Just picked up a 59 wagon, needs seat belts. I'm wondering if any of you have done belts with the shoulder strap, and if so..got any installed pics?
i was in a car wreck yesterday and luckily a shoulderbelt saved my face from making itself part of the dashboard, got me thinking about wishing i could have a good looking shoulderbelt option in my 53 for the "just incase" factor. maybe im getting old and need to eat a hard chevrolet steering wheel with the bending force from a lapbelt to keep myself young? or look cool. i dont know. sorry that doesnt answer your question.
That's definitely the reason I'm looking into them. I've seen kits for them, but never one installed. Wondering how it looks and what needed to be done to secure the shoulder belt anchor securely.
i have seen a handfull of the streetrodder types use the autoloc shoulderbelts with sub-par results. i dont know whats worse, a cheesy looking modern styled shoulderbelt made overseas, or trusting my safety with autoloc's "quality"
I've never put a shoulder harness in my 59, But I read once that they were a FACTORY option in 57 Chevys. In the picture of the option, ( I don't have the pic), it seems that the shoulder belt was mounted up in the roof. There was also a hook that was mounted on the rear door panels, down near the floor pan. This was used to hold the shoulder belt when it was not in use. On 4 doors, the hook was mounted to the center post. The hook that was used for the shoulder belt was the same one that is used as a coat / clothes hook which is mounted in the roof of the rear seat area.. I'm not sure if this was only available for the front seat, or if rear seat shoulder harnesses were available. If I remember right, the article said that about 3 sets of shoulder belts were sold in 1957.
Here's some installs on somewhat similiar cars that I just found- 55 Chevy install-- http://www.julianos.com/how2_55chev.html 56 Ford wagon install-- http://www.julianos.com/how2_3point56ford.html 55 Ford wagon in rear-- http://www.julianos.com/how2_3pt55ford.html Guess I'll have to look around the car to figure out how to do it without jacking the interior up, as it's already nice.
I just installed rear lap belts in my 60 Impala. When I put the seats back in, I noticed the belt had to "S" around the bottom seat. This would add about 6 inches of slack in the belt in an accident because you have to figure the wire cage seat would be bent by the force of an accident. I was able to reverse the bracket and reduce the slack to almost nothing. Point is -learn from my mistake. Take out both seats and mark a good spot to mount your belts. Put the seat bottom seat back in and check to see if there is a straight shot before you drill. I took a picture, but I don't have it here at work. Post if you are interested. Kelvin
I put shoulder belts in my '40 Stude coop...welded a flat plate, with nut to the quarter window header...before headliner was installed, of course,...and found and a pair of belts out of a Mustang. These were a combination of lap belts mounted to the floor... Sorry for the ****py photo...the car is still in storage... I also put a pair in my '57 Chevy two door hardtop...but in this instance I used an early Mopar set-up, whereas the shoulder belts were a separate belt that simply clicked into the lap belt, effectively making it a three-point belt...if I didn't feel like using the shoulder belt, I didn't. It simply hung alongside the headliner...no pix on that one tho... R-
If you mean you turned the lower belt mount around to face up/back rather than down/foward... I did the same thing on my last 59, so it was a clean shot out. Don't know that I put much thought into how the belt fit with the seat itself though..so I'll keep that in mind. Thanks!
I didn't find a photo but I did find the list of accessories that was available in 1957 with the shoulder harness in the list. It can be found on oldcarbrochures.com.
The ohter side of the coin is we wrecked a little mid 80s New Yorker in the '96. The wife has a permanent non-operable shoulder injury from the shoulder belt. It put her in a twist. So there is the good and the bad of the same type of belt. Anything I own with a shoulder belt from here on out will have a full harness. Even if it just a Y harness no longer legit for racing.
You can give these guys a call. They are great people and offer other belts besides camaro. They might have something for you or can fab you up something. http://www.morriscl***icconcepts.com/
With our big steel dash's... I'de rather risk a shoulder injury than a face full of non-collapsing steering wheel or steel dashboard. I think that is the lesser of two evils.
Just installed Isuzu Rodeo belts in a '57 pick up. Made back up plates in the door post. $16 a set a Crazy Rays. RB
A properly adjusted lap belt will keep you off the dash as will a proper harness. My point is that the three point is as bad as it is good, just depends on the situation. You do what you want you just shouldn't go through life thinking that what you have is the perfect solution when it is not.
Old junkyard belts aren't worth the material they're made from - the webbing gets deteriorated by the sunlight - they have no strength. Buy new ones..... If the door post or whatever they're attached to deforms in an accident, it can give enough slack that you'll still hit the wheel or dash, so give some real thought to how you mount the upper attachement - and where - if it's too high it's possible to rotate right out of the upper strap - don't ask how I know......
I have lap belts in the front seat of my 59 but installed shoulder belts in the rear for my kids' car seats. I used the package tray like 60s cars, but that won't help you. Julianos has a lot of detailed instructions. They have a good product, but are pricier than others. OTOH, their retractable kit is pricier than the compe***ors, but have a nicer installation kit included, and once you add the compe***ors' kits to their belts, the prices are the same.
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