How many '68 owners do not have the should belt? My '68 is a very early model and does not have the should belt or any provision for one.
Also is it late production cars to have head rest? Also the ones with the head rest do they have the release button on the side or in the back?

Also a very MERRY CHRISTMAS to all!!!!

Gene

 

It was Jan or Feb 68 that the Feds required cars to have them installed. My dad's 68 ElCamino had them and it was an early February build, just before the strike.

Your car should have provision for them. Feel around the edge of the headliner above the roof rail molding and you should feel the mounting blocks. Check your body data plate- if it has a punch-out along the (can't remember if it's top or bottom) edge, car has shoulder belt mounting provisions.

I think head restraints were still optional the whole 68 model year and were required at start of 1969 production. All 68 Strato seat cars I've seen have side release seatback locks same as the 1967 option.

 

I've got a 1968 442 project car that has shoulder belts. The date code is 02D, the fouth week in February which fits rocketrader's experience.

My car came with a bench seat, so I don't have information on the head rest.

I hope you and your family have a Merry Christmas too Gene!

 

The feds required shoulder belts on cars built after Jan 1, 1968, but GM started installing them sooner. Every 68 I've ever seen has had them, even early built cars. Every time someone has claimed to not have shoulder belts on a 68 car, it has turned out that the headliner was replaced and the belts not reinstalled. I also suspect that you'll find the hard points for them under the headliner. Headrests were an available option on all 1968 Oldsmobiles. They were installed as standard equipment starting with the 1969 model year, again due to federal requirements.

 

I've got a one owner 68 cutlass with 38k original EVERYTHING on this car and no shoulder belts. Interior has never been touched and that includes the headliner. Build date code is 10D


Shoulder belts were options prior to federal mandate so the bodies will always have provisions on them. Headrests weren't mandatory til the 69 models, again pre-69 they were options as well (at least on GTO's) Goats also had optional rear shoulder belts though few came that way, I can't speak for olds on the rear shoulder belt option though I'd think they would be available as well being a GM A body.

 

Little off the subject, but in Cal, with the seat belt rule, are you required to wear them? I don't, and my brother gets mad at me, when I don't. What's up with the rule,any one know for sure?

 

Well, here in NY, you have to wear them based on the rules of the year of the car. As in, I'd get a ticket not wearing shoulder belts in my 71 because they were mandatory in 71, no shoulder belts in my 67 therefore no ticket for not wearing what's not there. I've never been pulled over for it to have to explain it to the cop. I'm sure they must have general guide lines on the situation and having a mandatory rule going into affect Jan 1 of 68 must make it messy if you try to explain build date codes to the cop. I've never had a 68 with shoulder belts but I've only owned 3 68's and couldn't tell you the build dates on the other two. I'd always known the shoulder belt thing to be for 69 and up cars just like the headrests so I'd guess the cops don't bother with the split year issue on the 68 models and just enforce 69 and up. Anyways, here, they grandfather the rules so they don't make you install belts that weren't there to begin with.

Oh, and back to the original post, the 68 seats had side release buttons, the 69-72 seats had buttons in the backs. There was an exception to that on the 69-72 seats in which if the car came with a reclining passenger bucket seat, then both seats got the side button. (passenger side because the recliner frame required it and the drivers seat only for the purpose of matching the passenger seat)

 

For what it's worth, here's a link to a thread I posted on ROP some time ago on this same subject:
http://72.22.90.30/phpBB2/viewtopic....=shoulder+belt

The shoulder belts were an option in '66 and '67.
It appears that in '67, the anchor point for the shoulder belts were
installed from the factory in ALL the hardtops and sedans, so,
it's probably reasonable to assume the same is true for the '68's.

 

My 1968 442 does not have shoulder belts with a build date of Dec 4, 1967. It does however, have the optional head rests (A81).

 

Rear shoulder belts are an easy install. The factory assembly manual and the Fisher body manual both show where the mounting points are. Locating the correct mounting brackets are the slightly difficult part. Finding matching buckles that match your buckles is sometimes difficult. I luckily found a 69 Cutlass S that was being parted out, and it had the right buckles and brackets. The rear shoulder bracket is actually the same as the front shoulder bracket. The plastic cover is also used to cover that bracket on the rear shelf. Also use the same bracket on the underside of the package tray. Just make sure to use grade 8 bolts and nuts and washers. 150,000 ponds per square inch tensile strength can't be wrong.

If you need pictures, just ask.

 

Was the Fed rule different for convertibles? I have a 72 with bucket seats. It does not have shoulder belts.

 

Yes. Convertibles were exempted from the shoulder belt requirement until 1975, if I recall correctly.

 

Do you think they would be there in a 69 Convertible?

 

I just order a 69 manual on Amazon. Thanks.

 

Pics please! Thanks!

 

Shoulder belts were an EXTREMELY rare option in 1969 convertibles. It is highly unlikely that the car has them, but not impossible.

 

Mounting points for a '69 A-body convertible with shoulder belts...


Randy C.

 

Just in time for the end of convertible production in the US......until the late '80s.

BTW, my '68 does not have shoulder belts or head rests (front bench). Headliner has never been out. Not sure the build date, but when i replaced the carpet last year there was a Sept '67 date on a tag on the underside.

 

Thanks for the pics! Any chance there is a mounting point for the middle position?

 

Shoulder belts were only offered for the outboard seating positions.

 

Headrests were not federally required until the 1969 model year. As noted above, front seat shoulder belts were required on cars built after Jan 1, 1968 (except convertibles).

 

I wanted to retrofit my 68 442 with shoulder harnesses for safety reasons. My car never had the shoulder belts as it was built in 67. I believe there are raised areas to mount the brackets. I have seen in OPGI's manual that they offer both front and back but I had to check my eyes at how much they wanted! Does anyone have a good source for shoulder belts?

Chris

 

Look to Morris Classic Concepts for seatbelts. They even have shoulder belts for the rear seating positions.

 

Ok. Will do.