After seeing your write-up on fixing the window motor, I am definitely looking forward to it.

 

+1...

 

Call me crazy John, but did those new bolts happen to be Standard sized 7/16bolts? I made a little trip to Home Depot during lunch and couldn't find any metric bolts or nuts that mocked up. However, I did find some 7/16 x 2 1/2 inch bolts that fit pretty damn good. The 7/16 nut also threaded on to my OEM bolt pretty snug. I believe it was a hair bit more snug on the Standard sized bolt though...

 

I can compare the hardware Sparco sent me at the hardware store tomorrow if you need comparisons. Let me know.

 

I should be good bro. I'm going to swing by Lowe's tonight and check it out. We have a store that I know will size it, I just wouldn't be able to get there until Friday.

BTW, I called the Nissan dealership. They had no idea. Doesn't surprise me...

 

I honestly dont remember

 

Ok, I woke up an hour early this morning so I could make it to a specialty hardware store that has the largest bolt selection in Houston. It's called Turner Hardware. One of the salesmen there helped me find what I needed. I bought an assortment of washers and a couple of hard nylon spacers also. You'll see what I need those for later, when I do the write-up. The bolts were the important thing to purchase. I purchased the Grade-8 bolts like John suggested. Just an FYI, Home Depot does not sell Grade-8 bolts. Theirs are Grade-5, the weaker ones.

I was right too. The bolts are 7/16. Don't ask me why Nissan decide to use Standard sized bolts instead of the traditional Metric sizes that imports use.

The new bolts are 2 1/2inch long. The OEM bolts are 2inch long. Heres a picture of the exact size needed...

 

Man, this body shop is holding up progress:
http://www.meszarosmotorsports.com/home.htm

Took my parts in for a quote last Thursday. Dropped them off that Friday. I was told they would be ready on Tuesday. Tuesday I call at the end of business day. The parts have not been painted. They tell me they will be ready Wednesday or Thursday. I say, "Ok, thank you." I call today, Thursday @ 4pm central. Lady tells me she'll check and call me back. I doubt she'll call back. It's not like they are painting an entire car, only a bar and a couple of brackets...

 

^bummer.....i hate getting the "run around"

 

Lady from the body shop never called me back. I dropped the bar off on 2-27-09, and still no return.

I'm contemplating just stopping by and picking up my equipment, then finding a new body shop...

 

I would

 

I just called over there and told them I'd be stopping by today to pick up my car parts whether they were ready or not. She told me they were ready...

 

which harnesses are you going to use?

do you have the verticle support beams too? not just the loop around the back of the seat?

 

I'm not quite sure what harnesses I'm going with quite yet. The vehicle is for show, so I would be looking for a harness that would compliment the interior. I chose to paint the bar the same color as the Bride seats, so the only contrast of color between the two would only be the harnesses. The "Bride red" is also noticiable throught he rear hatch window. This is another reason I chose to paint the harness bar this color.

It's the standard Sparco harness bar that wraps behind the seats. There are no vertical attachments that go with it on the 350z model, to my knowledge...

 

I got my bar in this weekend. I can take pics to supplement your DIY after I get the seats back in.

I'm going to throw in a few questions on mounting the lap belt.

1. I've seen some people use an "L" bracket to mount the outboard strap to the bottom seatbelt mounting point. Is this bracket available for sale from any online vendors? Or do I need to come up with something custom?

2. What are the requirements for the backing plate if I mount an eye bolt where the transmission tunnel is?

 

I'm not quite sure I understand what you're asking...

 

Basically I got the shoulder straps on the harness bar with no problem. Now I'm trying to mount the lap belt.

I think the side with the existing seatbelt can be mounted using an L shaped bracket. I need to source one of these brackets or use the eye bolt that came with the kit to attach the stock seatbelt.

The inboard side looks like it will need a hole drilled for an eye bolt utilizing a backing plate. I need to source one of these backing plates.

 

Ah! I understand now. I thought you had been refering to the OEM belt this whole time. You're talking about the lap portion of the harness straps.

That's a good question. I have not completed my search on harnesses and the associated hardware that comes with them, so I'd be the wrong person to ask. Perhaps someone else could chime in...

 

That's what I'm hoping for. Thankfully the search function seems to be bringing up some threads on what will and will not pass inspection, but I have not found a lot of information on the "L" bracket or what backing plates people have been using. Like you said, hopefully somebody will chime in.

BTW, the brackets and bar were a piece of cake. I would recommend a rubber mallet if you have any trouble getting the bar onto the brackets, worked like a charm.

 

I'm sure you know this already, but a good way to search also is by entering your key words inbetween asteriks, like this: *L Bracket*
Then search by title and section to narrow it down. It usually yields some good results for me.

Thanks for the tip. I have a couple rubber mallets in my arsenal...