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Re: <E36 M3> Installing Harness Q's

I installed a Schroth harness in my M3 a few months ago, and will share my
experience.

I thinks the easiest way to mount the lap and anti-sub belts is on a
separate steel plate, which then bolts under the back of the front seat. I
made the plate out of 3" x 1/4" stock, long enough to extend between the
seat mounting bolts. Drill holes in the plate to mount the various harness
rings, and buy longer, hardened bolts at an auto or home store. The BMW
bolts are 8.8 in hardness rating, and I was able to find longer bolts at
Home Depot, a home supply store here in the DC area.

For the rear mount, I enlarged the existing kiddy seat mounting point on
the rear deck, and beefed it up with a steel backing plate. This allows the
shoulder harness to extend straight out in a horizontal position, rather
than than down to the existing rear seat lap harness, which is the most
common mounting point.

(For my daughter's 318ti, there is no rear deck, so I replaced the existing
rear lap belt bolt with the ring bolt which came with the Schroth harness.
The new harness can then be unclipped and removed easily, for those few
days when the car is not *actually* on the track : ) ).

I think you also ought to consider getting a roll bar. I have seen and
heard of some roll overs in which the occupants would have fared poorly if
they had 6 point harnesses holding them upright.

Is anyone aware of a roll bar (not a cage) for the E36? I have heard that
Autopower makes one but I have not seen it.

Regards;
Jerry    '95  M3