Hot Rods Seat belts in hot rods, do you have em?

Absolutely!!!-----BEFORE driving any of my vehicles!!!

 

Danny, tell us more about this accident and how it happened, it doesn't look survivable! The Bitchen aluminum firewall is even broken in half! It looks like it went end over end too. Wow, that Fordor is wrecked! They were very lucky people to come out of that alive.

As someone who has raced motorcycles and ATV's in my past life, I have always wanted every piece of safety equipment between me and the ground and other hard objects. Helmets, seat belts and body armor will save you from a lot of pain and suffering. I'm very lucky to be able to feel as good as I do at 65 years old!

 

Our 55 Lincoln has them, the 53 Merc doesn't I also have a story about my pregnant wife getting in an accident and not wearing a seat belt.

I have been pulled over in our 53 and questioned about not wearing them. I explained they didn't come in the car and if I wear to install them they wouldn't be DOT approved. I do think if I had a hot rod roadster I would have them.

 

As the story goes Ken & his wife were in Florida and had went out to dinner with a few of his hot rod buddys and they took a off ramp and one of the tires blew,he thinks he may have run over something but the car flipped over and rolled then did a end over end,thats what the guy following said.

Ken had a dislocated shoulder and his wife suffered a broken wrist,they had multiple cuts and bruises but they were able to walk away from the crumpled mess.

Ken liked the car so much he built another 32 4 door that is almost identical to the original,this photo is from a couple of years ago on the All Deuce Run. HRP

 

This is my 4 door highboy. HRP

 

No.... Not required by law, I plan on being thrown in the clear...

 

Before painting, I installed a thick wall tube in my '37 cab for seat belt mounts. It took a few bends, cut and welds to get a tight fit, but it fit behind the sheet metal trim when I was done. The bottom bolts go through the floor with 5" square x 1/4" thick plates welded underneath. I welded the upper mounts every where I could without getting in the outer sheet metal.

I won't go around the block without belts on, Kansas City area drivers are terrible !

 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Those are a 4 point harness, ball strap missing and when you are buckled in you don't move a lot, used to race some SCCA and I'm embarrassed to say how how many times I had to unstrap for things like steering wheel sitting on dash, can't close door and for got to put helmet on first.

man I messed thoes post up and don't know how to fix it!
the good news about being a H.A.M.B. member is that you don't have to be smart just own a hot rod

 

I've been using my 3-point belts for over a year now and they are great. I've had to make a couple of hard stops and they held me against the seat. I'm glad I went the extra mile on them. I had to drill a big hole in my pillar to get the mounting plate in place. The supplied bolt was too short with the garnish, so I went with a longer grade-8 bolt and made up a bushing to go through the belt mounting tab. I had to pop holes in the garnish with the Bridgeport. The whole thing looks factory.

 

Installed three point belts soon after my purchase of the truck. Second row KIA mini-van belts as it has KIA buckets installed. Welded the mount bracket to the B pillar and installed the retractor in the pocket behind the door opening, do not feel comfortable without them being on.

 

Yes. Have lap belts for 5 people in the club coupe.

 

I have lap belts in my 34. They are retractable so they don't lay all over the seat when not in use.

 

I've had seatbelts in my car since 1963. About 10 years ago my daughter was in an accident and was spit out the driver side window at close to 100 miles an hour. If she would've had her seatbelt on there's a good chance she could've walked away from the accident. She was in the hospital for six weeks and can remember very little of it. I will put at least three point belts in the Studebaker a building. By the way she does wear her seatbelt now. A few years later the same daughter was in a rollover accident with her daughter and they both escaped with no injuries. Later in the day she was riding with her mother and was rear-ended by a truck and pushed into the ditch, my granddaughter came out with just a little bruise on her chest because she was belted in her car seat.


Sent from my iPad using H.A.M.B.

 

I had a friend in the car the other night... he refused to put on a seat belt. We were going somewhere close to home, but on longer trips he'll either have to buckle up or stay behind. His wife also doesn't wear a seatbelt. I don't think either of them have ever been in a bad crash, which makes most people a believer in them.

 

I have lap belts in my '34 pickup (avatar).

 

That was in Colorado Springs at some outlaw street racing. I lived there at the time and worked with a guy that saw it happen. He is very fortunate to be alive. On the Lighter Side the 55 was his wife's.

Sent from my A520L using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

I have rear seats from a chevy lumina apv and they have retractable lap belts.

Sent from my A520L using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

We can all probably come up with reasons not to wear a seatbelt. Having lost a nephew in a '65 Ford p/u when it rolled over him, I want my family tied in.

 

here,s mine.

 

Definitely use seat belts, plus you can find really cool ones like these aviation lap belts.

 

I have belts in every rod, muscle car and custom I've ever owned.
I would'nt leave my garage untill i was belted and request my passengers buckle in also.

I've seen too much carnage to go without them.

 

Installed them in the bucket I just licensed. No brainer. "Skin don't make sparks" a wise man once said.

Sent from my SM-J320V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Have lap belts securely bolted to the floor sub structure, in a catastrophic incident, the body could well depart the frame rails, my body would stay in the cab. The OT build I'm now doing has a 5 point harness!

 

can't live without them....... 3 point retractibles

 

4 point harness bolted to cage.Seats bolted to cage that starts at cowl,runs down floor and ties in to rear of frame in trunk.

 

You won't survive, but I suspect you know that already.

 

Thanks for this idea. I'll file that away to possibly include in my project. I'm going with a broader transportation theme with a "cockpit" slant for my '52 truck interior. I'm not sure if the belts will be retractable and minimized or industrial, bulky, in your face.

A lot of comments about surviving the horrendous crashes with/without belts, but I'm guessing they probably do a fairly good job reducing injuries in those +/- 40mph crashes that are common enough. I like reading everyone's opinions but if whoever is commenting could qualify whether they are driving 1000 miles a year in the sunshine to an occasional car show or if they drive 13000 miles a year on road trips. The context of your risk tolerance would better help my old gray cells get a handle on your comments.

 

All four-wheeled vehicles combined, I drive between 48,000 and 55,000 miles per year.

I don't go past the end of the garage without a seat belt on. If being thrown free of the car were a valid survival strategy, cars would not have seat belts. If suicide is the plan for some of you, far be it from be to stop you.

"Figures provided by the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration reveal some interesting facts about car accidents. Of all collisions that occur in the United States, approximately 52% occur within a 5-mile radius of home while an astounding 69% occur within 10 miles."

So asking how far people drive is actually a contextually meaningless question.

 

Lap belts will save you in a roll over if the car has a roof.
In a rollover, the car acts as a clothes dryer. The G forces will sling you right out the side window.....usually half of the way out. Then the car rolls over on you. I have seen it countless times. It's physics.
Being thrown clear.....only maybe in a open roadster. A light Roadster with no roll bar...Maybe a person is better off with some kind of helmet and no belts...
This may be a good excuse to get the WWII tanker helmet you have always wanted...better than nothing.