71' Shoulder Belts?
Thread Starter
Cruising
Joined: Apr 2024
Posts: 12
Likes: 0
71' Shoulder Belts?
I have a 71' 350 Base Coupe that I am currently fixing some seat issues. I didn't really think of any seatbelt things till now. As I removed my seats, I noticed that there was a rectangular hole in the seat back trim piece, but my car doesn't have any shoulder belts installed, nor does the seat itself have any matching "holes" for a belt to pass through the seat back.
Now I'm asking myself if there were any 71' C3 Coupes that didn't come with a factory shoulder harness and only the lap belt. Or if a previous owner removed it?
Thanks for any information on this topic!
Now I'm asking myself if there were any 71' C3 Coupes that didn't come with a factory shoulder harness and only the lap belt. Or if a previous owner removed it?
Thanks for any information on this topic!
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 1,345
Likes: 753
From: Doctors Inlet Florida
All coupes came with shoulder belts. They were a $42.00 option on convertibles. All 71's came with the rectangular hole cut out in the trim piece whether they had the shoulder belts or not. A previous owner must have recovered the seats and eliminated the pass thru. FWIW my 70 convertible only has lap belts and I don't think I would be any safer in a crash if I had the 55 year old shoulder belts installed.
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 40,412
Likes: 792
From: Redondo Beach, California
All coupes came with shoulder belts. They were a $42.00 option on convertibles. All 71's came with the rectangular hole cut out in the trim piece whether they had the shoulder belts or not. A previous owner must have recovered the seats and eliminated the pass thru. FWIW my 70 convertible only has lap belts and I don't think I would be any safer in a crash if I had the 55 year old shoulder belts installed.
Team Owner
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 37,637
Likes: 3,118
From: Crossville TN
The '71 seat blts were a bit strange. The lap belt was separate from the shoulder belt. But, the lap belt buckle had a headed post on it to which the metal end of the shoulder belt attached. Most folks took them off and routed them separately, when leaving the car. I just unlatched the seat belt, leaving the shoulder belt attached to the buckle, and let it retract to the back of the seat. One grab and plug and you're hooked up again... 
1967 Pedal Car Champion
Joined: Mar 2020
Posts: 9,137
Likes: 4,248
From: US-PNW
All coupes came with shoulder belts. They were a $42.00 option on convertibles. All 71's came with the rectangular hole cut out in the trim piece whether they had the shoulder belts or not. A previous owner must have recovered the seats and eliminated the pass thru. FWIW my 70 convertible only has lap belts and I don't think I would be any safer in a crash if I had the 55 year old shoulder belts installed.
Safety Car
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 3,605
Likes: 839
From: PA
Can you clarify for me: did all '71 seats have the belt pass-through cut or are you saying that on all seats the front trim piece had the hole but not necessarily the hole cut in the material. If the pass-through wasn't cut, do you know if all seats had the inner bracket for the pass-through?
The 1970-1972 seats (as well as all 1973s and 1974-1975 convertibles) use a shoulder belt that passes through the seat back when so equipped. As such, the metal trim piece that is installed across the top of the seat will have holes cut in the outboard recess for the seat belt to pass through on those cars that have shoulder belts. Those cars without the shoulder belts won’t have the holes cut (the back of an original trim piece has three part numbers; one for a right hole, one for a left hole, and one with no holes) nor will they have the bracket/trim for the rear opening.
Regards,
Stan Falenski
Thread Starter
Cruising
Joined: Apr 2024
Posts: 12
Likes: 0
Thanks for all that information! It sounds like a previous owner probably removed them. I guess I’ll need to reinstall the shoulder belts if I want to restore the car’s originality. Appreciate the help!
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