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I have a quite original 57 that only had a drivers seat belt so i ordered replacements for both sides from one of the the suppliers. The car is Aztec copper and the seat belts are some kind of brown that matches nothing but i understand that is correct.
My question is about the one that i removed. the more i look at it the more i realize it has been there a long time. Online searches suggest it may be an original dealer installed set from 1957.
Does anyone know what the original GM supplied belts might be. These are a blue/grey color and say Irving Air Chute on them ( see photos). If they are originals I would like to clean them up and use them in the car.
Please take a look and offer your opinion and comments on what you think.
I think what you are seeing as brown is really faded black. I have a hunch what they might be from but I need to see the anchors.
Verne
Hi Verne
There really is no anchor as they loop through a mount (metal loop) in the floor and go back into and out of a latch(2 slotted metal piece)?? of sorts that holds the two sides of the belt together.
I thought I would find where I got the idea these could be original dealer installed versions. It is a bit of a stretch with the info given, but maybe one of the wizards has walked this street.
Hi Verne
There really is no anchor as they loop through a mount (metal loop) in the floor and go back into and out of a latch(2 slotted metal piece)?? of sorts that holds the two sides of the belt together.
Glenn
The two slotted metal pieces are one variation of the "anchors" I was referring to. The first Chevrolet accessory seat belts used those type of anchors.
Based on the black 4-row webbing, anchors and gray hammertone latches, I believe the belts you have there are "Custom Accessories" belts offered by Chevrolet dealers in 1958 & 1959.
According to Barbara Spear , author of "Corvette Seatbelts 1956-1976"
Buckle front -Plain or chrome plated
Webbing design- 6- bar, nylon
Color- Silver -grey
Tags- varied according to manufacturer ( example Brown Line Corp of Beverly Hills - Model # WB 2020) Irving Air Chute was the other manufacturer
The seatbelt anchor was mounted at the factory in the 2 lower holes of the reinforcement; the belts were a dealer accessory kit.
Another possibility is that they are '58 seat belts. '58 was the first year they were standard factory installed and they came in one color, blue gray (some would say silver blue). The buckles were finished in a hammertoe finish (which these are) and were painted a matching silver blue. I am sure that these could have been purchased through the Chevrolet parts desk and installed into a '57 pretty easily. Any other dates or numbers on the label?
Another possibility is that they are '58 seat belts. '58 was the first year they were standard factory installed and they came in one color, blue gray (some would say silver blue). The buckles were finished in a hammertoe finish (which these are) and were painted a matching silver blue. I am sure that these could have been purchased through the Chevrolet parts desk and installed into a '57 pretty easily. Any other dates or numbers on the label?
Good evening
No other dates or marks on the belts. i am getting a good picture that they are the 58-59 accessory belts based on the replies here. The belt is definitely a silver blue as you call it. I undid the one area in the latch that had not moved in decades and that was the original color.
Now that i know the ugly brown/tan belts I bought are all together incorrect, i was able to buy an original reconditioned set of the blue/gray belts from Corvette central. Not free but correct and the car is very correct so far.
Thank you everyone for the input and direction on this matter. I will not drive the car without belts, this fixes that issue.
Now that i know the ugly brown/tan belts I bought are all together incorrect, i was able to buy an original reconditioned set of the blue/gray belts from Corvette central. Not free but correct and the car is very correct so far.
Thank you everyone for the input and direction on this matter. I will not drive the car without belts, this fixes that issue.
Glenn
Buy a modern belt that will work !! It's your life. 57'S are a favorite car of mine, but have NO protection in frontal impact history. I like the wide competition belts used in SCCA racing events back in the day. VINTAGE RACING regs today, say they must be changed every 5 years.
Good evening
No other dates or marks on the belts. i am getting a good picture that they are the 58-59 accessory belts based on the replies here. The belt is definitely a silver blue as you call it. I undid the one area in the latch that had not moved in decades and that was the original color.
Amazing knowledge base this place is.....
67 Sunfire- I had to laugh when I re-read my post. Just so I don't catch any grief.....that should be hammertone not hammertoe. When I typed this in just now my self-spell checker changed it to hammertoe, so at least I know I didn't screw it up the first time other than not watching what got changed automatically.
I don't believe GM offered seat belts in 1957 Corvettes.
I'm very late to this discussion, sorry. I have schematics of seatbelt installation for the '57 Corvette. I can't remember where I got them, but my recollection was that seatbelts were a dealer-installed option. And they were all grey. Installation required an inner bracket (481421) and an outer bracket (481422). My '57 had the brackets already in place. It seems to me that this belt could be an original dealer option.
[QUOTE=67Sunfire;1593585368]I have a quite original 57 that only had a drivers seat belt so i ordered replacements for both sides from one of the the suppliers. The car is Aztec copper and the seat belts are some kind of brown that matches nothing but i understand that is correct.
My question is about the one that i removed. the more i look at it the more i realize it has been there a long time. Online searches suggest it may be an original dealer installed set from 1957.
Does anyone know what the original GM supplied belts might be. These are a blue/grey color and say Irving Air Chute on them ( see photos). If they are originals I would like to clean them up and use them in the car.
Please take a look and offer your opinion and comments on what you think.
Thank you
According to the several posts on the internet, including this one http://image.mamotorworksmedia.com/p...seat_belts.pdf, seatbelt mounts were provided in '56-'57 corvettes, but seatbelts were a dealer option that required added brackets. Irving Airchute provided the seatbelts. I think you have an original seatbelt.
I thought I would find where I got the idea these could be original dealer installed versions. It is a bit of a stretch with the info given, but maybe one of the wizards has walked this street.
For what it's worth, I was crawling under a friends early 56 this morning and noticed the underbody seat belt reinforcements. His car has no seat belts and is all original. Perhaps GM installed the reinforcements with an eye towards dealer installed options later.
Edit: Looks like the link provides that answer as well!
Last edited by 61 Roadster; 12-03-2017 at 07:43 PM.
To answer your question=Seat belts became a GM accessory in 1956 for car and Corvette
Sorry so late to this discussion. It may be too late for anyone to be interested. These seatbelts shown are made by Davis Aircraft, model #FDC1650. They were supplied on the '57 Chevy Black Widow factory race cars, so they are definitely from that era. I've not seen that these were put into Corvettes though. They actually have far more value represented as Black Widow race car buckles than Corvette. Dealers supplied Brownline seatbelts as a dealer add-on option in 1956 and 1957. They have a distinct V shape cast into the flipper. Any Corvette seatbelt from 1958-62 were stamped US Patent 2458810 on the back. The IC5000 series is probably 1963. Starting sometime in 1964, the buckles had a bowtie in the buckle flipper. FDC1650 Davis Aircraft. Not Corvette, but supplied to '57 Black Widow race car. Available over the counter at dealers because the race cars had to be "factory". You had to know the part number to order them. 1958-62 Corvette, factory installed Back side of Brown Line 56&57 Vettes Brown Line. Dealer installed for '56 & '57 Vettes Documentation for FDC1650 Black Widow sedans. Notice the bench seat. Not Vette.
Last edited by ripfree; 11-29-2023 at 12:44 PM.
Reason: accuracy
12-02-2016, 12:38 PM
1957 seat belt identification ??
