Seat/harness/cage combination. Advice needed
Turbo Mini Forums

First off sorry for the length of this, just trying to give as much information as possible and I'm just after some advice.

The car is a mk2 cooper so originally had low back seats with static lap/diagonal belts. It won't be a daily driver just evening/weekend fun maybe with the occasional track day but I want to keep the looks as standard as possible.

Now I'm not after all out safety because if I was I would just have a new car, im just trying to make it no worse than it is/not a death trap/better if possible. These are the seats I will be using maybe swapping to something similar but with head restraints when funds allow.



I have a 6 point cage but not sure that I want to use it anymore and would like some retro looking 3/4 point harness, like the old britax ones. I haven't checked if the angle would be suitable yet but was thinking of having a harness bar bolted across the inner arches?

So the questions are should I stick with original belts or swap to a harness?

Is a harness a p.i.t.a for road use?

Is it dangerous to have a harness without a cage? Lots of people on the Internet seem to think so but seen others saying different.

Am I thinking too far into it because at the end of the day its a mini and wouldn't fair well in a crash with any combination?

Cheers for reading, sorry its a long one. Any opinions much appreciated.

Id stick with your seats as even similar ones with head restraints i think youll find will still only be halfway up your shoulders rather than behind your head, and personally ive had loads of people say ooo minis.. wouldnt want to have a crash in one of them! Theyd be nothing left? But ive always said that im pretty sure theyd hold up well (non rotten one anyway) and that id take my chances in one!

Cage without harness is dangerous, not the other way round. Imagine what is near your head if you roll it and your head is free to flail around.

I found harnesses a PITA in a road car. Couldn't reach the light switch or radio etc.

Edited by apbellamy on 23rd Feb, 2015.

Cheers for the comments, definitely wouldn't do a cage without a harness. Pretty sure I'm not going to install the cage. I thought a harness would make it difficult to reach the switches, but would it be any different from a static lap and diagonal belt?

cage without helmet is also not on in my opinion

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