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I love my 3 point belts and wish I had done them sooner. My *** doesn’t slide around when cornering and I feel a little better when my kids ride with me. I’m under no illusion that it’s as safe as a new car, but it helps...Plus it was an excuse to freshen up the whole interior
My 66 does not have that mounting position and it is a 21,000 vin. Can I use that installation kit and mount the belt in the factory position ?
Originally Posted by RatDog
We range
Those are Seatbelt Solutions retractors and belts. I took the cover off the retractor because the belt rubbed on it when it was fully retracted.
Here’s a photo of everything that comes in the kit. The Seatbelts Plus kit is pretty much the same, I think.
I started wearing seat belts in the 1970's. I don't really remember why. I was a young punk kid but thought seat belts were a good idea. Saved my life in 1981. I went off the road in a curve and the car dropped about 50 feet down into a hole. First landed in a nose dive and then flipped 5 times. Insurance report description said: " All Body Parts Damaged". I walked away with no injury at all. I credit the seat belt. I think the 3 point upgrade is a good one and I feel like I will fall out of my seat if I don't strap in. It is just habit.
Remember in the very old days Leman's racers would wear leather when racing. The thought was they could fly clear of the car and tumble to a stop while the leather protected their skin in a wreck. I don't think that policy or belief lasted long.
I’ve always worn seatbelts. It’s just a habit. As a teenager, I went out and bought seatbelts with my own money for my family’s new ‘61 Impala that didn’t come with seatbelts.
On the the other side of the coin, in college, my future wife went off I-75 in her VW bug, rolling it over several times. The car was totaled. She got out, unharmed, and waited for the police. She wasn’t wearing seatbelts and had been thrown over in the passenger floor. The police told her if she had been in the driver’s seat, she likely would have been crushed by the steering wheel.
You hear stories like that from time-to-time, but they are not good arguments for not wearing your seatbelts.
I really want want to thank everyone for the info on installing belts in my 66 Vette. I’m not about to join the discussion as to whether or not they will help, I believe in freedom of choice and I prefer to wear belts not only for safety but comfort. I plan on driving this car as much as possible and I think a shoulder belt just makes me feel more secure in the seat. I recently installed them in my El Camino and it has made my driving experience more enjoyable. I am ordering the complete belt kit on Monday. Thank you all.
Originally Posted by RatDog
I’ve always worn seatbelts. It’s just a habit. As a teenager, I went out and bought seatbelts with my own money for my family’s new ‘61 Impala that didn’t come with seatbelts.
On the the other side of the coin, in college, my future wife went off I-75 in her VW bug, rolling it over several times. The car was totaled. She got out, unharmed, and waited for the police. She wasn’t wearing seatbelts and had been thrown over in the passenger floor. The police told her if she had been in the driver’s seat, she likely would have been crushed by the steering wheel.
You hear stories like that from time-to-time, but they are not good arguments for not wearing your seatbelts.
I was a pilot for 45 years so seatbelts where just a natural thing to do after you sit down. 1966 in my 62 Corvair, ran a stop sign and T-boned a PU. Broke my neck on that one. 2016 in my 04 PU a guy turned right in front of me, about the same speed, 30 to 0, had my seat belt/shoulder harness on. The air bag inflated as well. Got out of that one and walked away without even any discomfort.
I love my 3 point belts and wish I had done them sooner. My *** doesn’t slide around when cornering and I feel a little better when my kids ride with me. I’m under no illusion that it’s as safe as a new car, but it helps...Plus it was an excuse to freshen up the whole interior
Am I seeing an optical illusion in the shoulder belt's routing over the driver's side seat top?
In the first picture it clearly looks to be routed over the top of the seat's back through it guide bracket, correctly?
In the second picture, the belt looks like it's been routed under trim piece on seat back, then up through belt's guide bracket, which I would think is incorrect.
Also, does the shoulder belt lock tight as soon as you jerk on it, or does it allow "x" amount of upper body travel forward, then lock tight, so as to lock you waist around the lap belt like that of more modern cars?
I would assume aftermarket belts do, but when cars equipped with 3 point seat belts first came out you had to pull very slowly on them to latch them in place and/or lean forward or they locked up immediately.
That safety problem changed later on after more and better testing methods proved that to be a safety issue with them because of Locking up Immediately on jerk forward, rather than allowing upper body to move forward enough to lock your upper body around lap belt before lockup. Real pain in the butt back then, unlike modern ones we use now.
I do believe in, an use seat belt(s). I also believe in installing 67 headrests on C2 original seats to help in trying to prevent sever whiplash injuries in case of a crash with either 2 or more attach points.
My 66 with 67 headrest in stalled on late model C6 seat with cut down back backs, and seat bottoms reworked to look work like 66 model seats. Note: 2 point lap belts are not installed at time picture was taken as the C2 lap belt had to be custom fitted with C6 ends so they would fit into C6 buckle latch ends used with PUSH TO RELEASE, Red button like modern cars have.
Another C2 that has headrests to go along with 3 point seat belt harness. Best way safety wise 2 or 3 point.
My Seatbelt Solutions kit showed up last night and I installed it today. The hardest part was removing the old belts, but my battery powered impact wrench made short work of removing them and torquing the new ones into place. I think they look great and with my C3 clam shells I had to engineer a method for installing the seat brackets, but it came together nicely.
My Seatbelt Solutions kit showed up last night and I installed it today. The hardest part was removing the old belts, but my battery powered impact wrench made short work of removing them and torquing the new ones into place. I think they look great and with my C3 clam shells I had to engineer a method for installing the seat brackets, but it came together nicely.
Very nice. Your buckles look the same as what I got. Do they have “GM” logo on them?
They told me I could send them my original buckles and they’d make up the belts using them. I would have done that if my buckles had been in better condition.
Very nice. Your buckles look the same as what I got. Do they have “GM” logo on them?
They told me I could send them my original buckles and they’d make up the belts using them. I would have done that if my buckles had been in better condition.
Steve
Steve, you can specify type of buckle when you order. I ordered the GM buckles.
Last edited by Factoid; 10-13-2018 at 07:42 AM.
Reason: Forum has been acting wonky and posting before I finish typing.
Am I seeing an optical illusion in the shoulder belt's routing over the driver's side seat top?
In the first picture it clearly looks to be routed over the top of the seat's back through it guide bracket, correctly?
In the second picture, the belt looks like it's been routed under trim piece on seat back, then up through belt's guide bracket, which I would think is incorrect.
Also, does the shoulder belt lock tight as soon as you jerk on it, or does it allow "x" amount of upper body travel forward, then lock tight, so as to lock you waist around the lap belt like that of more modern cars?
Sorry I missed your question before...The seat belt is guided through the bracket and goes straight back to the retractor, NOT under the seat back.
The shoulder belt allows some movement to adjust the lap belt, but won’t jerk forward. Sometimes I have to help my daughter adjust hers...
I was just reading the post from Stingray Noob detailing his unfortunate front end collision and it got me to thinking again about upgrading to shoulder belts. I have to believe that in their case with a front end collision, they must have been wearing their seat belts and were fortunate to not suffer any worse injuries. Has anyone survived a serious accident with only lap belts and if so, do you believe you would have fared better with shoulder belts?
And after the tragic death of Joe C. (65tripleblack), I also couldn't help but wonder how his car was equipped and if he was wearing whatever belts he had?
And if they were only lap belts, might he have lived if he had shoulders belts?
Between the fact that I'm sure my reaction times have slowed with age and more and more drivers are driving distracted, I'd hate to make my wife a widow while enjoying my vette. If I can dramatically improve my chances with better restraints, I should probably upgrade.
I put 3-point belts and factory-style headrests in my 67 before setting out on the 2013 NCRS road tour with my wife in the passenger seat. Knowing that my wife would be in the car with me made me more conscious of safety concerns.
I'm 100% sold on the benefits of a 3-point system compared to a simple lap belt. This is based on personal experience in a crash. I used to own a 1972 Chevelle that had the awkward combination of a conventional lap belt and a separate shoulder harness with its own buckle. Out of laziness, I typically buckled only the lap belt and skipped the shoulder harness.
One day, while sitting first-in-line at a red traffic light, I got hit head on by an out of control Mazda RX-7 travelling at high speed. Both cars were totaled. With just my lap belt on, my face hit the steering wheel and smashed my nose flat. It took two surgeries to fix it. If I had had the shoulder harness on, I would have walked away unharmed. I'm just glad that I injured my nose rather than knocking out all of my front teeth, or perhaps hitting my head on the windshield.
The RX-7 suffered much more damage than my Chevelle. When I got out of my Chevelle and looked at the RX-7, I was convinced that the driver of the RX-7 was likely dead. Amazingly, he was uninjured, due in part to the fact that he was using a 3-point belt.
This experience convinced me of the value of the 3-point belt.
09-28-2018, 08:03 PM
