Question Top tether retrofit in 1985 Renault Alliance

No clue if any UAS/LATCH manual would even reference this car but could someone in the know check if it is possible to retrofit top tethers in the rear of a 1985 Renault Alliance convertible? Back seat has lap belts only EEK so boosters are completely out of the question. DH bought one in summer (he loves Renaults) and keeps bugging me about taking the kids for a ride (which makes me nauseous btw)

Hi,

Here in the UK during the early to mid 1980s, child seats and safety restraints of nearly all descriptions were installed by having to drill your own anchor locations in various parts of the vehicle chassis and/or the rear seat. For this reason, I would be very surprised if there was a manufacturer-specified top tether location for a vehicle of this age. Having said that, as the Renault Alliance was essentially a Chrysler, the design is clearly more American than European and such logic may not apply. Regrettably, I know nothing of the LATCH manual so perhaps someone else could look this up for you.

Should the LATCH manual not be of any assistance, it does not mean you cannot add a top tether. The E-Z-On Heavy Duty Anchor can be fitted safely to any vehicle provided certain installation criteria are met. The instructions state that you must mount the anchor on “solid, flat sheet metal”. It must be mounted within 20 degrees of the centre line of the seat (when looking from above) and must be far enough away from the rear of the seat so the tether strap of the restraint does not make an angle to the horizontal of greater than 45 degrees. If these criteria can be met satisfactorily, then it can be installed at home with a few simple tools.

If the criteria mentioned above is confusing for any reason, please visit this thread for some diagrams and further clarification on the correct mounting location.

I hope this helps.

Gary.

Thanks Gary! That's great information

Hi, I had a look in my LATCH manuals (2007, 2009 and the current 2011 edition just to double check in case the older editions had any Renault info.) and there's no Renault section at all, most likely due to Renault's (and other French brands, like Peugeot and Citroen's) fairly lengthy absence from the U.S. car market. Despite its connection with American Motors Corp. (AMC)/Chrysler back in the day, the Alliance is not listed in the Chrysler section of the LATCH manuals I have access to either, nor is there an AMC section. I think the nearest Renault/French branded car dealers to North America are in St. Pierre and Miquelon based on an article in the current issue of Car and Driver about a car journalist's failed attempt to drive a 1980s era Citroen from the U.S. "back to France" in St. Pierre and Miquelon (the car died en route and was refused passage as a towed vehicle on the final ferry ride portion of the journey, lol), but I may be wrong on that since technically the author was hoping to drive the car to French territory and not just to Canada. If there are actual Renault dealers in your region of Canada, inquiring there might yield you an answer. Otherwise, in absence of any solid lead on an official Renault tether anchor retrofit, the EZ-On suggestion above is a good one to pursue IMHO if possible.

Thanks!