I wound up purchasing a used original John Deere ROPS I found on eBay for my 1970 John Deere 820 3-Cylinder tractor. I am fixing it up and painting it in preparation to put it on the tractor now. The fenders had basic U-Bolts in them, so I am planning to replace those with regular Grade 8 high strength bolts with the bottom strap. I got two of the bottom straps (1-inch thick steel) from the guy who sold me the ROPS, so I had to find another one surplus and have another one fabricated since none are available anywhere and John Deere doesn't sell them anymore. I measured and ordered 8 each 10 inch long Grade 8 bolts 3/4 inch in diameter. These are prohibitively expensive through John Deere, but I found them for a reasonable price through BoltDepot.com. They were about $120 for all eight bolts. I found a new OEM John Deere seatbelt online through eBay and even purchased the angles it attaches with, but I still have not been able to determine exactly how it attaches. As near as I can tell, it is supposed to attach under the seat bottom cushion, and there are a couple of threaded holes under there, I'm assuming for this purpose. Does anyone know for sure? I haven't been able to find a tractor of this vinitage with a ROPS that had a seat belt I could check. It would be the same as a 1020, 1520, 2020, or perhaps others. Does anyone know the way the seat belt attaches? The illustrated parts catalogue is not much help.
