Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General 3-point harness in middle rear seat of '97 SE?

Is is possible to add a 3-point harness to the middle rear seat of my '97 SE, as the '98 and newer Tours have? My son has outgrown his car seat, but I want to keep him in the middle of the back seat via a booster seat and 3-point harness, which on my year 'Tour are in the left and right seats only. Thanks for your help.

Anything is possible if ya got the $$$! Seriously? I'm not sure. You could probably scope a junkyard and if you happen to find one off a post-98 'Tour, you could probably just fold down the seat and connect it yourself... But that's a huge if. However, if you do it yourself, you may want to get it checked to see if it's legal or if it's 100% safe. Perhaps with a dealership..

But what do I know...

Yeah, check a 98 Tour and see if the 4th buckle needed (the one that would go where the middle belt would start) has the ability to be put on a 97. Then check to see if the wind up mechanism (on the parcel shelf) can be mounted -is there a hole for it? That should be all you need.

Hmmm, what's safer, being 12" nearer one door in a Ford-designed & installed propery 3-point belt, or being 12" farther away in a jury-rigged 3-point belt? Unless the car is hit square in the door where the child is sitting the factory belt is the only way to go. Also, no guarantee that even in that crash the jury-rigged belt wouldn't fail and cause more injury. If you really want a center shoulder harness that badly, sell your car and buy a newer one.

Just my $0.02.

Scott

This is just a guess, but from looking at the somewhat flimsy support under the rear shelf in my 97 I would guess Ford had to add reinforcements for the mounting of the top wind up mechanism. Unless you did a side by side comparison and saw that the parcel shelf undersides were identical, I wouldn't risk it.

I had a feeling it wasn't going to be easy or straightforward. I'd really like to keep my Tour. It's got 125K on the clock, but it's still going strong. I suppose I could think about shopping for a '98 and up. And certainly I wouldn't want to put my son at risk with a shoddily installed harness -- you're right. I've avoided asking my dealer for their opinion, but maybe it's time. Gents, thanks much for your thoughts -- I really appreciate it.