Dave, Pics will be like replacing the next 20 pages of this thread! Can't wait.:bglasses: If you can would you measure the length of the shoulder belts? Chris & Ken, Not sure on bolt length required, easily changed once the install begins. The male you see in the pic is a spare front shoulder belt, pretty sure it should be a female buckle. This might be an issue as there are virtually none out there. I'm going to try & use the male, with a short female bolted to the floor under the seat.Cost on having a male removed from the strap might be prohibitive. Looking forward to seeing Dave's pics.
Here's some photos. Steve, I'll get the length later, as I didn't see your post till I was back from the shop.
Great pics Dave, thank you. Looks like I was off on the shape of the bracket. I made it to fill the entire raised area in the package tray stamping. Your pics confirm the male end belongs on the bottom. The vinyl trim piece is used for slack/neatness?
You're welcome. Yes, the vinyl trim slide piece holds the end of the belt so it isn't laying haphazardly. I'll get the length of the belt measurements tomorrow.
Dave, I should have asked before you went back to measure the belt length. Next time you get there can you post the dimensions of the steel plate in the trunk area? I made one based on the dimensions of the raised area. I guess it will serve the same function but it's a little different shape. I think I see something around the outside of the bolts where they protrude under the plate. Have you ever seen the plastic trim piece, holding the slack end, in any other GM car? I've found a local shop with heavy industrial sewing machines. They can un-stitch the male end from the spare shoulder straps I have & re-stitch the ends, folded over like those on a female buckle end. Challenge will be finding the right colour thread.
Today I was at the annual all Buick show here on Long Island and I met the group member who had the 71 Riviera with the rear shoulder belts - unfortunately he has not had the car for a while now so no comparison with the A-body rear shoulder belts.
Chris, I think the hardest part to get will be the plastic piece around the belt in Dave's picture. Used to keep the loose end in place. I e-mailed Adam Martin, who's familiar with the LeSabre, Centurion, Electra. He's not seen this set-up in anything in the big cars. I'll be changing the bracket to agree with that in Dave's car. Need some hard dimensions whenever he gets a chance to visit the car again. Patience. Did you sell the partial set you had available?
>>Hi Steve, Yeah, finding the plastic piece will be quite difficult - perhaps we can get away with no using it? I guess we will have to see how much slack there is with the belts installed. I did sell the partial set I had to someone on ebay - for practically the same price I paid for the whole set!
Steve: The belt measures about 48 inches long. So the buckle is 24 inches from where it attaches on the package tray and the belt is doubled up so the free end is right at the connection point on the package tray. Off to shop again to measure the plate, I forgot to measure it when I was down there ou: I think the plastic part may be common to the early El Camino's. At least that's what I remember when I was out junk yarding years ago. Might be worth checking into.
Dave, I have a local machine shop fabricating 4 copies of the anchor plates you measured for us. Again, appreciate the help. I got very, very lucky this AM. No, my wife didn't give me a wink & a smile before I got out of bed. That would call for only one "very" in the sentence.:Brow: Just picked up a set of rear shoulder belts dated 34C71. Wrong colour for me black, however, these are a perfect example to pattern my own set in TAN. I will make these available once my own are complete.
>>Good score Steve! How is the length of the true rear shoulder belt compare to a regular front shoulder belt?
Front shoulder belt is 41" from the roof bracket to the end of the male joiner. Dave's rear is 48" long. Difference of 7, actually only 3-1/2" once returned in the clip. The 7" difference sounds quite easy to live with if all it means is having one end of a front belt restitched.
Have the anchor plates fabricated. Crude but effective for now. I'm thinking a coat of cold-galvanize will perk them up a little. Used off the shelf sizes for steel stock. Slightly wider than Dave K.'s originals. Belts due in any day now, vendor confirmed he shipped out early last week.
Hey Steve, Have you been able to locate any plastic covers for the mounting area? Did you plan to use the same covers as the originals that mounted to the ceiling?
