Trabant Tech Forum

Thank you!
I have to drill the holes for the locks as close to back seat as possible so the locks reach far enough. 65mm might be a bit far.
The holes on the c-pillar I have already done.

What kind is the Doblina retrofit kit?

The Doblina is a lap belt kit.

[USER=781]@Andrew[/USER] , Is that kit (Doblina) just a bolt on lap belt? Or does it require drilling for new bolt holes?

It needs the holes on third photo. It's the pdf phi linked.

Got it. Sorry I missed that earlier.

I will be fitting 3 point seat belts soon, with SECURON 3 point inertia reel belts. I have the upper mounting point holes in the rear pillars which need a captive nut plate behind them. I also have a copy of the Doblina fitting instructions which include information as to where to drill holes in the floor. This document was approved by DEKRA (similar to TUV) so that is good enough for me. The positioning of the holes in the floor varies depending on if you have leaf or coil spring rear suspension.

Edit: I would personally avoid putting seat belt reels in the boot UNLESS the both the belt and reel are covered in such a way that the reel will tension the belt even when the boot is stuffed full of luggage. The SECURON seat belts I plan to fit have the reel mounted at the shoulder mounting point which avoids this problem.

Will you mount the reel on the c-pillar?
Here's the holes I drilled for moving the original fixed 3-point belts from front to rear. Based almost on Doblina instructions. Washers will be under the car.

Yes the reel mounts on the c-pillar. Each reel has two adjusters which allow the reel to work any way up. I have used them at the back of my VW bus like that. They were these belts with extenders. The belts are a bit short for a VW bus but should be fine in the back of a Trabant. I used the four point version of the same belts in the front of the Trabant.

Had to make adapter like this to have the locks reach far enough. I hope that this will be OK for inspection too, if not I can move them back to original holes.

Just back from a short chat with the technical guy at our local Vegvesen. He is fine with holes drilled in the floor in the same places as used by the Doblina lap belts and then using the existing holes in the rear pillars for the third mounting point. He doesn't even want me to come back to have the seat belts and mountings approved. The change would not get noted in the car registration documents anyway according to him.

I used the locks from Wartburg - they are longer.

Very good information! I already got the plates (without checking that DIY adapter) but have to have inspection yearly.

Hi would the rear seatbelts have to be fitted by law in the uk? best wishes Brian.

After 1965 you need them by law in front, after 1986 you have to have them in rear . Saying that many MOT examiners don't know this and pass late trabants with no belts fitted. But you would be fcuked if you have a serious crash in a late trabant and your insurance finds out there are no belts . Your choice, your risk

Thanks mbeamish, I thought maybe that the law wise they may not be needed ,best wishes Brian.