Seatbelts in a '54... what I did

I do not often start a post, but felt a desire to contribute to the HAMB...

Seems to have been a lot of posts lately on seatbelts in vehicles which never had them, and I wanted to contribute in a positive way and simply show how I added seatbelts into my 1954 chevy Bel Air, so as to inspire those who are on the fence about this safety feature.

I bought the Bel Air when I was 17 (10 years ago) to use as my daily driver. This was fine with my parents with one pre-condition, I would need to install seatbelts. Now the car was all original and had a great interior, and so keepiong things looking 'period' and not out of place was a priority for me, as well as having them installed in a safe and correct way, i.e. there is no reason to install seatbelts if you are going to do things half way and compromise their integrity...

I searched in Hemmings and found a supplier that had belts, very similar to what I'll call a "roller coaster" type clapse... they were shiney chrome, didn't look too new style wise, and cam in a tan which I hoped would match my pueblo tan interior... after waiting for delivery, I recievd them and they did match pretty darn good!

Dad and I too great care to install them, mounting the belts utilizing grade 8 bolts, and large 2 or 3 inch dia. washers which were included in the kit... we drilled not through the floorpan, but made sure the belts got mounted through the u-shaped structural members the floor pans are welded to... this way, we insured that we had as good a mount as possible to the car... slits were carefully made in the original seat covers and the belts laced through, taking care for a symetrical, close to factory look...

Here are pictures of the end result.. in the 10 years I've owned the car, I thankfully have never been in a accident, although I have locked up the brakes a few times... the belts have worked great... and fit me just fine, even with a waiste size that has fluctuated between 40 and 44 inches...

so here are some pictures I just took, I can try to get underside pictures if needed.. but in the end I just wanted to show an example of a sanitary and in my opinion, 'period' as they can be installation, in hopes of inspiring someone else...

these same type of belt will most likely go in my 1931 RPU once it is near done and on the road...

Thank you for the time and consideration... cheers

 

Looks good.

 

Those pictures are great!

 

Looks good. Did the same in mine.

 

Great job on your installation.

(Grrrr .... I'm really jealous of your interior!)

 

Nice job. Thanks for posting. I like seeing simple, well-explained and well-photographed posts like this.

 

Really good install, lot of guys wouldn't realize they aren't stock. At least my friends wouldn't.

Bob

 

Thanks for all of the nice words guys... just thought that a post like this might be helpful to some... I think one of the biggest detractors to puting belts in hotrods and such is that people think they have to put in push-button belts similar to something you'd see in an 80's Ford tempo or a street rod for that matter....

The thing is, you can find brand new belts that look pretty decent for your ride...

The interior.. yes, I love it.. the car litterally had either 48,000 or 52,000 miles on it when I purchased it (i regret that I get mixed up between the two)... but Ihave put over 25,000 miles on it in the last 10 years and just spend some time maintaining it... the car just turned 75,000 miles last weekend! if anything, I need to get the white panels steam cleaned sometime to really make them sing! ohh and looking at the door jambs in the pictures, they need waxed again! (yes, I do periodically wax things like the door jambs! hahaha, gotta keep that original paint shining!) .. cheers!

 

Bump for the morning crowd...

 

That looks great. I was actually out in the junk yard this last weekend. I pulled a Cadillac seat belt out for my boys 53 Chevy. Needs it for his sons car seat.

 

I bought new belts just like those in a aqua that matched my interior perfectly from Danchuk. If they're good enough for a 55-57 they should be good enough for any car.

 

Hey guys completely off topic in a super old thread but I searched and searched an I can't find the info I'm looking for. Since this has to do with seats (kind of) I figured this is as good a place as any to ask. Does anybody know what size bolt goes in the seat bracket at the front of a '54 bel air (to hold the seat down to the floor)? Thanks in advance

 

Pretty sure it's a 3/8 size but not sure if it's coarse or fine thread.