Better Beaters - Building Cars and Daily Drivers

 Surprising to me, my old Plymouth had never had seat belts added to it by the previous long term owner.

I found this very nice set of burgundy colored belts at RetroBelt. The color really harmonizes with the exterior maroon. 

I chose the "aircraft style" buckle, it has a more vintage appearance, as opposed to the center push button design.

Just drill holes and bolt to the floor.

Of course installation requires drilling some holes into the floorboard. You don't want to drill the holes through a brake line, or in an area inaccessible to putting the nut on the bolt. 

To help locate the holes, I connected a couple of long tie downs and laid one across the floor where I wanted to locate the holes. By tightening the tie downs I could see where the holes needed to go from under the car. I got a good view of the floorboards and they were pristine, it kind of hurt to drill some holes in that nice sheet metal. 

The belts harmonize well with the color of the seats.

As you can see the tongue portion of the belt is substantially shorter than the buckle side. I had ordered the longest set of belts. Plymouth had always lauded their "chair high seats," a good feature for comfort, but the seats are quite a bit taller than those in '50's and '60's era cars.

I could squeeze under the belt, as installed, but it was a tight fit!

I started looking online for longer belts, but couldn't find any.

While reporting on my progress on the AACA forum, members told me to get some belt extenders. I'd seen some extra lengths of belt that could be added to the tongue end for standard belts. I didn't know if they would fit my new belts. I was informed that there were longer floor brackets available that would raise the mounting point, thereby extending the belt. 

I found two types of extenders. One was a web section that attached to the floor and the seat belt. These were 12 inches long and would put a nut and bolt in clear view on the seat. This would be tough on the upholstery, and having a nut and bolt connection could be uncomfortable for the passenger.

This is a 12 inch. belt extender.

I searched online and found some extended metal floor brackets. Summit had a pair of six inch brackets for a bit over 20.00. They are gold anodized but do not come in right and left orientations. I ordered a pair and figured that I could always look for something better. 

They look to be plenty strong.

Once these arrived I laid them in the rear floorboard until I could find some time to attach them. I needed a bolt and nut to attached the end of the belt to the bracket. A couple of days ago I decided to look through my nut and bolt stash and found a nice pair of chromed bolts with matching self locking nuts, They fit perfectly, so even though the car was parked in the garage, I squeezed underneath and unbolted the belts from the floor. Then I bolted in the extenders and attached the belts. The six inch brackets ended right where the seat folds and don't contact the seat itself. 

The passenger side faces one way...

The driver's side faces the other way.

Since there is no left and right configuration, one bracket faces forward while the other faces the rear. I'm not too crazy about the installation, but the tongue side of the belt is now a bit over six inches longer. So that's a win.

At least the extenders aren't readily visible.

I don't believe that the seat belts will make my car super safe like a later model vehicle, but my major concern was to prevent being thrown out of the car during a collision. I wouldn't trust the door latches to keep the door secured in that event. I would rather stay inside the car during a collision and take my chances with the hard metal inside, than to be ejected and possibly hitting my head on the pavement or being run over by another car! 

Yes, that is kind of a harsh note to end the post on, but one has to be realistic in assessing the risks of driving an antique car. Installing the seat belts is a major improvement in passenger safety, and  now I'll feel much better while driving the car.