Shoulder Harness Mods?

[Tangovino]

Ok guys, the wife let me use the '70 Olds 442 as a daily driver. Under one condition. I need to install 3 point restraint system. I have a Holiday Coupe with the split bench seats. It has the original single lap belts for the front. Is there an after market shoulder belt system that works? I have looked at some vendors and found conversions but can't see if it will work on a non-post 2 door. Any and all suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

[joe_padavano]

Originally Posted by Tangovino

Ok guys, the wife let me use the '70 Olds 442 as a daily driver. Under one condition. I need to install 3 point restraint system. I have a Holiday Coupe with the split bench seats. It has the original single lap belts for the front. Is there an after market shoulder belt system that works? I have looked at some vendors and found conversions but can't see if it will work on a non-post 2 door. Any and all suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Your 1970 came with shoulder belts from the factory. If they are missing, replace them. GM spend a lot on engineering the belts to work.

[Tangovino]

I will replace them ASAP. On a personal note, Joe, thank you for your knowledge regarding these cars. You are an asset to the trade.
What is a good source for the shoulder belts?

[Olds64]

I purchased aftermarket seat belts from Auto Loc. I am happy with them. They are only 2 point retractable belts though. They do carry 3 point harnesses.

[2blu442]

I'd look for a factory set as they would be the easiest to install. The 1970-72 should all be the same, just locating the correct color is all you'd need to do. If your not sure about the old webbing you could get new webbing stitched up for a used set. If it would help I can try to take a photo of what the factory ones look like to post for you. John

[joe_padavano]

Originally Posted by Tangovino

I will replace them ASAP. On a personal note, Joe, thank you for your knowledge regarding these cars. You are an asset to the trade.
What is a good source for the shoulder belts?

Garsh... Thanks.

Ssnake-Oyl is one of the leading suppliers of reproduction seat belts (as opposed to generic aftermarket belts).

http://www.ssnake-oyl.com/

[Tangovino]

2blu442,
Yes please send a photo of how the shoulder belts were installed on the '70 coupe. PM if you'd like.

[csstrux]

I think I might have an extra pair of shoulder belts out of a 68, they would be black if I still have them. The shoulder belts were anchored to the headliner roughly 1.5' above the window trim. I want to say about top center of rear side glass. There should be some little chrome clips 2perside I think forward of that position to about front of shoulder. They would have supported the belt when not in use.

[Olds64]

Ssnake-Oyl is one of the leading suppliers of reproduction seat belts (as opposed to generic aftermarket belts).

That looks like a cool company. I would have sent my original lap belts there to be restored if I would have known about them. I googled "seat belts" and found Auto Loc that way. One good thing about the Auto Loc belts is they have about 25 colors to choose from when ordering aftermarket belts. Ultimately, they were easy to install. All I had to do was enlarge the hole in the bracket and get new hardware to bolt them to the floor. I will post pics sometime.

[Bluevista]

Wait a minute....you may have to do nothing.
She gives you permission to you use the car as a daily driver and then gives conditions on top of it???
My suggestion is that you find another wife.
I jest.

The Fisher Body manual shows all of the pieces-parts and where they mount.
I would just get some decent used ones as suggested. No holes in the headliner for the mounts above the rear glass? You may be able to feel the mounting points right above the edge trim through the headliner, takes two 5/16 bolts. Then you have to find the mounts for the retainers too, you can feel those above the trim too. There are different style buckles and on my '71 Vista with a bench seat the front outer seat belts have the smaller buckle and corresponding end on the retractor, prevents getting them mixed up I guess? The big buckle was used for the rears and the shoulder belt. You could get rear shoulder belts as an option too, all the way back to the third seat on the Vista Cruiser.

[Lady72nRob71]

I have seen repros of these and the clips in the OPG catalog...

[2blu442]

Hello
This morning I took some photos and discovered I had forgot a few things. The 1970 and 1971 have two clasps, one for the seat belt and one for the shoulder strap. The 1972 has one clasp and the shoulder strap clips to the lap belt male fitting, then it's clipped into the clasp. Attached are a couple photos, but I took several more that you can view on my photobucket site of: http://s90.photobucket.com/albums/k257/2blu442/


1970 Shoulder strap location


1970 Shoulder strap location


1970 with two clasps


A view of the fasteners, a previous owner cut the nylon webbing off.

[joe_padavano]

Originally Posted by Bluevista

My suggestion is that you find another wife.

As I am now on the third wife (), I can assure you that this is NOT the most cost effective approach.

[Eric Anderson]

This thread reminds me of the day I brought my 70 home, my wife and son and my wifes sister were out there playing wth the seatbelts, they were all amazed at having to buckle 2 belts and having to fold the soulder belt up and clip it to the roof... guess you had to be there