who knows any info on rear sholder belts as far as how many had them?rear option? my 70 buick has them but i never seen them before. it was W15: Custom Front and Rear Seat Belts w/ Front and Rear Shoulder Harness
I've been looking for a pair for a few years now. Rare as hen's teeth. All the A-body rear shelf stampings made from 68-72 were prepped for them. Very few ever sold as people weren't buying safety in those days. I've considered trying to use a spare set of front shoulder belts but haven't tried yet. Can you post some pics?
This is an interesting subject. I have thought about how to mount them in the rear. You would need all the hardware though so it did not look like a hack job. Grommets to go through package tray etc.
Ken, Look up inside your trunk, at the underside of the rear shelf. Beside each speaker location you will see a raised area about 2"X 3". Two holes about 3/8 diameter. A steel plate is put up into the raised area with two threaded holes that match the location on the tray. A plate is installed on the top side. My guess is very similar to the shoulder harness strap for the front seats, secured to the roof. Bolts pass thru the plate, thru the rear tray & thread into the plate on the underside. This keeps it all together. Vinyl trim/cover covers the bolt heads inside the car. I've seen pics of another members car here, but can't recall whose car it was.
Steve, That sounds almost like you can fabricate everything up and buy some grade 8 hardware and be done with it. Except for the vinyl trim piece. Talk about a hen's tooth. I'd like to see detailed pics of this if anyone has it. Have 9 year old twins. Can't be too safe. :3gears:
Bracket looks easy to make. Mounting plate for the belts looks very much like the front shoulder belt. Can't tell for sure from the drawing but I think the male end gets fastened behind the bench seat lower pad. The female buckle is the piece secured to the shelf. Looks just opposite to the front set-up.1970stage1455 can you confirm this?
1970 GS production: 455 Coupe - 63 455 conv - 7 350 Coupe - 20 Total - 90 Of the 63 455 coupes, 49 of them were made in Flint, so it is possible, although highly unlikely, that 49 Stage 1 coupes could have had them. You can find this and much more useful info in the Quick Reference Guide to 1968 - 1972 GS Production Totals produced and sold by "Mike Trom" here on the board! Thanks, Chris
:TU: I put rear shoulder belts in my '68 GS convertible using the factory locations. I purchased aftermarket belts (longer) and replaced the buckels with factory hardware. My 6 & 8 year old ride back there and this adds a little more security :TU: The covertible rear belts attach to a different location than the coupes.
Stev, this shows the shoulder belt attaching to the vertical part of the window frame, not the packafe shelf. I though it attached to the package shelf frame. Ken
Hi Mike, What aftermarket belts did you use and how did you replace the buckles? When you say you replaced the buckles with factory hardware, what hardware are you talking about, the GM female buckle covers?
Yes I used the female factory (Deluxe) hardware by removing the hardware from the new belt (easy to do) and replacing it with GM parts. When you use the factory hardware you can use the factory male belt hardware for the other end. You will need a factory end for the male since the new belt male end will not work with a GM female. The new belt fabric looks very much like the original fabric. The new belt came with the hardware (nuts, washers, bolts) that I used for the install. Here is where I got mine from: http://gotbelts.com/ and this is what I ordered (this is for one belt): http://www.gotbelts.com/nopubuendlap1.html ***check the length for coupe application, this is what I used for my convertible. I cut the larger steel end off (see product photo link) and then removed the new "male" end and replaced with the GM female end. It was then installed in the factory position per GM diagrams. :beer
Ken, The drawing at top is not the greatest for detail. Fastening point behind the seat, off centre. Detail in VIEW B shows it in much better detail. Starting from the botton (inside the trunk) Anchor plate-Rear Seat to Back Window Panel-Plastic Trim-Mounting Plate. Detail in VIEW A is detail on fastening lap belt under the bench seat. Try putting your cursor on the drawing & see if it will make the image larger. I can always send you a copy to your e-mail.
Probably one of less than that, as most likely not all of the GS455 Coupes that were ordered with them were Stage 1 cars. I believe that Stage 1's represented a little more than half of the GS455's coupe's built in Flint in 1970....
That's great info Mike. I would have no idea which kit to buy for a coupe. I have no standard to base it off of. I wonder what the length sould be? This brings me to another point, I wonder if I should just upgrade the fronts with this 3 point shoulder belt. The original stuff is so hard to find and so confusing to hook up. I am missing my original female parts of my front lap and shoulder belts. All I have is the males. Useless without the other female ends. http://gotbelts.com/bestburelaps.html
The picture maks sense Steve. Top anchor parts; are they still available or will an aftermarket shoulder harness mount ok in this stock position using the same holes and seat area for the plate?
No idea what the dimensions are for either set-up. I have a spare set of shoulder belts I'll try this Summer. I can build a mock-up & then start looking for a better belt as my spares were bought only for tyhe buckles, pretty rough fabric. I still don't know the orientation of the stock set-up. Female end buckle bolted to the rear shelf or to the floor? I need somene with this set-up to confirm. I've seen pics of two others from members here but didn't think to ask at the time.
Hi guys, I think that I found a guy who may have a few set of the rear shoulder belts - they are black with the deluxe buckles. The shoulder belt has a Buckle on it and is adjustable. The male end is mounted to the floor. The set is for two people. Does this sound right for the rear shoulder belts? Also, my interior is sandalwood and I have sandalwood deluxe seatbelts, can black belts be dyed sandalwood? Or would I have to try and replace the belts themselves? I'm hoping this all works out as it would make it easier to mount my kid's car seat in the back. I will definitely post the guy's name and info here - just want to have first crack myself if these are indeed the rare rear shoulder belts - the price is $250 a set by the way.
Sounds right. I have a spare set of Sandalwood deluxe shoulder belts I might have changed to work in the rear. Let me know if you proceed with this. I may get some dimensions from you. I don't know if you can dye them a lighter colour.
