Anybody installed retractable shoulder belts in their ragtop? Been in to many accidents to ingore the saftey benifit.
No, but I did install / retrofit the optional factory-stock shoulder belts in my 69 GS ragtop. (Not sure if they were an option in 1968). I feel a whole lot more secure knowing I'm not gonna kiss the steering whell if I ever get in an accident. Drawbacks: 1) Non-retracting, with the body of the latch on the shoulder strap and the flat plate end attached to the tranny hump. (The shoulder strap ends attach to the roof frame back by the upper ends of the roof cylinders.) 2) Kind of a drag reaching the radio knobs until you get used to it. I tend to drive with my shoulder strap kinda tight, though -- loosen it upo some and it won't be real noticeable. 3) More of a bother than todays integrated lap / shoulder combos. Plusses: 1) If you're the only one driving the car, who cares if they can't be adjusted easily? 2) On short trips I just attach the shoulder belt and leave the lap belt loose. Not perfect from a safety stand point -- won't keep you from flying out the door in a bad wreck -- But still -- I feel safer with just the shoulder strap than just the lap belt. Better for low-speed incidents, in my opinion. 3) Damn things look stock and were a factory option, so nobody is gonna give you grief. Nice to have shoulder belts to match your lap belts. 4) Lie and say they came with the car from the plant. Who's gonna know? -- Steve
Gimme a week to get back home -- I'll post some pics if no one else has. 1969 Assembly manual has a pretty accurate diagram. Bought the belts through an ad in Hemmings four or five years ago -- I'll try to find the receipt. One more thought: I have a white interior. The black belts in the back are fairly obvious / verging on an eyesore, but I still like em. With a black interior you would never know they were there. -- Steve
My 72 Gs convertible had these from new. Its documented too.....crazy setup for sure, but I am putting them in, if nothing else it outta start a few conversations!!! I have a diagram and a little bit of info on my website: http://www.members.shaw.ca/ritc1/interior.html Note that I made some changes to mine, I used the coupe style 72 pin and slot type belt, this saves having another buckle bouncing around the car, but s not correct. I had the belts made up (originals were destroyed) and are in storage, until completion of car. i didn't know they were incorrect until it was pointe out to me by someone, but after 300.00 I aint' changing them now!!!ou: later tim
Nice to see this was covered already. Saves me some time with the camera. Let alone 5 hours resizing the bleepin pictures.:gt: -- Steve
I had a friend that did just that. He slid right under the belt during his little accident and was killed when the shoulder belt, well, it cut into his neck pretty bad. Please consider wearing your lap belt at all times. John
Understood. I tend to do it when I'm just going to the quickie mart or the hardware store -- the low-speed local stuff. If I hit 55 or 60 MPH -- got em both on. -- Steve
Pretty cool stuff, but I'm looking for a custom setup that's retractable, I know myself to well to think that I'd use the stock setup.
