My 69 convertible ( Lemans blue/bright blue) didn’t come with shoulder belts, however I read somewhere (possibly this forum) that all 69s had the attachment points? Can anyone confirm or deny? It’s only about 100 degrees with about 80% humidity here but lining up my winter projects and would like to add the shoulder belts just for the extra safety of keeping me off the steering wheel if the unthinkable happens. Anyone who can share the experience with doing this?

 

I got mine from here. https://www.csbandclassics.com/corve...t-belt-pricing

My 69 had a plastic plug that I had to remove.

 

Hello there Luckyatlast,

When you start looking for the shoulder harness' for your 1969 Corvette you might want to consider replacing the lower seat belt webbing as well. Having had an older airplane I learned that they make you replace the seat belts every 15 to 20 years as the webbing is no longer able to handle the same level of impact and stay in one piece. In smaller aircraft they require the belts to provide for a 4G impact without breaking and older seat belts are not able to do this. It cost about $500 to replace the set for all four occupants of my old Cessna and will likely be more expensive in our older Corvettes because they ARE Corvettes.

So when you find a source you might consider replacing all the parts of the seat belts and even the buckles and other assorted parts that need to be replaced. I looked it up and the NTSB suggests that automotive seat belts are only good for 15-20 years as well so keeping the occupants safe in an accident is a bit more expensive. I like the people with me enough that I am in the market to replace the seat belts and add shoulder harness' to my 1968 with Black interior as well.

The idea of getting impaled on the steering shaft is not the most pleasant way to go to me either. My seat belts were missing when I bought my Corvette so I bought a set at a Junkyard and they have never been stressed (Thankfully). The problem is that the mounting hardware is very minimal so I am planning on buying a set of aftermarket plates to expand the area of where the bolts penetrate the floor of my Convertible. Currently they are held in place in the fiberglass by a simple 5/16 bolt with nut and something similar on the other end. I don't think they would even provide me with 1 g worth of holding power let alone the 4 g's as required by the FAA. That seems like a good starting point to me at least.

I am sorry to add several hundreds of dollars of expense to your upgrade but it should provide you and your passenger with a bit more safety in case of the UN-thinkable. Good Luck with your Corvette and I understand about the heat as it is 92* here but feels like 102* with the humidity in the Northern Virginia area. Only a few more days like this, I hope. Look at the bright side, in England and the rest of Europe the number of homes with AC is between 1% and 3% where as we all have AC here in this part of the country. I feel bad for those folks who are not used to or prepared for the heat we have been experiencing.

Best Regards,
Chris

 

I installed seat belts from the rear seats of a 4th gen F body in my '71 in order to get shoulder belts.

 

Not to worry, already had plans to replace ALL components, hardware etc. 71 years old now, planning to drive the Vette for another 20 years if I don’t kill my self with foolishness. Replacing that stuff is cheaper than a funeral

 

They all have the threaded bolt hole where the belt connects. They are located on the fender well. Pul back the carpet and you will find them.
I used the rear seatbelts out a 4th get firebird/ camaro. Worked like a charm.

 

my 68 vert had them so your 69 will have them. I installed 71 vertical mount belts so they are detachable at the buckle from the waist belt. Do you have the stock seats? You will need the belt clips for the top of the seat if you havent looked into that yet.



https://www.southerncarparts.com/c3-...ight-hand.html

 

And they are really fun installing!

 

I am in the process of doing a 3 pt seat belt replacement for my 69 vert as we speak. My replacement belts are not original issue, but they work with my existing shoulder belt seat attachment. My focus was on safety, and to that end I am replacing the driver side seat belt connector to the rear of the seat. The job is not difficult, but be prepared to run a thread chaser or even a tap on the rear shoulder belt attachment reinforcement bolt. It left the factory without rear belts and the moisture from the road can play havoc there as the threads were unprotected.

 

I put and set in my 69 coupe, lap and shoulder' as it had neither when I bought it. Bought them as a set from one of the vendors. I also got the stainless holders off the forum to add to the top of the seat. The shoulder belt retractor bolts to the side of the wheel hump. It makes it difficult to change a battery on the driver's side, as the cargo door won't completely open and stay open. I use a dowel rod with rubber caps on the ends. I have a battery disconnect and usually just leave the door propped open. Later years the retractor was on top of the wheel hump and the door could open all the way.

 

My 75 convertible didn’t have shoulder belts when I got it. And always wondered why,,,, any way, , thanks for all the tips and info to get some installed.,
,
,

 

I have just bought a 70 Vert Base model (so it had no Shoulder belts from the factory) and am planning on installing new belts this time it will have Shoulder belts. I want to keep it looking original so will stay with OEM 3 panel belt. Now the question is what about the seat back? Rumors are ALL the seat backs have the ability to install the Shoulder belt by just cutting the opening and installing the pass through harness guide. The other rumor is NOPE! You MUST replace the seat back with one designed for shoulder belts.
Well, which is it? Who has done this conversion WITHOUT replacing the Seat Back? Please explain the process and post photos if you have them. Thanks

 

same here.

 

I felt around on my seat back and located the depressions where the screw holes are for the guides. I also searched around YouTube and found pictures of the seat back frames showing the holes in the location I found the depressions so I am convinced I can add them.

 

Yes, I found that also HOWEVER the important part is the actual metal seat back frames. If the cutout is there then we are all good. If it is not then we must replace the seat back frames in which case it will be a good time to reupholster the seats. I meet a fellow with a '70 Coupe with AC and the 454 and Automatic. You would think this car even though it did not come with the shoulder belt option it would have the correct seat backs however you would be wrong. The owner had to replace the seat backs at which time, yep time for leather seat upgrade and new foam.

 

Looking to install shoulder belts in my 69 convertible. Are attachment points already in place for that? Thanks…

 

Yes, pull the carpet to the side on the rear tire well and you should see a plastic plug

 

In addition depending on what the production date of your '69 is you may be fortunate and already have the shoulder strap rear seat frames as my early production '70 base model had to my surprise. You see GM was hit with multiple strikes in the later part of '69 until the mid '70 production so the cars share quite a bit. All that I required was the outer guides and of course the shoulder straps.

 

Somewhere between ‘68-‘71 the shoulder harness mounting bolt changed from the side of the wheel hump to the top of it. If you have them on the side and are wanting to use later model belt retractor, you will need to fab an L bracket to reposition the mount to the top of the hump. A top mount retractor won’t work properly if mounted to the side, and vice versa.

 

Exactly dead right, however one can drill into the frame and actually mount to the frame by inserting a plate and spacer. Not an easy solution but it is not impossible either. The best is to look first BEFORE you buy your belts.