no mechanical skills but have a few friends who do).

One of the failure points for his IVA is that the seatbelts are not stored in such a way so that when someone sits in the car they are readily accessible. I am hoping this is an issue others have come across and may have a solution? Most of the other points we think we can address, but this one is proving harder as we do not want to ruin the interiour of the car.

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[AKCharlie]

Never seen that point previously. None are stored as far as I'm aware.
Charlie

I am posting this on behalf of my dad. He is now struggling to finish off his Cobra project due to ill health and I have been drafted in to assist (I have almost no mechanical skills but have a few friends who do).

One of the failure points for his IVA is that the seatbelts are not stored in such a way so that when someone sits in the car they are readily accessible. I am hoping this is an issue others have come across and may have a solution? Most of the other points we think we can address, but this one is proving harder as we do not want to ruin the interiour of the car.

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[AKBaz]

No nor have I. I would question that if I were you.

Check the iva regs and if there is no reference to your failure then don't hold back and just accept it, question it and argue your corner.

I did on a couple of points and my reasoning was accepted.

Baz

[skinnymathew]

In the inspection manual, the point shown in the last photo actually has "See Note 12" at the end of it, where Note 12 says:

Note 12: An independent belt storage facility is only necessary where it is needed to ensure the belt is always accessible for use

Seems to me this is a misinterpretation of the the requirement (although what do I know, I never built a car, let alone passed IVA).

[luminous]

The examiner found it difficult to reach the left shoulder belt (I think), so I believe that is why he raised that issue. I know when he got into the car he sat on the seatbelt and then we had to hand it to him. I don't really know what to say to the guy if he thinks the belt is too hard to reach.

Would you recommend we question that now, presumably before we go back to get the car tested again? I don't have any good ideas how to fix the issue if he is going to be a sod about it.

[aaronjb]

Yeah, even Kevin didn't get pulled up on that at Gillingham.. so that seems like a tester having a bad day. The other stuff on the list seems infinitely more important (and easier to rectify!)

[BLOKE]

The only problem I can see is , the belt has to cross your body, or chest, but by lifting it over the seat back, so it crosses your chest would solve it, but surly the MOT man would have seen that. ??

[AKBaz]

I would say question it rigorously. Note 12 says the belt has to be accessible for use, which it is. When I get into my car I put the belts either side of the seat and at 62 years old and possibly not as agile as I was at 18 I have no trouble reaching them.
If the tester won't accept it ask him to speak to his superior because you believe him to be wrong.

Baz

[luminous]

Thank you all, I will have a chat with them and see what they say. There is also the chance that on the next inspection we get a differnent examiner and on that day the examiner himself may not be being examined (we pulled a bad lot I think!!)

[pevans]

My car passed its IVA last year with a very similar set up to yours and hundreds of other Cobras in terms of two shoulder harnesses mounted at a single point on top of the body. I am more surprised that he didnt question the belts having to wrap around the headrest as I had to make sure my belts fed through a gap.
My tester was particularly fastidious and picked holes in the tiniest of things. Definitely go back and ask for clarification. I did on some of my points so I knew what I was fixing.