Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

Did you put in a lap belt too? I just barely glanced at your photos and noticed the shoulder belt, but no lap belt.

This installation would be really good to document. I think an Engineering thread on modernizing and safety improvements would be nice to have, or just a topic with that heading on the new FAQs thread.

BTW, as you probably know, you're better off with no belt than a shoulder belt and no seat belt, hence the "3-point" style to protect the idiots (or innocent).

I just wonder how hard it would be to scavenge a couple of complete shoulder and lap belt assemblies from salvage yards. There's a fairly narrow window of years during which the 3-points had no "pendulum" switch that tightened the shoulder belt on demand, so to speak. I don't that kind of system could be replicated, but maybe they could be modified so that the shoulder belt would snug up and not automatically uncoil.

Taking along a passenger like your friend or your kids--or her kids (or her friends) is when belts can bring a lot of peace of mind, not to mention saved pieces of people.

PackardV8, what is the year and model of the car you have pictured? I have been thinking about installing modern type 3-point seat belts in my Clipper, but reluctant to take any of the interior trim off of the door post. Attaching the anchor on the door post is the difficult part. Your photo shows possible anchor points nicely. The belts are available in different lengths from an after market vendor I saw at Laguna Seca a few years ago. Thanks.

Yes. There are lap belts. Look at the 2nd pic of the first post of this thread. She doesn't have the lap belt correctly placed tho. But there are lap belts.

The pic of the car structure a couple of posts above is from my 56 Executive sedan parts car. The body pillar trim is easy to remove. Just amke sure that the pry tool is directly under the trim retainer when prying it loose.

Hard top owners mite want to wait until headliner requires removal for other reasons before installing shoulder strap. Headliners are a real bitch to install in any car/.

" Attaching the anchor on the door post is the difficult part. "

No. That's easy. Need a 1/2 block of steel JUST BIG ENUF to pass thru the opening at the VERY BOTTOM of the boby pillar. Fish it up into poistion using a string or a wire or something. I drilled a 1/8 hole just above the anchor bolt hole for a pop rivit to hold the anchore plate in place. Some JB weld mite do the trick. Just need someway to hold the anchor plate in position when it does not have the bolt installed.

PackardV8, I was referring to modern type 3-point lap and shoulder belts with inertia reels. They are available from vendors. These are much better than just lap belts which most owners install. Your suggestion about the shoulder belt anchor is a good one, thanks.

The modern 3-point inertia type are just fine. But i'm not sure how practicle they are for mounting without alot of bulky reels and ratchets and so-forth.

I used simple mid 70's type belts because they were ez and that is all i could find in green and i wasn't about screw up any color combos in my car.

Mostly, i installed them just to demonstrate good intentions within modern law. Driving an older car, no matter how nice always invites critisizm if a minor mishap occurs that pisses off someone.

The shoulder strap is rather conspicuous to passing motorists and the hi-way patrol.

Mite be further ahead just to keep it simple. OR, install a Snell Foundation approved racing harness.

OR, in the immortal words of one of our more popular correspondents:
"Seems like some people are just looking for a simple solution to every problem".

GUFWAH -HaHaHa HA HA HA HA.

Quote:

I believe there are two types of 3-point adjustable belts with reels on the shoulder belt.

The early ones allow the belt to wind up, and then stay snugged up at the last "notch" of the real where they stop retracting.

The later types don't stay locked until the car accelerates or stops quickly enough to swing a pendulum to make contact and trigger a lock on the reel. We've probably all experienced hitting the brakes hard and then reaching down to the passenger side floor to pick up all the junk that slid off the seat. Whoops! No can do. A few seconds later the reel lets loose so you can maneuver around the interior again.

The pendulum switch is located, I believe, over the driver's door under a trim piece or the headliner.

This type is the nicest for freedom of movement, but would, of course, need the switch hardware properly mounted as well. Unless the new 3-point aftermarket belts have a workaround the switch that still gets you some mobility along with safety in a crash.

Firstly, one of my patented snide remarks...who needs airbags when she has silicone bags?

Secondly, there are various lap/shoulder inertia belt configurations...some are anchored at the floor with the reel up high (kinda cumbersome for aftermarket installation on older cars), for our porpoises one which has the reel on the floor would be best---the shoulder level anchor is just along for the ride and allows the belt to freely pass thru it (and actually back down to the reel on the floor).

This style was used in Checkers and many other mid to later 70's American cars.

Major thing to consider is that the point of attachment will in all likelyhood need to be reinforced as sheet metal mounts will fail in an accident. You can use large diameter fender washers (hardened steel or doubled up) or if you want to really go to town, a small piece of flat stock with a nutsert (or welded nut).

Just remember the weak link rule applies: your reinforced mount is only as strong as whatever you've attached it to!