VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1933-1936 Anybody put seat belts in?

Besides the fact that driving the car is kinda like riding a pizza plate on marbles, (It is NOT a new Z06) the passenger doesn't even ahve anything to hang onto.

At least i have the steering wheel, the GF doesn't have anything. And I live 5 miles down a twisty, winding, hilly narrow country road. At least its paved.

I have used Juilanos belts before and like them.

I do not see room for a retractor belt, but those hard plastic belt covers that are used in Jeeps to keep the belt upright are an easy way to keep the belt up, and available, and make seat bottom installation easier, and can be added to the belts

well you could slow right down on that windy hilly road. Have passenger grab top of door and hold on.

OTHERWISE go ahead & HOT ROD THE CAR WITH SEAT BELTS.....lmao

my Coupe doesn't have them , neither does my Phaeton, nor will the Roadster, but they are street hot rods already.

mike lynch

If I wanted to Hot Rod the car, i would do something like this that i did to my '37 Ford pickup:


Or this to my 1961 Corvette, with its 427 CI EFI Gen 1 Small Block, 5 speed and four wheel disc brakes:




My '72 next to the '61, is bone stock, a good NCRS candidate:
Though i did put on radial tires for drivability and safety.




But, I am just looking to add some small safety measures to the car. I doubt four holes drilled in the floor pan, will devalue it much.

Doug

I have never had a car fall off my back in my 61 years on this earth but the police down here tell me I NEED to strap the car on and if they catch me without the strap I earn a ticket and lose lots of $$$.
With this in mind my 38 will be getting seat belts but havent decide on the type or mounting yet.
Tony

I have put seat belts in 4 Model A's, a 37 Plymouth and now our '35 Chevy; including the back seats.

feel naked and vulnerable without them and read too many stories of people thrown from antique cars and dying in otherwise survivable crashes.

bolt through the frame or crossmember whenever possible.

Hello to all,

Hope you don't mind if I jump in on this post. I want to install seat belts in my '37 Master coupe. I am having the same thoughts about some way to control the outboard half of each belt so it does not fall out of the car and get stuck in the door.

I am considering using a retractor something like this. You can position it anywhere along the belt to take up some of the extra length when the belt is disconnected.

Seat Belt Retractor

I had not thought about a belt with an integral retractor in the mounting. One with a locking retractor would be even better. There might be room for that behind the seat. The key is that you need to stop the belt before it retracts too far.

How do you determine what seat belt length you need? I have seen suppliers who offer 48", 60" and 72". You definitely do not want one that is too short. On the other hand if it is too long you have a lot of excess belt to deal with even when it is being worn.

Thanks for the help.

Rusty check out www.julianos.com Push Button Retractable Lap Belts for about $40 per person. They fit in my 34 Chevy Roadster, 33 Ford and all my other project cars! Just keep in mind that it is only good as the mount that you install in your car! I always run a min. 1-1 / 2 inch square tubing bolted or welded in between the frame rails with grade 8 bolts to tie it all in!
Rory
1934 Chevrolet Standard DC Sport Roadster for sale
1933 Ford 3 Window Coupe
1934 Ford 4 Door Sedan rolling frame under construction
1933 Ford 4 Door Phaeton

Hi Rory,

Thanks for the info and link.

I completely agree that the strength of the mount is the key. Over the years I have done 5 or 6 point racing harnesses in various cars. Reinforcement of the mounting points was a must. The difference between those installations and this one is that these belts need to be more user friendly and easily fit a wider range of people.

I found this photo of someone that put belts in. I haven't tried it. Hope it helps.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/XtlEOx9vcqsKePsF2

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Ya0n2tRgwZW8aOOB2

This is going to be fairly simple. I knew I couldn't just bolt the belts to the wood plank on the floor behind the seat. Well, i could, but it wouldn't be very strong.

The frame cross member is behind that plank about 4", and there are a couple holes it it, that will make excellent tie locations for the aluminum angle piece I an going to mount the belts to that will be flush mounted on to that wood plank. A couple pieces of 1/8" by 1.25" steel flat bar will work well at tie plates

I am not going to be doing the Daytona 500 in this car, so moderate fastening is all that is needed to keep from getting tossed out in case of a survivable accident.

I really wouldn't want to fasten things too securely to the frame as the way the body is mounted to the frame, you don't want to be the part that tries to keep the body on the frame, in case of a collision as you could easily get spinal trans section.

Doug

In my opinion it is far safer to reinforce the wooden "plank" than attach to the metal frame. If the body wants to leave the frame then you want to be secured to the body as it is your safety cage so to speak.

I would be mounting the belts securely to the body and not the frame. In the unmentionable event the body may separate from the frame which may cause the belt to tighten causing worse injury.
Tony