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What year where seat belts installed

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by saints, Sep 23, 2011.

  1. Federal mandate was January 1, 1968

    Ford and Chrysler both offered them as options in 56, very few people ordered them
     
  2. And that's going to rip threw the floors in an accident.....
     
  3. carcrazyjohn
    Joined: Apr 16, 2008
    Posts: 4,843

    carcrazyjohn
    Member
    from trevose pa

    It was an option in the 55 chevy
     
  4. Don
    Thanks. I was thinking that it was prior to that but probably because that by then a lot of cars just had them.
     
  5. Don't think so. This is a list from Chevrolet of the options for 1955

    1955 Chevrolet
    150, 210, Bel Air

    Options:

    Models w/manual transmission: 235.5 cid inline six engine, 123 hp @ 3800 rpm
    Models with Powerglide transmission: 235.5 cid inline six, 136 hp @ 4200 rpm
    Turbo-Fire Base V-8: 265 cid V8, 162 hp @ 4400 rpm, 2 barrel carb.
    Turbo-Fire Optional V8: 265 cid V8, 180 hp 4600 rpm, 4 barrel carb
    3-speed manual transmission with column shifter was standard on all models
    Overdrive available on standard transmission models
    Powerglide 2 speed automatic transmission
    Power Steering
    Power brakes
    Power windows
    Power seats
    Turn signals
    Heater and defroster
    Air conditioning
    White sidewall tires
    Locking gas cap
    Continental tire kit
    Outside sun visor
    Self-de-icing wiper blades
    Wiring junction block
    Electric clock
    Compass
    Seat covers
    Accelerator pedal cover
    Wire wheel covers
    Tissue dispenser
    Exhaust extension
    License plate frame
    Glare-shields
    Grille guard
    Fender guard
    Door edge guard
    Gasoline filler guard
    Tool kit
    Back-up lights
    Courtesy lights
    Cigarette Lighter
    Electric shaver
    Floor mats
    Outside rearview mirrors
    Inside non-glare rearview mirrors
    Manual Radio
    Push-button Radio
    Signal-seeking Radio
    Rear speaker
    Fender antenna
    Automatic top riser armrests
    Wheel trim rings
    Safety light with mirror
    Sport lamp
    Parking brake signal
    Door handle shields
    Front fender shields
    Vent Shades
    Inside sun visor
    Vanity visor
    Traffic light viewer
    Electric windshield wipers
    Food-operated windshield washer
    Vacuum-operated windshield washer

    No Seat Belts.
     
  6. Dragon Wagons
    Joined: Oct 4, 2009
    Posts: 122

    Dragon Wagons
    Member
    from SLC, Utah

    My 59 Edsel had the original optioned seat belts all 2 of them yes a 9 passenger wagon with 2 seat belts. And you wouldn't want to use them anyway... they are the thick webbing with a cam over latch, a very early and primitive design, and definitely NOT car seat friendly.

    Just install them yourself like items 1-3 on the list, oh and look at the longroof thread lots of cool family cruisers, beats a regular 4 door.

    http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2240&highlight=edsel

    Seat belts

    http://www.julianos.com/


    Heat AND A/C

    http://www.vintageair.com/
     
  7. derbydad276
    Joined: May 29, 2011
    Posts: 1,336

    derbydad276
    Member

    if she is makin ya get 4 doors go for a wagon long roof's are cooler
     
  8. Ashcraft
    Joined: Feb 4, 2010
    Posts: 44

    Ashcraft
    Member
    from Colorado

    They were an option in 1956, part of a "safety package" that included a padded dash as well.

    I remember looking at a cherry black and white 56 Victoria (not Crown Victoria, I hate those things) at a used car lot in about 1967 that had that option. First time I'd seen a padded dash on a car that old.

    They were asking the outrageous price of $395. Too bad my 1951 Custom Tudor was only worth about $100, and I was making $1.10 an hour, so it was way out of reach for me.
     
  9. rainh8r
    Joined: Dec 30, 2005
    Posts: 792

    rainh8r
    Member

    My '55 Chrysler New Yorker had Mopar seat belts in if from day 1 (we knew the original owner). They were probably an option then, as I haven't seen others with them installed.
     
  10. jcmarz
    Joined: Jan 10, 2010
    Posts: 4,631

    jcmarz
    Member
    from Chino, Ca

    While Mother Tucker installed seatbelts in his cars, Nash offered them as a Option in 1949. So whatever car you buy slap on some seatbelts. As for AC, your wife can roll down the window. Cold? Wear a jacket.
     
  11. saints
    Joined: Dec 15, 2008
    Posts: 553

    saints
    Member

    HAHA thanks guys very informative Im not a big fan of 60's cars so I will be buying the said list items and getting a car I like and adding them on
    I thought is was mid 50's was I off
     
  12. Ask Ralph Nader.
     
  13. Well, yeah, maybe. And that's exactly the point. You see, the reason for safety equipment in an accident is to reduce the force transmitted to the driver. The act of ripping through the floorboard will cushion the driver a bit more than if the belt did NOT rip through the floor. That is why some of the last belts before SRS had 'teeth' on the mount that would slow the belt more gradually than just mounting it to one point.

    So, do exactly that, mount with large washers, so that the belt will rip through the floor. But securely enough so that the force will dissipate gradually.

    Cosmo
     
  14. My 59 Vette had them.
     
  15. 02HD9294
    Joined: Jun 25, 2011
    Posts: 10

    02HD9294
    Member

    My 62 Comet doesn't have them but does have the threaded plates in the floor for them.
    Must have still be optional (like the backup lights) that year.
     
  16. Master of None
    Joined: Dec 18, 2009
    Posts: 2,279

    Master of None
    Member

    Iowa's law required(s) them for vehicles newer than 67. Not sure if that is the federal mandate also.
     
  17. Engine man
    Joined: Jan 30, 2011
    Posts: 3,480

    Engine man
    Member
    from Wisconsin

    I remembered them being in cars earlier than 1968. My uncle's 63 Oldsmobile had them. It was always a big deal in our family to ride in the new cars that family members bought. A Google search shows that Wisconsin required lap belts in the two front seat positions in 1961.

    Federal law required them in the front seats in 1963. I remember two uncles having new cars in 1965, An Impala and a Cutlass that had lap belts. My dad bought a new 66 AMC Ambassador that had lap belts.

    Lap and shoulder belts were required in the front seats and lap belts in the rear seats in 1968. My Grandparents bought a new 68 Impala that had the front shoulder belts that used a separate buckle than the lap belts so there were 3 buckles on one side and 2 on the other.

    In 74 Federal law required a 3 point combined seat and shoulder belt.
     
  18. gnichols
    Joined: Mar 6, 2008
    Posts: 11,345

    gnichols
    Member
    from Tampa, FL

    I heard the SUCK on motorcycles, however. Gary
     
  19. barney rubble
    Joined: Sep 3, 2008
    Posts: 340

    barney rubble
    Member

    My 63 Galaxie had the seat belt anchors in the floor but no belts in it. It also has the padded dash that very few I have ever seen have had. I never knew about the 2 being a option that went together.
     
  20. My 64 Galaxie XL500 had seat belts.
     
  21. Jonnie King
    Joined: Aug 12, 2007
    Posts: 2,078

    Jonnie King
    Member
    from St. Louis

    True. But, technically some of their safety adds were options, not standard equipment. The deep-dish, safety steering wheel was standard equipment, so were padded visors, recessed knobs, etc....seat belts were an extra cost option.

    My Dad had a '57 Ford Fairlane 500 and it had the padded dash, visors, deep-dish wheel,recessed knobs, etc., but no seat belts.


    Jonnie King www.legends.thewwbc.net
     
  22. Normbc9
    Joined: Apr 20, 2011
    Posts: 1,121

    Normbc9
    Member

    I bought a new 1955 Chevy 210 two door post and no seat belts offered or provided. Then i went back and bought a new '57 Bel Air two door post and they were an option. My next ride was a '60 Pontiac Bonneville and they were in the car as built.
    Normbc9
     
  23. Swifster
    Joined: Dec 16, 2006
    Posts: 1,455

    Swifster
    Member

    Seat belts were mandated by the Federal Government starting January 1, 1965. Most older cars can be retrofitted. Some have done a nice job of retrofitting the more modern 3-point harness used in most current cars.

    They were in my '64 Studebaker Daytona.

    As for the 4-door part, be cool and get a wagon. The original SUV. Or maybe an old Suburban.
     
  24. Directly from the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, or FMVSS, THIS is when seat belts were required by Federal Law:

    Standard No. 209 - Seat Belt Assemblies - Passenger Cars, Multipurpose Passenger Vehicles, Trucks, and Buses (Effective 3-1-67) This standard specifies requirements for seat belt assemblies. The requirements apply to straps, webbing, or similar material, as well as to all necessary buckles and other fasteners and all hardware designed for installing the assembly in a motor vehicle, and to the installation, usage, and maintenance instructions for the assembly.

    Now, far as when seat belts were available, the question arises as to they were FACTORY, or a dealer-installed option. The above states when they were required by law. though I've owned Dodge, GM and Ford trucks and cars each that had them in 1963.
     
  25. Hey, don't laugh, during the Clinton Administration, the then-Dept of Transportation Joan Clayburgh wanted to mandate seat belts for motorcycles, and fought for that for several years. Thankfully, common sense won the day and her cause was for naught.
     
  26. SCRIBE35
    Joined: Apr 27, 2011
    Posts: 75

    SCRIBE35
    Member
    from California

  27. 1950ChevySuburban
    Joined: Dec 20, 2006
    Posts: 6,187

    1950ChevySuburban
    Member Emeritus
    from Tucson AZ

    Juliano's sells the special rectangular floor "washers" that are correct to use with belts. Just sending someone out with the vague description of a "large washer" is recipe for disaster. How large a washer? How thick? How strong of steel? When that belt rips thru the floor, you get impaled on the column.
    I want my belts to hold me in tight, even if I get strap bruises!
     
  28. von zipper
    Joined: Nov 23, 2008
    Posts: 1,015

    von zipper
    Member

    My 63 Ranchero......no belts

    My 64 Galaxie.........fronts only!

    So...I need more belts!!!:eek:
     
  29. sunbeam
    Joined: Oct 22, 2010
    Posts: 6,214

    sunbeam
    Member

    In 1963 most cars had mounts in 62
     
  30. sunbeam
    Joined: Oct 22, 2010
    Posts: 6,214

    sunbeam
    Member

    Some states require seat belts for children period.
     

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