Technical Whose seat belts do you use? Why?

Lots of options from Julianos.

 

Ive only ever had belts in the back seats of my old cars for the kids. We were road tripping the stock 216 in our 52 from Dallas to Kansas in August when he was still in diapers. Drum brakes, single pot master, AM radio, hand signals, only a rearview mirror & vent windows for "AC."
He's sixteen and 6' tall now.
As I get older I feel a bit more responsibility for the safety of all passengers in my vehicles, be it cars, boats, or offroad toys.
As Im going through each one now Im making it a point to add seatbelts in my old shit.
The thought of my wifes beautiful face smashing the steel dash in a wreck. If I could of have possibly done something simple to prevent that to protect her or any of my other passengers. It just feels like the right thing to me now.
Im im Texas where we tow at 80 & run the fast lanes at 90 plus. Even the ol FM roads...
Every wreck is different, you never know if they may save a life or injury. No guarantees but it aint gonna hurt anything & makes me sleep better.
I used to laugh when buddies hopped in my old cars and start reaching for the non existant seat belts.
@atch I see you've made a decision.
I hope you dont take offense to us continuing the conversation...
I just look at like bullshittin w my buds in the shop. If we're getting to far OT I'll shut it down.

 

I use Andover Restraints https://www.andoauto.com/ARW-Index.htm. Great belts,traditional styles, DOT approved, good price. End of story.

 

Guess I'll just have to pass on that ride-I've seen too much.

 

Not unless I remove the interior panels. Maybe it would be worth it to do so. Go back to response #16 for pix and you'll see the problem.

 

Seat belts. Nah, nobody needs those things. It's always better to be thrown clear, and besides, old cars never are involved in accidents.

 

No B pillars for me!

 

Actually Dale Earnhardt mounted his seat belt incorrectly and had for years! (Not to mention his reckless driving.) This was a well know fact to oval trackers long before he was killed.

In fact he and Bill Simpson went round and round on the subject, I suggest you read Racing Safely Living Dangerously: The Hard Life and Fast Times of a Motorsports Mogul. Bill Simpson's Autobiography.

 

Wasn't he also outspoken against head and neck restraints?

 

I use Seat Belt Planet in Edmond Oklahoma, they manufacture, lots of style options, colors, custom designs, affordable. Check them out for yourself: Aftermarket & Replacement Seat Belts | SeatbeltPlanet.com™

 

Dale Earnhardt was a victim of modern [at the time] harnesses ,and a NASCAR cage.
This is where the body comes to an abrupt halt but the head keeps moving forward.
The basilar skull fracture he received was similar to somebody dropping at the gallows


2" automotive seatbelts are designed to stretch to dissipate energy . 3" racing harnesses less so.
FIA clubman rules allow for modern inertia reel belts to be used in unmodified classes.

As soon as you add a rollcage, you must use a 3"wide 4-6 point harness.
When you use a racing harness you must wear a HANS device.

This is due compromised crumple zones etc [FIA bans rollcage braces extending past the axle centerlines both front and rear]

Speed does not kill, It is the sudden lack of speed that does the harm

 

I would suggest staying away from used belts, the question is always why were they removed?

Because they were out of date or because they were in an impact? Racing belts stretch

Thank You so much for explaining auto racing and safety to me it's not 80 plus years of family history in the sport, from crew members on Big Cars in the 30s, to NASCAR officials in the 1960s, my father being a chassis builder, cousins who drive, and do track P.R.

Not mention family friends who race weekly, and who have raced both in ARCA and the NASCAR Cup Series.

 

This I agree with ^^^^

All webbing will stretch , 3" belts need a higher load to stretch the same as 2" belts [plus 3" webbing spreads the load over a greater area of the body

Have another GOOD LOOK at that video, it is not a good example [that video was showing the merits of using a HANS device] which needed to be dramatic.
If you look closely , the belts are NOT stretching as much as you think you see

The harness in the video is only a 4 point with no crotch straps. So when the upper body moves forward the harness shoulder straps pull the lap belt upwards and the lower body slides under the lap belt [plus there is some "body compression" below the ribcage]

If the harness was a 5 point or 6 point ,the effects would be less dramatic [the reluctance to use crotch straps is what killed Jochen Rindt in 1970]
That old video you posted has been shown and discussed at many safety seminars

But the purpose of that video is to show the merits of frontal head restraints [which it does well]

Most racers I know would sell their mothers to win, but are reluctant to spend $$$ on safety equipment. This requires intervention from sanctioning bodies.
Some hotrodders [here] are just as guilty of this practice

 

^^^^All true. A lot of people do not seem to realize the forces that are generated. Properly mounted belts (all of them) is extremely important to the way they function. Skimping on safety equipment is just plain stupid.

In racing, the old saying was "If you have a $10 head, buy a $10 helmet".

With what we know today, even the old cars we enjoy here should be retrofitted with some form of restraint system.

 

Man, your 52 reminds me of one I had when my boys were little. I also put seatbelts in the back for two car seats and used to haul them all over including to the LSRU a few times. Anyway, thanks for the memory. Oh, and I also didn’t have belts in the front.

 

I used Seat Belts plus for belts in the roadster I just finished, I was even able to install shoulder belts. I used shoulder belts in the Studebaker and I put seal belts in the 38 Chevy back in the 70's and when I got a new Fairlane in 63 I put belts in it too.
When I was 15 I rolled dad's early 55 Chevy pickup and somehow came out unscratched. In 1972 my parents were in an accident, a guy slid through a stop sign on a gravel road and T Boned my folks. Dad's head hit the A pillar and mom's chest hit the dash in the 63 Dodge Dart they were driving. Dad was a careful safe driver and had they had three point belts I firmly believe they could have had a few more years to enjoy their grandchildren

 

Even a $10 helmet is better than no helmet...ask me how I know. Any type of restraint system is better than nothing 99% of the time.

 

You would think so, but you can be seriously injured by the safety equipment itself if it is not mounted or used correctly as @Kerrynzl points out.

 

Just basic lap belts from Seatbeltsplus.com. Nice selection of colors and chrome buckles with the lift tab style.

Belts aren't mandatory in NJ either for old cars that didn't come with them, but I have nothing against them. I had to put one in in the rear to anchor my daughter's car seat. I have belts in my 61 Old, but not yet in 56. I really need to put them in and this thread is a good reminder to do that.



This was back when she was still rear-facing. She's 5, going on 15, now. But she loves to ride in the old cars and always asks if we can take them out. As long as I can keep her safe, it's fun for everyone to get the old cars out and enjoy the ride.

 

I like being strapped in as my coupe has shit for suspension travel.

 

I'll be doing the same this year. My daughter is 2.5 months old, I foresee lots of cruising in our future.

 

I use whatever I find in my many purchases, swap meets etc. As long as it is in good condition. I don't fool myself, I own a 59 Chevy and have seen the Crash Video, but not all accidents are that Violent, and a fighting chance is better than no chance. Which reminds me it's time to install my new in box belts acquired with my last purchase into said 59. I update my straps for my car trailer more frequently.

 

Air Force C130 belts because they were free.

 

My 57 has belts that i wouldn’t trust. I think mine are bolted to the seat frames which are bolted to fiberglas. Pretty wimpy!

 

Mine are bolted to reinforcements under the fiberglass in the tunnel, and to the part that supports the top on the outboard side. 5/16" hardware. Not up to modern specs.

The thing about driving old cars is that if something goes haywire, you're likely to be injured or killed.

Then again, 40k+ folks die in modern cars in the US every year, so you're screwed even with decent safety equipment.

 

That's true about the approximate number of deaths annually, but it's also worth mentioning that around half of those people who are killed were not wearing their seat belts.

And while there are ~40,000 fatalities in auto accidents annually, there were approximately 6.1 million accidents too. Though the numbers certainly don't correlate, it can be gleaned easily that seatbelts substantially increased the likelihood of surviving an auto collision.

 

For sure.

But you won't get it down to zero, is my point.

With properly installed seat belts in an old car, you're still more likely to die than if you drive a modern car and don't use seat belts.

It's a risky hobby. Do what it takes to make you comfortable enough to get out on the road, and go have some fun with old cars!

 

Juliano sells several styles of B pillar brackets that make shoulder belt installation easy.

 

Where can I buy some from?