scj64

I became the proud owner of a ‘69 Cutlass S convertible a few weeks back and since then, my wife and I have driven it a couple hundred miles and we really enjoy spending time in it. One of my concerns is the lack of safety equipment; just a lap belt.
I’m not emotionally attached as far as keeping it bone stock and I plan to make it a very good reliable driver you wouldn’t be afraid to cross the country in but something that really concerns me is I’m 6-2 and long waisted and if I were to hit something head on, my head is going to split across the windshield support. Is there a good set of bucket seats to replace the bench seat that has safely belts designed into them? I would like seats that set a few inches lower than the stock seat as well.

RetroRanger

You can buy 3 pt seatbelts for your car to replace the lap belts.

i dont know of a replacement seat, but bucket seat cars have a relocation bracket to set them back more, perhaps thats doable w a bench seat as well?

RetroRanger

https://www.morrisclassic.com/collec...oldsmobile-442

ive heard good things about this company

joe_padavano

I'm pretty sure that none of those work in a convertible.

To the OP:

Shoulder belts were an available but extremely rare factory option in the 1969 convertibles. You can probably buy repros of the original belts. The factory hard points are in the rear quarters, at the structure where the convertible top mechanism attaches at the outboard ends of the back seat. Yes, that means that the seat belt is long and fits at a less-than-optimum angle. There isn't anything else to which you can attach it. Available seats with integrated belts are likely limited to those from the Chrysler Lebaron convertibles or the 2001-up GM pickups. The latter are huge and likely not an easy adaptation. Of course, the question you need to ask yourself is, can you engineer a mounting scheme for these non-stock seats that maintain the structural capabilities of the belts? At some point the entire load goes through the seat tracks and bolts to the floor, which is not the case with belts that anchor to the car independently from the seats.

While I sympathize with your concern, at the end of the day this is all about risk likelihood. Given the limited amount you are likely to drive this car, how likely are you to experience an accident where shoulder belts are necessary.

Driving this vintage convertible is safer than riding a motorcycle, but obviously nowhere near as safe as driving a new car. The shoulder belts are only one aspect of collision safety. This vintage of car does not have the engineered crumple zones, for example, and the rigid corner on the inside of the front fender is a fairly stiff piece of angle iron aimed at your chest (this is why the 1971-up front fenders have the "dimples"). There are no side guard impact beams in the doors. The windshield frame is not designed for rollover protection. If you have zero tolerance for these risks, get a different car.

Your life, your choice.

Dave26

This is the reason we sold the Road King, and ride in the 'vert. That and we're in our 70's.

scj64

Thanks for the responses.
I may head in another direction to make the car safer such as 4 piston disk brakes. We were cruising along about 65 mph on the freeway last night and on both sides of us were fools on their phones. I don't think the car in stock form with power drum brakes gives me an edge for avoiding their lack of responsible driving actions.
I'm not a person that worries about every little thing but looking over at my beautiful wife of almost 32 years enjoying the evening made me think I should do whatever it takes for her and my safety so as to be able to enjoy this experience for a long time.

I've got new 18" tires and wheels on order (back order). It has new tires on 14" wheels but I cannot get the brakes I want inside the 14" rims.
New springs front and rear 1" drop. The stock fronts are original and are really sagging.
Wilwood 4 piston brakes, proportioning valve, master cylinder and new brake booster.
Shocks, ball joints, tie rods and I've been reading about the Jeep GC steering box.
The car drives straight and feels tight but when I look underneath, I see a lot of aged parts.
What else needs looked at? I seen a few comments about bump steer issues with A bodies. What corrects that?

gs72

These are suppose to help with the bump steer. This company has a lot of good suspension stuff for the A-bodies.

https://www.globalwest.net/a-body-19...bumpsteer.html

Killian_Mörder

The solution for that would be consequential legislation designed to screw such subidiots down. Final solutions through arming your vehicle with bord cannons similar to those used on fighter jets could get you into some trouble, despite you being right.
The best way out would be to install a roll bar and then anchor your third belt onto it.
Limitting your driving to days and hours of which Road Barbarians are least likely to show up would also reduce the likelihood of getting into a collision.
An all around disc brake conversion using larger than stock discs would involve custom wheels of which more than likely will not look right

scj64

These are the wheels and size I ordered.
I think they look great.

72455

When I'm on the highway in my '72 Supreme, I make sure I have plenty of room around me, even if it means backing off the throttle or changing lanes to give myself a "cushion."...just something to think about.

joe_padavano

Wheels and tires are a matter of personal taste. Just be aware that those larger wheels have more rotational inertia and thus negate some of the benefit of larger brakes. More to the point, be sure you know what you're doing with the brakes. I remain amused by the frequent posts here and on other forums where someone "upgraded" their brakes and now are posting that the car stops worse than it did with the original drums. Simply bolting on a kit isn't always the best course, and front-to-back balance is a key part of braking ability. I'm not saying that drums are better, but properly sorted factory drums FREQUENTLY stop better than an ill-matched, improperly-installed set of discs. No aftermarket kit has even a fraction of the engineering and test hours that went into the factory braking system.

oldcutlass

I have no issues with the way drum brakes stop. I also have no issues with a lap belt. If I want late model car safe I drive the wifes 07 Mustang GT.

Fun71

Forget the Jeep GC box and look into a direct fit Lares fast ratio box or have yours sent out to be rebuilt as fast ratio. The Lares fast ratio box used to be available from Rock Auto but I remember reading it's not any more. Hopefully someone will post up where you can get one these days.

scj64

Agree
I plan on staying with tires under 27”
I’ve been down the road with my ‘68 Camaro manual drum brakes; I found using factory disk front/drum rear proportioning valve with 11” front disks and factory rear drums boosted gave me superior brakes that wouldn’t fade like the drums. IMO, no one uses a 4 wheel drum brake setup for good reason.

chip-powell

I love my drums too. And since as a kid, I learned how to drive on drums, and I do not drive intentionally in a downpour, I just cruise along in the right lane and let the idiots pass.

And here in the DC area, we do tend to have more idiots than most.

scj64

Thanks!

RetroRanger

Those rims do look great on that chevelle w that color. I spent a lot of time looking at rims and wanted something different and not unilug. I decided on the same rim!

unfortunetly for me i dont really like how they look on my car, i liked the ss2s better! Meh first world problems .

scj64

Do you care to attach a picture of your car with those wheels?
Did you go 18x8’s and 18x9.5’s?

Koda

I sincerely doubt you'll go into the windshield frame with your head, and I'm taller with more backbone than you have stated. If you don't have the lap belt on, certainly.

The answer is to not drive in bad traffic areas at bad times. This is not a rush hour commuter. I would drive it as is, and leave plenty of room in front of you and drive in the right lane.

Charlie Jones

The Wilwood calipers and 4 wheel discs is complete overkill .
Now a 1969 Olds cutlass front disc brake conversion DOES make sense . And you get to keep your 14 inch wheels .
Most of the braking force is created on the front wheels , because all the weight shifts forward on a stop .
Four wheel discs and wildwood calipers are useful in two places 1. Racing and 2. Showing off .

The Jeep GC box is a good upgrade , especially if you're used to driving twenty first century cars .
Much quicker steering and better " road feel " .

scj64

I’m only doing front disks but I am looking at the Wilwoods as I know they’re really good quality.
I do not have the factory wheels and the set on it look horrible (slotted aluminum) plus I want something to fill out the wheel wells a little more.
The fellow before me installed new rear coils but never bothered changing the fronts for some reason. It’s running tail high and that’s not helping handling. After I get the wheels on, I’ll buy new coils to get it setting how I want it.

The guy before me has owned this car since 1971 and gave me every service record since the early 80’s. He spent over $9000 between February to May this year on various things to make the car more dependable. It drives really well but my wife loves driving it too so I’m going to go a little further with things that make it that much better.

RetroRanger

lol looking back i posted a poll asking what others liked and the rambler won

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...w-rims-126612/

then when i got em no one liked them including me ouchy

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...better-138783/

i went w the 15s i live in massachusetts (some uneven pavement in spots) thinner sidewall rougher ride

Rallye469

Just an idea....
You could put a hoop in it. A roll bar just behind the front seat. From there you could mount a 3rd belt...or even a 4 or 5 point harness.
However, you can’t have a mild steel bar that close to you noggin without padding it.
Just a thought.

-Peter

scj64

I seen a convertible on here with a hoop in it and it didn’t look bad.

Killian_Mörder

The Rambler won, likely because the poll didn't adequately distinguish between both U.S. Mag types. That's the mistake I made and then caught it beyond the point of being able to go back and correct the vote

KW5413

And practice extreme defensive driving. People are oblivious to these classic's stopping capabilities and will cut you off and / or pull out in front you...just like they always do. Enhanced braking is likely the single, most effective safety upgrade you can put to your vehicle...JMHO.

JohnnyBs68S

Drums will stop fine up to 70 MPH.....once every 15 minutes to allow them to cool. Its that 2nd stab when they are hot that you get the big surprise how badly they fade.

Haven't you seen those vintage car test videos where they "tested" the brakes by locking up all 4 wheels and seeing how little distance skidding tires took to stop the car?

Daiv8or

There is a company that makes airbag seatbelts for light, general aviation airplanes. I't basically a three point belt system with an airbag inside the lap portion. It is very expensive, but has been tested and is effective. I think it's standard equipment on single engine Cessnas now. I have often wondered if there would be enough interest in this type of system for vintage cars and hot rods for them to develop kits?

My guess is there is not.

https://www.amsafe.com/airbag-system...-experimental/

scj64

That’s a great invention!
Dale Earnhardt might still be alive if this was available........

joe_padavano

Dale Earnhardt would be alive if he had worn a HANS device. Active devices like airbags require careful positioning of the impact sensors to be effective. Added complexity brings added failure modes, and frankly, the failure modes probably multiply exponentially. Without solid engineering and testing, you have no idea if they will protect you. It's like TSA - they provide the APPEARANCE of security.

Personally, I'll take defensive driving over electronic nanny devices any day. Always be aware of what is around you, and always assume that other driver will do the most bone-headed thing possible, and have a contingency plan for it.