Seat Belts & Covers

Topic: Seat Belts & Covers (Read 5075 times) previous topic - next topic

Re: Seat Belts & Covers

Reply #15 – September 12, 2005, 02:32:00 PM

Wow...that IS messy!

It's hard to tell...they could work but the anchoring points seem a little different. If they could be twisted back to straight, they may work.

Re: Seat Belts & Covers

Reply #16 – September 12, 2005, 02:33:08 PM

OK, I just found a site that looks promising as of now:

http://store.yahoo.net/wescoperformance/resebe.html

Please give your feedback here...let us know what you think. I'm still going through some others and will dive into this one in-depth.

Re: Seat Belts & Covers

Reply #17 – September 12, 2005, 02:53:24 PM

Quote

OK, I just found a site that looks promising as of now:

http://store.yahoo.net/wescoperformance/resebe.html

Please give your feedback here...let us know what you think. I'm still going through some others and will dive into this one in-depth.

I wonder what the law is as far as what type of belts you have. I would almost go for a set of two-point belts if I knew I could get away with it. My '72 Chevelle just has 2-points in it. I think that is probably the type of customer this company is aiming at...people with older cars who are trying to make them more safe. My main concern with the T-bird is just improving the visual appeal by getting rid of those cracked seat belts "sleeves".

Re: Seat Belts & Covers

Reply #18 – September 12, 2005, 03:06:19 PM

In the U.S., if you have 3-point belts from the factory, that's what you have to replace it with. Now in my convertible, it originally had just lap belts in front. The conversion company didn't have a solution for mounting the 3-point belts since the B-pillar was cut out. So they just hacked it into a simple 2-point lap belt. There is a sticker inside the door jamb stating that at the time of conversion it was legal (which still makes me shake my head and wonder). This made it technically okay for the car to be sold as new with lap belts up front, and it was probably one of the last cars to be sold that way. You could never get away with that now, not with the tighter government regulations and airbags and other safety equipment.

I still haven't found a sleeve that perfectly fits our seat belt receptacles. The Mustang replacement ones from LMMS (http://www.50resto.com) would probably work though.

EDIT: Here is info from that site:

Quote

Here is a brief history of what years anchorage points were added to U.S. automobiles: Most U.S. passenger cars, beginning with 1962 models, have seat belt anchorages for at least 2 lap belts in the front seat, but not all autos. Starting in 1964, all U.S. cars were manufactured with seat belt anchorages for at least two lap belts in the front seat. Since January 1968, U.S. passenger car and light truck manufacturers have been required to install lap belt and shoulder belt anchorages at each front "outboard" (driver side and passenger side, not middle) seating position (except convertibles) as well as lap belt anchorages at all other seating positions. Since 1/1/72, this same requirement became effective for trucks. In 1986, GM began phasing in 3 point (lap belts with shoulder restraints) for the rear outboard seats of their vehicles and the other major U.S. manufacturers followed suit over the next 3-4 years.

Re: Seat Belts & Covers

Reply #19 – September 12, 2005, 03:33:51 PM

i heard that 3 point belts were an option for the 87-88 tbirds...id realy like to upgrade my lap belts back there for 3 point over the shoulder belts. as specially if i end up with a roll bar/cage of some sort. did the mark vii have them? i wundah......