I am curious if anyone has ever retrofitted 41 front seats with head rests. I am restoring my 41, which I have stored for 50 years. In the interim both my wife and I experienced terrible accidents before the era of seat belts and head rests. I shudder at the thought of another accident without head rests, but I want to drive the car. Any advice would be appreciated. I would like to keep the seats as original as possible.
I just restored my 41 back to an original condition with only minor modifications such as gray interior instead of tan and a few other tweaks like adding seatbelts. But putting headrests in the seats? Come on.... You might as well go ahead and remove the seats and install powered heated Cadillac seats while you're at it. Go ahead and drop a V8 in it too since you'll already be half way to a street rod. In all seriousness, the modifications I made to my car are not visible. I wanted an all original look. You do what you want to your car but I highly doubt it'll be a daily driver...thus making lots of modern changes just isn't necessary....that's what street rods are for.
Thank you Brandon for your insightful commentary. My guess is that you have not yet experienced an auto accident that left you with limited range of neck motion, chronic pain, and the privilege of hearing and feeling your neck vertebrae grind every time you move your head.
If you have to redo the Seats I sure you can find a shop that could adapt some head rest to the seat back while they are apart. The other thing you may want is foe the back to have a latch like the newer cars. Then it might be better to look for a seat that will fit that has all of what you want. You might want to check some of the street rod vendors, there are some that offer new seat frames custome made.
Dens Chevys 1927 Speedster 1928 coupe 1941street rod 1947Fleetline 4 door 1949 1/2 ton Pickup (sold) 1954 210 4 door 1972 Monte Carlo 2003 Corvette convt..
Don, each will have their own opinion/s. That is a good thing. FWIW, I'll give mine.
Your, and your wife's injuries are indeed regretable. It is your Chevy. Do whatever you must do to feel comfortable and save in the car. Then, and only then, will you two have peace of mind when in the car.
Your accident is regrettable. I would caution you to make sure that the seat is properly designed for the forces of a head rest. I seriously doubt that it is an easy job for a 1941 seat. Therefore you are likely better with a modern seat that is designed for a headrest. Covering with a matching upholstery is in my opinion a better solution to your desire.
Back in the early 70's before factory fitted headrests came in here there were quite a lot of slipover head rests sold. I had a couple fitted to one of my cars. I don't know whether they had them in the U.S. but they would not be hard to make up using head rests from an old car. That way you could have them upholstered up to match and when you don't need them just slip them off. Something to consider. I found a few on Ebay but they were in the UK but you would see the idea.
I am also sorry to hear of your back & neck troubles. I've had back surgery and I understand the need. The seats aren't that comfy on long trips or safe, but then again...the whole car isn't in comparison to our daily drivers.
What Chipper said is probably true, structurally I don't know that the original seat frame would hold up to what you'd like it to do. You want a headrest to work in the event of a crash, not come unbolted and/or pierce the back of your head or back (not to be graphic).
While not 100% original (I know), what may be an option would be a newer seat frame out of a late model S-10 or mid-sized truck that could be upholstered in original style material. Would something like that work for you?
-Daryl Scott #45848 • 1947 Chevrolet Fleetline Sportmaster Sedan • 1976 Chevrolet C20 Fleetside
I think there used to be aftermarket head rests that had brackets that bolted on the back of the seats but might be hard to find,I too was in a serious accident years ago that caused some serious bone damage but feel no need to install seat belts and head rests. Just get in and enjoy it and if you are too worried sell it and buy one a little newer with headrests and seat belts,I am more worried about getting hit in my new winter beater which is a 92 Geo tracker then riding in any of my old cars.
I think seat belts are a must for safety. I do not know if you are aware that in the 41 body manual there is a repair for the front seat backs. It was common that a weld in the seat back hinge broke with the force of pushing your body back into the seat or in an accident. I would strongly recommend that you follow the recommendation and have the hinge reinforced as the manual recommends. The seat back comes off the back of the front seats and the repair can be done without much/any upholstery expertise.
Installing front and back seat belts maybe covered in an old post. I will post what I find. If I don't find anything I can post directions on how I did mine when I get home on the 11th. I have temporarily escaped Michigan for Florida.
Good luck, Mike
P.S. I too have back issues so I have even moved the front seat back a couple of inches to make it easier to get in/out of my car and more comfortable to drive.
A few things to think about: Are you purchasing belts certified according to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and Regulations? Are the belts large enough for all your passengers? Are the bolts holding the belts of the highest quality available for this application? Am I using my frame as an anchor point wherever possible? Wherever I can not connect to my frame am I using an anchor plate and the structurally soundest metal on the floor of my car. Preferable an area not exposed to rust.
Driveshaft area, good metal not a rust through area. Special mounting plate for reinforcement.
Area above gas tank and trunk floor. Not an area for normal rust through. I used this area for all my rear seat mounts. I did not use the frame for any anchor points in this area, but did use mounting plates. If I did a frame off restoration I might use the frame above the rear wheel on each side as a mount?
The frame would be a good place to mount seat belts except with a major hit, the body may shift (or get torn off) in relation to the frame causing unexpected tensioning or loosening of the belts. I would use a solid point of the body a use a reinforcing plate and crush tubes (if necessary) in preference. Tony
Mike... Been a while since i looked at this topic. Just re-read you comments and downloaded all the links. Very helpful and instructive. Just wondering...which type of belt did you install in your 41, 2-piont or 3-point??? And, is your 41 a coupe or sedan? Mine is a coupe.
Seats from a more modern vehicle may be what you want inthe front. There is a company called Glide Engineering that makes seats for older vehicles. They may be able to help.
I used to know a guy that had a fusion done near the base of his neck. They told him never to ride without a proper headrest.
My 1951 1 Ton is now on the road! My 38 Master 4 Door is also now on the road .
I have a pretty interesting car. It is a Master Deluxe with a lot of Special Deluxe add ons. Someone wanted to add a lot of the extras like the radio, clock, lighter, hood stainless for Special Deluxe, steering wheel horn, interior door trim. I am enjoying it all and keeping a lot things as they are. I have replaced the 49 216 with a 41. I am only interesting in having a daily driver at this time and do not show the car.
I can understand why you would want to have head support in your car. It is a good aid to prevent injury in event of an accident.
I have thought of the same thing. I go rear-ended while stopped at a stop-light in a small Honda I was driving once and it totaled the car. I was hit so hard that I broke the seat from the rearward force I put on it. Fortunately, I was not injured.
While I have thought about adding safety devices to my 1941, I have so far opted against it. I do try to drive defensively, during periods of lesser traffic and stay out of harm's way as much as I can, as I'm sure you do, also. I have not added seat-belts either.
I would rather take a chance that I'm not in a severe enough accident to cause me (or any passenger) injury from lack of seat-belts or head rests than to modify the car. Such modification would be minor, I know, but a modification in fact. Seat-belts are a good way to stay behind the wheel when side forces would otherwise cause you to move about the cabin. You know that.
If you choose to modify your ride, more power to you. I would think that you have more safety awareness than I do. I would not question your decision but applaud it.
Best, Charlie
BTW: As to what is the best way to accomplish the task of adding seat-belts and head-rests, I think school may be still out but, so far, you have been given pretty good advice. Certainly, I don't have a clue as to how to do it best.
