Add SeatBelt in old car?

[Ramses]

As many of you have already seen, there is a video around 'till few year where you see a 1962 Cadillac crash in a 2002 cadillac... ( Link HERE )

I have a 1962 cadillac 4 doors, (exactly like the one on this video!) and i actually drive it without seatbelt.

My question is: What do you think about adding seatbelt in old car? Maybe peoples prefer add seatbelt to get more security, or maybe they think that they prefer dont add it to preserve the car as original as possible?

Let me know what you think about adding seatbelt in your old car!

[Big Fins]

I put them in my '59.

I think it was in 1960, the manufacturers started putting dimples in the floor pans where the seatbelts should go if added. I don't know if the floorpan was reinforced to allow the seatbelts to be put in properly or not. I used 3" X 3" X 3/16" steel plates backing up the washers on the exterior side of the floor pans.

[Clewisiii]

It will not help in serious crashes. But it may help in lower speed crashes. Or just holding you in place during hard breaking or turns. Especially passengers. The driver knows when they hard break and extend legs and tense. Others in the vehicle do not have that luxury. So they would go flying. My car only had one belt installed. Passenger front.

[Big Fins]

I thought that hard right turns and a bench seat went hand in hand when your babe is with you!

[Clewisiii]

I thought that hard right turns and a bench seat went hand in hand when your babe is with you!

My drivers training instructor said, "Or if she didnt slide over when you put your arm over her shoulder, just reach a little farther unlatch the door and make a hard left."

And he said that in 2000

[David Greenburg]

There are certain scenarios where you might be better off without a lap belt in an old car, and in some cases, a lap belt (as opposed to lap and shoulder belts) but IMHO, those are outweighed by the potential for serious injury or worse if you are ejected from the car. One of my cars had belts when I got it, and I've added front belts to the other. Like Big Fins, I beefed up the mountings with steel plates on both cars, which I would highly recommend for any car built prior to the introduction of the federal motor vehicle safety standard for seat belts. Seat belt mounting (or seat mounting for that matter) was not a priority for manufacturers. If you've taken the front seat out of a late 50's-early 60's Cadillac, you've seen how small the mounting bolts are.

[Jay Friedman]

Shortly after I bought my '49 in 1984 I had 4 sets of seat belts installed: 2 in front, 2 in back.  They drilled through the floorboards and through frame members, then fastened the bolts holding the seat belts with wide washers. I would install shoulder belts but my car is a 2 door coupe and the pillar behind the front door isn't wide enough. 

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

I always advise on fitting seat belts into any car, so long as the structure of the vehicle is not compromised.   I can attest to the safety of seat belts as I fitted a drivers lap/sash belt to my 1952 Renault 750, 3 hours before I wrapped it around a big gum tree on a dirt road back in 1965.   It saved me.

Basic lap Belts are better than no belts, but Lap/Sash belts are the best way of protecting your loved ones in the event of a crash.   

The Sash part keeps the driver from impaling on the Steering Weel, and the passengers from face-planting the dash or the rear of the front seat.

The main problem with an early 2 door car is that the heavy front seat backs are free to fly forward, pinning the driver/passenger from behind.

With our cars, there are many things to consider prior to fitting belts, and one of these is creating a slot in the seat base for the lap part of the inner belt to pass through the seat base to the floor in a straight line.   Looping it under the seat back and over the back of the seat base creates excessive free length of webbing that will stretch when compromised.   If you look at cars with seat belts, there is a slot for this.

Pictured is the slot and upholstery modifications I made to a 1969 SDV to protect the webbing.   The seats had been recovered with no provision for the seat belt, so I had to be constructive.   I think the factory sleeve was probably plastic.

The third is the belt routing in a 1955 Buick Coupe without the hole, and the last one is a 1960 CDV seat showing the obstacle of the seat base.

Bruce.  

[Ramses]

My drivers training instructor said, "Or if she didnt slide over when you put your arm over her shoulder, just reach a little farther unlatch the door and make a hard left."

And he said that in 2000

Lol!! Very cool idea! 

[TonyZappone #2624]

My mechanic when I was in Western New York installed color compatible seat belts both in my '47 and '58 convertible coupes.  I don't know how he mounted them, but they are both rust free cars, and I assume they were just mounted to the floor sheet metal

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

I forgot to mention that I have fitted Retractable Lap/Sash seat belts to the front and rear outboard seating positions to my '72 Eldorado Convertible, and that has no roof to mount the Shoulder Belt Anchor points.

Bruce.

[Jeff Rosansky CLC #28373]

We put them in our 55. Put the anchor point in the B pillar.
I know it wont help much if anything really happens, but should help in a minor event and keep us in the car if we roll or the doors pop open.

[71 Fleetwood]

I've always added lap belts but haven't tried three point. 

[Art Director]

My 1963 Six-Window Sedan de Ville came new with two lap belts in the front. After my grandmother passed and I inherited the car in 1993, I bought four pairs of belts from a 1963 at a salvage yard and had Ssnake-Oyl reweb them using the correct color. Took out the bottom of the rear seat and found seat belt mounts in the chassis. Now I have six lap belts...the two originals were moved to the middle.

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

G'day Tim,

What alterations to the front seat bases did the Factory do to allow the seat belts to pass from the wearer to the floor?   Was it a straight line? or a "S" shaped configuration?

Bruce.

[Jim Miller]

My 41 and 49 have front lap belts added. I'd like to add front lap belts to my 57, but the way the seat is upholstered there's no way the run the belt between the base and back.

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

My 41 and 49 have front lap belts added. I'd like to add front lap belts to my 57, but the way the seat is upholstered there's no way the run the belt between the base and back.

This is the hard part.   You have to create a hole/slot in trhe seat base to allow the belt webbing to go through.

BUT, in most cases, you will have to modify the springs to allow the webbing to pass through there and not get tangled up in the metal.   Plus, de-burr any sharp metal of the seat frame.

Then, create a sleeve to protect the webbing as well.

Look at any newer seats with the factory belts, and this will show you what I am talking about.   This is shown in Post No. 7.

Pictured is what Cadillac did for 1972 in the Eldorado 60/40 Seat.

Bruce.

[Art Director]

G'day Tim,

What alterations to the front seat bases did the Factory do to allow the seat belts to pass from the wearer to the floor?  Was it a straight line? or a "S" shaped configuration?

Bruce.

Hi Bruce,

Straight line. I believe the belts were installed at the dealership, but they have Cadillac tags on them from the supplier.

[Clewisiii]

My 1963 Six-Window Sedan de Ville came new with two lap belts in the front. After my grandmother passed and I inherited the car in 1993, I bought four pairs of belts from a 1963 at a salvage yard and had Ssnake-Oyl reweb them using the correct color. Took out the bottom of the rear seat and found seat belt mounts in the chassis. Now I have six lap belts...the two originals were moved to the middle.

What was your experience with Ssnake Oyl like. I plan on having them rebuild my belts. I will need them to do my chrome to. My belts currently feel very soft. But most later belts have a very stiff webbing. Not sure which types they have for replacement.