I was rewatching the series Mad Men and in one scene it shows Betty Driving Sally to a prep school and I noticed something weird, well at least to me it was weird. I noticed that there was a seatbelt attached to the roof of the car. I believe the car was a 1968 Ford Country Squire, does anyone know why that would be there? And what the function for that is? Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Well, so there is. Good eye. Someone here will know. Wasn't there an episode somewhere in the first few seasons where he takes a walk and stops to talk to some hot rodders in the neighborhood? I seem to remember a couple of cool cars in that episode.
not a ford guy but looks like a mopar shoulder belts I know sum states required used car dealers to install belts before they coude sell them
My old '68 Dart had a the male end of a seat belt incorporated into the sun visor mount. Always wondered why.
My daddy gave me my first car, a 1968 ford country squire wagon. Maroon with wood grain inserts, loved it. It had the exact same belts as pictured. It was like "That 70's Show" in real life. I broke his heart when I traded it for a 75 Camaro type LT. A real POS. I wish I could apologize to him, but that is all gas past the needle and seat.
Front seat shoulder harnesses were required to be installed starting in '68, but weren't required to be a single-point latch like the later combination belts were. These had two buckles, one for the seat belt and one for the shoulder harness. I had a '67 Cougar that had these as an option a year earlier. The shoulder belts were color-coordinated in '68, it was hit-and-miss in '67.
Yeah, normal late 60s to somewhere in the 70's (maybe later?) to have the shoulder harness optional to use. I honestly don't remember anyone actually using them, they just hung out up on the headliner.
I had a '69 Mach 1 with the same set-up. All of the manufacturers were struggling to keep up with Federally mandated safety and emissions regulations through the late 60's and mid 70's.
`I had those in my OT '70 Nova... when I took my driver's test (in 1986), I unfolded the shoulder belt for the first time EVER and clicked it in, then waited for the instructor to do the same. Now. I had been warned by my dad that those instructors pulled all kinds of subtle tricks to fail students, so I sat frozen as he told me to, "Go ahead", even though he wasn't completely buckled in. After he said it for the third time, I looked at him and sheepishly asked if he should put HIS shoulder belt on, motioning to mine. "Oh, you aren't required to use those- they've been phased out for years". So, I unclipped it, folded it back up, and drove on to eventual victory at the DMV That afternoon, I removed the second set of buckles from the seats, but left the belts along the headliner- don't know why, just did
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