When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I need help from members to educate me on GM Deluxe Seat Belts. I have a 71 Olds Supreme with bucket seats. On my original sticker it says "Seat Belts, Del Frt & RR LAF?, FRT Shoulder". I think I am correct that deluxe belts are either the black or shiny buckle as in the first picture. When I bought my Olds in July 1984 it had no front seat belts except the retractors. I went to the junkyard and bought two shiny belts that work but they are very short. I need to pull the belts clear over to fasten. When I was 17 it wasn't a big deal but now at 51 I need belts that are correct for my car, longer and fasten more comfortably. If it matters, I do not need a shoulder belt, just lap belts that fit. I am confused as to what deluxe belts would have come with my car to start with.
Can anyone tell me what would type of belts would have come on my car? Black or Shiny?
What would the proper length have been? Would they have been adjustable or a standard size?
Does anyone have two black belts/buckles that fit the tongue shown for my car? (I have seen tongues that look different so I am hesitant to order online and they not latch.)
I would be happy to unbolt and send my shorty belts to a member that can fix me up with two proper length belts in nice condition.
Do you have rear seat belts in it? Are they the small brushed stainless looking ones in your pictures? Do you still have the tags on the bets, they will have a date code on them if original. Also the black ones you have are not correct for the 1971 Cutlass, they did have black ones but they didn't look like that. John
I do but they are not original as there were no seat belts in the car at all. My replacements are not shiny but the black GM adjustable belts I got from a friend. I cannot check the tags as my car is still in storage.
OK, here's an example of a set of black seat belts I removed from a 1971. I don't remember if these are from a Cutlass or a full sized. Also, there should be adjustment on the female end of the belts, so the correct ones should fit middle aged guys like us!
Appreciated. Apologies on the first picture as I just pulled that from the internet to show a side by side between the black and shiny. The black belt looks like what I have in the rear seat and not a front. Your picture looks like what a proper front seat belt would look like.
One problem is "deluxe" changed meanings over the years.
How far does the latch come over? If it's down by your hip, then you have what I call the late deluxe belts. They buckled at your hip towards the middle of the car (right hip for the driver). The latches are smaller, and the shoulder belt clips into the lap belt latch (as opposed to having a separate anchor). Also, there's no adjustment on the retracted belt, nor the anchor.
The earlier belts latch roughly in the middle, so the retractor is much shorter, and the anchor belt is much longer and adjustable.
My guess is you have a mismatch - you have the standard, or early retractor, but the late deluxe anchor. I'm surprised they latch together at all.
That later deluxe style came around in '71, '70, '72? Not sure. It is fairly difficult to find them as most cars, especially Chevys, still came with the standard belts.
You can buy complete new sets in black from a few dealers in the standard style. I think someone sells the late deluxe setup.... There's also the 3 point conversions. Or post a parts wanted ad and the guys with the bigger collections can dig something up for you.
Deluxe belts are the shiny nickel ones. From what I recall,in 1970 they were large buckles, similar in size to the black ones, and in the later years they were smaller.
edit: I remembered that the front lap belts were small buckle and the shoulder and rear seat belts were large buckle.
For 1970, the female buckle end was longer than in 71-72 (the male retractor buckle was shorter). The difference is in 1970 there was a separate buckle for the shoulder belt, then in 1971-72 lap belt buckle had a keyhole slot in the male end (outboard belt) for the shoulder belt to fasten into, and the retractor male end was longer so that the lap belt end was in the correct location (closer to the inboard side of the seat) for anchoring the shoulder belt.
another edit: The above is correct for '72 but not for '71, which I think still used the separate shoulder belt. Not 100% sure, though.
If you have the small buckles style, I have some extender belts that were made for those of us who have grown larger than the original GM belt design parameters.
Last edited by Fun71; March 18th, 2019 at 09:50 PM.
I took pictures of the original black buckle belts from my '71 and the 1972 Deluxe (silver buckle) belts that I installed 20 years ago or so because the paint in the buttons on the originals had disappeared. I had planned to try replacing or repainting them but other projects got in the way.
Original 1971 belts with small black buckles, Model #1902. The female buckle belt (inboard belt) is fairly long and and reaches nearly to my left hip. I threw the yard stick in there so you could see how long they are.
1972 Deluxe belts Model #5200 that I installed about 20 years ago. Note the keyhole slot on the male end and how short the female end (inboard belt) is so that the shoulder belt is located properly across the body. I suppose these are from a hardtop but I never really thought much about the differences in belts between HT and convertible.
Rear seat large buckle:
Last edited by Fun71; March 18th, 2019 at 09:52 PM.
Right, the type with the short anchor belt is the later Deluxe style. The car came with the same style in the rear seat (short anchor belt, long retractor, small buckle) with the Deluxe set.
Hilariously, the body mounting point in the rear is different for standard vs deluxe retractor belts.
I had searched for a set of rear retractor belts but I was unable to locate a set. The Deluxe set that I found has the non-retractable, large buckles in the rear, which is the same as the Deluxe belts that came on my 1970 Supreme. My point is that not all Deluxe belts had rear retractors.
Sorry, to clarify, my assumption is they changed the rear belts in 72.
71 deluxe = non retractor rear
72 deluxe = retractor rear
I've had a '71 supreme and a '72 supreme, both with deluxe belts, and that's how they were. So the retractor rear might be a one year only thing? No idea what the '73+ used.
Agreed that the belts changed in 1972. Note that the belts in my car are silver buckle Deluxe 1972 date code and are non retractor, so there must be some different options that we are not aware of.
March 17th, 2019, 03:29 PM
