Cortez seat belt sill bolts

[Jin]

Don't know quite how I keep getting myself into these situations but I'm currently trying to rebuild the seat sub frames and rid the car of mouldy carpet, in my enthusiastic quest to unbolt stuff standing in my way I whipped out the seat belt lower bolt on the sill on the passenger side, the following clunk told me I should have read the manual first and maybe put a pop rivet in from the interior side to secure the plate once the bolts was removed,so reading the manual it suggests this plate is fed in through the hole in the sill behind the door?
Is this the same hole in the rear quarter panel roughly speaker size that I managed to fish the plate out using a magnet on a stick but there is no way on this earth I can reach inside to hold the plate while tightening the bolt?
Or is there another hole I have yet to discover?

Assuming there isn't does anyone have any suggestions how I hold the plate inside the sill to tighten the bolt?
Thanks in advance

[Rich]

Sounds like a job for a couple of rare earth magnets.

[DavidL]

It's a problem I've encountered a few times, although not on a Midas.
If you already have the nut, welded (or brazed) to the spreader plate, find a length of something stiff but bendable, just longer than the distance between the access hole and the place where the nut/spreader plate needs to be.
In the past I've used 6mm mild steel rod, 12mm by 2mm ms strip, that sort of thing; although for the seat belt anchor nut, you might need something a bit stiffer. Weld the anchor nut/plate to on end of the rod/strip, and feed it in through the access hole.

Make sure you've let it cool down from the welding/brazing, before you do the last bit, though...

[Jin]

ahh, nice one, thats a good idea
ill give it a whirl tonight

thanks for the help

[DavidL]

Also, if you do it neatly enough (just long enough and no more) then it won't need to be removed. However, as it's going to be inside a hollow section, and therefore inaccessible, you might need to put some padding around it, so when everything's back in place again, if it vibrates (and it probably will) then you won't hear it banging around inside the hollow section as you're driving along.

[Jin]

good point, i dont need any more rattles

[DavidL]

good point, i dont need any more rattles

I think most of us can relate to that. I certainly can.

[Jin]

I had a a brain wave

Gave the seat belt nut plate a coat of paint to tidy it up and a strip of double sided tape



Threaded some stainless tig wire in through the bolt hole and out through the access hole





Then I threaded the wire through the nut hole and dropped it inside, then using a stainless dental pick I pulled it up tight to the inner sill



Then carefully wound a bolt in tight to pull it to the right place then pop riveted on to keep it there for future use

Happy days